DIFFERENCE BETWEEN #18 & #18T

[askimball (Doc)]

Dumb question,
But, is there a quick/evident visual check to tell the difference between the #18 Roll Crimp Die and the #18T Taper Crimp Die..

And another question,  
Is there a drawing/template that shows the Die layout on the Head..

Just a though for any newbies........

[fc60]

Greetings,

All the Star Dies I have encountered have the following characteristics...

The #18 has always had a Roll Crimp and the top of the die is threaded for a seating punch.

The #18T generally is about 2.0" long and has no threaded hole at the top. Often it is the bullet diameter clearance all the way through.

I have deviated from the above by machining a Roll Crimp die with no threads for the seating stem. I try to mark the end of the die to distinguish this variation.

In the past, if I wanted to roll crimp in the last station, I would order a spare #18 die from Star. 

By the way, the #18T style dies are easier to clean than the #18 dies. I just run a Bore Snake © through the die once and a while.

Cheers,

Dave