Want To Buy A Concentricity Tool -- Maybe (Closed)

[462]

I've been thinking about experimenting with a concentricity tool, but the price of a new one is more than my Socialist Security discretionary budget allows, and I quit eBay and Gunbroker two decades years ago.

The RCBS casemaster gauging tool seems to be the most featured, however I'm open to other brands. With that in mind, what do you no longer need/want and the price?

Thank you.

Michael

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I cannot give a definitive response, but I have long believed that money is better spent on good gear to produce concentric bullet alignment rather than measuring the result.

Good quality dies, particularly bullet seating dies, good shell holders, good technique and good components; provide more positive results than a measuring tool.

Outside neck reaming, when needed, coupled with a high-quality seating die will produce good bullet alignment. A concentricity gauge will tell you if you have poorly assembled cartridges, but it will not correct the problem.

 

[Gary]

I have the Hornady Lock-N-Load Concentricity tool that I'd ship to your door for $110. It's in like new condition. But with good reloading tools I found that checking the contricity on every cartridge is reduntant. Tools such as the Eric Cortina Micro HS Full Length Sizing Die and Mandrel Die are my next stop.

Hornady 050076 Lock-N-Load​

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I have a couple...

Long time with a RCBS. I actually gauled the V blocks & had to have replaced!!
I built one with some 3D parts found on ebay.

I picked up a Redding Slant bed few months back with some rebates & gift cards I had.

Its a nice unit. Most have significant annoying draw backs.

But I like Redding best.

CW

I can make ya a video if you think it would help.

 

[Bret4207]

Years back I bought the Cabine Tree Bhn tester/concentricity gauge. I don't know if they are still made, but I do know I've used the concentricity gauge a LOT more than the Bhn tester. It's not just testing cases or loaded ammo, but getting down to test individual bullets (!!!) where it shows it's worth, assuming they are long enough to test. Sometimes my castings may look a little frosty, but that's because I had to wait for the casting to cool some before dropping it and BENDING a bullet like the 311284! It will also show you if your sizer is running true, if you maybe have a shell holder that isn't machined right or if you are damaging the bullet in seating.

Had I a choice between a Bhn tester and runout gauge (another name for a concentricity gauge), I'd go with the latter!

Last info I have on Cabine Tree- http://castingstuff.com

 

[462]

I have the Hornady Lock-N-Load Concentricity tool that I'd ship to your door for $110. It's in like new condition. But with good reloading tools I found that checking the contricity on every cartridge is reduntant. Tools such as the Eric Cortina Micro HS Full Length Sizing Die and Mandrel Die are my next stop.

Hornady 050076 Lock-N-Load​

Thank you, Gary, I will keep you in mind.

 

[462]

I have a couple...

Long time with a RCBS. I actually gauled the V blocks & had to have replaced!!
I built one with some 3D parts found on ebay.

I picked up a Redding Slant bed few months back with some rebates & gift cards I had.

Its a nice unit. Most have significant annoying draw backs.

But I like Redding best.

CW

I can make ya a video if you think it would help.

No video necessary, CW. Thank you, though.

 

[462]

Perhaps a qualifying statement should have been included in my original post.

Qualifiers:
I shoot only against myself, and the local range is limited to 200-yards.
I know what the various brands are designed to do and what they don't do.
Interest/curiosity is to ascertain if my expensive and highly recommended .223 and .30-'06 sizing and seating dies are living up to their design and advertizing claims.
I do not have any plans to turn or ream case necks.

 

[fiver]

wait till you find out that sometimes the case neck is crooked [from the bag] and it's not the seated bullet.
that tool will tell you if that is the case, but you gotta look for it.
i found it by accident thinking i could sort fire-formed cases maybe... they were all within .001.
the bullets were up to 20 out before being fired.

 

[Rick H]

I have a concentricity gauge, from Sinclair iirc. I want to keep it but: More often than not rolling the case across a pane of glass will tell me what I want to know about loaded ammo. Runout is readily apparent and the process much quicker than fiddling with the gauge.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I think that as reloaders, sometimes we can become our own worst enemies.

Our pursuit of precision gets sidetracked by our thirst for information.

A concentricity gauge will identify an “out of round” condition but it will do nothing to correct it.

I’m squarely in Gary’s camp on this issue. Gary wrote in post # 3, “…..But with good reloading tools I found that checking the concentricity on every cartridge is redundant…..”.

I can see where having a concentricity gauge would be useful to confirm or dispel your suspicions about a problem. But once you’ve confirmed there is no problem or have identified the problem – you’re done with that expensive tool.

I think that the money is better spent on good reloading tools, and I also agree with Rick that a piece of flat glass will probably tell you what you need to know at a fraction of the cost.

 

[Gary]

Actually, the Hornady LNL Concentricity gauge does allow for the correction of the "out of round" round. Works quite well.

 

[RBHarter]

Our pursuit of precision gets sidetracked by our thirst for information

This is exactly what happens.
We want to not only know why it works , but how it works , AND why it didn't in this one or why it stopped working.

 

[Ian]

I have a concentricity gauge, from Sinclair iirc. I want to keep it but: More often than not rolling the case across a pane of glass will tell me what I want to know about loaded ammo. Runout is readily apparent and the process much quicker than fiddling with the gauge.

This.

 

[RicinYakima]

This.

My eye sight isn't that good any more. However that is how I discovered I had a Remington 700 Varmint with a chamber cut crooked to the bore. Then I got a gauge.

 

[BudHyett]

• I cannot give a definitive response, but I have long believed that money is better spent on good gear to produce concentric bullet alignment rather than measuring the result.
• Good quality dies, particularly bullet seating dies, good shell holders, good technique and good components; provide more positive results than a measuring tool.
• Outside neck reaming, when needed, coupled with a high-quality seating die will produce good bullet alignment. A concentricity gauge will tell you if you have poorly assembled cartridges, but it will not correct the problem.

This collective thought has been my experience. Late every Fall I anneal 340 cases, outside neck turn to .015 neck wall thickness, trim to length, and ream primer pockets for each rifle to be used in competition the coming year. That's several days work, but brings confidence for match shooting. These are set in three 100-round boxes and tracked for number of times shot. The extra 40 cases are set aside for spares in case there is a split neck.

Reloading for .308 Winchester as an example:

1. Deprime using .338 interior dimension bushing die to have .308 diameter inside hole.
2. Prime being sure each primer is fully seated.
3. Run in tapered .310 K&M die to uniformly open the die for a .310 diameter cast bullet.
4. Seat using Forster-Appelt benchrest die.

LAPUA cases are the most concentric and uniform for case neck thickness of the cases I own. The brands include W-W, R-P, Federal, Military Match, Military Issue, and Norma.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Back when I was shooting rifle a lot more, that was a similar tactic for my high accuracy loads.

One set of casings, all from the same lot number of factory ammo.
Weighed the casings and culled any that were heavier or lighter than the norm for the lot.
Squared the primer pockets
Neck sized only and shot in only 1 rifle.
Tracked the number of firings per case.
Bullets weighed and culled by weight
Each powder charge hand weighed


The results were excellent.

 

[fiver]

Remington with a chamber cut crooked

nope never happened, they use the finest pipe thread machine RIGID has to offer.

 

[Gary]

Back when I was shooting rifle a lot more, that was a similar tactic for my high accuracy loads.

One set of casings, all from the same lot number of factory ammo.
Weighed the casings and culled any that were heavier or lighter than the norm for the lot.
Squared the primer pockets
Neck sized only and shot in only 1 rifle.
Tracked the number of firings per case.
Bullets weighed and culled by weight
Each powder charge hand weighed


The results were excellent.

That's what precision shooting is all about!!

 

[462]

Moderator, please close this thread.
Thank you.

Michael