tflhndn

Recent purchaser of a dillon 550, which came with a RCBS three die set consisting of size/deprime, bell, and taper/seating die.

I also have an extra sizing/depriming die.

The question?

Can I use the second sizing die (minus the deprimer) in the fourth station, and set the seating/crimp die to do little more than barely remove the bell in station 3?

Thanks for any help on this (and yes, I am planning on getting Lee FCD for station 4 when I can find one....)

Cupcake

I don't understand what is to be accomplished by putting a resizing die in the 4th station. if you've seated a bullet and crimped it, then the sizing die would force the bullet deeper...and just mess things up. Put nothing in the 4th station,unless your 3rd station is only for bullet seating, and the 4th station is a dedicated crimp die.

__________________
Sixto for President!

tflhndn

I am trying to avoid seating and crimping in the same station - but (right now) I don't have an extra crimp die and cannot split the seating and crimp...

I do have a Lee FCD on the way, but was hoping to run a few test loads this week...

kazzaerexys

You need to wait for that lee FCD for station 4. It will make you very happy. So, seat in station 3 and crimp in station 4. The test runs won't, I think, help you much because you'll have to recalibrate stations 3 and 4 after the new die shows up, anyway.

I see what you are trying to do, but I just don't know enough about the RCBS die to tell you whether you can reliably use it to roll crimp...

__________________
“What is a moderate interpretation of [the Constitution]? Halfway between what it says and [...] what you want it to say?” —Justice Antonin Scalia

SIG: P220R SS Elite SAO, P220R SAO, P220R Carry SRT, P226, P239 (.40S&W), P2022 (.40S&W); GSR 5", P6.

Majorlk

I would NOT use a second sizing die as a crimp die. Wrong tool for the job.

I agree, wait for the lee die.

Personally, I have 6 die sets for my 550 - the one Dillon set that came with the machine and the rest are Lees. I only use RCBS (great dies, though) in my single stage Rock Chucker.

__________________
An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life. - Robert A. Heinlein

automatic slim

I read your posting three times and still can't figure out what your trying to accomplish. Why add a fourth unneccessary step? why resize a second time? I would be afraid of excess chamber pressure!!!!

__________________
"First gallant South Carolina nobly made the stand."
Edge of Darkness

tflhndn

The original point was to address a problem I was having with the taper and seating in the same die - it was creating a bulge in the brass under the bullet...

While I know the "best" way was to get a Lee FCD, it will be next week when it comes in, and I wanted to take some stuff to the range this weekend.

Since I had an extra sizing die, I was simply curious whether I could do a minial crimp in the seating die, just enough to get rid of the bell and use the sizing die afterwards to correct any waves in the case.

Jim Macklin

A sizing die reduces the diameter of the fired case so it will rechamber and have enough tension to grip the reloaded bullet. The expander die does not just bell the case mouth, it opens the diameter so the tension is correct.,

If you size a loaded round you will squeeze the bullet down to a size that is many thousandths too small. Lead is not as springy as brass, so the brass case will spring back a little resulting in a loose bullet and a bad round.

RCBS makes 4 die sets. You can buy just the 4th die.

You don't say what caliber you're reloading, a autopistol should have taper crimp and a heavy revolver should have a roll crimp [generally].

cvhoss

I think I understand what you are trying to do. You are trying to simulate what a FCD does only with two separate dies. But, running it through a sizing die after seating and crimping will not allow you to use a minimal crimp. A Lee handgun FCD has a carbide sizing ring so that after applying a heavy crimp, it is resized as the case is withdrawn to remove any bulge caused by the heavy crimp. The case was resized to minimum dimensions in the first sizing operation. Resizing it again after seating the bullet won't replace using a suitable crimp.

However, I'm not sure what you're seeing is a result of crimping. Normally, any bulge caused by crimping will be immediately beneath the crimp. What you are describing is a slight bulge at the base of the bullet. It is quite normal to see a bulge in the brass where the bullet stops inside the case. This is usually more prominent when using lead or plated bullets, but I have seen it with jacketed bullets also. Try screwing the seating stem in further and backing the die off so that a bullet is seated but no crimp applied then pull the case after seating the bullet and see if the bulge isn't already there.

Also, take one of your bulged cases and see if it will chamber. If it does, no harm, no foul. Whatever you do, make sure you have a firm enough crimp to prevent bullet setback from chambering (auto) or recoil (auto & revolver).

Hoss

__________________
I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I always was
Sig 239 SAS 40 S&W / Sig 239 9mm / Kahr PM-9 / Walther PPS .40 / Sig P-245 / Ruger LCP
Beretta Tomcat / Walther PPK / BDA 380 / Taurus 85 / Kel-Tec PF-9 / Am. Derringer 357

NRA Life Member
My Web Site