Homemade collet neck sizing die

[Tozguy]

Just wondering if anyone has had a go at making their own collet sizing die for reloading ammo.
Lee Precision makes a collet sizing die for a reasonable price but it looks like it might be a fun DIY project to make one at home.

 

[Les B]

Since no one has answered your question on collet neck sizing I have made a die body which will except different size die parts to neck size or reduce down a case neck to make into another caliber. I don't have pictures in my files, but if this is what you want I will dig them out and take a few pictures. I use 223 and form down into 20 cal. special which I shoot in my Martini. I load most of my shells with the small kit shown in the Downloads section.

Les

 

[Tozguy]

Since no one has answered your question on collet neck sizing I have made a die body which will except different size die parts to neck size or reduce down a case neck to make into another caliber. I don't have pictures in my files, but if this is what you want I will dig them out and take a few pictures. I use 223 and form down into 20 cal. special which I shoot in my Martini. I load most of my shells with the small kit shown in the Downloads section.

Les

Thanks Les. My focus is on the collet style die. The die parts seem to be straightforward turning and threading except for the collet itself.
Your neck sizing die from .223 to 20 cal. is interesting. What steel do you use for the die? Do you heat treat to harden the die? What method do you use to get the final neck dimension...honing, lapping or something like that? Thanks a heap, Mike

 

[Les B]

I will use a piece of barrel cut off in the same caliber that I will be making the die insert by turning down the barrel to .562 as this is the size of my blank shank die ID. Usually the 4140 will be hard enough to use as is for a form die. You can order a sizer reamer for use in making dies. When making a wildcat die I use a casting of the chamber to get the dimensions. Use .002 to .003 smaller reamer to make the sizer die. Next the expander plug is about .0015 to .002 smaller in order to hold the bullet in the case. If you want more pressure so make the changes and try for fit. My dies for the neck sizer hand reloader are made of O-1 and hardern.

 

[Tozguy]

Thanks Les, much appreciate your sharing with me.

 

[psween]

Not a collet die, but does use a Lee collet die body, with different body and neck insert bushings. Built the set as one of my first lathe projects and still don't have a chambering reamer to be able to try it out. I neck down .357 mag brass to .172 cal. mostly just to see if I could do it. Makes really good looking brass, so will have to get going on a gun for it soon. The brass in the pic shows each of the 8 steps required to go from .357 to .172, along with a finished round next to a .17 HMR and a .17 HM2.

 

[Les B]

Nice set up!! I am lazy and only made the one die body and a couple of inserts. You should be ready to make your own reamers and headspace gages. The headspace gages are pretty easy to make. You need to know the datum ring size for the different calibers. I have all the basic caliber dimensions that Ackley posted in the '50's. How much difference between each of your dies? I noticed you are a 17 cal. fan. The 17's were my favorite little rifles until the 20 cal rifles offered me more range and speed for flatter shooting out to 500 yds.

 

[Tozguy]

Great looking kit, thanks for posting.

 

[psween]

I found out I could only go about 0.020 to 0.030 neck down each step if I wanted to keep the shoulder looking good. Bigger steps ended up telescoping the cases. The necks thicken up to over .020 so the final step is a neck turning and trim. I have a finished case capacity about halfway between the .17 Ackley Bee and the .17 Mach IV. Unfortunately I quit my job and lost my access to the tools I used to build these, so the project has been on hold until I can equip my own shop. I'll probably have PT&G make me a reamer just to keep going ($140 vs. the thousands to tool up to build my own). Intended gun is a Contender Carbine with a 23" bull barrel, so chambering is a lot easier than a bolt gun and shouldn't require headspace gages.

Patrick

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Couple more pics of the brass. The dummy round in the second pic has a 25gn. Vmax seated, I figure I should be able to push that bullet to around 3800 fps. I think I could get close to 4000 with a 20 gn. bullet. Nothing that a 17 Mach IV won't do, but where's the fun in having something you can buy at the store?

 

[Alphawolf45]

Psween.Glad I seen this thread. Those necking dies are inspiring me.