Resizing without expander ball

[josebd]

Caliber .308 nosler brass
Foster fl die with out expander ball
I'e noticed after sizing down the neck the out side of neck seems kinda rough (bell)
Is this normal? I suppose it is since the expander ball probably soothe it out when pulled back throgh,just curious.
New die does same thing

 

[Terry]

Sizing should not produce rough necks. What lube are you using?
Can you provide pictures?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Shouldnt be any lube on your necks so that cant be it. There must be something rough in your die whether you have let it get in there or forster left it rough somehow. Need to figure that out

 

[smoooth]

If you’re getting a bunch of vertical lines in your necks, honing the die neck will help. There are a few ways to go about this and I’m sure everyone has an opinion.
I used what was handy, a brass bore brush, cleaning patches and lapping compound. Chucked the brush in a drill, wrapped cleaning patches on brush, applied lapping compound and went to work on the die neck. This worked good for my needs, your needs may differ.
Best of luck!

 

[Terry]

Shouldnt be any lube on your necks so that cant be it. There must be something rough in your die whether you have let it get in there or forster left it rough somehow. Need to figure that out

You size W/O lube?

 

[avidflyer]

You size W/O lube?

A lot of people dont lube the neck just the case body and maybe inside the neck

 

[josebd]

I lubed the body of the brass,I tried 2 different dies

 

[josebd]

The way I see it,it probably does it every time, but once you pull it back through the expander ball it smooths it out.nothng wrong with the dies

 

[243winxb]

Whats the sized neck outside diameter when not using the expander?

 

[josebd]

Whats the sized neck outside diameter when not using the expander?

.326

 

[josebd]

I was just trying to see how they turned out since I'm gonna start using a expander mandrel.
Im not turning the necks,no lube on neck,none inside since I took out expander ball.lube outside of the body of brass.
Just wondered if anybody noticed how it felt after this process.

 

[243winxb]

.326

From your other post

Lapua brass measured .337 without bullet,seated bullet. .338
Bolt action

The die is over working the case necks, by about .010"

You need to use the expander to reload.

Better yet, buy a fl bushing die.

 

[josebd]

Yes I know that, but why is there a rough spot on the outside of the neck that was the question?

 

[243winxb]

Yes I know that, but why is there a rough spot on the outside of the neck that was the question?

The case mouth was not chamfer deburred before sizing.
New die not cleaned before use.
Brass left in die from sizing.
Die not polished at factory. Just a few i can think of.

When i pick up a piece of brass to size , off my lube pad, i grab the case by the neck. Lube from my fingers is just the right amount for the outside of tne necks.

Always lube inside the neck using a nylon brush. It cleans and lubes at the same time. I even do it when not using an expander.

 

[Terry]

Are you cutting the necks ? To what dimension ? Lube on the neck,in the neck, or shoulder is a NO-NO.

Your opinion. Consider a softer reply.

 

[JSH]

I have a set of dies that does the same thing. Caused from using nickle plated brass.
There is a lot more going on inside of a die than folks realize, lots of pressure

 

[Bart B.]

If the Lapua brass measured .337 without bullet, then with a seated bullet, .338, that's a normal, common, workable, safe and OK thing to do for a bolt action rifle. Semiauto, pump, lever or break action, too.

Lube on the neck, in the neck, or shoulder is a NO-NO.

Why? Case's are lubed inside and outside as a sheet of cartridge brass is cut, shaped then cleaned ready to load. Thousands do all the right stuff lubing all the outside of fired cases then cleaning it off.

I've always lubed all case outside surfaces the die touches. Including neck and shoulder. Some gets on the case head, too. Nary a problem of any size, shape nor description.

Perhaps the nay sayers do something different.

 

[jepp2]

If you’re getting a bunch of vertical lines in your necks, honing the die neck will help.

That has been my experience also. I use a slightly different approach. I wrap a paper towel around a brass rod, and use Flitz. I trim the paper towel so it goes up into the neck as well as wider for the body of the die. Flitz will easily remove any brass that has bonded in the neck portion of the die and can be scoring your brass. The brass rod will not harm the die (but it never contacts it anyway).

Regarding no case lube on necks and shoulders. My view is the only reason to avoid is if you can't control the amount and you wind up with dents. I use Bootleg case lube and spray the body, shoulder, and neck. Never have dents and it is easier on the brass and die.

 

[Webster]

Caliber .308 nosler brass
Foster fl die with out expander ball
I'e noticed after sizing down the neck the out side of neck seems kinda rough (bell)
Is this normal? I suppose it is since the expander ball probably soothe it out when pulled back throgh,just curious.
New die does same thing

Don't understand the neck o.d. is rough and pulling an expander ball through the i.d. smooths the o.d. Once I was getting vertical scratches on my necks. It was caused by not chamfering the neck o.d. enough to remove high spots. Small pieces of brass broke free and firmly attached the die. I cleaned it up with 600 grit sand paper on a slpit wooden dowel. Cannot imagine why you should not lube the case necks. They are rubbing on the die surface more than the body.

 

[Toejoe12]

I was just trying to see how they turned out since I'm gonna start using a expander mandrel.
Im not turning the necks,no lube on neck,none inside since I took out expander ball.lube outside of the body of brass.
Just wondered if anybody noticed how it felt after this process.

Simple answer: If you are going to use expander mandrels to adjust seating pressure(what ever term anyone wants to use) outside looks of neck doesn't matter. Just check and verify your mandrels don't create runout. Inside of necks are the key as this is actually what's in contact with the bullet. If the inside is concentristic and gives you the tension, friction, hold, seating pressure ( again whatever term you want to use ) not getting caught up in the Guffey semantics and the outside measurement of a 308 load is .003 to .006 smaller than your chamber you have nothing to worry about