Question about removing expander from FL die

[DartonJager]

My reloading dies of choice for my 100% factory rifles are a Redding body only sizing die, fallowed by a Lee Collet die and a Redding or Forester micrometer BR bullet seating die.

Unfortunately Redding doesn't make a Body only sizing die for my beloved 35 Remington that my sons both hunt with and I often do as well. I was wondering if I remove the expander from my 35 Remington Redding FL sizing die, FL re-sized my brass bumping the shoulder back 0.002" have I essentially turned it into a body only sizing die? I would then then size the case neck only using my Lee Collet die.

Thanks,
Arthur.

 

[fabricator21]

Not quite. It will still size the necks and without the expander ball you will have way to much neck tension

 

[sedancowboy]

No you have sized the body and neck with a FL sizing die. you just have not expanded the neck if you remove the expander. I would then use a neck expander Mandrel of some type to set neck tension.

 

[Jakeweb09]

Now if you used the type s dies without a bushing? That should be a body die now right? But I use the bushing and a expander mandrel by Sinclair

 

[DartonJager]

OOPs,
Forgot about the expander well, actually expanding the case neck.
Thanks for the education.

 

[orange1948]

Question...would replacing the expander with one from the next caliber smaller be a decent compromise prior to using the mandrel? Theoretically, it would appear to offer less stress on the case when the expander is used.

 

[BrentM]

I am not a fan of the expander button as it draw back up and through the case which can change shoulder bumper a bit. I prefer a mandrel expander. It's an extra step but works well.

You could take your FL die and ream the neck sizing portion out and then use your neck die. This will create less cold working of the neck. If you are looking for the ultimate in consistency this is what I'd do. However, if you have good results with SD, accuracy etc, I'd keep using the expander or just add a mandrel expander and be done.

 

[orange1948]

I like the idea of reaming some of the neck sizing portion of my full length die. I've been using an expander mandrel on my 6 mm and 6.5 mm cases. Is this something a local machinist can do? Any suggestions on what to ream to? Thanks

 

[BrentM]

I like the idea of reaming some of the neck sizing portion of my full length die. I've been using an expander mandrel on my 6 mm and 6.5 mm cases. Is this something a local machinist can do? Any suggestions on what to ream to? Thanks

Yes a machinist should be able to do that very easily. He'll likely chuck in a lathe and ream to whatever you wish. The polishing process is going to be very critical though. I'd have them mic it or take a piece of brass and measure the OD of the neck after sizing and figure out what you want. If you have a loaded piece of brass at .292 then you'll want .289-.290. I'd probably choose .289 for the slight spring back and expect .002-.0025 tension in the end. With proper annealing it should work fine. My guess is that right now your brass is being undersized .004. I know I used 6.5 measurements and you have a 35 cal. I just don't know what those are. Same principle applies.

 

[9x23w]

Ditto on what BrentM says: just drill out the neck portion of the FL sizing die to just over the neck OD of a fired case. You will now have a body die. You can leave the expander in as it will do nothing, which is what you want. The Lee Collett die will do the rest.

 

[orange1948]

Thanks guys. This is a lot of help. Will do this for my Swede, 6.5 RPM, and maybe the 240 B. I will use either a .261 or .262 expander mandrel for the 6.5s. Probably .241 or .242 on the 240.
Duane

 

[nksmfamjp]

What kind of 35 Remington precision rifle are you putting together? Usually, standard dies work quite well in these calibers.

Expander balls are not a bad thing in brass which is not neck turned or very consistent in neck thickness.

 

[Dirtrax]

Yes you can remove the expander from your FL die and the size the neck with a Lee collet die. If it is tight on the Lee mandrel just lube the inside of the neck. It's a fairly common practice.