Small die?

T

Trebleplink

New Member
Bought this not knowing it was so small. Price was right - sure I can use another .223 expander... It's stamped .223 So, what is it?

small_die.jpg
 
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RBHarter

RBHarter

West Central AR
Looks like a custom one off trial for a neck flare die using a Lee expander or FCD die body .
 
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Snakeoil

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
If you are talking about just that piece on the left, that's not a die. That's a piece of a die. I agree with RB that it looks like a neck expander and mouth flaring slug for a die that uses that thread. What is that thread, a 1/2-20 maybe?
 
RBHarter

RBHarter

West Central AR
Probably some sort of custom expander influenced by an M die type design .

It's a tough guess what was on the designers mind it's possible that it was as single tool for a single arm maybe even a single loading. It either was perfect or a dismal failure. If it was a fail then it's been in the bench clutter box for a while . If it was perfect the heir may not have a clue what to do with it or why it was in a particular box .......

Why is there a 30 cal expander ball in the 8×57 neck die ?
Well because the 7.7×58 needs a .315 neck ID for the .318 cast in the .316 groove that is supposed to be.312ish . I don't even want to write down again the reason for the bushing neck die for the 6.5×50 SR or why half of the brass is HS 6.5 CM .

Mysteries abound in the reloaders realms .
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
too nice for a LEE part.
could either be for opening a neck [Mandrel] or a mouth flair die.
it's not uncommon for guys to size down with a bushing and then open the neck in separate steps.
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
The neck expanding mandrel is too small for the 5/8x24 threads in the top of the Lee die.
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
i'd have to go measure but it could be a top punch for a C&H swage die.
it'd re-shape a hollow point after/before nose forming.
 
CWLONGSHOT

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
Looks like a LEE thru powder expander die & A different maker "M" style expander stem assembly.

NOE makes "M" style expander plugs for LEE thru powder dies.

 
Snakeoil

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
No powder is flowing thru the tip of that little expander plug.

If you look at how it is shaped and envision it in use, it pretty much tells you what it does. The teardrop enters the neck and swages it to the max diameter of the bulb minus some spring back. It continues down to expand the entire neck. The portion above enters the expanded neck (with some clearance and continues until the flared portion puts a small flare into the mouth for ease of bullet entry.

Now, the very top portion could be to produce the M-die type socket in the case mouth and the angled surface below is the final lead into the case. But only measuring the piece will be able to tell you if that is the case.
 
CWLONGSHOT

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
Snakeoil said:
No powder is flowing thru the tip of that little expander plug.

If you look at how it is shaped and envision it in use, it pretty much tells you what it does. The teardrop enters the neck and swages it to the max diameter of the bulb minus some spring back. It continues down to expand the entire neck. The portion above enters the expanded neck (with some clearance and continues until the flared portion puts a small flare into the mouth for ease of bullet entry.

Now, the very top portion could be to produce the M-die type socket in the case mouth and the angled surface below is the final lead into the case. But only measuring the piece will be able to tell you if that is the case.
Click to expand...
Did ya watch my video?

We cannot see the tip of the die in your hand. But even if you look at the pic on the link to my video. That piece in my fingers looks much like yours and mine is a thru powder.

CW
 
Snakeoil

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
CWLONGSHOT said:
We cannot see the tip of the die in your hand. But even if you look at the pic on the link to my video. That piece in my fingers looks much like yours and mine is a thru powder.
Click to expand...
Can't agree with you, CW. The tip of the slug in his hand comes almost to a point. And judging by his fingers, it's about a .30 cal slug. If there is a hole in the center of that pointed end, it's damn small, probably around 1/16", maybe 3/32" tops and would flow fine ball powder like an hour-glass and flake powder would probably just jam up.
 
RicinYakima

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Jeff H said:
If it had been blued, I might have caught that.

OK, probably not, but now that you mention it - it sure looks like the ones I spent many hours of nasty evenings hovering over as a kid.
Click to expand...
It appears to have been buffed all over to clean up patina? It is the "cheap line knurling" on the end that makes me think that.
 
Snakeoil

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
Straight knurl is not necessarily cheap. Unertl used a straight knurl. And the jam nut has a nice diamond knurl. I use both types depending on the application.

Threads and knurls look crisp to me and surface looks good.

Was probably made to screw into a bullet seating die or similar judging by the thread.

I am embarrassed to admit that I missed it being marked .223 in the original post.
 
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