AEROSOL TEFLON

I called Hornady on Monday to order a replacement powder rotor. The conversation went something like this:

thorn: Hi Karen. A screw in the rotor was too tight, and by the time I removed it I'd stripped the hole. I need to order a new rotor and some screws.

Karen: Ok, let me start with your address.

thorn: Blah blah blah Cincinnati, Ohio.

Karen: I'll ship it today. Need anything else?

No charge, even for shipping. This is how a company creates a customer for life.

The parts arrived on Friday afternoon, and today I degreased the powder funnel system and installed everything into place. Observant readers will notice a few things are missing in the photo... for example, dies and a shellplate. I'll be ordering them sometime in the next week or so, and should actually be making ammunition within a couple of weeks.

Oh, as to the title...

If you should ever find yourself lubricating steel parts with aerosol teflon drylube - read the can. It probably says "shake well". Be sure you do this. And while spraying: if you start to see the spray take on the appearance of white foam, stop spraying and shake the can for a minute. The foam is NOT your friend.

Should you forget this quality advice, be aware that the parts will be coated in solidified white gunk. Brake cleaner will not remove this substance. Scrub with a towel and rubbing alcohol.

Dried teflon foam is a very bad thing.

LOCK-N-LOAD, DAY 1

Saturday morning arrived, and I was anxious to get the new press off the top of the filing cabinet and mounted. The first problem was where to mount it; I had absolutely no flat surface suitable for such a purpose... nor a basement or spare closet to add a table. One might think I would have solved that particular problem before buying a press, but no.

Finally, inspiration struck. I decided to place a board on top of a counter hutch, and keep it in place with weights instead of clamps. I headed off to the hardware store and purchased a large sheet of 3/4" MDF along with various bolts and a couple of large drill bits, cans of brake cleaner and drylube to prep the components.

Several things I learned in the first few minutes:

- It helps to have someone hold the press while you're putting in the bolts.
- 7/16 Wrenches don't fit on the heads of 7/16 bolts.
- Holes drilled in MDF are much cleaner when the drill speed is fast instead of slow.
- Reading the directions 3 times beats taking the bolts out twice.
- You can indeed use too many washers.

I was a bit worried that the press would be too heavy for the counter-weight i was relying on, but it worked out well. Feeling victorious, I turned my attention to the powder measure assembly.

Hornady ships the parts coated in grease/oil to protect from rust, and the manual instructs the user to clean it off before use. The manual could be a bit more descriptive, but after a couple of minutes the method to disassemble was clear.

- Remove powder measure - check.
- Remove hex bolt #1 from rotor with included wrench - check.
- Remove hex bolt #2... remove hex bolt #2... why won't the damned bolt turn...?

The bolt was stuck. And by stuck, I don't mean difficult to turn. It was stuck to the degree that the wrench was nearly stripping the hex hole without turning. After 20 mins and nearly ripping the skin from my palm, I gave up. It would have to be exchanged for a replacement part. I put the other pieces back in. Hex #1 didn't quite fit in the hole anymore, and in my annoyance i just turned it hard a couple of times and went on about my evening.

This morning, a bit of inspiration struck. I grabbed a small hammer and tapped the bar that hex #2 was holding. It rotated just a bit, and as a result the bolt began turning freely. With amazement and glee, I put the wrench in hex #1 and ... oh, great. Hex #1 had gone in the hole diagonally the night before, and the hole was stripped at the crown and no longer straight. It's now unusable. I need another powder rotor and 2-3 hex screws.

So in the end of all this, ordering a new part is more due to my breaking it that the part being defective from the factory. I'm told Hornady's customer service and warranty is outstanding, so tomorrow at 9am I'll find out how forgiving they are in such matters.

GOODBYE, WINCHESTER WHITE BOX.

Dear WWB,

When our association began some 2-3 years ago, I found you to be a somewhat acceptable candidate for the position of "target practice ammo". Though you arrived crudely packaged in an unimpressive box, your regular availability combined with affordable pricing nonetheless gained my respect.

Unfortunately, your performance has become less satisfactory with each passing month.

Your hygienic practices have always been undesirable, ranging from unclean to completely filthy. While many of your peers occasionally share a similar problem, they nonetheless have generally offered something you can only deliver in brief spurts:

Accuracy.

Certainly, there were times in the early days in which I cursed myself or the gun for the poor results on the target. But over time, I have realized that although I and the Walther are not always in sync - you are never in sync with yourself from month-to-month.

When combined with your recent demands for a 30% salary increase, I find that our relationship must come to an end. Please clean out your desk immediately; your replacement will be starting this weekend.

Regards,

thorn