Sizing ball grabbing neck of case.

[Treeman]

Guys, I have always been very stingy with lube, do not know why but it is something I need to watch myself with.
I have no issue with down stroke of die, but even with a bit of lube in case neck I find the extraction stroke to be very hard and "Must Be Incorrect", I need force on occasion to pull the button through the case neck.
How do you lube a case neck on the shoulder where issue is ?

Is this just a matter of lubrication or what?

[Newton]

Is this just a matter of lubrication or what?

Acquire the appropriate measuring tools ...

Get yourself a set of .. SMALL HOLE GAUGES
Measure the inside diameter of the neck of your reloading die
Measure the button with a micrometer
Measure he ID of the neck of a piece of fired brass
Get some factory rounds measure a loaded round at the neck
Use a puller to pull the bullet - measure the OD / ID of the neck of that pulled round
The bullet should be a standard set measurement so use that as a "yardstick"

Measure everything up carefully and see what you get
Without proper accurate measurement ,,, everything is just a guess

[Ds J]

I had the hard up strokes with my 222, it was due to donuts.

The hard strokes with my 308 was hardened brass.

[big5ifty]

It's a common issue.

The shape of the expander ball contributes to the problem as well. Some, like the Hornady are a long oval, some are more of a ball.

The new Lee decapping rod is a big improvement on all other designs.

Graphite lube helps a lot, Redding has a little container with spherical media and graphite, you just dunk the case neck in there before sizing.

The only way to eliminate the problem is to remove the decapping rod from your sizing die and neck expand with a mandrel.

[Treeman]

I had the hard up strokes with my 222, it was due to donuts.

The hard strokes with my 308 was hardened brass.

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Yes I have had both issues before, this time I can disregard these two mentioned. Cases were 3 x shot, so rather new, they were trimmed, annealed etc
 Cases were good, but I will doughnut check anyway

[Treeman]

The only way to eliminate the problem is to remove the decapping rod from your sizing die and neck expand with a mandrel.
[/quote]
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Do I understand correctly. Size with no rod, then run a mandrel down neck ?
Where are these mandrels to be bought ?

[big5ifty]

Sudami

I can recommend these. Gerrie made a custom for the BMG for me.

Quality, service and price. All great.

Now you'll get involved in discussions as to how much neck tension. I'd suggest 2 thou under bullet diameter, and crimp after seating, for hunting rounds.

[Treeman]

Sudami

I can recommend these. Gerrie made a custom for the BMG for me.

Quality, service and price. All great.

Now you'll get involved in discussions as to how much neck tension. I'd suggest 2 thou under bullet diameter, and crimp after seating, for hunting rounds.

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Thnk you, wonder what this lot is gonna cost

[oafpatroll]

I haven't looked at the Sudami site for a long while and was amazed a their range, it's huge. Fantastic to see an SA manufacturing outfit growing like this.

[Treeman]

So I will buy these tonight, soon as I have a confirmation on size.
 I do not want a crimp !!!!

Do I still buy .002 under bullet size ?
What is the difference between the two expander body dies - one is called a lap rig?

[big5ifty]

The normal expanding body is what you need.

If you use monolithics, go for 3 thou under, if you're using lead core then 2 thou under.

There is no practical advantage in going smaller, because either the bullet is going to expand [ deform ] the neck back up again, or the neck is going to swage the bullet shank down.

The limit of elastic neck expansion to where plastic deformation starts to occur is between 1 and 2 thou.

[Treeman]

I just finished decapping 300 .308 cases. Oom Drie told me about his olive oil as resizing lube days and gave me some more of his extensive knowledge on reloading.

So tonight I took our Pure Coconut spray and cook to the garage. 100% coconut guaranteed !

I stood 80 cases upright and sprayed from top at 45 degree angle both sides. 1 second each side, less than a pans needs by 4 x. The cases sized like wow !, better than Lee paste and about as good as Imperial wax.
I washed the cases 2 x in boiling water and sunlight soap and rinsed 2 x in boiling water ( tap hot only water).
I am really amazed, a bit more cleaning effort needed, but ! Must be at least 4 x cheaper than conventional lube.
I am thinking to do the case cleaning wash as my lube cleaning wash next time. Sunlight Citric Acid and warm water - clean lube and case one step ?

[Treeman]

Big5ifty, please confirm :
.270 = .275 mandrel
.308 = ..306 mandrel
7 mm = .282 mandrel
.223 = .221 mandrel

I really do not wanna screw order up.

[big5ifty]

I can't tell you which size is going to be right for you, but 2 thou under bullet size is a sensible choice for those calibers.

 

[Newton]

I can't tell you which size is going to be right for you, but 2 thou under bullet size is a sensible choice for those calibers.

It is very easy finding the dimensions of the bullet - then subtract whatever dimension you think is correct
HOWEVER
You have no idea of the dimensions of the case [ neck ] ?

This guy will help -

but - you need to buy the tools ( as I mentioned )
You CANNOT work out which size mandrel is correct if you do not know what the case neck wall thickness is !
You also need to try a few different sizes to find the optimum measurement / optimum mandrel
You will need a TUBE Micrometer
What the inside diameter of the neck is - what the outside diameter of the neck is
You will need a set of small hole gauges , a micrometer , and pin hole gauges
ALL these dimensions vary from manufacturer to manufacturer - even between lots.

Do whatever you want - the above is the correct way to do this