All things mandrels

[Dusty Stevens]

I went from .240 to .244 in .0005 inc. according to what stage of life the brass is in you may use them all. The ppc is hard to use in porter’s die. Body is too long. I told kenny but he didnt care, so you are going to have to take some length off the body to make it work fast on a ppc

 

[Ccrider]

@Dusty thanks. I will order that range. I have a Hornady bullet puller and will use it. The pins seem to be 2 inches long which may be a problem.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

@Dusty thanks. I will order that range. I have a Hornady bullet puller and will use it. The pins seem to be 2 inches long which may be a problem.

You really dont need that many pins i just got every size in that range. For $3 each i figure why not

 

[marchboom]

Comparing the Lee Collet Sizing Die with a mandrel that would increase the I.D. of the case neck, is there any difference in squeezing down the case to the desired diameter or stretching the case out to the desired diameter? Would the I.D. of the neck be more consistently round with one way over the other?

Also, when using the Lee Collet Die you're squeezing the case neck from both the inside and outside. Where does the "unevenness" of the neck go...inside or outside?

 

[Mikemci]

The brass will flow in the direction of least resistance, which will be to the end of the neck.

 

[Straightshooter1]

Comparing the Lee Collet Sizing Die with a mandrel that would increase the I.D. of the case neck, is there any difference in squeezing down the case to the desired diameter or stretching the case out to the desired diameter? Would the I.D. of the neck be more consistently round with one way over the other?

Also, when using the Lee Collet Die you're squeezing the case neck from both the inside and outside. Where does the "unevenness" of the neck go...inside or outside?

I think what you're referring to for "unevennes" is what we typically see as the offset of the I.D.'s axis to the O.D.'s axis where we measure one side the thickest and the other side the thinnest, huh? Having experimented with this and taking measurements, I found the collet die does NOT align the two axes so a difference in thickness remains . . . the I did see the difference reduces a little. Also, by the same token, just pushing a mandrel down the neck will also NOT align those two axes, but can align the I.D.'s axis with the case's axis. The only way to get the neck wall an even thickness is to turn and cut material off. When the thickness is even, then those two axes are in alignment.

As for any other "unevennes", something like a little bump or a ring (a donut), there's enough pressure from the collet fingers to actually squeeze it into the relatively soft neck wall.

 

[AJC]

I think what you're referring to for "unevennes" is what we typically see as the offset of the I.D.'s axis to the O.D.'s axis where we measure one side the thickest and the other side the thinnest, huh? Having experimented with this and taking measurements, I found the collet die does NOT align the two axes so a difference in thickness remains . . . the I did see the difference reduces a little. Also, by the same token, just pushing a mandrel down the neck will also NOT align those two axes, but can align the I.D.'s axis with the case's axis. The only way to get the neck wall an even thickness is to turn and cut material off. When the thickness is even, then those two axes are in alignment.

As for any other "unevennes", something like a little bump or a ring (a donut), there's enough pressure from the collet fingers to actually squeeze it into the relatively soft neck wall.

I would love to know if you could effectively remove donuts this way. I see posts all the time about the dreaded donut but never this as an effective way to deal with it.

 

[BenPerfected]

I would love to know if you could effectively remove donuts this way. I see posts all the time about the dreaded donut but never this as an effective way to deal with it.

I use the K&M mandrels in .005” increments after each full length sizing as part of the process to control neck tension. The expander mandrel is used & the neck thickness is remeasured and skimmed as necessary.
Ben

 

[AJC]

I use the K&M mandrels in .005” increments after each full length sizing as part of the process to control neck tension. The expander mandrel is used & the neck thickness is remeasured and skimmed as necessary.
Ben

Pushing them to the outside and cut is the method I hear most often but smashing them away in a collet die is not a claim I've seen before.

 

[butchlambert]

I think you guys need to be in your back yard watching windflags.

 

[AJC]

I think you guys need to be in your back yard watching windflags.

I got tornado warnings today, that may be an exercise in futility

 

[butchlambert]

Oh, I don't know. I've seen some very radical conditions at times.

 

[BenPerfected]

Oh, I don't know. I've seen some very radical conditions at times.

It was 30 In Dallas today. My wife has gone with a friend to the movies. P

I would love to know if you could effectively remove donuts this way. I see posts all the time about the dreaded donut but never this as an effective way to deal with it.

After today, I an convinced than my process using my K&M expander mandrels was flawed. I had my mandrel set-up way to shallow and the bullet was bumping into the “donut” and that was causing run-out. Now I understand how others can have zero issues with RO....duh
Happy New Year,
Ben

 

[butchlambert]

It was 30 In Dallas today. My wife has gone with a friend to the movies. P

After today, I an convinced than my process using my K&M expander mandrels was flawed. I had my mandrel set-up way to shallow and the bullet was bumping into the “donut” and that was causing run-out. Now I understand how others can have zero issues with RO....duh
Happy New Year,


Yeah it was 38 at 6am in the Dallas area today.
My wife didn't go to the movies. I went to the shop.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Oh, I don't know. I've seen some very radical conditions at times.

I was at the tomball crawfish one year maybe 2008 and during the first match of the afternoon agg a wind came thru at the 2:00 warning and left one windflag standing on the whole field. Arnold jewell leaned over to me and said “wonder how much that flag is going to tell everybody the rest of the day?” Having to drill all those holes in the dirt made the stands pretty loose and the tripods didnt stand a chance. Some of the tripods had sandbags suspended under them and it didnt help a bit