Adjusting Expander Ball

[edh]

I just received a neck size die for my 338 Federal. I noticed that the stem/expander ball was not centered. With the lock ring snug the ball is ~.010" off center. I called Redding this morning and they said that they would gladly send me a new one. He then said that he and many others left the lock ring loose so that the ball could float, assuring that the fired case/neck relationship was not disturbed. I plan on keeping the die and letting the ball float.

The question is, does anybody do this with their full length sizing dies too?

Ed

 

[longwinters]

I take a concentric case and then raise it into the die. I then loosen the expanding ball stem and lower the case until it is just snug. I then tighten down the stem and go to work. This works if your expanding ball/stem is not bent etc...

Long

 

[JungleJim]

Yes, I leave the lock ring loose. Allowing the expander ball stem to float around. For me, doing so will consistently yield better results in bullet runout control.

But I would also add I do deprime the cases in a separate operation before resizing using a Lee universal depriming die. Than I clean the cases than I resize the cases.

On my resizing dies I have removed the depriming pin and raised the expander so there is no danger of the decaping pin hitting the bottom of the priming hole off center when floating the expander.

 

[rick smith]

If you will polish the expander ball to a mirror finish and center it as explained by longwinters, you should not have any problems. The depth of the rod in a case can be adjusted so that it doesn't bottom out on the case by raising a case into the die and screwing the rod into the case so that it just deprimes, lock the stem in that place when the expander ball enters the neck as the case is being withdrawn. I use a Co-Ax press and the dies float without any adjustment.Rick.

 

[Ol` Joe]

Polish the ball as recommended.
Then, take a trip to your local hardware store and buy a "O" ring that will just slip over the threaded rod of your expander. (1/8"?) They run about $0.05 around here or were the last time I bought one. Use it as a washer between the die and the lock nut, with the nut "just snug". This will allow the ball to "float" a hair on center and aline its self.
Forster uses this same set-up on their sizers from the factory.

 

[edh]

Thanks for all the great replies.

There is something out of whack with the die. I swapped the stem from my FL die and it shows the run-out too. Neither stem shows any run-out in the FL die.

I'm going to polish the expander balls, float the stems using the o-ring technique, and de-prime with my universal de-capping die before tumbling.

Just for reference: RCBS and Forster dies take a 1/4" ID o-ring (#010) and Redding dies take a 1/2" ID o-ring (#014).

Ed