223 fs die w/ carbide ball

[chetc]

i presently have 2 sets of 223 dies, one is a Lee and the other is the Forster BR die set, the forster makes a very concentric load, max runout is around .001, the problem is the expander ball is too small in diameter, neck tension is too tight, the only way i get around this is i made a special .224 dia pin and made an adapter so i press this thru the neck on my last loading step, i want to do away with this step, i see lyman has a 223 full siing die with a carbide expander ball, my friend has one and it works good, question i have is does anyone make a carbide expander ball for the forster fs die, if not the only way i see to get the lyman fs die is buying the 3 die set, did i miss something, is the lyman fs die with the carbide expander ball available separate, or does any other company sell a fs die with the carbide expander ball.

Chet

[m12lrs]

http://www.forsterproducts.com/custom-machining-service/

CUSTOM NECK HONING OF FORSTER FULL LENGTH SIZING or NECK SIZING DIE
We custom hone the inside neck diameter by using a diamond stoning process. We enlarge the inside diameter to your specification to prevent over-sizing of the case neck due to thick neck walls. You may require this service for multiple reasons: 1) If you use some brands of brass cases which have thicker neck walls. 2) If you do not intend to outside neck turn case necks that have thickened after repeated firings. Please specify desired inside neck diameter. Note: 1) No more than .008″ stock removal from your existing die neck diameter is possible. 2) Honing is done in increments of one half thousandth of an inch (.0005″), meaning that your specified inside diameter must be either.XXX0″ or .XXX5″.
$12.00 plus actual return shipping cost & insurance Please allow 1-3 weeks.

CUSTOM under-size EXPANDER BALL “E-10”
Specify exact outside diameter desired. We can make special expander balls,”E-10’s”, up to three thousandths smaller than bullet diameter.
Retail price + $7 Special Machining Fee + shipping. Please allow 1-2 weeks.

[Slowpoke Slim]

Either send off your die to Forrester, or look into using a neck bushing die. I have several sets of Redding neck bushing dies and am happy with them. You can buy just the neck bushing die separate from Redding.

[The Old Coach]

@ chetc I do the same thing you did, because I load cast bullets almost exclusively now. Lyman "M" dies with my own custom expander mandrels. You won't find one ball size or bushing size that is perfect every time. For one thing, brass temper affects the result. Annealed necks give less springback, work-hardened necks more. I'd stick with what you are doing until you have explored that source of variance. You may need 2 or 3 mandrels to get your pull force to where you want it every time.

It would still be worth opening up your die(s), to minimize the amount that your brass gets worked.

[earl39]

The only real problem with having the neck of the die honed is your next batch of brass might have thinner necks and then you won't be sizing enough. That's why bushing dies are made. Custom fit for less money. Lots of ways to skin a cat just depends on how much you want to spend.