They are just working backwards, from the method you stated above, so they don't bump a shoulder back too far setting it up, they size a case and measure then remove a shim as needed until they get the bump they want. The only thing the shims are doing is taking the place of screwing the die up or down in the press and having to loosen and tighten the lock ring, the shims are just easier and quicker.
Well said. Thanks
Right, and I understand that. But if you put shims in then adjust the die to contact how is removing one or more shims going to change anything? It's steel on steel BEFORE any shims are removed.
Shims have the same effect as the comp shell holders.There’s 2 camps. One that make hard contact between die/shell holders, and one that doesn’t. If you’re in the no contact camp shims are for adjusting your die/bump. If you’re in the contact camp, Redding comp shell holders.
I’m 100% in the hard contact/Redding comp shell holder camp. Because I like all my bumps to be exact every time.
Just try it. Then figure out why it works. Lol!
Exactly with the exception that you are not limited to 2 thou increments with shims.
I disagree. I have a set of Skips shims and they do work for their intended purpose. They allow you to change the shoulder bump w/o moving the lock ring on the die and they allow you to do this in a very precise way. In fact, Tony Boyer—winner of 12 World BR championships—describes, in his book, how to use them starting at .015” of shims and working in the direction of bump increase.
Comps are great & Shims are great until the chamber is shorter than the die shell holder combo. ( beyond solid contact) then you have hard cam over or reduce the SH ht or shave the die base.
There is another benefit to the Redding Competition shell holders that gets overlooked in some discussions. Within their range, they allow you to have some toggle, when your situation does not result in die contact with a standard shell holder. This toggle tends to reduce the effect of variable linkage stretch or compression (depending on the design of the particular press), which gives more uniform shoulder bump.
The clay keeps the die from rotating in the bushing. You can see another piece of clay on the opposite side of the die. At one time I used 2 lumps of clay, but quickly discovered that one would keep the die in place without fail. I do not have any lock rings on any of my dies, and haven't used any in probably 30 years. It's far easier to adjust for small changes without the ring. I used lock rings for 20 years or so, but once I started using this method I never even considered going back to them. No need for any shims or graduated shell holders or any other work around method. If I want to increase or decrease shoulder bump .0005 it take about 3 seconds to do it, and do it with great accuracy.
Think about this for a moment if you will. With a lock ring, the die is pulled up so that both load bearing thread surfaces in the die and press are in full contact. Without a lock ring, no sizing occurs until both load bearing surfaces of the threads are in full contact with each other. There is no difference in the function of the die with or without the ring. It's just infinitely quicker, simpler, less expensive, and just as accurate to adjust without the ring.
I'll try it because as with most things reloading related where something just ain't right somewhere the only way to know is to test it and see.
You can explain it for them but you can’t understand it for them.
Presses flex on when sizing. An indicator proves that.
