Does anybody inside neck ream?

[2aBaC̶a̶]

I pulled some bullets and the inside of the necks along with bullets had significant grooves in them. It got me thinking.
Is there a way to hone the inside of the necks? Turns out inside neck reaming is a thing. Mostly for removing a bump that forms at the top of the shoulder when neck sizing. I just want to smooth out the inside.

does anybody do it?

 

[lightman]

Its called neck reaming and several companies offer tools that work on their trimmers that do this. But you might try a cleaning jag with a piece of steel wool spun by a drill.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

Its called neck reaming and several companies offer tools that work on their trimmers that do this. But you might try a cleaning jag with a piece of steel wool spun by a drill.

Right. Thinking about ordering one for my Forster trimmer.

 

[EMCA]

Have you used a chamfer tool vld?
In a 22-250 rifle that happened to me, and I fixed it with a chamfer tool vld

 

[Threadcutter308]

Inside Neck Reamer

Thick necks can cause high chamber pressures and erratic shooting. Neck reamers remove excess neck material to ensure adequate clearance exists between the case neck and the chamber. Also, these reamers can be used when forming wildcats from a parent case. Reamers are used in the trimmers in...

lewilson.com

Carbide Cutting Pilots - K+M Precision Shooting Products

Carbide Cutting Pilots for use w/ our neck turning body has four cutting flutes used to remove the “dough-nut” at the inside neck wall and shoulder junction

kmshooting.com

I have the K & M. They make great stuff, as does Wilson. Having said that, I use the K & M rarely, just not much need.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

Have you used a chamfer tool vld?
In a 22-250 rifle that happened to me, and I fixed it with a chamfer tool vld

Never heard of it.

Edit: after looking it up, yes I have one. It dreams the edge, I'm looking for basically the equivalent of an inside neck turning.

Standard Neck Reamers – Forster Products

Select a product according to diameter (in inches).

www.forsterproducts.com

 

[jzerfoss]

I'm using the k&m for cutting the donut in the inside of the necks of my 22 Creedmoor brass. I wouldn't recommend the k&m for what you are talking about.

 

[918v]

Inside neck reaming is the biggest pain in the ass of all reloading steps.

 

[Rocketmandb]

I pulled some bullets and the inside of the necks along with bullets had significant grooves in them. It got me thinking.
Is there a way to hone the inside of the necks? Turns out inside neck reaming is a thing. Mostly for removing a bump that forms at the top of the shoulder when neck sizing. I just want to smooth out the inside.

does anybody do it?

I've got inside neck reamers for my Forster trimmer. It's not good for cases that have a decent difference from one side of the case to the other because the reamer will follow the path of least resistance, which means you will likely ream off center in this circumstance.

I used my 30 cal reamer when I prepped 8x68S brass for fire forming to my 300 PRC. It worked very well. I recently used my 6mm reamer on 50 pieces of Lapua brass for my 6 BRA to unify neck thickness. Since Lapua is very consistent, I felt comfortable that it would it be relatively well centered. For this, I sized it to where the reamer would just barely bite, which took out .001" at most when I reamed.

After loading, I checked concentricity of 15 random rounds and found them all to be within .001 - maybe .0015 tops. I'm happy with that.

Again, you have to be very careful about how and what you ream.

 

[Rocketmandb]

I pulled some bullets...

I forgot to ask - what rifle? I don't have a reamer for your 6.5, but if it's your new 300, we could try my reamer out on a few cases and see what the resulting concentricity is.

 

[XLR308]

I have never had any issue with needing to do it since I started turning the necks on all my BA rifle brass.
When properly turned into the shoulder junction and choosing a freebore and bullet combination that stays out of that problem area it shouldn't be any issue.

 

[427Cobra]

Well if In one were to use a mandrel to push the donut to the outside of the neck, reaming the necks would be unnecessary, or great reduced.

 

[XLR308]

Well if In one were to use a mandrel to push the donut to the outside of the neck, reaming the necks would be unnecessary, or great reduced.

That would help but I would think without neck turning to keep the neck the same thickness and annealing to soften the brass and keeping the bullet full diameter above that area it would still be an issue.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

I forgot to ask - what rifle? I don't have a reamer for your 6.5, but if it's your new 300, we could try my reamer out on a few cases and see what the resulting concentricity is.

It's for the 300PRC

Is the one you have the .311?

I see they make custom ones also, I was thinking of doing something like a .306 so I can ream after sizing and running the mandrel.

 

[918v]

The best inside neck reamer is made by RCBS. It’s a die you thread into your press that accepts a t-handle reamer from the top. You can even have them make you a custom neck diameter so you can have the neck supported while you cut. You can take a case, turn the outside, then run it into the reamer die and ream the inside. You end up with perfect cases, zero runout. They’re expensive tho.

 

[Rocketmandb]

It's for the 300PRC

Is the one you have the .311?

I see they make custom ones also, I was thinking of doing something like a .306 so I can ream after sizing and running the mandrel.

My 300 is the pre-sizing (I believe that's .311), and the 6 is post-sizing (.239). I also have every 30 cal bushing you could ever hope to need, so we could size down the neck in .001 increments from whatever your post-firing size is. I've got them up to .343.

 

[delfuego]

This shouldn't happen with a straight PRC. I think what you might have is a straight donut (traditional). You're just seeing it on the inside. Neck turning and firing can remedy it. Are you using the button or mandrel on your FL sizing dies?

Inside reaming can be a thing but its rare. Some calibers have this issue. A buddy has to do it on 6XC brass made from Lapua 22-250.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

This shouldn't happen with a straight PRC. I think what you might have is a straight donut (traditional). You're just seeing it on the inside. Neck turning and firing can remedy it. Are you using the button or mandrel on your FL sizing dies?

Inside reaming can be a thing but its rare. Some calibers have this issue. A buddy has to do it on 6XC brass made from Lapua 22-250.

This isnt for a donut.

I simply want to uniform the inside of the case neck wall. When I pulled a few rounds the bullets were severely scratched and I can feel a tension difference in seating some cases even though all measurements are identical. The inside of the neck doesnt look normal. I polish my expander and mandrel so I know there are no burs, but going back to make sure even they are all scrated up.

These were unfired Hornady brass.

 

[918v]

So what you’re describing is galling. You want to cut the galling out.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

So what you’re describing is galling. You want to cut the galling out.

Yes, I guess you can call it that.

 

[918v]

Inside neck reamers are ground to a certain diameter and they vary depending on brand. You will need to figure out which one you’ll need and what ID to size the neck to.

You’re better off just shooting it because this rabbit hole is ridiculous.

 

[Threadcutter308]

Inside neck reamers are ground to a certain diameter and they vary depending on brand. You will need to figure out which one you’ll need and what ID to size the neck to.

You’re better off just shooting it because this rabbit hole is ridiculous.

Yeah, gotta agree. You’ll probably end up with more tool marks and “galling” after you ream than before. I’ve always (outside) neck turned and never reamed the ID. Never had any problems. Never any donuts.
I too think this is a rabbit hole.

 

[918v]

And then you have to deal with the ID surface finish.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

Inside neck reamers are ground to a certain diameter and they vary depending on brand. You will need to figure out which one you’ll need and what ID to size the neck to.

You’re better off just shooting it because this rabbit hole is ridiculous.

You're probably right. This is my OCD getting the best of me but I wont know unless I at least try it.

After the next firing I may take @Rocketmandb up on trying his reamer and if that leaves a finish I like then I'll order a custom sized pilot reamers that fit in my trimmer for post re-size reaming.

 

[Cascade Hemi]

It would be easier if you just chamfered your cases and tumbled them in dry media before loading them. Inside neck reaming should only be done after OD turning. If you have to ask about ID reaming then chances are your issue will not be fixed with ID reaming.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

Just so you guys can see what im seeing. The more i look at it, the more of a problem it appears.

Some of the lines extend into the shoulder so im thinking its factory marks unless theres another explanation. Will unburned powder do this?

And one of my 6.5 CM x5 fired smooth as silk

 

[XLR308]

Just so you guys can see what im seeing. The more i look at it, the more of a problem it appears.

Some of the lines extend into the shoulder so im thinking its factory marks unless theres another explanation. Will unburned powder do this?
View attachment 7309297
View attachment 7309296

And one of my 6.5 CM x5 fired smooth as silk
View attachment 7309295

From the second pic it does look like it's coming from a donut at the neck shoulder junction.
Are you seeing the same from the entire batch of brass ?
The first neck turning set up I bought years ago was the RCBS with auto feed that replaced the cutter head in the manual trimmer they sell, the turning arbor is designed to ream the ID as it's turning the OD.
If you know someone that has one it might be worth a test to see how it does, I'm positive there are better tools made for the task however.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

From the second pic it does look like it's coming from a donut at the neck shoulder junction.
Are you seeing the same from the entire batch of brass ?

I'm going through it all now, some are worse than others.

They all have it to some degree.

 

[Threadcutter308]

I didn’t go back through the entire thread......what brand of brass ?
I shoot only Lapua and have zero issues. I’ve reloaded one batch of 50 rounds of .308W at least 20 times and it’s still going strong. Doing the math, my cost per piece of brass over 20 reloads is about $0.03 per piece. I don’t do it to save money. I do it for consistency and to avoid problems.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

I didn’t go back through the entire thread......what brand of brass ?
I shoot only Lapua and have zero issues. I’ve reloaded one batch of 50 rounds of .308W at least 20 times and it’s still going strong. Doing the math, my cost per piece of brass over 20 reloads is about $0.03 per piece. I don’t do it to save money. I do it for consistency and to avoid problems.

Hornady. 300 PRC

 

[Threadcutter308]

Hornady. 300 PRC

I should also elaborate. I use Lapua exclusively in my bolt guns, no semi’s. I’m old and mobility challenged, so no PRS type of competitions where I might lose any brass. If that works for you, give some Lapua a try. I haven’t checked to see if they’ve got it in 300 PRC though.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

I should also elaborate. I use Lapua exclusively in my bolt guns, no semi’s. I’m old and mobility challenged, so no PRS type of competitions where I might lose any brass. If that works for you, give some Lapua a try. I haven’t checked to see if they’ve got it in 300 PRC though.

They dont. I think ADG is the only alternative @$2 a case. I've had good luck with Hornady for my 6.5cm even running it hot so figured I'd give it a shot.

 

[shoot4fun]

Inside neck reaming is not only a PITA it can be very counter productive. I would advise you not to do it at all.
Inside neck reaming is far and away a different process than neck turning and produces far different results. Those results can and often do end up rendering brass totally unusable.
I would recommend using Imperial Dry Neck Lube to take care of your scratching issue. If you, like I do, use the expander ball when sizing then just dip the neck into the jar before sizing. It will let the ball slide in and out more smoothly. The best part is there is no need to remove that dry lube as it doesn't contaminate powder. It also makes bullet seating pressure feel much more uniform and should solve any issue you have scratching bullets.
BTW, I read a study done many years ago where bullets were intentionally damaged in different areas. The study found only damage to the bullet heal had any measurable effect on accuracy.

 

[Huskydriver]

How does it shoot?

 

[Ledzep]

Spray the inside of the necks with one-shot case lube before charging/seating bullets.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

How does it shoot?

I havent been able to accurately test it. I'm hoping to on Tuesday.

 

[918v]

Spray the inside of the necks with one-shot case lube before charging/seating bullets.

Graphite is better

 

[Long Range 338]

By the time you spend your time and money on a tool you can probably accomplish the same thing as mentioned above with dry lube or better quality brass. Also I wonder if you ran a neck turning setup and just turned the brass on the mandrel if it wouldn't smooth out to your satisfaction.

 

[shoot4fun]

By the time you spend your time and money on a tool you can probably accomplish the same thing as mentioned above with dry lube or better quality brass. Also I wonder if you ran a neck turning setup and just turned the brass on the mandrel if it wouldn't smooth out to your satisfaction.

That would seem to only change the direction of the markings inside the neck that are causing the OP to stress.
Besides, one should not spin a case on a mandrel without the inside of the neck being lubed.

 

[Dthomas3523]

Reaming is definitely not the answer. As others have said, either just burnish they inside with steel wool or use lube/graphite.

Reaming is typically only needed for doughnuts and overly thick brass when sizing down.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

Im sending a email to hornady tomorrow. Using the borescope I can see some of the lines continue down past the shoulder.

I've already tried some abrasives and these marks are deeper than it will cut through easily. It needs to have about .001 taken off to really clean it up.

So with the graphite lube approach, it's not really solving the problem, it's more or less just lessening its effect on the copper bullet?

 

[RegionRat]

If those lines go down past the neck-shoulder junction on the inside of the shoulder and below, it would explain the high points of the asperities being mashed along those lines.

This would have happened during one of the deep draw processes before the neck and shoulder were formed, and then those smashed asperities happened when they either did it with the bullet or any tools that went down the neck.

For their deep draw to get those lines, they probably got brass stuck to their tooling and it galled everything that came next. A lube issue or contamination could cause that in the deep draw.

 

[flyright]

I've seen that on Hornady and Federal brass, used it and saw no effect on accurany. In fact, shot some .1's with that brass in a 6.5 CM. I always dip my bullet bases in Graphite prior to seating.

 

[RTH1800]

New brass or simply polish it out. Brass with this issue likely has other issues as well.

 

[iceng]

Wet tumble your brass, use bushing dies. Watch your problems disappear. (No ball expander).

I inside neck ream some of my cartridges I load for. L.E.Wilson, awesome gear. Stupidly time consuming, kills brass if you don't know what you are doing or how to measure it.

Don't do it

 

[Sureshot300norma]

It's much better and controlled ,when you use a quality sizing die, etc. Of choice, mandrel, neck,fls die. The imperfections will basically be transferred/ pushed to the outside of the neck and then you can clean them up with outside neck turning. There are a lot of different ways to extensive to go into on a generalized response, but that's how the process is done by seasoned reloaders.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

No reasonable amount of sizing or mandrel is going to get rid of the vertical striations inside the neck as it moves in and out with the wall.

 

[Sureshot300norma]

No reasonable amount of sizing or mandrel is going to get rid of the vertical striations inside the neck as it moves in and out with the wall.

Wrong.

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

Wrong.

OK.

Care to elaborate exactly how?

 

[918v]

I think he means these marks will eventually roll out like dough through repeated firing and sizing. Especially if you use a Lee collet neck die.