Hulme feeding problem/38 supercomp

[rangedog]

I'm having some difficulty getting my Hulme to feed reliably, about 1 in every 30 or so cases hangs up....it will come out base first parallel to the shell plate(ie turned 90 degrees from the upright)...or...will just tip enough in the Hulme to hang up, tipping say 25 degrees back/away from the press and locking up the Hulme bolt.
The top plate is M3 and oriented correctly for 38 super.
The Hulme is spotless and I can't find any burrs etc.
I can repeat the jam even with the Hulme off the Star and activating it by hand, but I can't work out why it's happening.

Any advice gratefully received !!

[rbwillnj]

You might try adjusting the actuator cam so that it forces the piston back a little further so the case reps cleanly and doesn't catch the edge of the piston.  Also try adjusting your cadence.   I find that if I wait for a split second before raising the handle I get fewer feeding problems.  I think it allows the case to come to rest, held down by the case above before the piston pushes it forward.

[rangedog]

Thanks Bruce,
Piston is going all the way back, I've tried the cam in 4/5 different positions.

Should the Hulme top plate sit loosely on the locating pins, or should the pins be slightly angled to seat the top plate with some tension?

My top plate has been held in place with tension from the pins, but I'm wondering if it sat free on the pins would it be less inclined to "tip" a case ie if the plate moved up freely on the pins if hit by a case rather than being immovable, .... is that part of the design?
I've just adjusted the pins so the plate now moves freely, but havn't tried it on the Star yet...
I'm playing with the Hulme(as I sit on the lounge watching the Rugby World Cup-Go the WALLABIES!!!) and I've noticed one of the pins has a slight burr at the bottom which creates a slight gap between the top plate and the Hulme body of about 12 thou, not likely the problem I wouldn't think but I'll sort that in the morning.

[rbwillnj]

The last 38 Super Comp that I loaded was the 100 rounds I loaded on your machine  .   I just don't recall if I had the problem you mention, but if I did, I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought because in my experience, its pretty common.   Maybe others can weigh in on the topic. 

I load a lot of 45 ACP and 38 Special.  I do have that problem if I try to go too fast, thus my earlier comment about cadence.  If I raise the handle rather than letting it pop up with the spring I tend to have fewer problems.

[Steve Doering]

You might want to check the length of your cases.  I had this problem feeding some .45 ACP cases that would hang up enough on the bottom of the feed plate to tip them backwards causing the base of the case to tip up in the manner you described.  If your case length is all right, you might need to mill a little off the bottom of the feed plate to fix the problem.  Good Luck

[tony barone]

Rangedog I assume you have the flat part of the top plate facing the Star loader. I have approx .035 between the top of a case to the bottom of the top plate. I have about a 1 in 1000 missfeed with .38 supercomp. Eliminate that .012 as that could be the problem. The one missfeed I have had is as you describe. My cases are trimmed to .895 as I have had cases stretch to .907 that stopped the gun. I also under size the cases with a U-Die on another machine and that will grow the cases.

[rangedog]

Thanks Tony,

Cases are new, I just miked them and they came in at .895 and the top plate I have the flat section facing the press.
Gap between top of case and bottom of top plate is about .020 so less than yours, so I'll keep that in mind if I can't sort it.

Do you have your top plate riding freely on the Hulme body pins or is it firmly in place once on the pins?

Many thanks

[Rolling Stone]

Rangedog,

I don't load 38 supercomp but I do have a few Stars doing different duties. The only one I have had a problem with is a "progressive" set up for 9mm. I have put a .010 shim between the Hulme and the top plate to raise it up that much. All my top plates are snug on the locating pins. I did have this problem for a while with a case kicker I had, that put pressure on the case and caused it to tip going into the shellplate and mess up the feeding. I was able to isolate this problem and change to another variation of kicker and solve the problem. There is also some adjustment possible in the mounting hole where the Hulme attaches to the base and possibly the groove in the shell is not exactly even with the ridge in the shellplate. A little adj. here makes a big difference. The feeder could have gotten bumped in shipping. Another thing I did was to readjust the holddown nut for the plate after the shellplate was full of cases, loosen just a tad. Good luck in finding the answer.
Rolling Stone

[tony barone]

Rangedog my top plate is snug on the pins. I don't know if this matters but my MA System feed tube inside diameter is .520.
                                                                         

[rangedog]

Thanks fellas, some helpful info there for me to try, much appreciated. 

[rangedog]

Feeding problems solved.
Thought I'd post this in case anyone else has a similar problem at any time, it may help....
It seemed to me after much thought that the case on exiting the feed tube and entering the Hulme feeder could make that transfer at many different/inconsistent angles, as the size of the case vs the much larger size of the entry hole in the top plate allows this.
So, I put a plastic sleeve about 2" long in the bottom of the feeder tube, it goes down through the top plate as well and sits almost flush with the bottom of the top plate.The internal diameter of the sleeve is 5 thou greater than the 38 super case diameter.
So, the cases are delivered very consistently to the Hulme through the sleeve at a perfectly upright position and in the same spot every time.
Result-without the sleeve I was getting a feeding jam every 20 or so rounds.
Immediately after I put the sleeve in I loaded 300 rounds , didn't get a single jam...  

[angus6]

Great to hear, now to remember who the supplier of tube in 1/16" increments was for future needs