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Thread: Looking for ideas on making a neck reamer. for 30 cal

  1. #1
    Boolit Master


    frkelly74's Avatar
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    Looking for ideas on making a neck reamer. for 30 cal

    I got a 300 blackout upper during a recent bout of spending some of the money Unkle Joe sent me. I was just going to make some brass out of some of my 223 brass that I have laying around. I have a bunch cut off and sized but can not find a neck reamer. I seated a 30 cal 147 gr FMJ bullet in one of my cases, no primer or powder charge, and it will jam in the chamber, it is too tight even after using the factory crimp die on it. I did have a reamer once but it has disappeared , Midway is out and also incidentally, out of empty brass that is reasonably priced. So I am just thinking of making a reamer out of a drill bit. I can modify the point but will the spiral flutes cause a problem. What numbered bit comes close to .311 . Does any of this sound at all feasible ? Thank you for any guidance or wisdom you might share.
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  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy nhyrum's Avatar
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    You should not need a reamer. I've got about 5000 300 blackout cases I made from 223/556 mixed range brass. No issues. Make sure everything is sized and any neck flare is removed/crimped

    But, if you do need to thin the necks, what you would need is a neck turning tool

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  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy nhyrum's Avatar
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    Also, make sure your bullets are .308 diameter. Not just on the box, measure them

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  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master

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    A drill can be made to work but it will be much more than modifying the tip. A drill cuts mostly on the tip the sides web holds it centered and has no relief to allow it to cut, the reamer has a 45 angle to center and remove the first bit then the angled flutes scrap the sides giving finish and size, Keeping the 2 flute centered and from grabbing will be a chore.

    Hand reamers can be purchased in .001 increments pretty reasonable off the internet or tool supply shops even a hss reamer Will last a long time in brass.

    Neck turning with a tool on mandrel will accomplish the same as reaming and is usually more accurate but is slower and you cant leave a "doughnut' at the shoulder neck
    junction.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master

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    I'm not suggesting they will work, but reamers can be found in just about any diameter imaginable on fleabay. I just did a search for (.311" reamer) and got a bunch of hits in the $12+ price range.
    Last edited by oley55; 09-18-2021 at 05:49 PM.
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  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy nhyrum's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by country gent View Post
    A drill can be made to work but it will be much more than modifying the tip. A drill cuts mostly on the tip the sides web holds it centered and has no relief to allow it to cut, the reamer has a 45 angle to center and remove the first bit then the angled flutes scrap the sides giving finish and size, Keeping the 2 flute centered and from grabbing will be a chore
    Not to mention twist drills cut triangular holes

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    Last edited by nhyrum; 09-18-2021 at 07:02 PM.

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Another difference in reamers and drills are in the flute spacing. drills the flutes are evenly spaced while reamers moght be 4 or 6 flutes are offset a few degrees to help stop chattering, grabbing, and improve finish.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Check with forester products they might have an inside reamer. 1-815-493-6360

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    If the round is jamming because the OD is too big, I don’t see how reaming the ID bigger will alleviate the problem. To me it would seem like turning the necks is what you need. Either that or try an undersized expander ball, which you could do yourself by chucking the stem in a drill and sanding the diameter down with a fine wet sandpaper soaked in oil.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master


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    I ordered a .311 reamer off ebay to see if it will do what I need to do. I did an operation similar to this when making 7.62X25 brass out of 223 brass. That time I ended up with very thick necks and reaming the extra material out of the necks made the brass usable, able to fit the chamber after it was sized and a bullet was crimped in. I will be trying different brass to see if any brands end up with thinner brass in the neck area. The one I tried happened to be PMP head stamp which I think is South African manufacture. Upon thinking back , these did size harder than other head stamps. I have plenty to pick from. Let the fun continue.
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  11. #11
    Boolit Master 243winxb's Avatar
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    Inside neck reaming is best done while the neck is held in a die. But no longer available/made.

    For accuracy, inside ream, but leave enough case wall thickness to outside neck turn as the last step.

    For plinking, doesn't much matter. Reamers . https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.c...p/neck-reamers

    Standard dies may not form brass that will chamber. A case forming die is needed for some cartridges.

    The loaded rounds outside neck diameter should not be larger then .334" IF LARGER, REAMING MUST BE DONE.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master


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    Well, can it be that simple?? I just now tried an RP case, a PMC case, and a LC nato marked case and they all chambered easily, How about that. I guess I will have to sort my brass a little better.


    dummy rounds measured
    PMP brass measures about .335
    pmc brass measures about .329
    RP....................................326
    LC 12 nato marked ...........326

    All bullets measure .308
    Last edited by frkelly74; 09-19-2021 at 09:05 AM. Reason: details added
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    /////////BREAKING NEWS////////////
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  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master

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    .311 seems a little on the large size but may work. If you know the neck dia of your chamber then its much easier.

    Known chamber neck dia ( can get a good idea measuring a few fired cases). From this subtract neck wall thickness X 2 ( each side of case) thisshould be slightly under bullet dia if not subtract bullet dia from it and then .001-.002 for neck tension.

    If you ream in the sizing die to bullet dia there will be no neck tension to hold the bullet.

    On my wild cats or reformed cases I ream in the die leaving .0015-.002 wall thickness this gets me close with a good true surface. I then neck turn to size removing the last little bit to make a concentric wall thickness.

    Would be touchy to make but I may try a piloted boring bar to bore necks Pilot on bottom would be neck id+ .0003-.0005. a small cutter section with a single point tool then a second pilot at cut dia of neck ID. The first pilot will center starting the last will maintain it thru finishing. This could be easily ran in a drill press or lathe. The draw back to this tool will be 1) it cant be sharpened or reset/adjusted to size, 2) in a hobby shop its going to be fussy to make, both pilots need to be concentric with the cutter dead on to size. Here for longevity I would go with a carbide chip silver soldered in place and ground in to size.

  14. #14
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