Whidden seater question

[Geno C]

I have had this set of dies from whidden for a little while and finally I'm getting around to loading some rounds with them. I'm having a problem with the seater leaving a dented ring around the nose of the 105 Amax. It's a 6-47L. I set up my Redding 6br seater to try and no ring. I'm guessing the stem in the Whidden die is the problem but I don't see an option for a vld type stem from them. Does anyone else have this problem and if I call whidden on Monday will they have a stem to solve the problem?

I'd call them now but of course I didn't find this out until later on a Friday.

 

[spclark]

How much 'neck tension' do you work into your prepped brass?

Not loading enough propellant so that those 105's are seating in firm contact with it?

Those are the two most common causes from what I've seen.

Do you stress-relieve your fired necks?

Take a close look (with a loupe, 6x or more magnification) at both stems, see if there's a discernable difference. If Whidden's is particularly 'sharp' where it contact your bullets you can use emory cloth to take the edge off.

 

[Pwhite11798]

I had an issue with one of there seaters and called them they told me to send it back they would take care of it. Before I did I inspected it one last time and found some build up in the sleeve causing the problem and fixed it myself. When I order my custom dies I asked for two different seating stems and they shipped it with two at no extra charge. I have had nothing but the best experience with them. Call them they will help you out. They are all shooters too.

 

[Geno C]

How much 'neck tension' do you work into your prepped brass?

Not loading enough propellant so that those 105's are seating in firm contact with it?

Those are the two most common causes from what I've seen.

Do you stress-relieve your fired necks?

Take a close look (with a loupe, 6x or more magnification) at both stems, see if there's a discernable difference. If Whidden's is particularly 'sharp' where it contact your bullets you can use emory cloth to take the edge off.

This is the first firing after necking from 6.5 to 6 and I am not making contact with the powder. There is .004" tension. I run that on most of my hunting loads. Besides, the 6br seater doesn't do it so I would think it almost had to be the stem. I'll pull it out and see if there is a sharp edge.

I have no doubts they'll take care of me. I've heard nothing that would suggest otherwise. But, if I can take care of this without calling them and taking up their time, then that's what I'd like to do.

 

[1shot]

Here is a tip I gave another forum member to fix the same problem. Chuck your stem in a lathe if you have one, your drill if you don't. Take one of the bullets that are giving you the issue, wrap a small piece of 600 grit emery paper around the bullet. Start of your lathe/drill and insert the paper wrapped bullet into the stem. All you are looking for is to chamfer the sharp corner of the stem so it matches the bullet. I have never seen this fix fail to work.
I hope this helps,

Lloyd
Buckeye Bullets and Brass; LLC

 

[spclark]

Chuck your stem in a lathe if you have one, your drill if you don't. Take one of the bullets that are giving you the issue, wrap a small piece of 600 grit emery paper around the bullet. Start of your lathe/drill and insert the paper wrapped bullet into the stem.

Good suggestion Lloyd, practical method to ensure chamfer's even & matched to bullet contour if one lacks more precision tooling.

 

[Terry O]

I had this issue once. Gave them a call and they had me send them a couple of bullets I was using. They made a stem that matched the couture at no charge. Great folks to do business with. There are so many different bullet shapes out there, die makers have to settle on something in the middle.

 

[shoot4fun]

This is not an unusual or even die-maker specific issue. I've had Redding, Hornady and Whidden dies do it with various "unusual" shaped bullets and ALL of the die manufacturers have been extremely accommodating.
I really like the idea of using a bullet to polish out the stem and was wondering if some very fine 600 grit lapping compound would do the trick as well.

 

[rifleman700]

I really like the idea of using a bullet to polish out the stem and was wondering if some very fine 600 grit lapping compound would do the trick as well.[/QUOTE]

My question to this and the process above with emery cloth is, how precise is this fix and will it allow the bullet to be seated straight and concentric to the case? I would think if the bullet is not held perfectly straight in the stem then the polished surface would be off center and not allow for proper alignment.

 

[barefooter56]

I have had this set of dies from whidden for a little while and finally I'm getting around to loading some rounds with them. I'm having a problem with the seater leaving a dented ring around the nose of the 105 Amax. It's a 6-47L. I set up my Redding 6br seater to try and no ring. I'm guessing the stem in the Whidden die is the problem but I don't see an option for a vld type stem from them. Does anyone else have this problem and if I call whidden on Monday will they have a stem to solve the problem?

I'd call them now but of course I didn't find this out until later on a Friday.

Geno C.
In most cases like the others have said. If you just take some emery cloth and go around the inside edge of the seater stem to break that edge a little more works. And too much neck tension can be the culprit also. The VLD seating stem is drilled deeper and the angle inside is a little different. If you are not chamfering the inside of your case neck this can cause this also. Call John. He and his company are great to deal with and they wont leave you hanging.

 

[Geno C]

I'll give the emry cloth a go. If that doesn't work I'll chuck it up and see if I can't put a better taper on it in the lathe. If all else fails I'll call whidden.

I figure it has to be stem related because the Redding die doesn't do it eight the same bullet with the same neck tension. No vld seater either. Hopefully just a sharp ridge is causing it

 

[IPSCNUT]

I'll give the emry cloth a go. If that doesn't work I'll chuck it up and see if I can't put a better taper on it in the lathe. If all else fails I'll call whidden.

I figure it has to be stem related because the Redding die doesn't do it eight the same bullet with the same neck tension. No vld seater either. Hopefully just a sharp ridge is causing it

Why don't you give Whidden a call and allow him an opportunity to solve the problem!!!!!!!!

 

[JohnKielly]

I kept some shots of a guy with Amax issues way back where the die was pushing a ring w-a-y into the bullet. However, the shots showed that he'd trimmed his cases so badly that there were dags of brass everywhere, nicely work hardened to rip the walls of the bullet. Not saying that's your issue, but has anything changed with your case prep meantime?

Must find those shots sometime. They were a hoot.

 

[Geno C]

Why don't you give Whidden a call and allow him an opportunity to solve the problem!!!!!!!!

Well I guess first reason is; I had my days mixed up. I thought yesterday was Friday... second reason is; if I can fix the problem myself, without taking up time of someone trying to get work done, then I'll do it that way. If I thought it was something they did wrong, then I would have emailed or called and tried to get it figured out. I aske here because if it was a simple fix then I'd knock it out myself. No need to get excited. Just a simple question and if someone in the future has the same problem maybe they'll find this and not even need to ask.

 

[Geno C]

Like you guys suggested. A little contouring inside the stem worked out perfectly. I started with the bullet wrapped with some fine sand paper and that showed some progress. I went to a pointed India stone and that worked quicker. Once it wasn't leaving a rented ring I went back to the ultra fine sand paper and now it works like a charm.

 

[1shot]

Glad we could help Geno C

Lloyd
Buckeye Bullets and Brass; LLC