Die help- tight die/loose chamber?

goose

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Dec 26, 2008
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190
Having trouble with redding FL bushing die for 25-06AI.... Even with no bushing installed I feel resistance with the case only about half way in and the only way to size the case is to back the die about half way out and work it a little at a time. I have cleaned the die out a couple of times as per redding instructions and have tried different types of lubes to no avail. Just below the shoulder on an unsized case measures .453 after sizing it is .449...

I talked to the gunsmith I bought the die from and he recomended just going to a neck sizing die. I asked him if this die could be honed out, and he said that might be possible, but it would be hard to cut and might get out of round. Any ideas? I would like to be able to bump the shoulder but will neck size if I must.
 
Check with forster
They make a great body bump bushing die and can make a custom one for you
 
Last edited:
Check with forster
They make a great body bump bushing die and can make a custom one for you.
You can also try a redding body die and see how that works
 
Last edited:
JLC Precision, LLC
Jim Carstensen
13095-450th Ave, Bellevue, Iowa 52031
Phone 319-689-6258
e-mail: [email protected]

Send 3 fired cases and a donor Redding body die.
Jim will set you up right, with a bump, or bushing-bump die.
 
email jim Carstenson and he can probably hone your existing die to fit your chamber and that would be the best bet, if not as MikeCR said, get Jim to make a custom die off a redding body die.

BH
 
"...tried different types of lubes to no avail."

Well, you don't tell us what lube you tried or how you're applying it but what you have is a lube problem, not enough lube or insufficently covering the lower part of the case. Given a good lubing it's easy to reform large cases into smaller ones (I make .243 from .30-06) but without good lubing we can easily stick a case even in the "right" die. And stuck does happen, it's why they sell so many stuck case removers!

Try Hornady's Unique or Redding's Imperial or Lee's case lubes. Apply them lightly but completely, using your finger tips, not a pad. It often takes a couple of partial in-out passes to get the inside of a clean die well lubed but after that it gets easy.
 
Having trouble with redding FL bushing die for 25-06AI.... Even with no bushing installed I feel resistance with the case only about half way in and the only way to size the case is to back the die about half way out and work it a little at a time. I have cleaned the die out a couple of times as per redding instructions and have tried different types of lubes to no avail. Just below the shoulder on an unsized case measures .453 after sizing it is .449...

I talked to the gunsmith I bought the die from and he recomended just going to a neck sizing die. I asked him if this die could be honed out, and he said that might be possible, but it would be hard to cut and might get out of round. Any ideas? I would like to be able to bump the shoulder but will neck size if I must.

I'd send the dies back to Redding with a couple once fired and unsized cases. I've seen a lot of bad dies come out of the Redding factory over the years, so be prepaired for an argument (you have to fight with them tooth & nail to get anything out of them).

All Ackley tapers are .010" per inch, so you should see roughly .0195" of taper in the case. What is a once fired case showing you? You should be able to measure it with an indicator and a vee block. It is quite possible that the chamber was reamed out of spec, and I would check that before returning the dies.
gary
 
The barrel is a shilen savage pre-thread/chambered. I guess I will call the place I got it from, and then shilen and redding. I have been using the hornady one shot lube. If anyone has a link to a cartridge drawing, please let me know.
 
The barrel is a shilen savage pre-thread/chambered. I guess I will call the place I got it from, and then shilen and redding. I have been using the hornady one shot lube. If anyone has a link to a cartridge drawing, please let me know.

Shilen usually does good stuff. What are your once fired cases looking like? .0175 taper would be OK, but as I said .0195" is correct. The dies should size the brass a couple thousandths of an inch. Be nice if you had another sizing die to experiment with
gary
 
Shilen usually does good stuff. What are your once fired cases looking like? .0175 taper would be OK, but as I said .0195" is correct. The dies should size the brass a couple thousandths of an inch. Be nice if you had another sizing die to experiment with
gary

I don't have anything more than a caliper to measure with , but taper seems to be right in that .0175 to .19 on both fired cases and the ones I resized. The difference is the sized ones measure .004 smaller just below the shoulder, sometimes .0045....seems like a lot to me.
 
I don't have anything more than a caliper to measure with , but taper seems to be right in that .0175 to .19 on both fired cases and the ones I resized. The difference is the sized ones measure .004 smaller just below the shoulder, sometimes .0045....seems like a lot to me.

send the dies back with three or four once fired (but unsized cases). I think you have a bad die. The first thing they'll tell you is the chamber is bad (they always do). I had a buddy that had Mike Pence cut him two barrels (as good a barrel make that's ever been on this planet). One in 6BR and the other in .308 NM. He buys a hundred Norma cases, and promtly screwed up a couple dozen trying to make the die work. I looked them over, and you could see that the neck was cut short in the die (by about .100"!). He takes the die back to Sinclair, and of course they wanted to argue with him, but they did exchange it. He them screws up another six or eight cases, and calls Sinclair (it's a 125 mile drive up there). Sinclair sends him a third sizer, and it's the samething all over exactly. I told him to trade it for a Forster and be done with it. But he drives up there again, and this times takes a cigar box full of bad cases with him. The guy tells him he has the die all setup wrong. Then he sets the die up in a press they have in their shop, and promptly messes up a couple more cases. Now we're into another ne die, and the samething. So they call Redding, and the guy simply says there's nothing wrong and it's a bad chamber. Sinclair tells them they are nuts as it's a Pence barrel, and a Pence cut chamber. Finally they pull a couple sets of dies off the shelf at the factory, and they all are bad. Seems that every set they did were junk! Sinclair told Redding they should replace the cases (about 60 cents a piece back then), and they wouldn't! A couple years later it was another guy with a .243 die set, but exactly the same crap! I now know at least a half dozen guys that have gone thru the same line of B.S. from. They are so bad that I know of two gunshops that have quit selling their stuff. So when you deal with them you have to hold your ground with them. They are not nice people!
gary
 
send the dies back with three or four once fired (but unsized cases). I think you have a bad die. The first thing they'll tell you is the chamber is bad (they always do). I had a buddy that had Mike Pence cut him two barrels (as good a barrel make that's ever been on this planet). One in 6BR and the other in .308 NM. He buys a hundred Norma cases, and promtly screwed up a couple dozen trying to make the die work. I looked them over, and you could see that the neck was cut short in the die (by about .100"!). He takes the die back to Sinclair, and of course they wanted to argue with him, but they did exchange it. He them screws up another six or eight cases, and calls Sinclair (it's a 125 mile drive up there). Sinclair sends him a third sizer, and it's the samething all over exactly. I told him to trade it for a Forster and be done with it. But he drives up there again, and this times takes a cigar box full of bad cases with him. The guy tells him he has the die all setup wrong. Then he sets the die up in a press they have in their shop, and promptly messes up a couple more cases. Now we're into another ne die, and the samething. So they call Redding, and the guy simply says there's nothing wrong and it's a bad chamber. Sinclair tells them they are nuts as it's a Pence barrel, and a Pence cut chamber. Finally they pull a couple sets of dies off the shelf at the factory, and they all are bad. Seems that every set they did were junk! Sinclair told Redding they should replace the cases (about 60 cents a piece back then), and they wouldn't! A couple years later it was another guy with a .243 die set, but exactly the same crap! I now know at least a half dozen guys that have gone thru the same line of B.S. from. They are so bad that I know of two gunshops that have quit selling their stuff. So when you deal with them you have to hold your ground with them. They are not nice people!
gary

Thanks for the heads-up. Hopefully we can sort things out. Any suggestions for what brand of a custom die?
 
Custom dies normally have to be built one of two ways.

Option one.

Order a matching resize reamer when you get a chamber reamer and the smith uses the resize reamer to make a set of dies. Most guys do not do that but many of the better smiths have matching resize reamer that match the chamber reamer.

Must do this before the fact normally. YOu could send a couple fired cases to PTG and Dave Kiff and have him measure them for a resize reamer ($150) and then have a smith make a FL size die (figure another $200)

Option two.

really two possibles here.

1. send cases and your die or a redding body die to JLC precision and let him hone your die to fit or he will take the body die and make a custom fitted FL neck bushing size die. this assumes your existing die is too tight. Cost is $80 and a body die ($25)

2. Send cases or reamer print to Neal Jones and he wil make a custom set of dies. Normally a NS only starting until you fire the cases 3X and then send the NS die back and the cases. He makes a full body insert in the die fitted to your chamber and sends back. 90-120 days initially and then anothe 30. Cost is about $350 for a full set of dies.

BH
 
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