Newlon dies and chamber reamer vs. sizing reamer/die maker lead time

[Kck]

I chambered a 338 AI for myself thinking I'd be able to get dies within a reasonable amount of time...I was wrong. My question is if anyone has experience reaming their own dies from Newlon blanks as I know I'll need to rent the reamer again from Fred at 4D for the seating die. Also, since I will need to get a hold of the reamer for the FL sizer, if anyone has one that I could rent or if I will need to have that made to spec based on the chamber reamer I used. OR, if I get the reamer print and/or some fireformed brass, who on earth could make some dies in a reasonable amount of time. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Kurz]

I chambered a 338 AI for myself thinking I'd be able to get dies within a reasonable amount of time...I was wrong.

OR, if I get the reamer print and/or some fireformed brass, who on earth could make some dies in a reasonable amount of time.

I suggest that you define 'a reasonable amount of time' so that we are all working on the same page.

 

[Fuj]

I suggest that you define 'a reasonable amount of time' so that we are all working on the same page.

Yeah Dat !! I make most my own dies or heavily modify what I can
find on the shelf. I have used Newlon in the past. More often then
not though, I'll order various grades of 7/8-14 all thread from Bolt-
Depot. Another 3 ft length is coming in any day now. The reasonable
time comes in if my son does not have the lathe tide up, and generally
does......LOL

 

[Kck]

I suggest that you define 'a reasonable amount of time' so that we are all working on the same page.

Yeah I suppose that’s a relative term! Haha Whidden looks to be around 18 weeks and that’s the shortest I could find so I guess “reasonable” would be less than that. Just thought I’d check here since y’all may have the skinny on a better lead time.

 

[457ciSBC]

You could try Hornady, it used to be typically 8-10 weeks.

 

[Kurz]

John and Carrie Whidden are great people to work with so their calendar usually stays booked. 18 weeks surprises me a little but given all the turmoil of this year, not so unusual maybe.

Jim Carstensen of JLC Precision has a die business second to none but again he's in demand.
JLC Precision (Jim Carstensen)
jlcprec@netins.net
13095 450th Ave
Bellevue, IA 52031
Shop phone: (563) 689-6258, cell: (563) 212-2984

Maybe call the Harrel brothers to see what their load is.
https://www.harrellsprec.com/

Bear in mind that many modern gunsmiths will make custom dies for you. Unfortunately they usually require a sizing reamer to make the sizing die which requires being ordered unless they have one already. Yes they can be made with neck reamers and boring bars but this is a different skill set.

Enjoy!

 

[Kck]

457, I sent an email to them to inquire on lead time so we’ll see what they say.

Kurz, I’ll contact Whidden after the first of the year and see if they can give a bit better lead as well as contact the others you suggested. I’m confident that I could ream my own since I chamber and build but I’ve never used an undersized sizing reamer so I’ll have to see about getting one built I’m sure. Since I’ve never reamed a die I’ll have to do a little homework on depths but I’d be interested in looking into it. Thanks for the leads.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Whidden just quotes worst case. Itll be faster. Its going to take you the same amount of time to get a resizing reamer made and nobody but whidden will make them off of brass or reamer print, maybe hornady. Whoever does it make sure they harden it to the max

 

[moondog]

I went down that road 2 years ago with my 338LM Imp. After several attempts with the above mentioned dies, I ended up getting a Warner. Work of art, worth the wait. P.S. I would recommend a large body die. Your on the cusp of the body being thin. Ask me how I know!

 

[Kck]

Dusty, thanks for posting and I’ll give Whidden a shout again in the morning and see what they can do. I kinda thought it would bring some satisfaction by reaming my own dies but that sizing reamer looks to be a needle in a haystack unless I could find one from an individual and rent it from them.

Moondog, I’m considering going that route depending on what Whidden says. I know their stuff is top notch for sure so I’ll give them a holler as well to check their lead time.

 

[LCazador]

457, I sent an email to them to inquire on lead time so we’ll see what they say.

Kurz, I’ll contact Whidden after the first of the year and see if they can give a bit better lead as well as contact the others you suggested. I’m confident that I could ream my own since I chamber and build but I’ve never used an undersized sizing reamer so I’ll have to see about getting one built I’m sure. Since I’ve never reamed a die I’ll have to do a little homework on depths but I’d be interested in looking into it. Thanks for the leads.

In my opinion get some empty cases out to Neil Jones Custom. He does ten times better job than anyone else and it'll be a truly custom bushing sizing die with micrometer adjustments. You can make your own seater die with your chamber reamer.

 

[Shooter13]

I called Redding about a custom die and he said they are so far behind that it will be JUNE before they do anymore custom dies!!

 

[DaveTooley]

moondog is correct. A 7/8" die is the limit for a Lapua based case. You can get away with it if you have perfectly matched finish and resize reamer. I order them in pairs so there is no mismatch. Then the heat treat has to be correct. Wildcatting is fun if you plan ahead. If you haven't then playing catch up is costly and frustrating. When a customer calls and wants to do this or that I always preface the conversation by asking them about dies. Do you have a plan?

 

[Kck]

In my opinion get some empty cases out to Neil Jones Custom. He does ten times better job than anyone else and it'll be a truly custom bushing sizing die with micrometer adjustments. You can make your own seater die with your chamber reamer.

I left a voicemail and sent an email back on 12/16 but never heard back. I assumed he was busy so I may try him again as well.

 

[moondog]

moondog is correct. A 7/8" die is the limit for a Lapua based case. You can get away with it if you have perfectly matched finish and resize reamer. I order them in pairs so there is no mismatch. Then the heat treat has to be correct. Wildcatting is fun if you plan ahead. If you haven't then playing catch up is costly and frustrating. When a customer calls and wants to do this or that I always preface the conversation by asking them about dies. Do you have a plan?

EXACTLY! I specd my own Reamer through JGS, and got a throater as well. If I had half a brain, I should have gotten a sizing Reamer at the same time. Just like Dave said, it was super frustrating finally getting the correct sizer made was time consuming. One thing to consider is making some calls to various Die manufacturers to see if what they have on "the shelf". Then, getting your chamber cut to match the Die. Warner had specs for one close to mine. Had I known, I would have specified my Reamer to that.