body die/Lee collet vs FL die/Lee Collet Neck die

Bart

why would you say this? How can that happen? I don't think I'm missing something here, but....whenever I measure the headspace it decreases whenever I adjust the die down.
BartB said:
I asked because partial full length sizing typically moves the case shoulder forward a thousandth or more. Evidenced by any resistance to the bolt closing.
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BartB said:
If the fired case shoulder is set back any amount when resized, that's traditionally called full length sizing.
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Touching or cam over full length sizing die is maximum head space. Partial sizing having headspace where you want it.
 
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.223. The taper is just in the beginning of the mandrel. It’s just enough to help the shell case feed in easier, it’s full diameter before the neck reaches the cutting blade.
 
oh yeah I forgot about that....

Do you use lube on your cutter?

I mount my turner in a bench vice, it makes it easier to turn. I use a q tip and dab it in synthetic motor oil, run it completely around the neck, make a pass, and then relube again on the way back. Lightly 000 steel wool, and then check on my tube mic on a pivot vice.
 
I contacted Redding, about the body die.

Asked them if a body die not sizing the neck prevents work hardening....... In my mind a typical FL die oversize's the neck and would work harden it especially when expanding it and the body die would be a great tool along with Lee collet neck sizer. Sound good? But he said...

work hardening does not occur in the sizing dies, it happens from repeated firings
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I case is worked either way, no?
 
milboltnut said:
I contacted Redding, about the body die.

Asked them if a body die not sizing the neck prevents work hardening....... In my mind a typical FL die oversize's the neck and would work harden it especially when expanding it and the body die would be a great tool along with Lee collet neck sizer. Sound good? But he said...
I case is worked either way, no?
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A friend full length sized then reloaded the same 308 Winchester case 65 times without annealing. The 65 shots at 100 yards went into a 3/8ths inch group.
 
LOL.....sorry I had to laugh, please don't get offended. And does this friend of yours have a custom chamber/custom die? and.. a heavy barrel, totally worked right?
 
milboltnut said:
oh yeah I forgot about that....

Do you use lube on your cutter?

I mount my turner in a bench vice, it makes it easier to turn. I use a q tip and dab it in synthetic motor oil, run it completely around the neck, make a pass, and then relube again on the way back. Lightly 000 steel wool, and then check on my tube mic on a pivot vice.
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When I tried turning the necks after sizing, I did lube the necks inside with ground mica powder due to getting some brass galling on the mandrel. I’ve never tried anything on the outside of the necks for the cutter. Being brass it cuts pretty clean and I’ve probably turned somewhere in the neighborhood of 4000 cases and am still using the first cutter just fine. I also think your skinning off such a thin layer and I don’t do it at a high speed so there’s no real heat/friction build up to bother with lubing.
 
it cuts smoother with lube on the cutter and I don't think your RCBS cutter is carbide, it's just steel so it will increase the life of the cutter.
 
milboltnut said:
it cuts smoother with lube on the cutter and I don't think your RCBS cutter is carbide, it's just steel so it will increase the life of the cutter.
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I may give it a try. I actually have the Hornady setup, not RCBS. I get what your saying, but I think by controlling the speed it’s been working pretty good so far but never hurts to try something new to see if it improves things. I do have some junk brass I use for plinking ammo I could play with so I’ll check it out.
 
My bad, I thought you said RCBS. I looked to see what kind of cutter your Hornady turner has. I see a description saying steel. The main thing is it doesn't chatter when you cut, and steel wool smooth it out but the more chatter the more that needs to be taken off with the wool. Measuring the concentricity/neck thickness is more accurate with a smooth surface.
 
The cutter doesn’t chatter at all, cuts nice and smooth. The leading edge of the blade is sort of a slightly rounded edge leading to an angle to avoid over cutting into the shoulder. Because of this design it basically has a slight bevel edge so the neck gradually feeds into the main edge of the blade so the blade cuts very smoothly.
 
Yup, cuts nice and smooth. I think a combination of the blade design and the speed at which I run it is what makes it work smoothly. The only issue I have with this tool is the way the base is held in place using a normal shell holder lets it wobble a bit sometimes. And yet that doesn’t seem to bother runout one bit according to my results so I just live with it.
 
The die was a standard RCBS full length sizing die gelded and the case neck honed out to a couple thousandths less than the loaded round's neck diameter.
 
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