Has anyone used hydroforming dies from hornady?

[jonbearman]

I was wondering if they exist.There is nothing on their site pertaining to forming dies of any kind or are they made by a different maker I am unaware of? Any help is appreciated in advance.
Jon

 

[bheadboy]

yes on a 260ai and they were somewhat of a disappointment in that cases still needed fireforming.

Bob

 

[jonbearman]

Did they at least make the shape of the case?I figured it wouldnt be perfect but better than making false shoulders and such.

 

[savagedasher]

yes on a 260ai and they were somewhat of a disappointment in that cases still needed fireforming.

Bob

I had 3 sets of Hornady 260 AI I sold Two new and one used. They normaly do about 90%. I found I can make my owe by chambering a die blank and making a small hole in the top for a harden pin to hit on. Larry

 

[savagedasher]

Did they at least make the shape of the case?I figured it wouldn't be perfect but better than making false shoulders and such.

I found if you make your own and chamber it .005 deep then you can bump the shoulder back and not have to jam the bullet. I find flat base bullets work best for fire forming also. Larry

 

[LHSmith]

There have been several daily bulletins on this site where members have tried them and reported their findings.

 

[jonbearman]

Can anyone provide the link to the hydroforaming,I have done a search and looked through the articles and cant find it.

 

[LHSmith]

Can anyone provide the link to the hydroforaming,I have done a search and looked through the articles and cant find it.

No .... ??? I remembered seeing articles in the DB, so I typed in Hornady Hydroforming Die and viola....at least two bulletins appeared......went back a few minutes later to get the link.....and nothing .
Believe me it's in there....somewhere.

 

[jonbearman]

I just typed it in and nothing???????????????????

 

[Toolbreaker]

Hi Jon. Try this...

http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/hornadys-hydraulic-case-forming-dies/

 

[LHSmith]

I'm technologically challenged, don't know how to "link" ....but Jan 2011 & Mar '09 bulletins

 

[Rustystud]

This has been my experience. Hydro forming works; but it does not add heat to the forming process. Brass is ductile but has a memory between that of aluminum and steel. Explosion forming adds heat to the equation an works better than hyro forming. I ruined 300 pieces of Lapua virgin 6mmBR brass hydroforming them to 6mmBRX. I sold the die and have never looked back.

Nat Lambeth

 

[Jay Christopherson]

I've hydro-formed over 1000 pieces of Lapua 6BR to 6 Dasher. It gets it to about 90%, which is enough to load it to a full power load (without splitting shoulders) and shoot it in club matches, without having to resort to all the false shoulder crap.

You do need to take your time and be consistent - it's very easy to overdo it and cause shoulders to split or put incipient cracks in the shoulder by hammering on it too hard.

 

[LRPV]

Nat, you've posted the same comment before about ruining your brass. Would you please elaborate on what part of the brass you ruined? Not trying to be rude I'm just curious.

I have used a die to form dasher brass. It does what they claim as in it forms the brass to about 90%. You can set the die long so that you have to bump the shoulder slightly in order to get a crush fit when you chamber a round so fireforming is basically the same as doing an ackley. I normally use the same load to fireform (after hydroforming) as I shoot in fully formed cases.

My .02 says that it would be a viable option for case like a dasher but a waste of money for an ackley as there should be no problem with a case being pushed forward and creating case stretch in the web.

 

[jonbearman]

I finally was able to find the article.Thanks for the help.

 

[tenring]

I read recently that Lonnie Hummel was the only Hornady employee who could produce these custom made dies. He retired a few months ago. If he has not been replaced, they may no longer be available. I would call Hornady.

 

[johnmyers]

I've hydro-formed over 1000 pieces of Lapua 6BR to 6 Dasher. It gets it to about 90%, which is enough to load it to a full power load (without splitting shoulders) and shoot it in club matches, without having to resort to all the false shoulder crap.

You do need to take your time and be consistent - it's very easy to overdo it and cause shoulders to split or put incipient cracks in the shoulder by hammering on it too hard.

I have also done well over 1000. Can do around 100 per hour and I use alcohol instead of water. I average splitting 1 out of 100. I make 3 blows with the first being a light one. I've found you get way less splits that way. I think you may get more than a 90% form. May not work for everyone but I like it.
John

 

[Alex Wheeler]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcUTbYzmVRY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WurfzX6ARLc

 

[Rustystud]

I had case head seperations at the 200 line.(web).
Nat Lambeth

 

[LRPV]

Ben Syring took over the custom die making for Hornady.

That's odd that you had problems Nat. 5 firings is as much as I've put on a set yet but no problems so far. This is dasher brass but I wouldn't think it would be much different. Thanks for replying.