Case neck okay?

[leclairk]

Whidden sent me out a new die. Ran a piece of brass and now it’s shaving off a layer of brass from the neck. WTF! I ran a piece of Hornady brass and a piece of ADG brass. I don’t understand. What am I doing wrong?? I have a Whidden 300PRC die, ADG brass, I follow the same process and the 300PRC brass works great.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

That looks even more awful than the first! Id send them some brass and see what they think then. Do you have a borescope and looked inside?

 

[Benchrest Braxton]

wow, i have heard mixed things on whidden dies, this is just nuts!

like, how is this even possible!!

 

[joshb]

Is it a standard die or is it some custom die for a certain neck dimension you ordered?
From your previous post:
Case neck at base and top before sizing .294”
Case neck at top after FL sizing 0.282”
Case neck at base after FL sizing 0.292”
Case neck at top after mandrel 0.288”
Case neck at base after mandrel 0.292”

Your brass is being sized down .012? That pressure alone will push your shoulder back .002. Why are you sizing it so small?
Then you put a mandrel in and open it up to .288? That’s.006 movement back. Why?

 

[leclairk]

Is it a standard die or is it some custom die for a certain neck dimension you ordered?
From your previous post:
Case neck at base and top before sizing .294”
Case neck at top after FL sizing 0.282”
Case neck at base after FL sizing 0.292”
Case neck at top after mandrel 0.288”
Case neck at base after mandrel 0.292”

Your brass is being sized down .012? That pressure alone will push your shoulder back .002. Why are you sizing it so small?
Then you put a mandrel in and open it up to .288? That’s.006 movement back. Why?

I’m just trying to size the damn brass! I figured that I buy a Whidden die and it would size the way it should be sized. I’m not trying to outsmart the system. If it’s sizing way more than it should that’s on Whidden. I pulled the sizing ball and started using the mandrel because it was recommended. Now I have this issue with the neck being shaved off. I’m totally confused about what the hell is going on. Even when I eliminate the mandrel everything is still screwed up. I emailed Whidden the latest picture to see what they have to say. Now I ordered a Forster FL die to use in the Forster press and if that doesn’t work then I can deal with Forster. Again, I have sized other brass with this same equipment and haven’t had this problem. I’m so confused.

 

[Tesoro]

Call L.E Wilson and give 'em your visa card info.

 

[JFrank]

Get a bushing die with a couple bushings .002-.003 under a loaded round and be done with pulling out your hair.

 

[leclairk]

For now I’ve got a Forster die that will be here tomorrow.

 

[leclairk]

I talked to John Whidden on the phone. He’s as stumped as me. Really nice guy. Couldn’t be more pleasant to deal with. I’m sending both dies and 6 pieces of my brass back to them to look over. The saga continues.

 

[jelenko]

I'm betting he finds the dies to OK.

ETA: I lost that bet.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I talked to John Whidden on the phone. He’s as stumped as me. Really nice guy. Couldn’t be more pleasant to deal with. I’m sending both dies and 6 pieces of my brass back to them to look over. The saga continues.

John is a great guy. Give him a chance to see whats going on and i bet he fixes it real quick

 

[leclairk]

That ladies and gentlemen is a piece of brass bumped .002” that measures 0.286” at the base of the neck and 0.286” at the top. Sized with my new Forster die. There’s definitely a problem with those Whidden dies. I’m just glad it wasn’t something I was doing. I was beginning to go crazy!

 

[jelenko]

Wow! Would you let us know what Whidden reports back?

And! What a relief that must be!

 

[Dusty Stevens]

We always think its us and couldnt be the hi-dollar equipment we use. The difference in our industry and others is the way our mfrs take care of us

 

[Rick300]

It might be the angle of the picture, but doesn't the body/shoulder junction look crushed?

 

[leclairk]

John sent me an email letting me know both dies had problems. The first had funny tooling marks in the neck, the second need a better polish at the shoulder and neck junction. They will fix it up and send it out. Phew, what a ride.

 

[leclairk]

Last question I have is how do I fix the brass I already have run? I assume running the die and the mandrel will fix the necks but what about the shoulder? If I bumped them .002 should I aim for .003 so I know they are all the same? I need to use these for developing a load so I need brass that’s very consistent.

 

[Webster]

FL sizing ADG 6.5CM brass with a non-bushing Whidden Die. I pulled the expander ball out of the die because I’m using a mandrel die after FL sizing. First picture is after FL sizing and before running mandrel. Second picture after mandrel and trimming.

The only way you could size 1/2 the neck is if the die is about 1/4" off the shell holder with the ram all the way up. Am I missing something? How did you determine only half the neck was sized. Did you measure the o.d. at both ends of the neck or assume it only sized to the shiny ring mark. Like someone else said if the die is made correctly or not mislabled as to caliber you cannot bump the shoulder without shoving the neck all the way into the die.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Last question I have is how do I fix the brass I already have run? I assume running the die and the mandrel will fix the necks but what about the shoulder? If I bumped them .002 should I aim for .003 so I know they are all the same? I need to use these for developing a load so I need brass that’s very consistent.

If they can be made to fit your chamber they will fireform