Dillon RT 1500 trimming and neck expanding inquiry

[AR-15 Gunman]

Good day.
I set up my Dillon RT 1500 case trimmer on top of the .223 sizing die/trim die in station 3 of my XL 750 progressive. Following trimming procedures the Dillon manual states to expand the case mouth. I don't have an expander die however I set up a Redding neck sizing die in station 5 as it has an expander mandrel in it.

Are there any issues with this set up? Am I working the brass to much by neck sizing after sizing/trimming? Is there a certain way to set up the neck sizing die so that it just expands the case mouth? I put them in a case gauge after they have finished in the machine. Headspace is never over max, if anything I found a few under minimum headspace. I did 1/2 of a five gallon pail of cleaned range brass (various headstamps). The OAL varied quite a bit. 1.740"-1.755". It's just plinking/training ammo, not worried about accuracy just safety.

 

[diegocn]

Dillon trim/size die will under size the case mouth just like any other full length sizer die. It lacks the expander rod to re-expanded the case mouth to the proper diameter and this is why dillon manual states you need to run a expander through after. Your setup sounds fine to me. A simpler/cheaper solution is to install the expander rod in a Lee decap die. This way the case mouth only gets expanded once.

 

[adamg]

Another technique is to set your trim die lower so it trims down to the shortest case in your lot of cases. By leaving it longer than the shortest case, you are guaranteeing more variance in case length than you could achieve.

How's the quality of the cut in your experience? I always found my Dillon trimmer left a nasty flange inside and outside the trim, forcing me to run the cases through a case prep station to chamfer/debur.

 

[AR-15 Gunman]

Another technique is to set your trim die lower so it trims down to the shortest case in your lot of cases. By leaving it longer than the shortest case, you are guaranteeing more variance in case length than you could achieve.

How's the quality of the cut in your experience? I always found my Dillon trimmer left a nasty flange inside and outside the trim, forcing me to run the cases through a case prep station to chamfer/debur.

Hi,
The cut/trim appears to be pretty good. I had intended to run all the lubed, trimmed brass through a final stainless steel wet tumble. I assume that will remove any burrs.

 

[AR-15 Gunman]

Dillon trim/size die will under size the case mouth just like any other full length sizer die. It lacks the expander rod to re-expanded the case mouth to the proper diameter and this is why dillon manual states you need to run a expander through after. Your setup sounds fine to me. A simpler/cheaper solution is to install the expander rod in a Lee decap die. This way the case mouth only gets expanded once.

Okay, thanks