polishing expander balls

armedtotheteeth · December 28, 2008, 10:40 PM

I wanted to pass on a little tidbit i figured out with the help of you guys on here. Maybe it is common Knowledge. I dunno, But I have had a batch or 2 of 223 brass, and 30-06 that the bullets do not fit in the case real snug. If you push them against a wood surface with enough force, you can push them in the case. Not so good for semi auto use. I am unable to crimp these bullets due to them not having a crimp cannelure. ( Vmaxs) I took out the expander ball and rod out of the die body and chucked it into my handi dandi 1/2 inch drill. I started with 200 grit paper, then down to , 400 , then to 600. I just happened to have some 2400 grit laying around and .. sure what the hell? I got a nice polish on the button, and took it down just a few thousandths. for my 223.. ( .224 Diam) I took it down to .215. the bullets are alot more snug in the case now. Yes, I anneal my cases every other firing, as hard as it is to keep track of them. They where still loose. One thing i figured out is the case will not be exactly as wide as the expander ball. The only way to get the measurment right is to actually size a case with it. An Added bonus is , with the shiney new finish on the expander ball, They size SO much easier.
It wouldnt hurt to ckeck the finish on your dies, Im glad I did.

amamnn · December 29, 2008, 06:54 PM

Extremely tight neck tension is not the best situation for accuracy.

Fatelvis · December 29, 2008, 09:34 PM

Annealing your casenecks (especially every other firing) is unneccessary. That might be the reason for your lack of neck tension. I have over a dozen loadings on my LC brass, and never annealed, and have no neck splits yet.

armedtotheteeth · December 29, 2008, 10:11 PM

I wouldnt say they are really tight now, the inside neck diameter for my 223s are .215. Flatbase bullets go in easily. Boatail fmjs go in really easily. I have had a problem with bullets having enough neck tension to keep the bullet put.
The dies that made the biggest difference.. my 338 Federal dies. I got 1000 308 brass in the other day. that step from .308 (. 302) to .338 (.330) was a big pain after about 20 or so cases. This makes it a "mobetta"
I actually have no idea how often my 223 cases get annealled. I anneal on occasion. Some brass gets it every time, some may not ever get it. It is nice to know that Lc can go 12 times without splits. My 300 Mag cases, get annealed every other time. Mine will split on the 3rd load without annealing. ( Mine are a little ,... warm

IllinoisCoyoteHunter · December 29, 2008, 11:07 PM

be careful not to take too much off...ONE or two thousandths, i believe, is recommended. i have personally never had to polish the expander. if too much is taken off, the bullet will be resizing your brass back to where it should be. and in doing this, your bullet can be severely scratched/disfigured AND you will find that your accuracy will suffer. If you do need more neck tension...work in 1 thousandth of an inch increments...to be safe.

Wildalaska · December 29, 2008, 11:13 PM

I chuck expander balls (which I dont use a lot of since I prefer neck size bushing dies) and trim buttons into a drill or electric driver and polish em with Flirz or similar

I think you get better accuracy and less need to trim or anneal without the ball.

WildlikesthereddingsAlaska TM

joneb · December 29, 2008, 11:14 PM

I have two expander balls for .308 win one is polished down a .001"

December 28, 2008, 10:40 PM	#1
armedtotheteeth Senior Member Join Date: October 3, 2005 Location: podunk, Texas Posts: 1,610	polishing expander balls I wanted to pass on a little tidbit i figured out with the help of you guys on here. Maybe it is common Knowledge. I dunno, But I have had a batch or 2 of 223 brass, and 30-06 that the bullets do not fit in the case real snug. If you push them against a wood surface with enough force, you can push them in the case. Not so good for semi auto use. I am unable to crimp these bullets due to them not having a crimp cannelure. ( Vmaxs) I took out the expander ball and rod out of the die body and chucked it into my handi dandi 1/2 inch drill. I started with 200 grit paper, then down to , 400 , then to 600. I just happened to have some 2400 grit laying around and .. sure what the hell? I got a nice polish on the button, and took it down just a few thousandths. for my 223.. ( .224 Diam) I took it down to .215. the bullets are alot more snug in the case now. Yes, I anneal my cases every other firing, as hard as it is to keep track of them. They where still loose. One thing i figured out is the case will not be exactly as wide as the expander ball. The only way to get the measurment right is to actually size a case with it. An Added bonus is , with the shiney new finish on the expander ball, They size SO much easier. It wouldnt hurt to ckeck the finish on your dies, Im glad I did.

December 29, 2008, 06:54 PM	#2
amamnn Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2006 Location: WA, the left armpit of the USA Posts: 1,323	Extremely tight neck tension is not the best situation for accuracy. __________________ "If the enemy is in range, so are you." - Infantry Journal

December 29, 2008, 11:07 PM	#5
IllinoisCoyoteHunter Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2008 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 1,527	be careful not to take too much off...ONE or two thousandths, i believe, is recommended. i have personally never had to polish the expander. if too much is taken off, the bullet will be resizing your brass back to where it should be. and in doing this, your bullet can be severely scratched/disfigured AND you will find that your accuracy will suffer. If you do need more neck tension...work in 1 thousandth of an inch increments...to be safe. __________________ ~~IllinoisCoyoteHunter~~ ~NRA LIFE MEMBER~ ~NRA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR~

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December 29, 2008, 09:34 PM	#3
Fatelvis Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2001 Location: Lockport, IL Posts: 490	Annealing your casenecks (especially every other firing) is unneccessary. That might be the reason for your lack of neck tension. I have over a dozen loadings on my LC brass, and never annealed, and have no neck splits yet.

December 29, 2008, 10:11 PM	#4
armedtotheteeth Senior Member Join Date: October 3, 2005 Location: podunk, Texas Posts: 1,610	I wouldnt say they are really tight now, the inside neck diameter for my 223s are .215. Flatbase bullets go in easily. Boatail fmjs go in really easily. I have had a problem with bullets having enough neck tension to keep the bullet put. The dies that made the biggest difference.. my 338 Federal dies. I got 1000 308 brass in the other day. that step from .308 (. 302) to .338 (.330) was a big pain after about 20 or so cases. This makes it a "mobetta" I actually have no idea how often my 223 cases get annealled. I anneal on occasion. Some brass gets it every time, some may not ever get it. It is nice to know that Lc can go 12 times without splits. My 300 Mag cases, get annealed every other time. Mine *will split* on the 3rd load without annealing. ( Mine are a little ,... warm

December 29, 2008, 11:13 PM	#6
Wildalaska Junior member Join Date: November 25, 2002 Location: In my own little weird world in Anchorage, Alaska Posts: 14,172	I chuck expander balls (which I dont use a lot of since I prefer neck size bushing dies) and trim buttons into a drill or electric driver and polish em with Flirz or similar I think you get better accuracy and less need to trim or anneal without the ball. WildlikesthereddingsAlaska TM

December 29, 2008, 11:14 PM	#7
joneb Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2005 Location: Central , OR Posts: 1,888	I have two expander balls for .308 win one is polished down a .001"