I took the plunge and started ordering reloading gear. Never done this before, but I've received a lot of good advice from this forum. A Forster Co-Ax is on its way, as well as bullets and primers. I already have the brass. Can't find H4350 online, but I think it is available within an hour's drive. The big debate is which dies I want to use. I'm willing to pay for the Redding Type S match dies, but there seems to be an added level of complexity versus some other die sets. I'm a beginner, so I'd rather perfect the basics before complicating things more than is necessary. At the same time, I don't buy cheap tools. What top-quality dies would you guys recommend for a beginner?
Started purchasing reloading gear
- Thread starter clunker
- Start date
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Whidden
Do what all of the experienced reloaders on this forum have done, start with the most basic equipment, Redding, Lyman, etc. dies, beam balance scales, single stage press, etc. Read and study the instructions that come with these items. You are learning arithmetic, you do not need to jump to algebra or calculus before you get the fundamentals of arithmetic.
R.Morehouse
Gold $$ Contributor
Whidden does all the finish work and the die comes ready to go......The "Click Adjustable" option mentioned earlier is a nice upgrade they offer for their sizer dies. They are nice people to deal with and have good customer service if there is a problem or you have any questions.......
Regards
Rick
dgeesaman
Gold $$ Contributor
Whidden or Harrells dies. Harrells doesn’t make dies for all cartridges, but they stock more than one variant for each cartridge and will provide the best fit to your brass.
Whidden may be willing to provide a “standard” die and swap for a custom if your chamber is not a great fit.
There are a number of excellent gunsmiths all over the country who make custom dies. I wouldn’t count out that option.
Whidden may be willing to provide a “standard” die and swap for a custom if your chamber is not a great fit.
There are a number of excellent gunsmiths all over the country who make custom dies. I wouldn’t count out that option.
I believe you can buy directly from John Whidden on his site.
there is nothing wrong with the redding dies. I have some whidden and they are good, not sure if they are better. different is more correct.
Didn't want to wait and lose the last set of Whiddens, so I ordered them. I found H4350 at the place I was thinking would have it, but $33 is more than I thought it should cost.
You are correct. I completed calculus II in college, so I'm not too worried about the math. However, I am totally new to reloading, so I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible. At this point I have spent all I am going to spend on tools and materials (for now), so hopefully I have everything I need. I'm hoping to grab a broken balance from the lab where I work and repair it (otherwise it's going in the garbage). It's accurate down to 0.1mg. I already have one that is accurate to 0.01g, but why not opt for the one that costs $3,500 to replace and is 100x more precise. If anyone on this forum is an experienced reloader within an hour drive of Pullman, Washington who wants to train a rookie, I would love to hear from you.
You are correct. I completed calculus II in college, so I'm not too worried about the math. However, I am totally new to reloading, so I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible. At this point I have spent all I am going to spend on tools and materials (for now), so hopefully I have everything I need. I'm hoping to grab a broken balance from the lab where I work and repair it (otherwise it's going in the garbage). It's accurate down to 0.1mg. I already have one that is accurate to 0.01g, but why not opt for the one that costs $3,500 to replace and is 100x more precise. If anyone on this forum is an experienced reloader within an hour drive of Pullman, Washington who wants to train a rookie, I would love to hear from you.
Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
If your question isn't facetious, the reason not to spend $3500 on an analytical balance is simple...you won't be able to shoot the difference. In fact, I own and use a very high end Mettler-Toledo balance that has two weight ranges, one with readability to 0.1mg and a maximum load of 200g, the other with readability to 0.01mg and 40g load limit. I was very lucky to get it for free, otherwise I wouldn't be using such a balance. I use the 0.1mg/200g setting when weighing powder. If you estimate the effect of +/- 0.1mg on velocity for charge weights in the 20gr to 40gr range (or higher), it is negligble. We're talking about a small fraction of one foot per second velocity. The average chronograph can't even come close to measuring velocity changes that small, and you certainly can't shoot the difference. It's simply never going to be the limiting source of error in your load ES/SD values. If I ever have to buy a comparable replacement, I will most likely go with the Sartorius Entris 64, which has comparable tolerances and features, but costs thousands less.
A single kernel of Varget has an average weight of ~1.4mg, so a balance with readability of 0.1mg and accuracy in the ~0.2mg range is more than adequate. If you try using the more sensitive range (i.e. 0.01mg), the balance readings will be jumping all over the place from air currents, or your body movements, unless you're also willing to purchase an expensive vibration-dampening table to put it on, along with replacement nitrogen cylinders in order to use the table. It's simply not worth it for a difference in powder weight measurement you can't even shoot.
There' nothing wrong with buying top reloading gear if you can afford it. However, as noted above, you'll be much better off buying good quality basics that will allow you to get started, then possibly adding high-dollar items later when your experience and/or need warrants it. There's also a far better chance with that approach that you'll be making more informed purchases down the road, and not spending money on something that might seem like a good purchase initially, but that you later find really wasn't worth the money you spent on it.
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Sorry if my post was confusing. One of those balances is accurate in grams and the other is in milligrams. If a single kernel of Varget is 1.4mg, then my current scale would only be accurate to about 7 kernels. The balance I hope to repair is accurate to 0.07 kernels. Overkill, yes. But better than being off by a few kernels. When the lab furnace turns on, you can't get anything more accurate than 100mg, but I have a lot more control in my house. If the balance wasn't free, I wouldn't even consider it.
Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
It sounds like you should be GTG if you can get the more accurate balance working. 7 kernels of Varget is approximately 0.15gr, which would certainly work, but I agree with you that a little better resolution would be an improvement. Hopefully, it won't be too difficult to get it repaired. Good luck.
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