Shortening a shell holder?

[foxc57]

fguffey hit it on the head, why do you need to shorten your shell holder.

It is wiser to find out what is out of spec, the die, shell holder, the rifle's chamber or adjustment of the die. Die makers design the dies to bump the shoulder below SAAMI Min chamber, the shell holder should measure .125" deep which is the dimension die makers design their dies around. Yes they do make mistakes but but not as often as you would think. We all have expiration date and if we start shorting a die or shell holder and it ends up someone else's possession who might not quite understand head space they could have a huge problem. That person may be your son or grandson.

 

[hogpatrol]

What's your procedure for taking a few thousands off your shell holder, without using a mill?

Thanks

I use a lathe with a collet. Shellholders are soft.

 

[CatShooter]

fguffey hit it on the head, why do you need to shorten your shell holder.

It is wiser to find out what is out of spec, the die, shell holder, the rifle's chamber or adjustment of the die. Die makers design the dies to bump the shoulder below SAAMI Min chamber, the shell holder should measure .125" deep which is the dimension die makers design their dies around. Yes they do make mistakes but but not as often as you would think. We all have expiration date and if we start shorting a die or shell holder and it ends up someone else's possession who might not quite understand head space they could have a huge problem. That person may be your son or grandson.

"It is wiser to find out what is out of spec, the die, shell holder, the rifle's chamber or adjustment of the die."

There is no "spec"... there is a broad range of specs. The chambers and the sizing dies have a range of sizes that are all "in specs".... and sometimes, the differences line up against you, but they are all within "specs".

"Die makers design the dies to bump the shoulder below SAAMI Min chamber, "

Sometimes... there is a range of sizes for dies, and a range of sizes for chambers.

It is not uncommon that the shoulder is not pushed back far enough for a min chamber (it comes up on this site every week or two).
At that point, you can either send the dies and several fired cases back to the maker, or you can lap a shell holder.

 

[bigedp51]

CatShooter

You handled that very well considering what fguffey said actually impressed someone. And the fact that lapping the shell holder is the fastest and cheapest thing to do.

Turn it upside down on a countertop over some wet-r-dry 200 or 400 grit sand paper. I use WD40 to lubricate the sand paper. Do figure 8's with the shell holder until you remove as much as you need. If you need a lot, a file might work best at first.

Team Lapua-Brux Captain

Maybe they don't like us CatShooter but it appears they missed Erik Cortina's Team Lapua title block.

And on top of this I had a three day running gun battle in another forum with fguffey where he was insisting a reloading die doesn't have a base. And I have Redding and RCBS dies with the die and box marked "small base". But good ol' fguffey kept saying his 1954 Speer reloading manual didn't have the words "small base" in this manual.

And to add insult to injury the OP said to get laid.

Dear thefitter
I'm 65 and my wife and I have reached mutual sexual compatibility............................we both get headaches.

 

[bobm]

The mentioned lapping methods will work well for those with no access to machines. I use WD40 or similar liquids.

Shell holders are soft? Not so. 48-52 Rc is industry spec. They are hardened through. Forget using a file. I trimmed one last year starting in a lathe. That big interrupted cut chipped two carbide inserts quickly. I finished up grinding it with a tool sharpener.

 

[LHSmith]

I don't know the industry hardness spec for Shell Holders, but they cut awful easily with a file. Really don't know why they would have to be hardened.

 

[ridgeway]

The mentioned lapping methods will work well for those with no access to machines. I use WD40 or similar liquids.

Shell holders are soft? Not so. 48-52 Rc is industry spec. They are hardened through. Forget using a file. I trimmed one last year starting in a lathe. That big interrupted cut chipped two carbide inserts quickly. I finished up grinding it with a tool sharpener.

I've cut numerous shell holders on a lathe from every company that makes them, they are not that hard. Carbide cuts through them like butter and makes a mighty fine mirror finish.

 

[bobm]

That last one I did was a pain to turn. Time for me to exit this topic, think I will take thefitter's advice. ;D

 

[ridgeway]

Why are threads turning into little pissing matches all of a sudden? I'm thinking a large portion of the population here must be going through male menopause or struggling with some sort sexual frustration... or both.

This place used to be the civil forum for me to come and get answers. Might as well post a question on SnipersHide.

For those of you that gave me advice, thanks. The rest...you need to get laid.

+1 that's funny, lol

 

[shoot4fun]

I can't believe the absolute crap posted here and in other in forums, there are thousands of people reading the replies here and it is a shame new young reloaders have to read this stupid crap.

The shell holder should contact the base of the die evenly and NOT be tilted. The very reason I bought Redding Competition shell holders was for the shell holder to contact the base of the die and help eliminate any slop caused by the press. My dies have rubber o-rings under the lock ring to allow the die to float and self center in the press threads. And my expanders have rubber washers under the lock ring that allows the expander spindle to float and self center in the die..

And now we have people telling everyone reading their postings that the HALF A$$ method of sloppily grinding the shell holder or the bottom of the die is acceptable. This isn't the shade tree mechanics reloaders forum and the vast majority of the people here are far and above Primitive Pete's hammer and chisel methods.

UH OH.
Now I have to show up at the next match and tell everyone that I have been taking the medals using a half-ass ground, tilted shell holder that may not be fully touching the bottom of my die.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I can't believe the absolute crap posted here and in other in forums, there are thousands of people reading the replies here and it is a shame new young reloaders have to read this stupid crap.

The shell holder should contact the base of the die evenly and NOT be tilted. The very reason I bought Redding Competition shell holders was for the shell holder to contact the base of the die and help eliminate any slop caused by the press. My dies have rubber o-rings under the lock ring to allow the die to float and self center in the press threads. And my expanders have rubber washers under the lock ring that allows the expander spindle to float and self center in the die..

And now we have people telling everyone reading their postings that the HALF A$$ method of sloppily grinding the shell holder or the bottom of the die is acceptable. This isn't the shade tree mechanics reloaders forum and the vast majority of the people here are far and above Primitive Pete's hammer and chisel methods.

UH OH.
Now I have to show up at the next match and tell everyone that I have been taking the medals using a half-*** ground, tilted shell holder that may not be fully touching the bottom of my die.

;D ;D ;D

 

[hepburn45110]

Redding has a better alternative. Shell holders of assorted thickness. The best thing is to take the die to your 'smith' and have him peel ten or fifteen thousands of the bottom of the die.
.

 

[Brians356]

Redding has a better alternative. Shell holders of assorted thickness.

Uh, the Redding Competition Shell Holders are taller than standard, not lower. But maybe they should also make a set of shaved ones, in steps, for guns with short cambers.

The best thing is to take the die to your 'smith' and have him peel ten or fifteen thousands of the bottom of the die.

Better to ruin a shellholder than a nice die.

 

[bigedp51]

Redding has a better alternative. Shell holders of assorted thickness.

Uh, the Redding Competition Shell Holders are taller than standard, not lower. But maybe they should also make a set of shaved ones, in steps, for guns with short cambers.

The best thing is to take the die to your 'smith' and have him peel ten or fifteen thousands of the bottom of the die.

Better to ruin a shellholder than a nice die.

brians356

"Sometimes" I think you must be as smart, good looking and modest as I am. :
(and I really liked this posting)

P.S. Don't let this go to your head, below is my High School graduation photo.

 

[CatShooter]

Uh, the Redding Competition Shell Holders are taller than standard, not lower. But maybe they should also make a set of shaved ones, in steps, for guns with short cambers.

No one will knowlingly make short shell holders. It is a liability issue.

 

[Brians356]

P.S. Don't let this go to your head, below is my High School graduation photo.

Eddie? Is that you? At long last I've found you!

(Full disclosure: Eddie and I are identical twins, separated at birth by cruel circumstance.)

 

[bigedp51]

In the early 1970s I had a .270 Winchester made in Czechoslovakia from a Mauser action with a chamber on the short side. Factory ammunition would fit the chamber just fine, "BUT" with my full length resized cases the bolt would close very hard and the die was making hard contact with the shell holder.

Being a young and new to reloading I sent a letter to RCBS and asked about my problem, they wrote back and said to lap my shell holder .002 to .003.

A little later I started collecting milsurp rifles and never had that problem again.........................
Because military rifles have long fat chambers.

The Redding competition shell holder below is what I use for my AR15 rifles and I only needed to lap one shell holder in over 46 years of reloading.

We live in a plus and minus manufacturing world and I have seven .223/5.56 dies and all these dies size the cases differently. And all three of my .223/5.56 chambers are not the same, meaning nothing is written in stone when it come to dies and chambers.

My worst die in this respect is a standard full length Lee .223 die, it sizes the base of the case "smaller" than any of my small base dies, and pushes the shoulder back .009 shorter than a GO gauge.

 

[bigedp51]

P.S. Don't let this go to your head, below is my High School graduation photo.

Eddie? Is that you? At long last I've found you!

(Full disclosure: Eddie and I are identical twins, separated at birth by cruel circumstance.)

brians356

I have seen you and your twin brothers photo, so don't tell fibs trying to be as funny as I am.

P.S. You need to work on your drinking problem and stop barfing all over your shirt and waking up in jail cells with your "real" twin brother.

P.P.S. If you stopped drinking you wouldn't have so many reloading problems.

Bazinga

 

[Brians356]

No man is happier than he who entertains himself.

(I just made that up.)

 

[bigedp51]

No man is happier than he who entertains himself.

(I just made that up.)

brians356

Thats my problem, I can't make up my mind on the entertainment, watch TV, post in this forum or expand my mind with the book the mailman brought yesterday. If I pick the latter it means getting out of the Lazy Boy and finding my reading glasses. So you can see the dilemma I'm in, letting my beautiful mind stagnate watching TV or reading fguffey posting..........

Or getting up to find my reading glasses and loosing my seat.

Its even worse in my man cave in the basement, I can't even sit to lap a shell holder.