Setting up Resizing Die

quikcolin

quikcolin

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I have the two 2 manufactures providing conflicting recommendations... Hornady and RCBS

I have a Hornady LNL single stage press, and RCBS dies. Hornady says tighten the die down until it bottoms out on the shell holder (at the top position), then tighten. Done. RCBS says tighten the die down until it bottoms out on the shell holder (at the top position), then turn INWARD 1/8 - 1/4 turn.

Also to confuse things further, Hornady says don't turn the die in anymore for FL dies.... but does that not apply to SB dies... or does it?

Any insight is appreciated!

Thx,
Colin

PS - I'm still miles away from loading my first bullet. I'm researching and reading like a madman trying to ensure I have a firm understanding of the process.
 
RCBS does this to ensure you bottom out the die on the shell holder before you reach top dead center which is the maximum stroke of the press. So you bottom out before you stroke out.
Lee recommends to do this too, now I'm sure someone will chime in about floating the dies but I'll leave that to them to discuss. As it pertains to your question the statement above is your answer
 
SereWeasel thanks for the info. I was confused about this too and tried different ways of setting the resizing die.
 
Need more info, what type of die is it? Full length, neck sizing, small base, or bushing type die? Also would help to know what cartridge you are loading and for what type of action?
 
Ive got both hornady and RCBE single stage presses on my bench. When the handle of the Hornady 007 is lowered the the ram will top out then start lowering itself before the handle stops. A die adjusted with the handle completely down will have the ram in a slightly lower than the highest point in the travel.

On the Rockchucker supreme beside it, when the handle right down the ram is as high as its ever going to be. Can you see how the instructions for one don't transferr exactly to the other? The instructions are more for the press than the dies.
 
Both setups are to insure the resized case will fit in any chamber, meaning case shoulder headspace length.

"BUT" this setup does not adjust the dies for .001 to .002 shoulder bump, meaning setting the die per the instructions could push the case shoulder back more than minimum shoulder bump of .001 to .002.

Chambers and dies vary in size and the threaded dies allow you to adjust the die up and down for a custom fit in your chamber.

Using the image below you adjust the die to bump the shoulder .001 to .002 below the red dotted line. There is the possibility if you adjust the die as per the dies instructions there is a chance the shoulder will be pushed closer to the green dotted line and this can cause case head separations.

wm05ArY.gif
 
bigedp51 said:
Both setups are to insure the resized case will fit in any chamber, meaning case shoulder headspace length.

"BUT" this setup does not adjust the dies for .001 to .002 shoulder bump, meaning setting the die per the instructions could push the case shoulder back more than minimum shoulder bump of .001 to .002.

Chambers and dies vary in size and the threaded dies allow you to adjust the die up and down for a custom fit in your chamber.

Using the image below you adjust the die to bump the shoulder .001 to .002 below the red dotted line. There is the possibility if you adjust the die as per the dies instructions there is a chance the shoulder will be pushed closer to the green dotted line and this can cause case head separations.

wm05ArY.gif
Click to expand...

This is what you need to know and ideally you should have a headspace gauge / tool to set up dies properly.
 
I just raise the ram, put a dime on top of the shellholder, screw the die down to touch the dime, give it an extra turn or two. Dip the neck in dry graphite and run it in, see where it is at, and start screwing it down until what I want is achieved, then lock the die there. Make sure the decap pin is out far enough to decap them, and not so far out as to hit the case with the pin retainer. It usually starts out about a 1/16-1/32 above the neck/shoulder juncture, once I get to the juncture, it's usually a couple of checks from there to have what I need.
 
Thanks a lot guys! Wealth of knowledge here.

As requested, here is further details.

Hornady LNL single stage press.
RCBS dies as follows :
ATRS MS .223 semi auto - RCBS Small Base .223 dies
Tikka T3x .223 - RCBS Full Length .223 dies
Stag10 semi auto 6.5 Creedmoor - RCBS Small Base 6.5CM dies

I was going to buy the Hornady OAL gauge tomorrow to assist.... these Redding competition shell holders are interesting?

So am I to understand if I have the die adjusted to reflect what the OAL gauge says, then none of this matters? Or it does still? To turn in, or to turn out once bottomed out? Is it depending on small base or full length dies?
 
Dogleg said:
Ive got both hornady and RCBE single stage presses on my bench. When the handle of the Hornady 007 is lowered the the ram will top out then start lowering itself before the handle stops. A die adjusted with the handle completely down will have the ram in a slightly lower than the highest point in the travel.

On the Rockchucker supreme beside it, when the handle right down the ram is as high as its ever going to be. Can you see how the instructions for one don't transferr exactly to the other? The instructions are more for the press than the dies.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm, this makes sense. I know the LNL press, at the top of its stroke, isn’t “at the top” unless you begin to lower the cam back down, at which point it lifts a tiny bit before going down again. Maybe that tiny “lift” is similar to an 1/8 turn in as RCBS recommended on their press, as the rock chucker doesn’t go any further up in the stroke once the press is fully up? Hmmmm
 
You might hear reference from RCBS press users about "snapping over centre" or "camming over centre" - that is what it is - setting your die so all the slack / variation is removed from the linkage system - you know that by feeling the "over centre" part. That assures you that your case has fully and repeatably entered the die - that full length sizing may or may not be what you want to achieve (as per posts above), but, as per RCBS, that "over centre" assures that the case sized that way in a full length sizing die will fit into any rifle with a SAAMI compliant chamber. Of course, some rifles want the case body sized a bit more, and that is why they (including RCBS) make Small Base sizing dies. Pretty esoteric stuff - if you are just starting - you said you have not yet loaded a round - just get on with it!! After several hundred / several thousand rounds, you will start to pick up on what is working and what can be improved upon. All of us, at one time, re-sized and loaded a first round!!
 
Since you are new to reloading, I recommend you begin with full length sizing, and follow RCBS recommendations.
When I first started reloading, I had RCBS instructions and Speer manual, and they are very instructive and I don’t think they ever disagree on any point.

Good luck!
 
I agree with Dogleg in that you can disregard the instructions, because what you are trying to achieve is to set up your dies so that the cartridges that you produce will feed, function,be accurate and extract reliably in YOUR firearm. The instructions are a sort of "one size fits all" thing, but not necessarily what`s best for your firearm. Study closely bigedp51`s reply, it`s all about achieving the proper headspace.Yes, Redding competition shell holders will work, so will Skip`s die shims which will do the same thing only cheaper, but you still have to know which shell holder or die shim to use. Try for .002"shoulder bump for bolt guns and .004" for semi-autos.
 
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