U.S. patent number 3,745,875 [Application Number 05/105,911] was granted by the patent office on 1973-07-17 for cartridge reloading dies.
Invention is credited to Neil James Kennedy.
United States Patent |
3,745,875 |
Kennedy |
July 17, 1973 |
CARTRIDGE RELOADING DIES
Abstract
A tool for reloading a variety of sizes of spent cartridge cases
comprising a normally upright, externally threaded, hollow,
cylindrical body mounted in a reloading press. The upper portion of
the body is internally threaded and of greater diameter for
receiving a selected cartridge case receiving die, a first
externally threaded sleeve is received in the body. A threaded bore
in the sleeve receives a second externally threaded sleeve which
has a threaded bore for receiving a threaded rod having a resizing
and decapping tool at a lower end thereof. Alternatively, a bullet
seating tool having a substantially conical recess in its lower end
for engaging the nose of a bullet is threadedly received in the
first sleeve in place of the resizing tool.
Inventors: |
Kennedy; Neil James (Kimberley
B.C., CA) |
Family
ID: |
22308482 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/105,911 |
Filed: |
January 12, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
86/23 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F42B
33/10 (20130101); F42B 33/005 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F42B
33/00 (20060101); F42B 33/10 (20060101); F42b
033/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;86/23,29,30,36,37,43 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Stahl; Robert F.
Assistant Examiner: Tudor; Harold
Claims
I claim:
1. In combination, a tool for reloading spent cartridge cases
comprising a normally upright, externally threaded, hollow,
cylindrical body, an upper portion thereof being internally
threaded and of greater diameter than a lower portion, said lower
portion and upper portion forming a restriction for receiving a
cartridge case receiving die, said die being constructed and
arranged to receive and conform to the upper portion and less than
the entire cartridge case and having a smooth outer surface, a
first externally threaded sleeve receivable in said body
constructed and arranged to hold said die firmly in place on said
restriction, a threaded bore in said first sleeve for receiving a
second externally threaded sleeve and a threaded bore in said
second sleeve for receiving a threaded rod having a resizing and
decapping tool at a lower end thereof, and said die in said
tool.
2. In combination, a tool for reloading spent cartridge cases, said
tool comprising a normally upright, externally threaded hollow
cylindrical body, an upper portion thereof being internally
threaded and of greater diameter than an unthreaded lower portion
of said bore so that a restriction is formed between said threaded
and unthreaded portions against which a cartridge case receiving
die will be seated when said cartridge case receiving die is
received in said threaded bore of said body, said die being
constructed and arranged to receive and conform to the upper
portion and less than the entire cartridge case and having a smooth
outer surface and a first externally threaded sleeve threadedly
receivable in said bore of said body for holding said cartridge
receiving die in position against said restriction, said first
sleeve being internally threaded to receive a selected tool for
resizing and decapping said cartridge or seating a bullet, and said
die seated in said tool.
3. A tool as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cartridge case
receiving die is a resizing die for resizing a cartridge case neck
in cooperation with said resizing and decapping tool mounted in
said first sleeve.
4. A tool as claimed in claim 3 wherein a second externally
threaded sleeve having a threaded bore therein is received in said
first sleeve and said resizing and decapping tool is threadedly
mounted on a lower end of a threaded rod received in said threaded
bore of said second sleeve.
5. A tool as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cartridge case
receiving die is a crimping tool and a bullet seating tool is
received in said first sleeve, said bullet seating tool comprising
an externally threaded body having a substantially conical recess
in its lower end for engaging said bullet.
Description
This invention relates to ammunition reloading tools and more
particularly to interchangeable dies for use in re-sizing and
decapping spent cartridge cases.
An object of this invention is to provide a decapping and resizing
tool including a cartridge case receiving member having removable
decapping and resizing dies mounted therein whereby the dies of
different sizes may be inserted in the tool for accommodating
different sized cartridge cases.
A further object of this invention is the provision of a decapping
and resizing tool wherein the decapping and resizing unit is
capable of axial adjustment relative to the cartridge case
receiving member to accommodate cartridge cases of different
lengths.
A further object of this invention is the provision of a bullet
seating tool capable of being received in the body of the decapping
and resizing tool whereby bullets can be seated and crimped in
various sizes and lengths of cartridge cases.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a tool for reloading
spent cartridge cases comprising a normally upright, externally
threaded, hollow, cylindrical body an upper portion thereof being
internally threaded and of greater diameter for receiving a
cartridge case receiving die, a first externally threaded sleeve
receivable in said body, a threaded bore in said sleeve for
receiving a second externally threaded sleeve and a threaded bore
in said second sleeve for receiving a threaded rod having a
resizing and decapping tool at a lower end thereof.
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate embodiments of the
invention
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a reloading press and the
decapping and resizing tool assembly of this invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional side elevational view of the decapping and
resizing tool assembly of this invention.
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the bullet seating tool for
use in place of the decapping and resizing tools in the tool
body.
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a crimping die for use in
place of the resizing tool and
FIG. 5 is a spacer sleeve for use in place of the sleeve shown in
FIG. 3.
Referring now in detail to the accompanying drawings, a decapping
and resizing tool is indicated generally by the numeral 10 in FIG.
1. The tool is shown mounted on a reloading press 11 which includes
a mounting plate 12 permitting mounting of the press on a suitable
workbench. The press 11 while not forming part of the present
invention will be described briefly in order to provide a better
understanding of the reloading tool 10.
Accordingly, the press 11 has a channel member 17 integrally formed
on a plunger guide member 16 forming a continuation of the plunger
guide member 16 for guiding the plunger. A tool press plunger 18 is
vertically slidable in the guide member 16 and is provided with
suitable linkage (not shown) which is operated by an actuating
handle 19. One form of linkage for operating the plunger is shown
in U.S. Pat. No. 2,829,554. The upper portion of the plunger is
provided with a shell holder 20 having a slot 21 therein for
accommodating the lower end of a spent cartridge shell therein. The
shell holder 20 is detachably connected to the plunger 18 and may
be replaced with a shell holder for accommodating a different size
or kind of shell.
The tool press 11 has a conventional die holder 22 provided with a
threaded recess 23 which receives the decapping and resizing tool
10 therein.
The resizing and decapping tool 10 includes an externally threaded
hollow cylindrical body 30 having a cylindrical bore 32
therethrough. An upper portion 33 of the bore 32 is threaded and is
of greater diameter than a lower portion 34 so that a restriction
is formed at 35. The unthreaded 34 portion has a length of
seven-eighths inch and the overall length of the body 30 is
approximately 2 1/2 inches. The external lower end portion of the
body is threaded at 36 for engagement with the threaded recess 23
thereby permitting adjustment of the body 30 with respect to the
die holder 22. Locking means in the form of an internally threaded
knurled locking ring 38 is provided to lock the body member in an
adjusted position relative to the die holder 22.
The threaded portion 33 of the bore 32 immediately above the
restriction 35 receives a selected one of the reloading dies 40,
41, 42 or 43 shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 respectively. The die designated
by the numeral 40 is an external shell neck resizing die which has
an internal bore flaring outwardly at its lower end for receiving
the neck of a cartridge case 45 therein.
A first externally threaded sleeve 48 is threadedly received in the
upper bore portion 33 of the body 30 and holds the die 40 against
the restriction 35. The first sleeve has an outturned flange
preferably having flattened portions 49 to facilitate turning the
sleeve. A knurled internally threaded lock ring 50 on the sleeve 48
locks the sleeve in a selected axial position.
During the decapping and resizing operations the tool 10 will be
assembled approximately as shown in FIG. 1. However, crimping and
bullet seating require a different arrangement of elements as does
the use of the tool 10 for reloading large shells such as a 300
magnum.
The first sleeve 48 is internally threaded to receive the decapping
and resizing assembly 52 which includes a second externally
threaded sleeve 53 received in the first sleeve 48. The second
sleeve 53 has a cylindrical bore therethrough a portion 54 of which
is threaded to receive an externally threaded portion 55 of a stem
56. A lower end 60 of the stem 56 extends through the die 40 into
the bore 34 of the body 30. This lower end 60 has a threaded
portion 62 received in a threaded recess in a hollow expander
member 65 detachably mounted thereon. The expander 65 member has a
bore 66 extending from its lower terminal end 67 into said recess
to receive a hardened steel decapping pin 69. An enlarged head 70
on the pin 69 serves to retain the pin 69 in the bore 66 and the
lower end of the stem engages the head 69 thereby locking the pin
69 in the expander member 65.
The expander member 65 has a frustro-conical terminal end portion
to facilitate entry into the shell neck and is of relatively
standard design. It will also be appreciated that the decapping and
resizing assembly 52 is capable of being axially adjusted by virtue
of its threaded engagement in the second sleeve 53 and that a
threaded locking ring 72 retains the assembly 52 in a selected
adjusted position.
During operation, the decapping and resizing tool 10 will be
properly secured to the die holder 20 of the tool press 11 with the
lower end of the decapping tool 10 normally adjacent the lower
surface of the die holder 22. However, should the shell casing be
of the longer variety, then the tool 10 would be adjusted upwardly.
Furthermore, if an extra long shell such as a 300 magnum is to be
reloaded, there will not be sufficient adjustment since the bore 34
is only seven-eighths inch long so as to accommodate a short shell.
In this case the spacer die 43 is placed in the bore 33 before the
neck sizing die 40 the sleeve 48 and the resizing assembly 52. This
having been done, a spent cartridge case 45 is mounted in the shell
holder 20 of the tool press plunger 18 while in the lower retracted
position. Then the plunger is actuated through the use of the
actuating handle 19 to cause upward movement of the plunger and the
shell will be inserted into the recess or cavity formed by the bore
34 and the bore of the resizing die 40.
The cartridge 45 will be urged into the recess and the expander
member 65 as well as the decapping pin 69 will be inserted through
the neck of the shell causing the larger portion of the expander
member 65 to resize the neck while the pin 69 engages and removes
the spent primer cap. The actuating handle 19 is then moved in the
opposite direction and the cartridge shell retracted and removed
from the shell holder 20 after a new primer cap has been inserted
and pressed into place on the downward stroke of the press plunger.
The operation is then repeated until all cartridges have been
decapped and resized.
The charging of the shells with powder does not form part of the
present invention and thus need only be mentioned. The next steps
are those of seating the bullet and, if necessary, crimping the
neck of the shell. In order to use the tool body for bullet seating
or crimping, the assembly 52 including the second sleeve 53 and the
stem 56 is removed from the body 30. The sleeve 48 and the sizing
die 40 are also removed and if the shell is to be crimped, the
crimping die 42 is substituted therefor. On the other hand, if the
shell is not to be crimped, the die 41 is placed in the body in
place of the die 40. The first sleeve 48 is then replaced in the
body, tightened down and locked.
A bullet seating stem 80 shown in FIG. 3 having a threaded
cylindrical body 81 and a knurled top 82 is threadedly received in
the bore of the first sleeve 48. The bullet seating stem 80 is
capable of being axially adjusted and locked in a selected position
by a threaded locking ring 85. A lower end of the bullet seating
stem 80 has a substantially conical recess for receiving the end of
a bullet which is forced by the stem into the neck of the shell
during upward movement of the press plunger 18.
The advantages of a tool body which will receive various inserts
thereby making it possible to reload shells of various lengths and
calibers will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.
Through the use of the reloading tool of this invention, including
sizing die 40 an expander member 65 and either one of the dies 41
and 42 of the correct caliber, it is possible to reload any
particular type of cartridge. Furthermore, by obtaining only the
die inserts 40, 41 or 42 and an expander member 65 of a different
caliber it is possible to reload an additional cartridge size.
It will be noted that the dies of this invention are particularly
concerned with resizing the neck of the cartridge whereas some
commercially available dies do not permit neck resizing without
full length resizing of the shell. This is important since full
length resizing is not required unless the shell is used in
different guns. Furthermore, full length resizing is not advisable
more than four times for each casing whereas the neck of a casing
may be resized up to 40 times before the casing must be
discarded.
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