Mini Poll--Are You Using A Neck Expander...

[yukonal]

...or just neck sizing without the expander button?

Feel free to give your thoughts/experience about why you do, or don't use the button.

 

[fdshuster]

With conventional FL sizing dies, yes, but only because the die squeezes down the diameter of the neck radically, so it must be opened up to approx. .002" or .003" smaller than bullet diameter.

With my FL neck bushing dies, never. No need to since they only reduce the case neck diameter enough to grip the bullet. I decide what neck diameter I want, not the die manufacturer. Unlike them, I know what's best for my rifle. I am not a believer in "one size fits all".

 

[timeout]

I use a neck expander mandrel on new brass before loading it and also on dented or dinged necks. Ater shooting, I do not use the expander ball when resizing with my bushing dies.

 

[mgx1138]

Haven't used an expander ball for many years. All my sizing dies are bushing type and I never use an expander ball any more.

 

[Shynloco]

Nope...Resize using the FL Die minus the expander ball and then use an Expander Mandrel Die for Neck sizing.

 

[navyrad8r]

Yukonal
Personally i size without it, and then right before i load them, i use an expander die to get the necks dressed up and hopefully guarantee even neck tension. My expander is matched to my turning arbor. i have not progressed to a bushing system yet.
cheers,
doc

 

[fdshuster]

doc: Excellent choice. The expanding mandrel is a lot more robust than the very thin, easily bent rod that the decapper & expander button is mounted on. Mine measure between .165" and .185" in diameter depending on where you take the measurement. Hit one off center primer flash hole while decapping & there goes the straightness of the rod, and they are all but impossible to straighten.

I've looked at new, never used dies and found the decapping pin & rod to be off-center, so they can also be damaged before we even get them.

 

[yukonal]

So, if the decapping pin and rod are straight, using a bushing die (and I do...type "s" match), what harm can it do to use the button?

Or, what is the benefit to using only the bushing, and not the expander?

In the old days we hardly ever used the expander, thus the 3 die set. But, for some reason (unexplained problems with questionable brass?), I have gone back to using the button, lately. :-[ Is it going to bite me somehow?

 

[fdshuster]

yukonal: No "harm", but also no benefit. The only purpose of the expander portion of the decapping rod is to "correct" the oversizing done to the case neck diameter by the conventional sizer die. Since the neck is not being oversized by a neck bushing die (assuming the proper bushing size is used), there is no reason to expand the neck----- nothing there to expand.

For those who choose to decap with the FL sizer die, Redding gives the option of using the decapper pin without the expander being attached. Mine have all been removed, along with the decapper pin since I hand punch out my primers. The center threaded plug is used only to hold the bushing in place in my Redding bushing dies.

Benefit to using only the bushing and not the expander? I would think less chance of pulling the case neck out of alignment. If in doubt, use the coincintricity gauge (like the Sinclair) to check for runout before and after sizing, with and without the expander button. I would think since the expander is really not doing anything, when using a bushing die, it may not effect runout, so again, neutral results(?)

 

[timeout]

So, if the decapping pin and rod are straight, using a bushing die (and I do...type "s" match), what harm can it do to use the button?

Or, what is the benefit to using only the bushing, and not the expander?

In the old days we hardly ever used the expander, thus the 3 die set. But, for some reason (unexplained problems with questionable brass?), I have gone back to using the button, lately. :-[ Is it going to bite me somehow?

I feel like the benefit of a bushing only versus the decapper FL is two fold. For one, a bushing die allows you to get an exact size or neck tension regardless of neck wall thickness. Secondly, it bothers me how much force it sometimes takes pulling that expander ball back out of the case. I can't help but think I'm running the risk of runout and even changing the shoulder bump length when an expander is forcefully brought up out of the neck. I may be way off base, but just my opinion. It is worth exactly what I charged for it ;D

 

[spclark]

I use expander mandrels to enlarge / uniform case neck inside diameters.

I've stopped using decapping rods and expander devices with die operations, preferring instead to decap using Wilson punches & bases. Keeps my presses far cleaner without all the grit from spent primers collecting under the ram heads & I don't overwork the neck / shoulder brass with the push/pull dynamic.

 

[amlevin]

I just recently added the expander ball to my Forster Shoulder Bump/Bushing die. I use it kind of as a final QC check. If for some reason a case feels a little difficult to remove from the die or comes out with NO resistance at all, I put those cases aside for further attention.

Bushing sizing only, IMHO, relies totally on one's ability to make sure all neck wall thicknesses are identical. If so, great. If not, then the expander helps make up for error.

 

[yukonal]

I can see where initial "new" case prep would (and probably does) benefit from the use of an expander. But since I've always done that, and am now neck turning everything, the wall thicknesses should be pretty consistent.

I guess I'm gonna take buttons off, and size without them for awhile and see how it goes. Thanks to all who gave advice.