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Problems with calibrating (FL sizing) the base of the 223REM Lapua brass 6× and 15× fired

I never said it would, I only tried to point out that there were options that might solve this issue.
Consider it pointed. Don't keep pointing it out every time I post something contrary.
 
Mainly responding to help anyone who may be reading and face a similar issue. Clean brass doesn't shoot better than dirty. But, we clean (even using a rag and getting the major stuff off is better than nothing) so that we don't gunk up our dies (or chamber).

The OP is one of the worst offenders for putting out completely wrong information. So, be warned when reading his posts and attempting to learn.

well well well: https://support.leeprecision.net/en/knowledgebase/article/dirty-brass

We do not recommend polishing your brass before resizing it. The oxidation and soot act as a lubricant when sizing which will make it easier for you to resize your cases. Also, clean brass tends to gall or leave deposits behind, which will build up and scratch your cases. While the scratching and scoring doesn't look pretty, it will not effect how your reloads perform at all.

my brass is NOT DIRTY, is just not shiny because I dont post pictures of my rounds on instagram...
 
As I said Imperial Sizing Die Wax was the second half of the solution because it will provide enough lubrication to size the brass.

What hasn't been mentioned is the press being used to size the brass. Not all presses have the same leverage. The press could also be part of the problem.

I use water based lubricant from RCBS or Redding, and even if I lube my cases too much, some of them will stuck in the Whidden die.

Press is RCBS Summit, with cam-over when sizing my brass.

I use shims to precisely adjust headspace, just like SAC dies (instead of Redding competition shellholders).

at bottom line I think Whidder dies are quite a junk. because a lot of people have problems with Whidden products... It probably mismatch ordinarly chamber...
 
well well well: https://support.leeprecision.net/en/knowledgebase/article/dirty-brass



my brass is NOT DIRTY, is just not shiny because I dont post pictures of my rounds on instagram...

LOLOL. I just posted a video above where Hornady instructs people to adjust their dies down to the shell holder, not to adjust them after, and shows no measurements.

And you think posting an article from makers of some of the worst loading gear available telling you the soot is lubricant and that scratched brass is fine......is somehow good information?

Also, I realize English is not your first language (and neither is logic apparently), but polishing and cleaning are two different things. You literally said you don't clean your brass. That link you posted says polishing. Two different things.
 
Also, this is how easy it is to google until you find something that fits the narrative you want to push. This is straight out of the hornady manual.

I don't agree with the entire statement, but if I wanted to be like Mark......I'd just post this and pretend I know what I'm talking about:


Screenshot 2023-12-08 at 02.06.00.jpeg
 
And you think posting an article from makers of some of the worst loading gear available telling you the soot is lubricant and that scratched brass is fine......is somehow good information?

... polishing and cleaning are two different things. You literally said you don't clean your brass. That link you posted says polishing. Two different things.

worst maker? ask people, how to get consistent primer depth with overpriced 1000$ piece of shit CPS and lee 100$ ACP ...

polishing and cleaning are... different things? in tumbler? wet tumbler? ultrasonic? NO!
with those things when you ''clean'' your brass, you are also polishing it!
use wet cloth and you wont polish your brass when you will clean it. I dont clean (and polish) my brass because there is nothing to clean...
 
If that were the case, why do you think your sizing went back to normal after you cleaned/polished your brass?
my guess is because I removed material with that fine sandpaper from the base of the brass. only on the base is the problem.

I have ultrasonic to clean/polish the brass, so maybe I will try with that step.
 
One time I wanted to see how many times I could reload a 9mm case so I drove to the range with my portable reloading setup and reloaded a FC 9mm case 32x before it failed.

I wasn’t cleaning the case between loadings. Apparently pressing all that carbon into the pores of the carbide die did a number on it and I stuck a case a few days later. When I got it out it was galled up.

I cleaned the die by soaking it in various cleaning solvents, spun a bronze brush in a power drill, and also polished with JB. That did the trick.

So cleaning brass helps to keep your dies clean. And prevents stuck cases.

Regarding your base dimensions, measure the base before and after sizing before we continue this conversation.
 
worst maker? ask people, how to get consistent primer depth with overpriced 1000$ piece of shit CPS and lee 100$ ACP ...

polishing and cleaning are... different things? in tumbler? wet tumbler? ultrasonic? NO!
with those things when you ''clean'' your brass, you are also polishing it!
use wet cloth and you wont polish your brass when you will clean it. I dont clean (and polish) my brass because there is nothing to clean...

You can't polish brass in an ultrasonic. LOL. (well, you can, but it takes an exponentially longer time and different chemicals. and the polish isn't what most people would consider polished).

Hence why a second type of machine is needed to actually polish the brass if you'd like it to not be dull. Some processes do both clean and polish, while others may do one or the other. Ultrasonic cleaners will leave the brass looking very dull and at times tarnished.

You'll need something like stainless pins or dry media to polish. Much like you'd need a pad and your elbow to polish brass by hand. Just like taking a rag with or without a cleaning compound and wiping your brass off would only clean the brass and not polish it.


Screenshot 2023-12-08 at 10.47.35 AM.png
 
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You've also talked yourself into a hole here.

You have determined it isn't, and insulted people who have suggested needing to clean your die because you don't clean your brass......and that it's overpressure and expanding your case head.

So, the only thing left at this point is that your chamber is allowing more expansion than your die can size.
 
So cleaning brass helps to keep your dies clean. And prevents stuck cases.

Regarding your base dimensions, measure the base before and after sizing before we continue this conversation.

tommorow I will sizing brass in other box, but the same LOT of brass and same number of firings. I will see how it goes.
After that, I also have new, 1× fired Lapua brass, and I will see how sizing proces will go with this brass. But I dont expect any problems with new brass.

I cant accuratly measure the base because this is not an easy process. I dont have micrometer for 0.0001' measurement, and also I dont have any tool that I can measure the base at EXACTLY SAME SPOT every time.
measurements with caliper are inaccurate and always at different location. And if I measure the bottom of the brass, this measurement means nothing because this is unsuported and unsized portion of the brass...
 
tommorow I will sizing brass in other box, but the same LOT of brass and same number of firings. I will see how it goes.
After that, I also have new, 1× fired Lapua brass, and I will see how sizing proces will go with this brass. But I dont expect any problems with new brass.

I cant accuratly measure the base because this is not an easy process. I dont have micrometer for 0.0001' measurement, and also I dont have any tool that I can measure the base at EXACTLY SAME SPOT every time.
measurements with caliper are inaccurate and always at different location. And if I measure the bottom of the brass, this measurement means nothing because this is unsuported and unsized portion of the brass...

Put the brass lengthwise in the caliper jaws. They will measure the fattest point that way. You don’t need to measure to the .0001”, just to see if you have enough clearance after sizing, like .002” or so.
 
ok, I measured accuratly as I could with ordinary caliper, and at 0.380'' height from the bottom of the brass, the difference of diameter between fired and sized brass is 0.0025'' to 0.003''.
 
So back to square one… clean your brass in a vibratory tumbler with dry media and some polish compound in it. Comes as a pretty affordable kit like I posted earlier. And service / inspect your die.
 
ok, I measured accuratly as I could with ordinary caliper, and at 0.380'' height from the bottom of the brass, the difference of diameter between fired and sized brass is 0.0025'' to 0.003''.
The web is .200" up from the base. Where is the spot on the brass where it's getting stuck on the die?
 
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That has got to be the most ratchet looking brass I have ever seen- outside of brass that somebody left on the range for several months in the elements. That it sizes well when polished is telling you something. Maybe try cleaning your brass
 
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Where is the spot on the brass where it's getting stuck on the die?

it's hard to tell, but I will try to find that spot. But maybe it will be next month, because I dont know when I will fire that problematic brass.

OK, then problem solved. Now clean out the die and and should be gtg.

so 0.003'' diffrence in diameter is normal?

clean your brass in a vibratory tumbler with dry media and some polish compound in it

I promise that I will try to do that. At friend. I ony have ultrasonic cleaner, so maybe this will give me some early answers.

That has got to be the most ratchet looking brass I have ever seen

I have the same looking brass in my 284WIN, and in 8× firing it is normaly sizing. But in Redding die, not Whidden.

Also, do you own another 223 sizing die?

I think I have Lee FL die, but I drilled out the hole so I made shitty 'body' die out of it.
And now I use it like a mandrel; instead of decaping pin and expander ball I put inside custom made mandrell.
 
here are pictures of sized Lapua brass, 6× fired, from another box but same LOT as other problematic 6× fired brass:

tulci neočiščeni FL whidden 1.jpg


tulci neočiščeni FL whidden 2.jpg


2× upper pictures of uncleaned sized brass with Whidden bushing FL die.

it is clear that Whidden die leaves bigger mark on the brass than Lee die, and sizing with Lee die is easier than with Whidden die.

tulci očiščeni FL whidden & lee 1.jpg


tulci očiščeni FL whidden & lee 2.jpg


But it is easier sizing when brass is cleaned with ultrasonic cleaner. So I guess I will clean my brass every year after season :D but I wont clean necks, because I leave carbon residue for better friction and constant neck tension.

But when I measure diameter of sized brass when sized wit Whidden versus Lee die, in the middle of the bright portion was the same diameter when sized with Whidden or with Lee !!
So I guess something is wrong with the bottom of the Whidden die, so I will try to polish it very well. maybe there is some untracable ring in the bottom of the die...
 
Both dies appear to be sizing down to the .200 mark just form looking at the pics. How much sizing, you'll have to measure.

It could be from the inside of the die, or just something in the lighting/angle of the pics. But I'd take a look and check the pieces on the right to make sure you don't have some impending case head separation.

Screenshot 2023-12-10 at 6.42.45 AM.png
 
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I see what’s happening now. Your Whidden die is pushing the brass down, forming a belt of sorts towards the bottom of the case. And it is scratching up the brass. Send the die back with a few cases and tell them to polish the inside.

If not, then you clean the die real good and size the brass with some good lube, like imperial wax, and see if it persist.
 
I see what’s happening now. Your Whidden die is pushing the brass down, forming a belt of sorts towards the bottom of the case.
This is what happens when your webs get blown out.

A small base die is 2 - 3 thou tighter than a normal die. If both whidden and Lee dies are resizing 2 - 3 thou out of the webs of fired brass and pushing brass down into a belt then their acting like a SBD in relation to the chamber. So either the chamber has a massive base diameter or the brass swelled from overpressure and spring back after it ejected.

An actual SBD would exacerbate the smearing of brass down to the base issue. It would be trying to size 6 thou out of the base.