Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters JB, my 7x57 expander ball is driving me batty

John, I've been waiting for your update. This thread caused me to get a button resizer for the 270Win., 7x57 and 30-06. I haven't sat down with it yet though. Reading about your experience, I wonder if an improperly machined shell holder couldn't also be causing the problem? Maybe it is "presenting" the case slightly off angle? An experiment I am thinking is to measure runout for 10 cases and record it. Full length resize with the new button tool and measure the runout. BUT, index the cases position with a felt tip marker before removing them, re-size them again now only 180* rotated and measure. In that way the shell holder would be holder the case different. Something I am going to try as time permits.

That's an intriguing thought, but I'm using the same shellholder I use with my .30-06 dies. It's the Redding Competition +.010, and incidentally I used most of the rest of the set with the .30-06, trying to size cases from my old Mark X small enough to work in my NULA. (Can't be done, it turns out.) Anyway, all of those worked fine.

Ok. I have a shellholder in each of the Redding Deluxe Die Sets.
Maybe you have to sit straighter in your chair?

That's about the only thing I haven't tried!

I remove all the expander balls from my dies. Don't use them anymore.

I give virgin brass a one time push up a K&M mandrel, done.

Yeah, and hold your tongue STRAIGHT FORWARD in your mouth while running the case into and out of the die. No crooked tongue stuff, now

Steve

Eyes forward, feet together, hands still, butt clenched.

This thread made me re-examine a .308 die I've had fits with. Most other dies, sizing without the expander and then running the case back up onto the expander works well. With this particular die, it forced the neck out of alignment every time. I have another set of .308 dies that work fine, so it is not a big deal, but it is perplexing.

I gave up expander buttons back when i discoverd the Lee Collet die... The craziness ended that day. The whole idea of an expander button never did seem like a reasonable solution to me and for precision reloading it's comparable to surgery with a chain saw...

$bob$

John, try this to narrow down the possibilities:

-Put an 'o' ring between the die lock ring and top of the press, then check the concentricity.

Good shootin'. -Al

Al,

Thanks, tried that last night. No change.

I talked to Redding the other day and they suggested many of the same things. Unless someone comes up with a miracle this weekend, I'm sending the die to them on Monday.

John

Latest update - I sent the die to Redding (with the carbide ball installed, and with several neck-sorted, fired cases from my rifle) and they checked it out. They concluded the expander stem was crooked, replaced it, tested it and found it was making nice, straight cases. (They sent the cases back to prove it.)

But when I tried it for myself, I got the same runout as before. Now I'm really stumped. Clearly I'm doing something wrong, or at least different from what Redding did. But I'm not doing anything different with these dies than I do with any other dies, with perfectly OK results. Same press, same shellholders, same neck brush, same case lube.

Out of sheer curiosity, I also bought a Redding neck die, which gave about the same runout as the FL die.

Work has been crazy so I haven't had time to call them back, but does anyone have any possible theory that might explain this, just so I have something to kick around on the phone when I do have time to call?

Apparently the die is possessed by demons. I run into one of those once in a while.

One thing you might try: Size the cases with the decapper/expander stem removed. Then replace the stem and PUSH the expander ball into the necks of the resized cases. Often that will do the trick.

It does require another step in reloading, but in a big game rifle where you're only loading a box or two at a time that's no biggie.

Do you mean push just enough to get the fat part of the expander ball through the length of the neck, without the "bump" of pulling it back through?

No, push it all the way through, then pull it back out again.

If that keeps the necks pretty straight, I'll tell you why it works--and the probable reason you're having troubles.

JB do you know if any manufacturer has tried putting the expander ball hanging from a chain or wire inside the sizing die? So long as the fired neck is large enough to let it in, it should have the effect of pulling the expander ball thru the neck manually and be self centering, yes?

Have you tried with the expander rod loose in the die?

Have you tried a different press? I can imagine that if it's out of center it could cause some wonky things...

Yes.

No, but this press works fine with all my other dies.