anyone use the hornady hydraulic die

[jayjaytuner]

slowly getting my parts together for a 6 dasher build...

read about the hornady hydraulic forming die, which forms the 40' shoulder, which gets you 90 or 95% there so no fireforming is needed??.

just wondering if anyone has one & how they like it..

 

[Dgd6mm]

johnmyers does. that is his screen name send him a PM. He may see this post and reply. He's a nice guy, and I'm sure will help you out with some info.

 

[25AI260]

have hornady make you a FL die at the same time alone with forming die

 

[johnmyers]

I have one and really like it. Forms about 95% it just doesn't make the shoulders real square. You may have to adjust your load a little on the 2nd firing. I can do 50 cases in about 45 minutes with very little mess.

 

[johnmyers]

YOU HAVE A PM

 

[queen_stick]

I use one as well, and I like it a lot.

There was one guy on here (It might have been "Rustystud"), who had case head separation issues after using a hydro die to form BRX brass. I was never able to obtain any further information about the subject, so I don't know if the hydro forming process was the root cause of that condition, which appears to be isolated at this time. I've never had this problem, and by the sounds of it, I don't believe John Myers has either.

Walt

 

[25AI260]

i've been using a set for 3yrs on an off when i needed to make new... no problems with die set
when brass get used enough i've found cracks in the necks mostly w/ hotter loads... then i found a little annealing solved that

. rustystud threads..
http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=3783583.msg36051195;topicseen#msg36051195

 

[queen_stick]

I have nothing against Nat Lambath (rustystud), but he's never responded with any more info than "I ruined a lot of brass with a hydro forming die." It's quite possible that he doesn't know why, hence the lack of a response when we asked for more detail. We do know that he doesn't have any problems with traditional fireforming, which is interesting. Maybe it's something to do with the BRX specifically?

 

[johnmyers]

I have nothing against Nat Lambath (rustystud), but he's never responded with any more info than "I ruined a lot of brass with a hydro forming die." It's quite possible that he doesn't know why, hence the lack of a response when we asked for more detail. We do know that he doesn't have any problems with traditional fireforming, which is interesting. Maybe it's something to do with the BRX specifically?

When I started I started hitting hard with 5lb lead hammer on the first blow and split 3 out the first 25. I then started hitting lighter on the 1st, a little harder on th 2nd, and hard on the 3rd blow and haven't split 1 out of the next 375. You just have to get in a rythm and it will do fine.
John

 

[CoverDog]

My results mirrored johnmyers. If you start out to heavy the neck will split. I started out light and built to full power blows in 6-8 strikes of the die. If the body/shoulder we not sharp, I would remove the cartridge and refill to the top with water. Another 3 hard blows with a dead blow hammer with a hard face does the trick. Lost 2 out of 200 6MM to 6 Dasher.

I used an old Pacific single stage press. Not something I wanted to do on my Redding T7.

Thanks again to the person who let me borrow their die, you know who you are.

 

[queen_stick]

I use a dead blow hammer as well. I used to use a larger rubber (though heavy) mallet, and that worked pretty well too.

Sounds like we're all using the same technique... the first strike is firm, but not heavy... building up to the third strike, which is a pretty good whack. I have not tried refilling the cases and forming a 2nd time to square up the shoulder.... I'll have to try that next time I need to form some cases.

The only case necks I have split, were on old 6br cases (lapua) with multiple firings on them (between 3 and 6), and they were not annealed. I believe that if I annealed the old cases they would have been fine.

Are you guys (coverdog and John) splitting brand new lapua cases? I haven't had that happen (yet), but I also haven't tried to form a case in one swing of the hammer either

 

[CoverDog]

Yes, split new blue box 6mm brass. IMO it was because I was too aggressive on the first several hits. You'll know right away when it happens. Old (new) paper gold box brass was somewhat harder to form. Re-filling the case with water and several hard hits will really sharpen up the shoulder area.

 

[25AI260]

i first started out without instructions... didn't know the case neck needed to be .264 for a seal in the die for making a .25 cal ..Dah
heres what i had...

 

[25AI260]

sent dies back Ben at Hornaday he did mine from a blue print an then straighten me out on the process

all went well... till after the 4th firings i started getting cracks in the neck area... but annealing fix most of that
so all has been well since...

 

[25AI260]

i was using .243 an .308 cases an most were fired once so i did get occasional cracks around the shoulder area blow outs..
but not with New cases so even better yet i then found brand New .260 cases which also saved me a step in forming the neck
was the answer to a final fix...

anyone thinking of getting the form die should also have the FL die made... in the event the case isn't perfect the Fl die fixes that

Oh i read some of you were using a 5lb. hammer go to a 3lb'er three sharp blows does it

 

[johnmyers]

Yes, split new blue box 6mm brass. IMO it was because I was too aggressive on the first several hits. You'll know right away when it happens. Old (new) paper gold box brass was somewhat harder to form. Re-filling the case with water and several hard hits will really sharpen up the shoulder area.

Same here

 

[queen_stick]

interesting stuff guys.

25AI260 - looks like you had a hell of time getting it right! That brass looks nasty! I believe most people would have given up, and simply claimed that the hyrdo dies are useless! Although I haven't done it personally, I believe annealing after forming is a pretty darn good idea. Followed up with annealing after each firing. Annealing after each firing seems to be a trend as of late, with these nifty annealing machines coming to market. That combined with a hydro die, you can have 95% formed brass that's freshly annealed, before ever firing a shot. (that's great for barrel life, component costs, and etc.).

 

[25AI260]

basically it was just getting started... Lonne was on vacation up there at the time an all the info i fed to Ben guess he thought i knew Watt i was do'n... Lol's
green to the whole thing an not being a giver'upper was why i went threw so many cases... when i called he said 'Oh no-no'.. i'l fix it for ya' :-[
it really is easy once you get the hang of it... one tip i found for first timers is to dry the inside of the die a little each time i used its punch an a patch doesn't have to be perfectly dry but make for a neeter case
the neck cracks well thats another thing not the die fault.... annealing i would suggest thou....