Case Belling

[RKJ]

Guys, I have a slight problem and need some help. I'm loading some Hornady VMAX 55 Grain flat base into .223 cases, it's mostly commercial but there are a few military pieces in the mix. I had to chamfer the brass (all of them) to get it to seat w/o chewing up the bullet or brass. I cannot remember how to bell the case with the dies. The dies are RCBS Small Base and I am using a straight through Dillon Powder die. The chamfering worked great and didn't take too much time as I put the tool in my drill, but I'd like to know how to do it (as I can't recall) and I believe I might be getting Old Timers disease.

[garandsrus]

Hi,

You probably can't bell the case with what you are using. The Dillon powder die in .223 does not bell the case. You would need a Lee Universal case belling tool or something similar that is home made. The tool is nothing more than a die with a taper that goes into the case mouth and expands it.

John

[mooman76]

Get Lee's universal expanding die or rig up something.

[RKJ]

Hi,

You probably can't bell the case with what you are using. The Dillon powder die in .223 does not bell the case. You would need a Lee Universal case belling tool or something similar that is home made. The tool is nothing more than a die with a taper that goes into the case mouth and expands it.

John


That's what I figured, the Dillon die is a straight through design. I thought I must be not remembering something in my setup. Thanks garandsrus, At least now I know I'm not completely out of it (Yet) :)

I'll take a look at Midway for one of those dies. This is the 1st time this has happened to me in a number of years of reloading.

[oneokie]

Lyman M die.

[RKJ]

Than You everyone. As I was working with the dies (and having this problem) I was thinking I'm forgetting something or I missed a step in my setup. I couldn't find anything that I missed or anything in the manual, so I thought I'd ask, I knew I'd get the the right answer from the folks here. Thanks again. I haven't decided if I want the Lee or the Lyman yet but I'll be getting one of them soon.

[462]

RKJ,
The Lee die comes with two mandrels which allow it to flare almost calibers.

The Lyman M die uses apropriatelly dimensioned plugs to expand the mouth and add a step, which properly aligns the boolit. Here is a helpful link: http://www.lasc.us/Brennan_LymanMDies.htm

[GabbyM]

The chamfer tool should be enough on J bullets. You can get VLD tools that have a flatter angle.
If you are trying to start the bullet by hand in the case neck before running the press up. Then you are fighting it. Let the die line the bullet up. Just set the bullet over the case then run it in the die. Throat in the seating die will hold it aligned within a couple thousandths of an inch. You can't do that with our fingers. If bullets are jammed in the neck to start they don't seam to want to line up true without a fight.

For any cast rifle bullet a Lyman M die is enough to spoil you.

[John Boy]

RKJ, go to Track of the Wolf website. Order the Lee Neck Expander Die for 14 bucks and any of the neck expander plugs for 3 bucks. Then turn the plug down to 221 or 222 so you have 0.001 or 0.002 neck tension.
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/partdetail.aspx?catid=18&subid=128&styleid=422&partnum=lee-die-45-ex

I have been using this setup for years for bullet calibers ranging from 224 to 461. An if you need a custom, they are easy to make, like the 22 and 25
Works for me and one only needs one die and as many plugs as you need for 3 bucks based on the number of calibers you shoot