Floating dies

[three percent]

Are any of y'all floating everything on press
Let's say you have dies that have floating parts in them Redding competition seater die, bushing dies,mandrel die.
And even floating shellholder with rubber o-ring.
I'm going to give it a try but was wondering y'all's experience and wondering effects of floating everything including die, shellholder along with the dies I've mentioned.
I know there's been plenty of discussion but wasn't sure if those discussions meant everything on the press.

 

[Chris Edmondson]

I use a Forster CoAx press for every reloading step except bullet seating where I use a K&M arbor press, so yup, I'm a floater, lol.

From what I've observed, case neck-to-body concentricity varies to some degree or another, having some slop in a die's perpendicularity seems like a good idea. If cases are forced to comply with a rigidly-held die, in a press offering substantial leverage, the press is most likely going to win. Whether that's a good thing or not, is hard to tell.

 

[762plinker]

all of my dies are some sort of steel..none float..just too heavy

 

[Cecil S.]

I also use a CoAx press (I maybe wrong here but others will correct). So floating a die allows for adjustment in the die not being perfect when machined so allowing it to float it finds its center this is not the best for your chamber after fire forming there is a constant back and forth. You will need a good concentricity gage to track this. The rabbit hole is very deep. Hope this sheds some light on your question.

 

[sdean]

What am I missing. As much as a case will move in a shellholder why would one have to float a die?

 

[AlNyhus]

I use an 'O' ring between the lock nut and the top of the press. The Lee die nuts that are relieved for an 'O' ring are another way to do this.

 

[Cecil S.]

What am I missing. As much as a case will move in a shellholder why would one have to float a die?

To allow for the imperfections in the manufacturing of the die or the die retainer rings. Not all dies are perfect.

 

[JMayo]

Never heard of floating anything to do with sizing brass or seating bullets....

 

[Cecil S.]

Purchase a concentricity gage and you will become a mental case in this area........but it will help you understand cheaper dies.......what are you looking for?

 

[Bill Norris]

The only thing I have floating is the shell holder in my R C press. I removed the metal retainer/pin and replaced it with an O-ring. This allows the brass to follow the die without any horizontal pressure.

 

[Cecil S.]

The only thing I have floating is the shell holder in my R C press. I removed the metal retainer/pin and replaced it with an O-ring. This allows the brass to follow the die without any horizontal pressure.

If I understand this correctly if the die is out of calibration with your chamber you may never get this right. This is the reason for case gages cut from the same reamer on some barrels. I maybe wrong on this.

 

[243winxb]

Old RCBS news letter.

The shell holder should contact the botton of the FL bottle neck type die, so the die is squared in the press. Then locked down.

Here, the Redding Custom shell holder set would be needed when adjusting shoulder bump.

True or false? No idea.

 

[three percent]

The only thing I have floating is the shell holder in my R C press. I removed the metal retainer/pin and replaced it with an O-ring. This allows the brass to follow the die without any horizontal pressure.

Yeah this is kinda what I'm wondering is floating just shell holder alone enough to self center and If at some point to much slop in everything lining up becoming a problem.idk?
I'm debating this cause some people seem to think the self centering is a plus so what happens if everything is floating die,parts inside die and shell holder.
I know I know test it is the answer but my press can already float the die with the removable inserts and I started to do the rubber o-ring trick and got to thinking dang I'll be floating everything at what point does this go wrong or can it get real good.

Disclaimer I've been living under a rock far as precision or competition loading so I'm trying to catch up . thanks for any feedback

 

[three percent]

B

Old RCBS news letter.

The shell holder should contact the botton of the FL bottle neck type die, so the die is squared in the press. Then locked down.

Here, the Redding Custom shell holder set would be needed when adjusting shoulder bump.

True or false? No idea.

But my lee classic cast breech lock floats the crap out of top of press if not twisted over past detent.basically it's very loose in threads until ram is pushed up to bottom it in the loose threads.i would imagine the Hornady version is the same

 

[three percent]

Purchase a concentricity gage and you will become a mental case in this area........but it will help you understand cheaper dies.......what are you looking for?

I do have a concentricity gauge.maybe I could make a few dummy rounds as a starting point.my first thought was to make two batches of ammo at same time doing everything exactly the same except one batch locked down tight and one with everything floating but could probably find out just as easily making a few dummy rounds

 

[three percent]

What am I missing. As much as a case will move in a shellholder why would one have to float a die?

This May be the simple answer?idk
Also are you using o ring or retaining clip for shell holder?thx

 

[Bill Norris]

Yea, I would say try it both ways and see if there is any difference. Actually, I was not having any issues with my brass but just saw a video where a guy had swapped out his retainer/pin with an O-ring and decided to try it. I like it and probably won't put the retainer/pin back.

 

[three percent]

Yea, I would say try it both ways and see if there is any difference. Actually, I was not having any issues with my brass but just saw a video where a guy had swapped out his retainer/pin with an O-ring and decided to try it. I like it and probably won't put the retainer/pin back.

Excellent.ive got a pile of o rings here I could try I'm sure one will be right size

 

[Chris Edmondson]

What am I missing. As much as a case will move in a shellholder why would one have to float a die?

I'll bite, fool that I am. Once a press ram starts to apply downward force on a case, that case becomes pretty much pinned in place. Any small, lateral force which may result from a misalignment with the die is now insufficient to relocate the case inside the case holder. Allowing the die itself to float and accommodate a misalignment at least doubles the chance that the pair, together, will align better. The more degrees of freedom bringing together two diametrically opposed contact points, the better the alignment.

No matter how it gets there, the die is going to end up either inside, outside, or all around the brass., depending on the operation. It's a bit like a ballroom dance; one person leads, one person follows, in the end, it's the partnership that matters most.

 

[skeeljc]

You do not need to float anything except the neck bushing. The case body is in alignment with the die body and the floating neck bushing aligns with the case neck. The case body and the case neck alignment is established by the chamber. The runout between the case body and neck will be less than .002" TIR. No need to own a concentricity gauge.