Should I get my die honed out?

[GW Hunter]

I guess the light bulb must have come on because I finally came out of the dark... I removed the carbide expander ball from my FL dies and purchased a Sinclair expander die with a neck turning mandrel sized .282" for my 28 caliber rifles. When I run a fired case through the FL die, the neck ends up at .304". When I make a pass through the expander it becomes .3065". The loaded round is .309", so neck tension is .0025". Which is perfectly fine for me. My question is would it pay to have the die honed to work the neck to less than .304"? If so, what would I want it sized to? Any response is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[dok7mm]

That's not too excessive. I use FL dies that give me slightly tighter necks than yours. I add the step of running a .002 or .0015" under caliber mandrel in the neck to set my final fit. A mandrel would help with consistent seating, especially if you don't turn necks.

Or your could have the neck honed.

 

[243winxb]

neck tension is .0025"

Perfect for a magazine fed big magnum using slow burn rate powders.

Its possible to neck turn and still load ammo with standard fl dies. I do it for 223 Rem, using Rcbs fl die. Just measure and dont remove to much brass.

 

[bigedp51]

If you do not neck turn you need the expander to push the neck thickness variations to the outside of the case neck.

Forster recommends measuring the neck diameter of a loaded round and subtract .004 and have the neck honed to that diameter. And then use their expander or a expander die to bring the neck diameter up to the correct inside diameter. And this is only for one brand of brass, and the neck thickness varies between brands of brass.

Bottom line, what brand of brass do you use and how much does the neck thickness vary for that brand. If you neck turn the dies neck could be honed even larger because you do not have neck thickness variations.

Example my Forster .223 dies expands my Lake City case necks .0035 but my Winchester cases have thinner necks and are expanded less. Meaning if you want to use a variety of case brands honing the neck might "NOT" be a good idea.

And if you do neck turn the necks they will expand more when fired and need to be reduced more in diameter when resized. And in standard SAAMI chambers, the neck will expand a good deal to begin with. And you end up working the neck more and gain nothing. And neck turned brass works best in tight neck chambers with honed dies or bushing dies to work the neck less.

 

[GW Hunter]

If you do not neck turn you need the expander to push the neck thickness variations to the outside of the case neck.

Forster recommends measuring the neck diameter of a loaded round and subtract .004 and have the neck honed to that diameter. And then use their expander or a expander die to bring the neck diameter up to the correct inside diameter. And this is only for one brand of brass, and the neck thickness varies between brands of brass.

Bottom line, what brand of brass do you use and how much does the neck thickness vary for that brand. If you neck turn the dies neck could be honed even larger because you do not have neck thickness variations.

Example my Forster .223 dies expands my Lake City case necks .0035 but my Winchester cases have thinner necks and are expanded less. Meaning if you want to use a variety of case brands honing the neck might "NOT" be a good idea.

And if you do neck turn the necks they will expand more when fired and need to be reduced more in diameter when resized. And in standard SAAMI chambers, the neck will expand a good deal to begin with. And you end up working the neck more and gain nothing. And neck turned brass works best in tight neck chambers with honed dies or bushing dies to work the neck less.

I have a standard chamber so I don't plan on turning the necks. My loaded round is .309, so with Forster's recommendation of subtracting .004 I end up at .305. I don't see much of a benefit to get it honed for .001....Thanks for the reply.

 

[ORCON]

You could hone it out yourself using a drill press or hand drill with no wobble. Find an appropriately sized arbor and some wet/dry sandpaper and wrap it up til it just barely fits the neck portion of the die. Start with 400 grit and use honing oil. Follow up with 800, 1000, 1200 grit. Periodically check the progress by sizing a neck and measuring it. Go slow, check often. Shouldn't take more than an hour of your time.

 

[MagMan]

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