Why am I only sizing half the length of my neck?

[75]

Redding F/L bushing die, accuracy not an issue and I know they have a tendency not to resize the full length of the neck (and I understand that’s a good thing). But mine only seems to resize about half the neck:



The die is bottoming out on the press and set up correctly and, as far as I know, there’s no other way of adjusting the die. I’ve seen a few images like this which show a very small gap, but not c.50% of the neck:



Not something I’ve done a lot of worrying about, I’ll be honest. I’ve shot gongs out to 940m and never had an issue with accuracy but just curious - is it just one of those things with these dies?

 

[Steff]

How much vertical play does your bushing have in the die? It looks like this is too much.
If you cannot bring the lid screw down enough to lock the bushing down (and then release by 1/8 turn) insert another bushing (size is irrelevant) on top of the one that's doing the sizing. This fills in the free space.

 

[User00044]

Might be a daft question , is the bushing correctly oriented ? It may matter .

 

[Steff]

Might be a daft question , is the bushing correctly oriented ? It may matter .

One might think so, but it doesn't. They are completely symmetrical.

 

[NullMac]

One might think so, but it doesn't. They are completely symmetrical

There is a top and a bottom isn't there?

The amount of seating can be adjusted if I remember correctly.

 

[Steff]

There is a top and a bottom isn't there?

The amount of seating can be adjusted if I remember correctly.

No, there isn't. It's just the size marking on one side, but technically both sides are the same.

The problem is mostly the length of the decapping rod which is too long. If you bring down the lid screw so it touches the bushing (actually the lock nut of the rod touches the bushing) the decapping pin may stick out of the bottom of the die way to far. And you can't screw it in to sit any higher. You can try to shorten the rod, but there may not be enough threading on it for this to be successful. So the easiest workaround is to use some sort of spacer to bring up the rod and still reach the bushing.

BTW this does not occur on all calibres.

 

[finnbear270]

Last bushing set I used (.20 Practical) printed instructions stated fit bush lettering face up.

 

[User00044]

Oops ,double post .

 

[User00044]

Last bushing set I used (.20 Practical) printed instructions stated fit bush lettering face up.

Was that Redding , I've just looked online at their instructions and it states bushing ID facing down .

 

[Bowland blades]

its all you need till its time to bump the shoulder back, produces better concentricity

 

[Steff]

Was that Redding , I've just looked online at their instructions and it states bushing ID facing down .View attachment 311068

This must be new then.
In the instructions that came with my dies about 20 years ago it just says ˋ Drop a bushing of the desired size into the die ´.

 

[Stalker-of-the-deer]

Have you made sure that you have bottomed the screw in the top out and then cracked it an 1/8th of a turn back before locking it?

That's what I do with mine, in thr begining I had the exact same issue

 

[Stalker-of-the-deer]

This must be new then.
In the instructions that came with my dies about 20 years ago it just says ˋ Drop a bushing of the desired size into the die ´.

They put in in because people were finding that the number on top was causing consentricity problems supposedly.... turn it upside down it's the two parallel surfaces pushing against each other then

 

[Steff]

They put in in because people were finding that the number on top was causing consentricity problems supposedly.... turn it upside down it's the two parallel surfaces pushing against each other then

Ha, indeed. Just found this on their tech page.

So really there is no up or down.

 

[Kiwiguy]

@75 after reading your post I went out to the reloading room and ran a Lapua
6.5-284 case through my Redding Competition Neck Bushing die. It will alliw me to size to within 1mm of the shoulder. Normally I have mine set to size 3/4 of the neck.

 

[75]

How much vertical play does your bushing have in the die? It looks like this is too much.
If you cannot bring the lid screw down enough to lock the bushing down (and then release by 1/8 turn) insert another bushing (size is irrelevant) on top of the one that's doing the sizing. This fills in the free space.

The locking ring on the decapping rod is the bit that contacts the bushing and controls how much neck is sized I think? The length of the decapping pin has no impact on neck sizing, does it?



I’ve still got some thread showing on decapping rod and the pin sticks out the bottom of the die just right. So that bits set up fine. I’ve got 1/8th turn free play on the bushing so that’s all good too.

No other way of controlling how much neck is sized and still allow a fraction free play in the bushing, is there?? An extra bushing in there would only help sort issues with decapping pin length. I think??

 

[75]

@75 after reading your post I went out to the reloading room and ran a Lapua
6.5-284 case through my Redding Competition Neck Bushing die. It will alliw me to size to within 1mm of the shoulder. Normally I have mine set to size 3/4 of the neck.

Now I’m even more confused

 

[Steff]

The locking ring on the decapping rod is the bit that contacts the bushing and controls how much neck is sized I think? The length of the decapping pin has no impact on neck sizing, does it?

View attachment 311084

I’ve still got some thread showing on decapping rod and the pin sticks out the bottom of the die just right. So that bits set up fine. I’ve got 1/8th turn free play on the bushing so that’s all good too.

No other way of controlling how much neck is sized and still allow a fraction free play in the bushing, is there?? An extra bushing in there would only help sort issues with decapping pin length. I think??

Hmm, sounds like doing everything right.
At this point I have to say I have no idea what‘s happening. Sorry.

 

[75]

The only adjustment I can think of is varying the free play on the bushing from, say, 1/16th turn to 1/8th turn to 1/4 turn??

If it’s not broke then I won’t try and fix it. The deer don’t seem to notice !!

 

[Kiwiguy]

Now I’m even more confused

Is it at all possible that your sizing button is hitting the web when you resize your cases? This would prevent the bushing coming down far enough to size more of the neck.