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Posted By: RTSJ Opening up a seater die? - 01/09/13
Can it be done? Building a wildcat that is a 6.5 Sherman. Am wandering if u can use the chamber reamer to open up a 280 AI seater die to use for my 6.5 Sherman? Using a .264 mag neck die to form the false shoulder and then fire forming. Resize the necks and ready to load. Just not sure what to use to seat with. Was gonna use a .264 mag seater but am thinking the that the .270 parent case would move around too much in the larger die and not give me a straight bullet seat. Going to have a custom set made but was wandering if this can be done for now while its taking 3-4 months to build the dies.

Thanks Roy
Posted By: 458 Lott Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/09/13
There are blank seating dies you can buy that you can use a chamber reamer to make a custom seater. But most commercial seating dies are hardened and you'll ruin your reamer if you try and use it to open them up.
Posted By: aalf Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/09/13
www.lewilson.com/
Posted By: RTSJ Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/09/13
Originally Posted by aalf

Al.. how will that wilson seater work? Looking over dimensions of the 280AI and the 6.5 Sherman they r very close. The Shermans case walls are blown out a little more. Where the case wall meets the 40� shoulder it is .006 larger.
Thats why i was wandering with auch minimal stock if the chamber reamer could open it up just a bit to snuggly hold the case while seating the bullet.


Roy
Posted By: gzig5 Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/09/13
As already mentioned, if you run the reamer into a hardened seater die you will ruin the reamer. Best solution is to make a new seater with the reamer from a die blank or a chunk of free machining steel. If you insist on using an existing die it would have to be lapped out, which would take a while and you need to know what you are doing. Might be able to open it up with a carbide boring bar and then lap, but the little bar is going to be way up in there and is going to want to chatter.
Posted By: RTSJ Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/09/13
Originally Posted by gzig5
As already mentioned, if you run the reamer into a hardened seater die you will ruin the reamer. Best solution is to make a new seater with the reamer from a die blank or a chunk of free machining steel. If you insist on using an existing die it would have to be lapped out, which would take a while and you need to know what you are doing. Might be able to open it up with a carbide boring bar and then lap, but the little bar is going to be way up in there and is going to want to chatter.


Can a hardened die be honed on a diamond hone?


Roy
Posted By: aalf Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/09/13
Originally Posted by RTSJ
Originally Posted by aalf

Al.. how will that wilson seater work? Looking over dimensions of the 280AI and the 6.5 Sherman they r very close. The Shermans case walls are blown out a little more. Where the case wall meets the 40� shoulder it is .006 larger.
Thats why i was wandering with auch minimal stock if the chamber reamer could open it up just a bit to snuggly hold the case while seating the bullet.Roy

I posted the link as the fastest way to get a seater.....just run the finish reamer in a smaller .264 die that will clean it up completely. Cheaper only if you're set up with an arbor press.

Posted By: Malm Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/09/13
You might be able to get away with using a small carbide boring bar like one that Circle Machine manufactures and some really careful planning. I've used them over the years to cut experimental chambers and to open die bodies to give shoulder room and change neck diameters. While not as pretty as a factory produced die, they can do the job until a better one becomes available.
Posted By: greydog Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/09/13
If the seater die is hardened (some are not), it can be annealed then re-chambered. This can be done with a sizer as well after which it is re-hardened. I wouldn't bother hardening a seater and don't harden any that I make. Sizers, I carburize and case harden. GD
Posted By: Al_Nyhus Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/09/13
If for whatever reason you prefer a threaded seating die, Troy Newlon makes great die blanks. -Al

http://newlonprecision.com/
I don't believe Lee dies are hardened, you might be able to use the reamer on one of their dies.
Another option would be to anneal the seater die you want to ream with your chamber reamer.

I've been doing this for about 40 years on band saws, so that they can flex after welding, when going around the bandmill wheels.

Heat the entire die to a dull red and hold the color for about 30 seconds, then SLOWLY pull the torch back, letting the die cool very slowly.

Virgil B.
Roy,

I have a threaded die blank that I'm not using... You can have it for the price of shipping. PM me if interested...

GH
Posted By: erich Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/11/13
You can use a hornady seater with the sliding sleave, just get one for a 6.5mm (260 Rem or 6.5 Rem mag) the sleeve drops down over the neck keeping the case and bullet straight. I use the same ones for my 5.6x50R and 22-250, 6mm-204 and 243 also the 25-204 and 250 Savage.
Posted By: EddyBo Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/11/13
Originally Posted by Al_Nyhus
If for whatever reason you prefer a threaded seating die, Troy Newlon makes great die blanks. -Al

http://newlonprecision.com/


Beat me to it.
Posted By: gzig5 Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/11/13
Originally Posted by RTSJ


Can a hardened die be honed on a diamond hone?


Roy


Yes. Diamond will cut any steel, but it is going to be slow going.
Posted By: nsaqam Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/11/13
Originally Posted by erich
You can use a hornady seater with the sliding sleave, just get one for a 6.5mm (260 Rem or 6.5 Rem mag) the sleeve drops down over the neck keeping the case and bullet straight. I use the same ones for my 5.6x50R and 22-250, 6mm-204 and 243 also the 25-204 and 250 Savage.


As Erich says, I use Hornady seaters on many different cartridges.
As Greydog says, there is really no reason to harden a seater.
Posted By: Bobcape Re: Opening up a seater die? - 01/12/13
Correct, most seating dies are not hardened. I have used a regular chamber reamer to open seater dies from Redding many times. When I was looking for a faster and less expensive seater solution for wildcats, a Redding tech told me the sliding sleeve on their comp seaters are made from 12L14. They cut easily. I recently opened a .260 Rem seater to .260AI. I turned the reamer by hand and set the depth at .125" with the GO gauge. I've done this more than a dozen times with great luck. Certainly cheaper and quicker to buy a standard comp seater and convert it.

Bob
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