Re: Honing FL Die for Lapua Brass
I've had it done for a 6mmBR die and really, really like it. The main advantage is it gets rid of the expander ball which makes for a straighter case, pulling the case back over the expander ball is the source of a lot of runout and works the brass too much for my liking. It's not just for Lapua cases, it'll work with any case brand although you should ideally taylor your neck dimensions to a loaded round in the case of your choice, different brands might have different thicknesses resulting in less/more neck tension than wanted. It basically turns your full length sizing die into a bushing die with a non-removable bushing, but with the added benefit that it'll size the whole neck instead only partially like a bushing die. To send it in you need to know the neck diameter of a loaded round in the brass you're using. For mine a loaded 105 berger hybrid 6mm bullet in my lapua blue box cases has an outside neck diameter of .2690". Measure with a micrometer, not a caliper, calipers aren't precise enough. I wanted .002" neck tension, and brass springs back about .001" after coming out of the die, so I had my neck honed to .2660". Forster will go down to .0005" increments on the honing so you have to tell them to the fourth digit, i.e. .2660", .2665", .2655", etc. .002" neck tension seems to be pretty standard for target/varmint rounds, if it's a big game round you might want more. I find .002" gives me good tension but I don't have to haul on the press to seat the bullet, it goes in smooth but still gives a good hold, you're not going to pull it out with your fingers. Basically the same rules apply when doing this that apply when picking bushing diameter for bushing dies.
They charge $12 plus actual shipping, which was $3.30 in my case, the deal of the century. I can't imagine taking a hone to my $45 die when I could pay the guys that made the die $12 to do it right. From the time I mailed mine in to them until it was sitting in my mailbox was about 8 days, so they turn it around quick.
All in all I really like the dies done this way and will be buying more forster dies & having them honed. I really hate expander balls. It doesn't hurt that their seater die that comes with them is one of the best ones going too.
