How is a crimp made?

[izzy]

Was busy removing crimps from 5.56 brass last night and got to wondering how they make them. Google has a million results about how to remove them but nothing really about how it's put there in the first place. Anyone know how this is done? I'd love to see a video.

[00tec]

It's gonna be a die that is pressed around the primer pocket after the case is primed. Not gonna be feasible for a hobby reloader.

[izzy]

I don't want to do it lol
Really just curious how it's made.

[beast556]

Just a guess, I'm thinking it is done at the same time the head stamp gets put on. I have watche a bunch of factory tours and how its make type videos and I don't ever recall them specifically pointing out when the staking is done.

[izzy]

The staking makes more sense. I'm talking about the thin little ring.

Since I've already gotten a few texts about it I want to be clear that I'm not trying to do this myself.

[Hoser]

A small punch just slightly larger than the OD of the primer is pressed against the base of the case after it is primed. The pressure moved the brass around the primer holding it in place and making reloaders miserable everywhere.

The nicest thing about the Dillon 1050 is that it swages out any crimp as part of the reloading process so you dont have to worry about it.

[FoxtArt]

Never thought about it before. Thanks for the insight Hoster.

PS: There's also a Hornady swager for those poor folk that use a Lock & Load AP. It requires an extra step so still inferior to the dillon. I used to just deburr it like I'm sure many others do here. Once upon a time I used to dip a spent 22 casing into nail polish and sealed my primers. The casings were the "right size". Why on earth, IDK, all that was shot shortly after it was loaded, just more crap to clean.

[izzy]

A small punch just slightly larger than the OD of the primer is pressed against the base of the case after it is primed. The pressure moved the brass around the primer holding it in place and making reloaders miserable everywhere.

The nicest thing about the Dillon 1050 is that it swages out any crimp as part of the reloading process so you dont have to worry about it.

Thank you! They are a pain which is why after a few thousand of them I started to wonder how they were made. I couldn't stop my brain from thinking there was an actual ring around the primer that went all the way down into the pocket.

[gta_spec]

Yeah, many companies make a stand alone swager. With springs and rubber bands, the Dillon 600 can made to be self ejecting and fairly fast to use. There are many YouTube videos on it.

[Irving]

You don't make a crimp, you are born a crimp. Represent!