I have a Hornady 7mm neck sizing die which works for cases up to the standard magnum belted size however 7mm WSM cases are too large in the body to enter the die.

Partially resizing WSM cases in the FL die to just neck size does not work, cases that fit nicely back into the chamber after firing will not fit if only partially sized, they have to be fully sized with some bump over on the press.

For case life I would like to just neck size but need to open the neck size die out a little.

Anyone opened dies up without annealing and re-hardening. Will carbide cutters cut a hardened die?

Carbide will cut it.

Boring bar in a lathe

That's what I was hoping.

Won't you have to shorten the die also?

Hip

It's probably not as long as a FL die.
An easier way will be to get a 7mm RUM die and chop it off.
But maybe not in NZ.

As dpcd observes, the 7mm neck size die is not as long as a FL die. I can size 7mm-08 cases in the die as is and while the WSM case is the same length as the 08 case it is too fat to fit.
There is enough meat in the wall of the 7/8" neck size die to open up for the WSM case.

Hopefully a carbide cutter will open the hardened die out without too much fuss.

I have machined a die on the lathe. Did the opposite though, opening up the neck of a die to be able to use it as a "body die". It does work.

Use a brand new insert though.

Some recommend softening the die, chamber it then reharden. I had one done that way and it always worked just fine..

Purchased a new 8mm insert boring bar complete with carbide insert with a minimum hole size requirement of 9mm (die is currently 13mm). I will do the lathe job at the company from which I retired last year but they didn't have a carbide insert boring bar that small for the lathes in their engineering workshop.

NZ$37.00 for the bar complete including freight, neck sizing dies here are NZ$85.00+ but nothing in the country for the WSM's.

If the die is too hard even for the carbide cutter I'll do as Ray suggests.

Oh, Ray is right; and I have made sizing dies from drill rod, and not harden them; they will last a few thousands of rounds without hardening. Especially for a neck die; doesn't have to be hard. You ain't going to wear it out, and it won't gall or stick.
I would have said that if I had known how much it was going to cost you. Just turn one out of anything on your lathe.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Oh, Ray is right; and I have made sizing dies from drill rod, and not harden them; they will last a few thousands of rounds without hardening. Especially for a neck die; doesn't have to be hard. You ain't going to wear it out, and it won't gall or stick.
I would have said that if I had known how much it was going to cost you. Just turn one out of anything on your lathe.

Yes I have made dies for straight cases using 7/8" Grade 5 bolts, just cut the heads off, knurl the plain section, bore and polish to suit. Didn't need to harden any more than the toughish grade 5 steel already is.
I always use Imperial Sizing Wax so have one of the best for the job.

The 8mm boring bar I've purchased to open out the existing neck sizing die for the WSM case will be useful for other things and should only take a few minutes lathe work to achieve a nicely finished Hornady 7mm WSM neck die for at least half the price of a new 'unobtainable' one. Gotta look good you know.

Thanks everyone for all good advice and ideas.

Opening out the Hornady neck sizing die to take the fatter 7mm WSM cases all done perfectly.
My son took it to his engineering mate yesterday after work and dropped it back in this morning completed. Beautiful finish inside the die and no need to anneal so still has factory hardening.

Adjusted the die to just size the neck of the WSM cases to the shoulder junction and de-prime at the same time. No lubing required and cases chamber easily.

WSM case ready for 5.5mm further insertion into the die on the press to size the neck and de-prime.

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:
I have a Hornady 7mm neck sizing die which works for cases up to the standard magnum belted size however 7mm WSM cases are too large in the body to enter the die.

Partially resizing WSM cases in the FL die to just neck size does not work, cases that fit nicely back into the chamber after firing will not fit if only partially sized, they have to be fully sized with some bump over on the press.

For case life I would like to just neck size but need to open the neck size die out a little.

Anyone opened dies up without annealing and re-hardening. Will carbide cutters cut a hardened die?

I load for several WSMs and one SAUM. None of them like neck sizing at all. I gave up on trying to neck size any WSM. Tried annealing partial FL etc I have been told by others its a waste of time with the WSMs so I quit. I didn't ask why other than it wasn't working for me either

quote:

Originally posted by MyNameIsEarl:

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:
I have a Hornady 7mm neck sizing die which works for cases up to the standard magnum belted size however 7mm WSM cases are too large in the body to enter the die.

Partially resizing WSM cases in the FL die to just neck size does not work, cases that fit nicely back into the chamber after firing will not fit if only partially sized, they have to be fully sized with some bump over on the press.

For case life I would like to just neck size but need to open the neck size die out a little.

Anyone opened dies up without annealing and re-hardening. Will carbide cutters cut a hardened die?

I load for several WSMs and one SAUM. None of them like neck sizing at all. I gave up on trying to neck size any WSM. Tried annealing partial FL etc I have been told by others its a waste of time with the WSMs so I quit. I didn't ask why other than it wasn't working for me either

That is strange, if the fired cases fit back into the chambers on your WSMs and SAUM then neck sizing only shouldn't affect the chambering. Have you tried proper neck sizing dies?

As I posted, the Hornady 7mm neck sizing die I had to hand (shown in the photo), would only accommodate cases up to the standard belted 7mm magnum size, the fatter WSM case would not even allow the shoulder to enter the die, hence the reason I had to bore the die out to allow the WSM case to drop into the neck sizing portion of the die.

My Hornady die is stamped 7mm Neck Sizing, it is not cartridge specific so has to be adjusted to size the neck back just shy of the shoulder junction of any 7mm cartridge with care not to over do it and bump the shoulder.

The die works perfectly now, untouched fired cases rechamber perfectly in my Browning X-Bolt WSM and still do so after neck sizing, then as do the fully loaded cartridges.

Possibly after several firings the cases may need F/L sizing, I haven't got that far yet.

Can someone explain a bit more what makes partial fl sizing not work on WSM cases, please? I believe I've done it with my 270WSM with no problem.

quote:

Originally posted by sambarman338:
Can someone explain a bit more what makes partial fl sizing not work on WSM cases, please? I believe I've done it with my 270WSM with no problem.

I suspect it will depend a lot on the exact dimensions of the chamber and the die, as well as how the die is set up.

If the die sizes the case body just behind the shoulder at all, the relatively sharp shoulder will roll forward more than would be the case on a cartridge with a shallower shoulder, which of course changes the reference length (some people call it headspace). The relatively straight case body also means that this might happen with the die backed out further than would be the case with a more tapered cartridge.

However, if the chamber of the rifle is tight enough in this area, and/or the die used is loose enough in this area and the die is backed out far enough that the body is not re-sized, then one shouldn't have any problems (assuming the fired case chambers easily and an excessive crimp is not applied).

Yes Peter has explained it as I imagine is the reason too. dcpd also gave a similar explanation in another discussion on issues with partial resizing some cases. I am certain with my dies and chamber this exactly is what is occurring if I attempt partial resizing, whether this happens with every WSM rifle I can't say.

Thanks guys,
my rifle is a Tikka T3 and what comes out usually goes in again - it is very accurate, even with my reloads.

I find my Redding case trimmer a pita, though, and getting all cases exactly the same length too hard to bother crimping except for the .45-70 and 375 Win.

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:
Opening out the Hornady neck sizing die to take the fatter 7mm WSM cases...

You can see the circle on the 7m(M) right?

quote:

Originally posted by jpl:

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:
Opening out the Hornady neck sizing die to take the fatter 7mm WSM cases...

You can see the circle on the 7m(M) right?

Yes, and no problem. The ejector plunger in the bolt face of my X-Bolt is very flat with hardly a chamfer on it. Of all 150 once fired cases of Hornady (brass), Winchester (brass and nickel) and Federal (brass and nickel), that I have from the X-Bolt rifle, only 4 Federal nickel cases are showing the ejector mark.
Federal brass cases from two other factory loadings do not show any ejector marks and apart from the 4 cases mentioned, all other FC nickel cases from the 140gr Trophy Bonded Tip load show no marks.

I think it is the combination of sharp flat ejector plunger and the nickel coating that is producing the odd mark. All cases extract perfectly and refit the chamber easily, only requiring neck sizing to be reloaded.