Splitting necks...... still

[aushunter1]

I remove them from the dies. I have mandrels from 21st Century that I use to set neck tension instead of using the sizing button in the dies. Makes for very concentric/ironed out necks with little to no runout.

The Lee collet sizing die is a cheap version that does the same thing imo.

I have one only & think it works well except I don't like how finicky it is to adjust & the raised marks it leaves on case neck.

I don't have equipment to measure round out & because of the marks left on the case neck I don't even know if you could check it but still for what it is & the cost comparison it can produce some decent ammo imo.

And here a LRH thread that mostly supports this-
https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/lee-collet-dies-vs-redding-s-bushing-dies.16940/

 

[Deputy819]

The Lee collet sizing die is a cheap version that does the same thing imo.

I have one only & think it works well except I don't like how finicky it is to adjust & the raised marks it leaves on case neck.

Morning! I used to use a Lee Collet die with a finicky rifle chambered in 6mm Remington which I ultimately had re-chambered due to utter and complete inconsistency. The die worked okay (I guess) with the same exceptions you noted, but after the experience I had I got rid of everything that had anything to do with "6mm Remington". Not throwing the Lee Collet dies or 6mm Remington under the bus by any means, but I've had much better experiences since eliminating both of them from my reloading bench.

 

[aushunter1]

Morning! I used to use a Lee Collet die with a finicky rifle chambered in 6mm Remington which I ultimately had re-chambered due to utter and complete inconsistency. The die worked okay (I guess) with the same exceptions you noted, but after the experience I had I got rid of everything that had anything to do with "6mm Remington". Not throwing the Lee Collet dies or 6mm Remington under the bus by any means, but I've had much better experiences since eliminating both of them from my reloading bench.

Top of the morning to you deputy but its 7.50pm local time here & im just winding down after work with a few beverages & enjoying some forum time

I have no doubt other dies may give less runout but just pointing out that you also don't have to spend a lot of coin on other dies/equipment that could give a similar result.

Just depends on the level of competition & results your after really!

 

[Deputy819]

I hear you, brother! Currently enjoying a quiet house, some coffee and forum time myself. Cheers!

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Started some annealing lastnight. Wasn't too hard. I'm thinking about annealing one case and firing just that one case to see how long it goes. I'll anneal it every other firing. Or I'll just anneal everything and continue on like normal

 

[aushunter1]

I never had much success using tempilaq myself, now I just heat them in a cordless drill and drop onto some cotton rags, leave them for a bit and they'll be cool and ready.

So how do you determine what temp the brass has reached???

With annealing it needs to be pretty precise & reach a correct temp for a certain amount of time & of course not go to much down the case to the case head, to little heat & time you'll do nothing, to hot & long & you'll destroy the case & if used could end up having a catastrophic failure of the brass or the action!

I have even noticed that without templaq & just trying to work off colour change that different brands of brass reach temp at different colour zones & the cleaner the brass the harder to tell by colour.

Even APM annealers have different settings for different branded brass as they are all different in the materials used.

Creedmoor, just be careful with what your doing please, do not underestimate how dangerous wrongly annealed brass can be!!

 

[Canhunter35]

So how do you determine what temp the brass has reached???

With annealing it needs to be pretty precise & reach a correct temp for a certain amount of time & of course not go to much down the case to the case head, to little heat & time you'll do nothing, to hot & long & you'll destroy the case & if used could end up having a catastrophic failure of the brass or the action!

I have even noticed that without templaq & just trying to work off colour change that different brands of brass reach temp at different colour zones & the cleaner the brass the harder to tell by colour.

Even APM annealers have different settings for different branded brass as they are all different in the materials used.

Creedmoor, just be careful with what your doing please, do not underestimate how dangerous wrongly annealed brass can be!!

I heat it slowly, outside the flame cone and judge it based on colour change, and yes different brass requires different amounts of time but the colour change indicates the annealing process taking place. I've literally done thousands of brass now including multiple times on the same brass and have never had a problem.
IMO if you're competent enough to load your own shells and load them in the appropriate rifle then squeeze the trigger, you can learn how to anneal.
As for tempilaq, find a source that will say which temp you should use, most ballpark and say between 650-800 depending on brass??? I'm not doing anything different by letting the brass colour change tell me when it's annealed

 

[MNbogboy]

Link is a hand annealer threw together out of scrap pile parts. Had the torch only thing I bought was a piece of 3/8 all thread rod and a few nuts & bolts.
"Ingredients" include;
Toilet float rod
Two sizes of lamp rod
Ford ranger fuel pump assembly o-ring

Make 5 rotations in the flame during the 180 degree dwell time per revolution.
Next step is to replace the 3 piece laminated plywood cam with an aluminum one. Fabricate metal frame.
Depending on case and flame intensity the dwell time is 5 to 7 seconds.
Simple, cheap and effective if you only want to do 6 to 10 cases per minute.
Randy

 

[Charliehunts365]

So I had posted up a thread awhile ago about my necks splitting after only 3 or 4 firings. I changed my dies and am using a Redding type s full length sizing die with a .289 bushing and doing a .002 shoulder bump. I've been running Peterson brass lately and so far so good until today. I had one split on its 5th firing. I guess I'm at a loss as to why this keeps happening to me. It's happened on adg, Peterson, and norma. My fired necks measure .295 and I have .002 neck tension. I dont anneal my brass but I feel it should be lasting longer than 5 firings. Does anyone have any ideas? I do neck turn my brass but that's happened on non neck turned brass so I know that's not the problem.

Hey!
Some cartridges tolerate repeated firings better than others, but every time I've seen split necks is bc of work hardening. Annealing is the cure. If they split after fourth reload, anneal after the third and trim to length.
It's not so much heat that's killing your brass, but growing in length. That physical dimension change is mechanical hardening, as occurs in all metals.
It would be interesting to note how much your brass changes on average, between firings up to the point of failure. I've never taken the time to do such a test and as such, my curiosity is now

 

[Charliehunts365]

Link is a hand annealer threw together out of scrap pile parts. Had the torch only thing I bought was a piece of 3/8 all thread rod and a few nuts & bolts.
"Ingredients" include;
Toilet float rod
Two sizes of lamp rod
Ford ranger fuel pump assembly o-ring

Make 5 rotations in the flame during the 180 degree dwell time per revolution.
Next step is to replace the 3 piece laminated plywood cam with an aluminum one. Fabricate metal frame.
Depending on case and flame intensity the dwell time is 5 to 7 seconds.
Simple, cheap and effective if you only want to do 6 to 10 cases per minute.
Randy

Hey Randy,
I'll check it out, sounds interesting.
My method is extremely simple and relatively quick. I use cookie sheet for pistol, and a cake pan for rifle. Stand the brass up in the pan and fill it with water. The necks stick up above the water line bc the neck is what needs to have the stress relieved from it. When I get the necks up to temp and allow them a few seconds to stabilize uniformly around their circumference, I tip them over in the water. It can be accomplished with primers in or out.