If I’m using a Redding Full Body Bushing Die wouldn’t the sizing button on the decapping rod undo the sizing of the neck the bushing did on the down stroke.
Bushing Die Question
- Thread starter triplecelectric
- Start date
Correct. As the ram is going down at the end of the cycle, the sizing button is coming up (relatively speaking) and it will “undo” the work of the neck bushing.
Are you also neck turning to insure consistent neck wall thickness ? If not, that is a source of variation. You should also neck turn.
Are you also neck turning to insure consistent neck wall thickness ? If not, that is a source of variation. You should also neck turn.
I F/L size without the ball by removing it. I've seen a situation a long time ago when sizing 223 where I was taking the neck down to around 245, then seating the bullets and they were falling into the case. Turns out I didn't remove the sizing ball, and it was expanding the necks open to like 250+.
A full body bushing die? What the crap is that. You mean a type s? Use actual names for things so we can be on the same wave length. A normal nonbishing die will typically size the brass in the neck way to small so that it ensures it will always size the minimum side of the spec. The expander ball opens that back up so that the internal dimension is correct and not effected by the thickness of the brass. Using a bushing in the neck will allow you to lessen the extent of that over sizing and lessen the working of the brass. You can use a busing only and choose the correct bushing to give you the neck dimension you desire with out expanding or you can use the expander and have the bushing slightly over size it and let the expander set the final neck tension. By using the expander you force the irregularities in the neck tension to the outside so that you have a more even surface for the bullet to contact. So if you have turned brass with zero neck irregularities you can just use a bushing to set it and not worry about having to expand to uniform the internal neck surface and save that .001 or 2 of extra work on the brass.
This is a good question as I have some Redding Type S dies as well and wondered this.
Had a few questions then to make sure I'm thinking about this the right way:
- On virgin brass, what do you do then as the brass really needs an expander the first time. Just use the expander ball and no bushing?
- Is it right to say that using a bushing in conjunction with the expander ball is basically undoing anything the bushing is doing?
- On 1+ times fired brass, assuming you know your loaded round diameter, do you simply set the die up for your desired shoulder bump, take the expander ball off and use just the bushing?
Had a few questions then to make sure I'm thinking about this the right way:
- On virgin brass, what do you do then as the brass really needs an expander the first time. Just use the expander ball and no bushing?
- Is it right to say that using a bushing in conjunction with the expander ball is basically undoing anything the bushing is doing?
- On 1+ times fired brass, assuming you know your loaded round diameter, do you simply set the die up for your desired shoulder bump, take the expander ball off and use just the bushing?
-You can use the expander the first time but factory brass typically has really tight neck tension so you would have to be forcing it down into the brass. That’s really best served by an expander die that makes use of mandrels for that operation.
-no, fired brass needs to be sized down to hold a bullet again, the expander is sizing the inside of the neck, the bushing sizes the outside of the neck.
-If you think that your necks are good enough to provide neck tension consistent enough to your standards then eliminate the expander and choose the right bushing to set your desired tension.
-no, fired brass needs to be sized down to hold a bullet again, the expander is sizing the inside of the neck, the bushing sizes the outside of the neck.
-If you think that your necks are good enough to provide neck tension consistent enough to your standards then eliminate the expander and choose the right bushing to set your desired tension.
Ok now you've confused me 
I think the initial question from OP is sort of the same as mine. On the Type S, if I measure a loaded round and its say .256 and I pick the bushing thats .254 to give it .002 neck tension, when I run the die, should I use the expander ball or only the bushing? What really has me confused now is the question on, doesnt the expander ball screw with what the bushing has done when you run the brass back down/put the neck through the expander after its been in the bushing?
Or SHOULD you be using the expander, plus the bushing? Or bushing only, or what? So confused now
I think the initial question from OP is sort of the same as mine. On the Type S, if I measure a loaded round and its say .256 and I pick the bushing thats .254 to give it .002 neck tension, when I run the die, should I use the expander ball or only the bushing? What really has me confused now is the question on, doesnt the expander ball screw with what the bushing has done when you run the brass back down/put the neck through the expander after its been in the bushing?
Or SHOULD you be using the expander, plus the bushing? Or bushing only, or what? So confused now
You should get off the Internet, pick up your calipers, and start giving yourself real numbers to work with.
Run casings in various ways, MEASURE said casings, and record what the die produced when you followed "X" procedure. A realization will be that what the die and/or bushing is stamped is not usually what you get.
You're looking for something that gives you a casing that fits the chamber (it's a-okay to use the ACTUAL chamber to check this), is round and all parts are round at the same center as all others, and whose neck diameter is about 0.002" LESS without a bullet than it is WITH one.
But tools and time are the only way to answer your questions with certainty. You will become educated, rather than taught.
Run casings in various ways, MEASURE said casings, and record what the die produced when you followed "X" procedure. A realization will be that what the die and/or bushing is stamped is not usually what you get.
You're looking for something that gives you a casing that fits the chamber (it's a-okay to use the ACTUAL chamber to check this), is round and all parts are round at the same center as all others, and whose neck diameter is about 0.002" LESS without a bullet than it is WITH one.
But tools and time are the only way to answer your questions with certainty. You will become educated, rather than taught.
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If the bushing sizes it to the exact same diameter that the expander would have otherwise left it then the expander won’t undo anything; it just won’t do anything. But it will make sure that those outlier pieces of brass that are smaller get opened up to the correct internal diameter.
It’s best to have the bushing size .003 under the loaded diameter. Expanders leave .002 of neck tension so this sized it .001 further so that all the brass gets addressed in the same and uniformly.
It’s best to have the bushing size .003 under the loaded diameter. Expanders leave .002 of neck tension so this sized it .001 further so that all the brass gets addressed in the same and uniformly.
