PMA Micro Die Adjuster

Guys & Gals,
I've seen the PMA Micro Die Adjuster advertised here and there. It obviously replaces the lock ring used to set a die and allows for a .0001 adjustment (which I don't believe is possible and is a sales gimmick). But a .01 adjustment is more likely to be an accurate possibility. Having said that, I'm looking for opinions as to it's value in having this device OR is this just another cutsie unnecessary expense/device to add to the drawer of useless stuff we tend to collect throughout the years of chasing ultimate accuracy. Any thoughts would be appreciated. And NO, I'm not knocking products made by PMA of which I own a few. Thx!

Alex

 

I have a few and find them very user friendly. Easy to make minor adjustments.

Rich

 

The JLC insert does that very thing, with finer adjustments.

 

The Sinclair spacers also look handy - I believe they come in .001 increments up to .005"?

 

The pma adjuster works just like they say it does and is very simple to use and adjust. I use jlc inserts as well and as nice as they are youre still hobbled by a click where with the pma you can go between what would be clicks. And you can use them on any press with any die. Even though you dont need .0001 adjustment and cant nearly repeat that it will do it and stay where you put it. What i mean is you can move your die .0001 measuring it but you know you couldnt see that on your brass

 

This is a video that I made a while back that shows how it works.

If you watch it, you will see that splitting a thousandth is pretty easy.

 

I've been using pats lock ring for some time now and find it to be very easy to adjust to within .0005 on a single piece of brass.

Very quick to do as well.. One thing I have found is that if you still need that half thou adjustment I will run the brass once more at the same setting before i make that .0005 adjustment and 50 percent of the time that does the trick.

The marked increments are in .001 scale so if you go half way in between there's your half thou.

With respect to using shims that require you to completely remove the die , that gets old rather quickly after having used the adjustable lock ring lol.

 

The slickest device on the market for it's purpose.

 

I have four of these rings and all i can say is that it works and it is repeatable. I bump my brass .0005"-.001" and this die lock ring will do it without issue. But your procedure for bumping brass needs to be consistent. If it's not, you won't have a repeatable shoulder bump. For example, I anneal my brass after using an US cleaner and then I use Hornady One Shot which I feel provides more consistent coverage. My dies are also cut to my chamber.

 

i use the pma adjusters and they work fine. I wish he made one for my Mrs. attitude.

 

I agree with all of the above comments. The PMA adjuster is a great tool! I hope they make a version that will work with my Forster Co-Ax press.

 

+1

 

Not much of a market there and since you cant lock a die down it would be pretty tuff. You can use die shims on top of your locking ring as a quick alternative

 

That would be quite a challenge! Is there even any room to add shims?

 

On my coax you could probably add .015 according to which lock ring was used

 

... Food for thought.. If someone came out with a press that was tapped 7/8"x36 pitch and there were die mfg's who did the same this would certainly help with crude adjustments.

 

I size brass for four different 6.5x47 rifles which were chambered with 3 different reamers, with a single die, set in the PMA adjuster and the only thing bad that I have to say is that I should have bought one sooner. Adjusting it is very quick and repeatable to well under .001".

 

I have three cant live without mine I need three more

 

Folks,
Thx to all for their input. It is apparent that this tool is a popular and more widely used than I thought. Gonna have to give it a try. Thx again!

Alex

 

You'll like it.