Re: Collet Neck Sizing Dies have left the bench.
Posted: 31 Dec 2019 15:23
That's weird - the crack. I wonder if that is causing the collet to close too soon, meaning that the raised (it appears to be) edge of the crack is increasing the diameter of the cone at that point. That could make it grab too soon (vertically, as the collet/brass are raise with the ram) - like before the stroke hits peak.
Now, the following is untested blather:
I've only used these on an original Turret press; I clean, lap in and lubricate the parts of the die, make sure the mandrel is smooth and clean, with a light, light coat of oil; vigorously brush the insides of the case necks and steel wool the outsides of the case necks.
I also only resize the necks as lightly as necessary to hold onto the cast bullet during normal handling. I've NOT used cased so-sized in a lever-action, but have extensively in bolt-actions, specifically "CRF" Mauser actions. I cannot push the bullets into the case with my thumb and they don't "stick" in the rifling if I un-chamber a loaded round when the rifling engraves the bullet very slightly. The bullets won't tun in the necks with my fingers.
I've never tested this, but I've wondered about the tiny bit of vertical play in the decapping rods. It would seem likely that the spent primer would offer enough resistance to push the decapping rod up against the bottom of the threaded caps. If the decapping rod is too low, or the bottom of the brass (inside) is too high, that would impart a lot of force against that cap. Maybe the primers are just that hard to push out and the repeated stress blows out the cap or strips the threads?
So, if the decapping rod is pushed up against the bottom of the threaded cap by the resistance offered by the seated spent primer, and as the neck gets squeezed against the mandrel, does the neck slide against the madrel in the final few thousandths of an inch of upward travel? Or, does the mandrel drop back down after the primer is pushed all the way out, allowing it some vertical travel again so it can move up with the case/collet in the final little bit of upward travel?
Lastly, I would never assume you could hold a candle to me and my uncanny intermittent stupidity, but if it were on MY bench, I'd look to see if I'd mixed up madrels or collets or even had the right die. Just yesterday, I caught an unflared case mouth while loading 357 Mags. Since I use a turret press, this is a snap! Just rotate the turret to the flaring die, flare the case and you're all set, right? Wrong! You have to remember to rotate the turret BACK to the seating die. Yeah, I tried to seat a bullet with the flaring die - again. Give me another 50 years of hand-loading and I'll figure it all out.
Now, the following is untested blather:
I've only used these on an original Turret press; I clean, lap in and lubricate the parts of the die, make sure the mandrel is smooth and clean, with a light, light coat of oil; vigorously brush the insides of the case necks and steel wool the outsides of the case necks.
I also only resize the necks as lightly as necessary to hold onto the cast bullet during normal handling. I've NOT used cased so-sized in a lever-action, but have extensively in bolt-actions, specifically "CRF" Mauser actions. I cannot push the bullets into the case with my thumb and they don't "stick" in the rifling if I un-chamber a loaded round when the rifling engraves the bullet very slightly. The bullets won't tun in the necks with my fingers.
I've never tested this, but I've wondered about the tiny bit of vertical play in the decapping rods. It would seem likely that the spent primer would offer enough resistance to push the decapping rod up against the bottom of the threaded caps. If the decapping rod is too low, or the bottom of the brass (inside) is too high, that would impart a lot of force against that cap. Maybe the primers are just that hard to push out and the repeated stress blows out the cap or strips the threads?
So, if the decapping rod is pushed up against the bottom of the threaded cap by the resistance offered by the seated spent primer, and as the neck gets squeezed against the mandrel, does the neck slide against the madrel in the final few thousandths of an inch of upward travel? Or, does the mandrel drop back down after the primer is pushed all the way out, allowing it some vertical travel again so it can move up with the case/collet in the final little bit of upward travel?
Lastly, I would never assume you could hold a candle to me and my uncanny intermittent stupidity, but if it were on MY bench, I'd look to see if I'd mixed up madrels or collets or even had the right die. Just yesterday, I caught an unflared case mouth while loading 357 Mags. Since I use a turret press, this is a snap! Just rotate the turret to the flaring die, flare the case and you're all set, right? Wrong! You have to remember to rotate the turret BACK to the seating die. Yeah, I tried to seat a bullet with the flaring die - again. Give me another 50 years of hand-loading and I'll figure it all out.