Forster honed die
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My forster full lenght die sizes the neck to .302 OD (without the expander ball) and a loaded round has .308 OD. A fired case has .3145 OD. I have to do a lot of pressure to expand the necks with the expander mandrel, is it worth ordering a honed die? if so what benefits would I get? and what diameter should I order?
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.304 would be a good number.
Make sure you're getting some kind of lube inside that case neck for expanding alos.
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I'm sorry I got the wrong number, the loaded round neck OD is .3095 (after expander mandrel is .3075) would it be correct to take .3055 ?
I lube inside the case necks with imperial wax, thanks.
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Yes, .3055 would be good.
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Thank you, now I can order it without the fear of being wrong.
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Brownells owes me a product that I have returned for malfunction, but does not want to return the money, it will simply give me an equivalent discount on the next order. I had planned to use that money to acquire a forster honed die and now I have to order something from Brownells to not lose the money...
I'm hesitant about what to do now, I could buy a SINCLAIR CONCENTRICITY GAUGE and continue the order of the honed die (more expensive because I just want the honed die) or order a Sinclair body die and a Lee collet neck sizer die hoping that it works similar and forget the forster honed die...
Could you please help me in the decision?
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@toni
The Lee dies are not what I’d call quality, they collet die works pretty good but leaves a lot to be desired. Plus it adds another step in your process because it doesn’t size the case. I’d either push them for a refund or save that credit for bullets, or other components.
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Yup, components.
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Ok, I have enough bullets to worn out the barrel, do you think the sinclair concentricity gauge worth with .001 dial indicator or should I look for something else?
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@toni The sinclair gauge is not very good.
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I use the Hornady concentricity tool to bring cartridges to within .002 thousandths. When I rework them by pushing on the low point at the neck I wonder if I am increasing the variability of final neck tension?
(sorry, off topic)
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My hornady concentricity gauge had about .003 wiggle in it. It was not precisely enough built to actually read runout to any degree of precision. Before you invest too much time in evaluating your rounds, wiggle the main rod in the gauge with the indicator against it and see what tolerances the gauge is even capable of.
as far as correcting the runout...I can't advise. I tried it a few times with the hornady when I had it, but don't know if it really made a difference or not.
