OP
Are you reloading over carpet? If so does static electricity strike every now and then?
Ever Set-off Primers on the Loading Bench?
- Thread starter TheTexasRAT
- Start date
p345Fan
Single-Sixer
I was. It was in my small apartment. I had my reloading bench in the kitchen on the vinyl, but somehow one made it onto the carpet in the living room.
GasGuzzler
Hawkeye
No
coachk64
Single-Sixer
I reload in the basement, which is carpeted, and this same thing happened once to my wife. Blew out the side of the bag and made a huge mess. Guess who vacuums the basement now?
What is it that sets a primer off in a vacuum bag? I’d never heard this before.
coachk64
Single-Sixer
Couldn't tell you what set off the primer, but I know exactly what set my wife off. And frankly, she was louder and scarier than the primer was.
Could have been anything, since we had kids playing in the basement constantly there were a lot of little things that got vacuumed up like match car parts, bb's, any number of things that might have hit the primer just right.
Never had any issue with static electricity, and most of the reloading was done in the work room, which wasn't carpeted. But if I was priming a lot of cases I might load up my Lee Auto Prime and wander around the basement while I was working the lever. Really just always assumed it was a primer, as there shouldn't have been anything else in the basement that could have blown up like that.
Could have been anything, since we had kids playing in the basement constantly there were a lot of little things that got vacuumed up like match car parts, bb's, any number of things that might have hit the primer just right.
Never had any issue with static electricity, and most of the reloading was done in the work room, which wasn't carpeted. But if I was priming a lot of cases I might load up my Lee Auto Prime and wander around the basement while I was working the lever. Really just always assumed it was a primer, as there shouldn't have been anything else in the basement that could have blown up like that.
Yeah. That particular portion of the old LEE Loader sequence was the reason I went to the fixed decapping setup. ;)
OMBlackhawk
Bearcat
Detonated a full primer tube on a Dillon 650 which is 100 primers. That was a near religious experience. Fortunately niether my underwear nor person were damaged. Dillon makes great equipment.
Never run low on ammo before match day
Never force a Dillon 650, stop and find the problem
Patience is not only a virtue its a necessity when reloading.
Never run low on ammo before match day
Never force a Dillon 650, stop and find the problem
Patience is not only a virtue its a necessity when reloading.
Good example for safety equipment, indeed. But, yes, I have set off primers while reloading. Two with a Lee Loader, hammer swing. One on a press, the primer was cockeyed. I almost forgot! I set off primers while using a hand held primer seater. Over fifty primers were in it. Tore up the plastic lid, and peppered my ceiling with holes. Thank God the design forced me to hold it away from my face. That was about forty years ago, the last time I ever used one of those. Decided against a tube at that time as well.
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Other primers should, also, be used with caution. In my other posting with the hand held primer seater they were not Federal, but probably CCI, the harder primer.
I do
I don't cast on the same bench where I reload.
I had one go off while seating it with a Lee hand priming tool. No, I was not squeezing hard, and had hardly felt contact with it.
Blew the plastic top cover off the tool, and part of the tray disappeared. This was in the garage, and I never did find the top cover.
I’ve accidentally mashed primers that flipped sideways and have seen where other people have absolutely mangled them, and this one that was hardly touched is the one that went. The only one in 44 years of loading.
Blew the plastic top cover off the tool, and part of the tray disappeared. This was in the garage, and I never did find the top cover.
I’ve accidentally mashed primers that flipped sideways and have seen where other people have absolutely mangled them, and this one that was hardly touched is the one that went. The only one in 44 years of loading.
Nope. Not yet -knock on wood
GasGuzzler
Hawkeye
Anyone that has read Richard Lee's book on reloading knows to stay away from carpet and vacuum cleaners.
not even in the same room
Never had one detonate while installing or removing live primers. But as a side note, a guy at the range got in a bit of trouble selling range brass to a local recycler. Seems he didn't cull it for live rounds. Apparently they crush the brass, and scares the hell out of workers when one goes off, not to mention how dangerous it can be!!
I had the same thing happen about that same time. Can't remember if it was my .222 or .357 Lee Loader. In my case, the rod also it the ceiling. I got a Lee priming tool soon after that.
Dillonfriend
Bearcat
Based on customers experiences, most primer ignitions occured while attempting to seat a primer in a case with a crimped primer pocket. In all instances the handle was forced forward with significantly greater force than it usually required to seat a primer. But people get impatient.
BTW, oil and solvent will not "kill" a primer. The best we found was WD40 would, after about 48 hours, desensitize a primer so it would ignite under impact. But after a month or so, the WD40 would evaporate enough and the primers would be "alive" again.
BTW #2, the 650 priming system was changed on the 750 because of the inconvenience of changing primer sizes on the 650. On the 650 you have to unscrew the primer seating assembly from the underside of the platform, then disassemble the primer feed to swap out the primer disc. Like the 550, you just remove either two thumbscrews or two bolts, swap the primer slide assembly then swap the magazine tube.
BTW, oil and solvent will not "kill" a primer. The best we found was WD40 would, after about 48 hours, desensitize a primer so it would ignite under impact. But after a month or so, the WD40 would evaporate enough and the primers would be "alive" again.
BTW #2, the 650 priming system was changed on the 750 because of the inconvenience of changing primer sizes on the 650. On the 650 you have to unscrew the primer seating assembly from the underside of the platform, then disassemble the primer feed to swap out the primer disc. Like the 550, you just remove either two thumbscrews or two bolts, swap the primer slide assembly then swap the magazine tube.
OP
Speer mentions not to load over carpet also.
I never could bring myself to seat a primer with that setup. So I got the priming system from Derraco asap.
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Someone asked me to post about the time a bunch of primers detonated on my reloading bench.
Here my OP from 2014:
It was in the 70's while using an RCBS primer tube for their Rock Chucker press. I dumped out a mess of primers into the tray. The tube had a small clip at the end and you'd place the tube over the primer and gently "pinch" the primer into the tube one at a time until it was full. BOOM! It sounded like a Cherry Bomb going off. I remember looking to see if I still had all my fingers. My face was bleeding and my glasses were pretty well shot, no pun intended. All the primers that were exposed in the area detonated, not just the ones in the tube.
The primer tube and tray were, of course, ruined and the tube was stuck in the ceiling. I don't recall everything that got ruined that was on the bench, but it was a fair amount. I called RCBS to ask them what happened and got the runaround big time. My guess is a "lot" of primers with high anvils and a *not so safe* way of loading them into the primer tube.
Here's another post about the same incident. From 2020:
I think I'd be more concerned if there had been 30k primers stacked together than I would be for 80 #'s of smokeless powder. I had about 50+ primers explode on my bench in the 70's and to say that I'm lucky to have only ruined my Rx glasses is an understatement. My face looked like I'd been hunting with Dick Cheney. It was probably as loud as an old 60's cherry bomb.
I can't imagine what 1k would do...30k? :shock:
I can't stress enough to respect primers! Luckily when I dump 50 primers into the tray to flip them I always close the small square box I dumped them out of. If I hadn't have done that they would have detonated, too! :oops:
Wear safety glasses when reloading!
Here my OP from 2014:
It was in the 70's while using an RCBS primer tube for their Rock Chucker press. I dumped out a mess of primers into the tray. The tube had a small clip at the end and you'd place the tube over the primer and gently "pinch" the primer into the tube one at a time until it was full. BOOM! It sounded like a Cherry Bomb going off. I remember looking to see if I still had all my fingers. My face was bleeding and my glasses were pretty well shot, no pun intended. All the primers that were exposed in the area detonated, not just the ones in the tube.
The primer tube and tray were, of course, ruined and the tube was stuck in the ceiling. I don't recall everything that got ruined that was on the bench, but it was a fair amount. I called RCBS to ask them what happened and got the runaround big time. My guess is a "lot" of primers with high anvils and a *not so safe* way of loading them into the primer tube.
Here's another post about the same incident. From 2020:
I think I'd be more concerned if there had been 30k primers stacked together than I would be for 80 #'s of smokeless powder. I had about 50+ primers explode on my bench in the 70's and to say that I'm lucky to have only ruined my Rx glasses is an understatement. My face looked like I'd been hunting with Dick Cheney. It was probably as loud as an old 60's cherry bomb.
I can't imagine what 1k would do...30k? :shock:
I can't stress enough to respect primers! Luckily when I dump 50 primers into the tray to flip them I always close the small square box I dumped them out of. If I hadn't have done that they would have detonated, too! :oops:
Wear safety glasses when reloading!
OP
I'm curious do you still use a primer tube or do you handle one primer at a time now a days?
john4st
Bearcat
So a long time ago, I read the warning Mr. Lee wrote about primer tubes. I still use the RCBS Piggyback press I bought new back in the 80's matter of fact I have two and spare parts. I'm always a little jumpy using it but power through. After Cholo's comment I may rethink my procedures.
OP
Call me a sissy, but I would think that it couldn't hurt to add a second brass, copper or aluminum tube over the priming tube as a blast shield. And always clean the primer tube after each use with a long cotton swab, or a piece of cotton attached to a toothpick with a length of thread to use like a bore snake, soaked in alcohol. And for sure do not prime over carpet. Maybe go so far as to bypass safety glasses and rather opt for a face shield plus some sort of static proof gloves to protect them fingers. Could even consider some sort of long sleeve vest. Perhaps even a tinfoil hate to boot with ear flaps and all should be well! At least that is where I'm leaning towards. That or chunk the primer tubes and keep feeding them one at a time as I have thus far.
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Cal30 1906
Single-Sixer
I've handled probably close to 100k of primers and never had one go off while reloadingand only 3 I can remember never going off in one of my reloads.
OP
As contender mentioned priming incidents are rare but do happen. Hence just about every Reloading Manual will give precaution for their safe handling. And it's always good to be cautious when handling these little explosives.
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