I shaved .010 off base of sizing die

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I've started reaming .002-.003 deeper than absolute minimum just for this very reason. We're literally talking half of the thickness of a human hair and it only stretches more than you set your dies for, once. I spent the better part of 20 years doing chambers to within about a half thou of absolute minimum before FIXING my procedure. No more trimming dies or shell holders like this. Too many variables and stacking of tolerances to work like theory would imply.

 

[swd]

It’s not uncommon at all. The die was reamed too deep. I’ve trimmed at least a dozen over the years. I had 7WSM for a client that took .027” to bump a shoulder and yes the gun was in proper headspace. A lot of dies are whole lot less precise than guys realize.

 

[gunnermhr]

Am i missing something, why not shave it off your shell holder? Takes about 5 seconds in the lathe. I think i did all of mine

 

[Fuj]

Am i missing something, why not shave it off your shell holder? Takes about 5 seconds in the lathe. I think i did all of mine

I have a drawer in one of my Kennedy's with several wire tied together
to keep them in a group. I have them .003 apart.....On another note, I
just took .015" off the bottom of one of my cat dies. It was either that or
pull thru too thin of a holder......Somewhere in earlier procedures, I screwed
up a dimension, or was that dementia......LOL.....It was the easiest way to get
out of the jamb and get to the range for proofing......

 

[Ironworker]

Am i missing something, why not shave it off your shell holder? Takes about 5 seconds in the lathe. I think i did all of mine

I don't have a lathe

 

[spike-55]

I don't have a lathe

belt sander
stan

 

[gunnermhr]

I don't have a lathe

That wasn't the point, if you are able to shave off .010 from the bottom from multiple dies, you can certainly do it to one shell holder. If your smith wont shave that off a shell holder for free, I'd be looking for a new smith.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Interestingly, if you had a barrel nut barrel you could have just set the headspace to the brass, and then never thought about it again.

 

[NorCalMikie]

I don't have a lathe

Got a drill press OR a drill with a big enough chuck to accept the part of the shell holder that fits in the press? Chuck it up, (measure first) and write those #s down for reference. Run the shell holder down on a well oiled sharpening stone. (easy does it) You can take as much or as little off to get what you want. They come out looking like they were factory machined. I store my "different size" shell holders in a pill bottle. Just about EVERYBODY these days has extra pill bottles. And your "untouched dies" are STIILL factory SAAMI size.

 

[Intheshop]

Interestingly, if you had a barrel nut barrel you could have just set the headspace to the brass, and then never thought about it again.

And actually test to see what shows up on target.

 

[Intheshop]

I normally "fix" the cheapest part,which is the shell holder. However,there are factory dies that can be a bit "long" on spec. So,working on them isn't always out of the question.

Got a drill press OR a drill with a big enough chuck to accept the part of the shell holder that fits in the press? Chuck it up, (measure first) and write those #s down for reference. Run the shell holder down on a well oiled sharpening stone. (easy does it) You can take as much or as little off to get what you want. They come out looking like they were factory machined. I store my "different size" shell holders in a pill bottle. Just about EVERYBODY these days has extra pill bottles. And your "untouched dies" are STIILL factory SAAMI size.

 

[rijndael]

I prefer to modify the die so I can use different height shell holders, the Redding kit, to vary my bump for my different rifles.

 

[swd]

I prefer to fix the part that out of spec. If the gun is in headspace it’s the die. I’ve also seen dies that were reamed deep enough that by the time you took enough off a shell holder there wouldn’t be much left for strength.