Honing out neck of sizing die

[JeffinNZ]

Team.

My Lee Carcano die is overworking my brass. I expand to .268 for my .269 bullets and after case is sized/expanded the OD of the neck is .291 - the neck of the die is .284 in contrast. I want to relieve the neck of the FL die by .005 inch. What are my options given the die is hard as the hobs of h@ll.

[barrabruce]

You will have to wait for a proper answer but....

I have used a bit of rod with a hacksaw cut in the end.,To slip in some wet and dry.

folded over a section of wet and dry and wrapped it around rod.
Used that in a hand drill as a sorda self expanding hone /flap sander type of thing.

The ends get clogged and have to be replaced frequently even when using water or oil .

Bit rough or what???

Must be better'a ways to do it but.
Barra

[rhbrink]

I have the same problem in a 7.62X54 Russian size die there is a fellow by the name of David Wilson that will enlarge lubricator size die's I have been wondering if he would do the same for a reloading sizer die? Don't know, his email is fc60@comcast.net like I said I have not contacted him so don't know if he will or not might try and see.

[Von Gruff]

Jeff I had a 404 and 204 dies opened up in the neck for the same problem. Hugh Bradley at Stager sport in Alexandra used grinding stones in the lathe because of the hardened state of the die.
What a difference it made as the 404 neck is at the exact dia so no re-expanding is necessary.
The 204 neck was opened out to the dia I needed for necking down 22 cal to 20 again with no re-expansion needed.

Von Gruff.

[nicholst55]

Some die manufacturers will perform this service - usually those with a custom shop. I know for a fact that Redding does, but I have no idea if Lee will.

[AZ-Stew]

Just a thought... I have no idea how this would work...

Have you considered taking an old cartridge, coating the neck with lapping compound and running it up and down with your press ram while the die is screwed into the press? It might work. My concern is that the case mouth would compress more than the neck near the case shoulder, resulting in a slightly tapered die neck. It might also take a week or two.

As I said, just a thought.

Regards,

Stew

[Rico1950]

Don't know about Lee, but I'd ask them about it.
RCBS does it for their dies, $20. But they only recommend .002"

[Shiloh]

Dowel with a groove. A nail works better. Jewelers saw to cut the slot.

Shiloh

[JIMinPHX]

I would think that you would need to heat the die & slow cool it to soften it. Then machine out the necessary material. Then harden it again. Then polish it.

I also would think that it might be easier to make a new die from scratch.

I think that Reading or someone like that makes custom sized dies. Perhaps they can help.

Cutting hard steel directly while trying to get both accurate size & a good finish is a pretty tall order in my book.

[JeffinNZ]

Just a thought... I have no idea how this would work...

Have you considered taking an old cartridge, coating the neck with lapping compound and running it up and down with your press ram while the die is screwed into the press? It might work. My concern is that the case mouth would compress more than the neck near the case shoulder, resulting in a slightly tapered die neck. It might also take a week or two.

As I said, just a thought.

Regards,

Stew

Now THAT'S not a bad idea!

[obssd1958]

Hey Jeff!

Redding makes sizing dies that use various bushings to accomplish exactly what you want to do. I have not used them myself, but it seems to be what you are looking for.
Here is a link to their tech line and tips page:

http://www.redding-reloading.com/tech-line-a-tips

Hope this helps!



Don