FREECHEX II

There are several steps in making a gas check. With the tool disassembled place the

metal stock in the slot of the anvil as far as it will go. Place the cutter/guide in the anvil

against the stock. Now make sure the material stock is still in the slot as far as it will go

then give the cutter a rap. It doesn’t take a heavy blow to cut the stock and you will

decide quickly how hard to strike the guide cutter just enough to cut the stock and not

damage the tool. Some tools use a o ring to limit the travel and absorb excess shock

(45’s ) At this point I personally back out the cutter guide 1/4 inch and remove the

material from the slot. This is just a habit I formed in making hundreds of test checks. I

also noticed there was less tendency to jam with the stock removed and that my hands are

well away from all the sharp remnants. Aluminum is easy to cut, copper, and brass are in

that order are increasingly difficult to cut.

An inexpensive arbor press is ideal using this tool, but it is a shop or garage tool.

The cutout disk should be flat at the bottom of the anvil well. To do this, use the mandrel

by inserting it in the guide/cutter to nudge the disk to the shoulder before tapping out the

check on a hard flat surface. I use several taps with a leather mallet. I have placed this

system in my Lyman 45 without a top punch to swage the gas check successfully only to

test feasibility. With small calibers a push of the anvil with the system upside down

generally will make a good check. If the base needs a crisper edge then forming the

check on a harder surface is necessary when the mandrel impacts check blank and the

backing material surface. Then some tools may need to be

tilted and the central ram

(mandrel) tapped again to eject the check as some form the check more closely to the

bottom a design tradeoff. Some calibers like the 357 will pass all the way through the

anvil.

All moulds are a little different in the gas check recess dimension at the base or shank of

the bullet casting. Personally I have never understood how or even if the bullet sizing die

seats the gas check. Hornady did come out with their ridged checks which seems more

feasible. If the check doesn’t fit on flat when placed on the bullet shank and when it is

placed in the sizing die it seems it will never do anything but bend or deform in the die.

More often than not these checks sit a little loose on the bullet base due to the

thinner

(.004 soda cans ) material. However, some checks like for the .311, 357 or .375 only

will form good check with two layers of material. The gas checks come out looking like

little coke bottle caps. Aluminum material does this, brass, and copper to a lesser degree.

A SPECK OF BULLET LUBE ON THE BASE OF THE BULLET really helps solve the

looseness issue as well as causing the check to adhere to the bullet base. Generally with

all the bullet lube that I usually have to wipe off the bullet base I think it might be best to

just put the gas check on the base after sizing without wiping the base clean. The base

will be clean, and the check will glue itself on.

Thin soft material tends to tear as you try to remove the waste from the slot, so just think

about cutting aluminum foil and how it might foul anything. YOU MUST keep your

body parts away from the thin sharp waste as you twist to remove the guide tube from the

anvil. Some users cut narrow strips, other small squares and place them in the slot. With

thick material I work around the edges of a 4 x 6 inch rectangle, holding onto the base

metal in one hand away from the sharp used side and I twist free the guide tube fairly

easily. I then cut off the side with the holes in it and start again. Remember,

single

layer material only of maximum thickness .011 inches

.

For the 50 cal’s .022” is the maximum.

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