Once Fired Brass Problems

[LHSmith]

Martin
I F/L size only with a .002 case headspace , I like full contact from die to Shellholder . I use the Redding Competition Shellholders , set of 5 they have lower deck heights .002 on each from standard .

Actually, the Redding Competition S/H's give you progressively higher deck heights. To get a lower deck height material must be removed from the top of the s/h.

 

[cw308]

No, lower deck heights, the normal shellholder will oversize the case Using the comp. Shellholders the deck hights are lower , the #10 is the lowest , and work up untill you get the desired case headspace. That's how they are designed to work with full contact.

 

[Martin52]

I just measured mine - the standard s/h deck height is 0.125.
The comp s/holder #10 deck height is 0.115.

 

[Martin52]

Perhaps I've overlooked something, so forgive me if so but I have dies that set up with .007 between the shell holder and the bottom of the die also .004 , both size perfectly. Perhaps the difference is the radial dimensions of the brass at the base. ( fat brass) it's reasonably easy to compare dies or brass at the case should junction or the base/.200 datum.

Just checked the inside diameter of 3 of my 0.308 dies at the base, the closest I could get using the rear jaws of a caliper are:

Die #1 0.457
Die #2 0.464
Die #3 0.460

Dies 1 & 2 are both custom, Die 3 is an off the shelf Forster FLS.

The die I was having problems with is #1. The scratching is most likely due to lack of spray lube at the base combined with a tight die base, and possibly some tumbler media left in the first case sized.

Still not 100% sure why these once fired cases would not chamber before being resized, thinking it's a load on the hot side combined with new brass having slightly less internal volume. Might also explain the shiny circle mark left on the bolt face in the pic in post #1.

The inside of the Die #1 has been cleaned, brass was definitely galling and the deposits inside the die needed scrubbing out.

 

[JFrank]

What's the 3x fired brass measure at the .200 ish
( base) ?
A well matched die only moves brass 2 - 3 thousandths

 

[Martin52]

Why don't you have full contact on the #10 comp. Shellholde? I make sure all the comp. shellholde have full contact. That's the purpose ,the deck heights are .002 on each lower than the normal shellholder, #10 being the lowest.

What's the 3x fired brass measure at the .200 ish
( base) ?
A well matched die only moves brass 2 - 3 thousandths

Die #1 is matched to a chamber that produces fired cases measuring ~ 0.4685 at the .200 line.
Die #2 - 0.4695
Die #3 - haven't used in a while. Might use it on a few cases or comparison.

I don't have the measurements of the original cases that were fired 3 times, they all got used again so lost to history.

I still have a gap with Die #1 when using the #10 comp s/holder.