I was wondering what is the best way to go if I have the reamer to make the 6.5X55 BJ Ack Imp. chamber is it a good idea to just buy a 6.5X55 die and ream it out to A.I or buy an A.I die? Opinions please.

You can't cut a sizing die with a chamber reamer, as the sizing die body has to be smaller in dia then the chamber to size the brass.

Also most sizer die bodies are hardened, so you will ruin the reamer trying to cut the die body.

You can use a reamer to make the seater die.

The best cheap route is the get a set of Lee collet dies. The collet die should work fine with the AI case. You can use the reamer to open up the seater die as Lee dies come soft.

Yes, you can use the reamer to cut the chamber for some dies. You can cut the sleeves on the Redding Competition neck dies and seaters. You can also cut the Wilson dies. You cannot cut a FL die because of the dimensions and the hardness.

I didn't think of the hardness but I had thought about the size. I figured that a FL die would need to be smaller and you answered that.
Thanks guys

You can sometimes use a rougher reamer to make sizer dies. We have done it a lot as dies for wildcats are expensive here. I wouldn't use my reamers on a hardened factory die but rather start with 7/8 shaft,thread it,knurl,ream it and polish, then harden. The same can be done for seater die using finish reamer. The home made ones seem to work as well as factory.All of my Gibbs dies are made this way.Mark

Heck, if you have a good carbide boring bar( with good inserts) thats got about 3 inches of reach and can do some simple taper calculations and you know how to work the compound, you can easily make all your own dies out of 7/8 4140. I made a complete set of competition .50 BMG dies last weekend just using a 5/8 carbide boring bar and cobalt drills. The dies came out beautifully. Cut the threads and knurl and send em out for heat treating. The only thing I buy is the pre-threaded rings.-Rob