Noob necking down 6.5x47L

[BreakBad]

Before getting my first 6x47L rifle I decided to neck down a couple of my 6.5x47L cases (Forster FL die). I did notice what appears to be a donut at the base of the neck. Keep in mind this is my first time necking down a caliber or neck turning. I have a forster trimmer with outside neck turner. I set it up to take a minimal amount of material off and to turn all the way to the donut just before hitting the shoulder. It seems to have done a great job only taking material off where it was thicker and I'm measuring .013 all the way around neck. So I've had my fun playing with my new toys, but where do I go from here? How do I figure out neck tension and what tension should I start with?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Preacher]

Measure a loaded round, and reduce that number by .001 to .002..
Thats where you want the sized case to be...
Play with the numbers up and down to see what your's likes......

 

[tunacan]

You can always size the full length of the neck and move the doughnut to the inside and then ream. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

http://www.forsterproducts.com/store.asp?pid=26888

Orrrr.......you can save yourself the trouble of the doughnut and start with new brass.

 

[treeman]

as long as the bullet is not being seated into the neck shoulder junction the donut is a non issue. if you need to seat them that far in then a reamer is in order. forsters come in only one size per caliber but you can order any size chucking reamer from tool suppliers and get the exact size you need for your situation

 

[BreakBad]

Thank you for the feedback. I suppose I getting most confused on what steps to take in which order, or if it matters. After necking-down I did see some inconsistencies in neck thickness but they are very small. I didn't notice any indication of bulging on the inside of the neck and should have mentioned that, but probably need to verify. So I was hoping I could kill two birds with one stone and get a uniform neck and iron out that donut by outside neck turning.

However before I do that should I load a bullet and figure out neck tension and see if there is indeed some bulging on the inside. If I seat it to the shoulder/neck junction will I feel the donut it as it goes in or will the bulge on the outside look more pronounced?

 

[Phil]

Have you tried necking your brass down,then running a 6mm neck expander mandrel through it and then turning your neck to eliminate the doughnut??????

 

[BreakBad]

Have you tried necking your brass down,then running a 6mm neck expander mandrel through it and then turning your neck to eliminate the doughnut??????

Thanks for the suggestion. What would be the advantage in using a mandrel as opposed to the expander ball in the FL die? Should I have removed the expander ball when sizing perhaps? Thanks again.

 

[DOGCAPPER]

If you are necking down with a bushing die that is not a donut...It is normal unsized portion of the neck...The bushing is tapered for that purpose...Turn the numbered side up for partial sizing and down for full length...If it is not a bushing die please ignore all above and continue.LT

 

[scott_at_vortex]

Even if you are not using a bushing die this is not uncommon when necking down brand new 6.5x47 brass. Once you fire it and resize that will be taken care of or if you neck down fired 6.5x47 to 6x47L it wont be there. I believe the reason this happens is because new 6.5x47 brass has a little sharper shoulder than the dies that are available (at least forster anyways)

 

[rcw3]

I am trying to figure out how you got a "donut" from a neck down of 6.5 x 47 Lapua brass to 6mm. The brass is not designed or made that such an event is technically possible unless something weird is being done in the neck down process. That brass (as 6.5) has thicker shoulder metal than it does neck metal, so if you would do a neck up you would get a donut, but when you do a neck down you would never get a donut. I have a couple "no neck turn" barrels chambered in the 6mm version of that and I have never had or seen a "donut" issue. Something does not make sense to me on the initial posting.

Editing addition: A definitional issue maybe? A "donut" is just that, a thicker batch of metal at the base of the neck of a case that looks like a "donut" - - I have never seen a case that when you do a neck down you get a "donut" - - and donuts typically form when you neck up with brass that has thicker shoulder metal or after you fire cases and due to the firing process the cases "grow" and brass flows forward and part of the thicker shoulder metal becomes part of the neck of the case right at the base of the neck.

 

[BreakBad]

I am trying to figure out how you got a "donut" from a neck down of 6.5 x 47 Lapua brass to 6mm. The brass is not designed or made that such an event is technically possible unless something weird is being done in the neck down process. That brass (as 6.5) has thicker shoulder metal than it does neck metal, so if you would do a neck up you would get a donut, but when you do a neck down you would never get a donut. I have a couple "no neck turn" barrels chambered in the 6mm version of that and I have never had or seen a "donut" issue. Something does not make sense to me on the initial posting.

Editing addition: A definitional issue maybe? A "donut" is just that, a thicker batch of metal at the base of the neck of a case that looks like a "donut" - - I have never seen a case that when you do a neck down you get a "donut" - - and donuts typically form when you neck up with brass that has thicker shoulder metal or after you fire cases and due to the firing process the cases "grow" and brass flows forward and part of the thicker shoulder metal becomes part of the neck of the case right at the base of the neck.

I see what you are saying. So if the diameter of the neck is being reduced, material from the thinner neck is now part of the shoulder. I'm wondering if it just flows that way because of the die not having a sharp shoulder joint (as stated above)....as I see no evidence of bulging on the inside. It would be a half-donut.

 

[Phil]

Right or wrong.....I have decided that the expander ball is not necessary.

When i`m necking down a case i always run an expander mandrel through it afterwords, so i have the desired inside neck diameter to turn the outside necks,which i do on all my cases.

I like the mandrels because i can double check the diameter,if they are not correct, i can turn them on the lathe to make them exactly what i want.

Clear as mud????

 

[Quickoz]

Man,

You guys make it sound so easy to neck down cases. I tryed to use my Forster FL 6x47L die and ended up squashing three cases. How do you neck them down without a hitch? I tryed with out expander ball but once I tryed it with, I squashed them.

Any tips for a newb?

 

[Phil]

Man,

You guys make it sound so easy to neck down cases. I tryed to use my Forster FL 6x47L die and ended up squashing three cases. How do you neck them down without a hitch? I tryed with out expander ball but once I tryed it with, I squashed them.

Any tips for a newb?

Did you chamfer the outside of the necks and use a LITTLE case forming lube???

 

[Quickoz]

I used Hornady One shot lube and did the inside of the necks but maybe not the outside. That's probably my issue. Could anyone post up there full method for resizing 6.5x47L brass to 6mm?

 

[fm1947]

you really need better lube that spray just doesn't do it for expanding or going down get some Redding Imperial sizeing wax.

 

[BreakBad]

I've determined my issue is not a donut, instead is the die not sizing the entire length of the neck. I backed the die out and sized it, then in 1/8 turn increments sized the brass until it wouldn't go any further. Will have to wait for the barrel to see if it creates an issue chambering.

Even if it doesn't have a problem chambering I have the intent to go ahead and neck turn to the shoulder joint to get rid of it....or perhaps this is an issue with the die and I should contact forster?

Also, I did crush a case, but it was due to having the expander ball in and no wax inside the case neck. Giving it a slight cham inside/out seemed to help with the motion also...that expander ball doesn't look very forgiving.

 

[scott_at_vortex]

There is a dimensional difference between 6x47 dies and virgin 6.5x47 brass . If you size down fired 6.5x47 brass this unsized portion of the neck will not be there because the shoulder is at the proper dimension already and the full length of the neck will get sized. Once you fire your necked down virgin brass you will no longer have this issue.

It took me a little investigating a few years back to figure this out as I was puzzled by it at first also. What I came up with is that the shoulder on the virgin brass has a slight dimensional difference than our dies that does not allow the full length of the neck to be sized.

 

[BreakBad]

There is a dimensional difference between 6x47 dies and virgin 6.5x47 brass . If you size down fired 6.5x47 brass this unsized portion of the neck will not be there because the shoulder is at the proper dimension already and the full length of the neck will get sized. Once you fire your necked down virgin brass you will no longer have this issue.

It took me a little investigating a few years back to figure this out as I was puzzled by it at first also. What I came up with is that the shoulder on the virgin brass has a slight dimensional difference than our dies that does not allow the full length of the neck to be sized.

Thanks for the explanation! Case closed... after necking down I'm getting some consistent thickness at .013, so really no need for turning now. New toy arrives 1 week from today and I'm happy as a three-peter'd puppy.

 

[Quickoz]

Gents,

I'm going to get some hornady sizing wax (can't get the redding). If I remove the decapping rod, and just neck it down that way with my Forster die, and the load and fire form, that donut shouldn't be a chambering problem and will disappear when I next resize?

If that's the case I will just do that.