new case prep

[dansig]

I am getting my 6XC cases ready and was wondering if there was anything missing from my setup..

I got the

Wilson Trimmer with Wilson 6XC holder
K&M neck turner with Ergo holder and power case holder
Lyman outside chamfer tool
K&M controlled depth tapered reamer
K&M primer correction tool
K&M expander
Mitutoyo Digimatic caliper
Forster full length die

waiting for Bench-Source annealing machine

now comes the fun part..

in what order should I do things to get the most accurate result ?

Anneal, trim, neckturn, expand, fullsize, chamfer, fix primer pocket....

 

[Leaddog]

I shoot a .308, but the procedure is the same for new cases:

Expand neck with mandrel

Neck size

Chamfer

Remove flash hole burrs

Use primer pocket tool

Resize case/neck

Shoot


After first firing:

SS clean

Anneal

Use 0000 steel wool to clean up outside neck grittiness from annealing and use nylon brush to clean inside of neck

FL resize

Trim to length

Chamfer

Sort cases

Load and win some matches

 

[ronemus]

To prep new brass I lube (Imperial wax), size (Hornady New Dimension dies with expander), neck turn (Gracey Neck Shaver), size (the shaver alters neck diameter), tumble in cob, trim/chamfer (Gracey Trimmer with Giraud blade), primer pocket uniform (Sinclair), deburr flash hole (RCBS), and select a 0.5 gr range of case weight for long range (the rest are used for short range).

With fired brass I tumble in walnut, lube, size, tumble in cob, uniform (to clean the pocket), and trim/chamfer. Since I use the expander when sizing, any donut will be moved to the outside. If a donut is visible or the necks have thickened from repeated sizing, I add a pass through the shaver. Neck turning goes much smoother with the sizing lube left on the case; much less heat is generated and the cut is smoother. I lube the outside of the case with my fingers and inside the neck with a cotton swab.

I try to use power tools when possible and minimize handling to make processing go faster. For instance, I use a FL sizing die and decap at the same time, seeing no advantage in using 2 or 3 steps to accomplish the same thing. Similarly, the Gracey Trimmer does the inside and outside chamfers while trimming, so 2 steps are eliminated; the Dillon would actually be much slower since the chamfers would still have to be done. At one time I had the trimmer and shaver set up side by side and used them back to back, but found that the shaver worked better with the lube on, but the trimmer got fouled relatively quickly, even when tilted back ~30 degrees.

I try to have ~4000 cases fully prepped at the start of the season so I can defer processing until Winter sets in. I tumble the fired brass in walnut when I get back from the range, then set it aside until free time is available; in the meantime, I spend as much time shooting as possible.

 

[GSPV]

You would find a micrometer to be better than the calipers. Calipers are for relatively rough measurement. Micrometers are for fine measurement.

I find using a thickness micrometer to be useful.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pid=38161/Product/Sinclair-Digital-Case-Neck-Micrometer

You will want to bump the shoulders to a consistent measurement and then length trim to a consistent measurement before turning.