how to Adjust the Forster FL sizing for more shoulder bump?

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p5200

Member
I have the die screwed all the way down against the universal shell holder per setup instructions. The problem is, I need just a little more shoulder bump is anyone familiar with this Forster Coax press and know how to gain more shoulder bump when the die can't be screwed down further to get it? Looks like I may have screwed up buying this press. :( Thanks! It's a Savage 10fp .223 rem.
 
If the die is hitting the shell holder and you have no gap between the die and holder with a case fully in the die you can`t do any more.
If there is some "air" between the shell plate and die screw the die in a touch deeper until it disappears. just because the die hits the shell plate when no case is in the press doesn`t mean it is still contacting the press when a case is being sized.
One more check to make is whether or not the expander is pulling the shoulder back out as it draws back out of the nrck. Be sure to lube the inside of the case mouth every couple of cases to help prevent this.
 
I've read and heard of shorter shellholders, even seen pictures....... but me??? I run the bottom of the die off on a bench grinder.

'course. I'm perty handy with a bench grinder ;)

al
 
I've managed to tighten the die a little more by hand and bump back .001" the bolt seems to close fine now. Thanks!
 
alinwa said:
I've read and heard of shorter shellholders, even seen pictures....... but me??? I run the bottom of the die off on a bench grinder.

'course. I'm perty handy with a bench grinder ;)

al
Click to expand...

I assume you remove the de capping rod in order to grind?
 
I guess I can use a q tip with a little case lube to lube the inside of case neck? I'm pretty new to reloading sorry about all the questions.
 
P5200,

Heres what I ended up doing and I needed .010". There is a slight bit of "slop" built into the shell holder necessary to easily slide the case in and out. In a normal resizing the case is pushed tight against the bottom of the shell holder, I put enough shim into the shell holder bottom to allow the case to slide in "tightly" but held the case higher in the shellholder and thereby set the shoulder back that amount.
Otherwise as suggested grind the bottom of the die a slight amount.

bjm
 
How to Adjust the Forster FL sizing for more shoulder bump?

p5200 said:
I have the die screwed all the way down against the universal shell holder per setup instructions. The problem is, I need just a little more shoulder bump. Is anyone familiar with this Forster Coax press and know how to gain more shoulder bump when the die can't be screwed down further to get it? Looks like I may have screwed up buying this press. It's a Savage 10fp .223 rem.
Click to expand...

Whenever I have a problem with any piece of equipment the first one I ask for advice or call is the designer/manufacturer. If they're a good company, and Forster is, they know their equipment inside and out and can get the operator, like me, headed down the right road fast. It's a good habit to get into.

You bought one of the finest presses on the market. The folks that are the MOST FAMILIAR with this press and its use are the Forster Technicians at (815) 493-6360. Call and ask for Bob or Trish. :)
 
p5200 said:
I have the die screwed all the way down against the universal shell holder per setup instructions. The problem is, I need just a little more shoulder bump is anyone familiar with this Forster Coax press and know how to gain more shoulder bump when the die can't be screwed down further to get it? Looks like I may have screwed up buying this press. :( Thanks! It's a Savage 10fp .223 rem.
Click to expand...

the press is not the problem! It's probably the chamber being cut on the short side. I would get my hands on a go-nogo case gauge to see what the chamber looks like
gary
 
I had the exact same issue. It required me to remove some material from the bottom of the die. What I did was paint it black with a magic marker, then filed on it trying to keep it square (that's why the marker). I did this about 5 or 6 times and it now works just fine.

Adrian
 
p5200 said:
I assume you remove the de capping rod in order to grind?
Click to expand...

Nahhhh, I work around it :rolleyes:









Actually....... I typically use it as my spinny handle.

All the worry about "square" and "true" and se is silly IMO but I want my stuff to look good :)

BTW, if a die EVER touches down in one of my setups then something gets changed...... including grinding off the die. This whole "set it to touch the shellholder" mindset and all the apologies for it just blows me away!



al
 
squeakie said:
the press is not the problem! It's probably the chamber being cut on the short side. I would get my hands on a go-nogo case gauge to see what the chamber looks like
gary
Click to expand...

And if your chamber IS short????? Then cast your eyes skywards and thank The Gunsmithery Gods.



then go grind your die off.

al
 
I would not turn die down unless absolutely necessary. I would turn the shell holder instead. I have a forster and I have done it with mine and it works fine. If you don't have a lathe you can take it down by chucking up in drill press or hand drill and bring down on a fairly course piece of sand paper.
 
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I have taken material off the bottom of the die several times. My preferred method is paper on a flat surface.

If you look at the bottom of your die you will find a nice radius so you can take off more that you need without changing the inside of the die.
 
When I read of shooters having to modify a die or shell holder or die to get adequate sizing, I wonder if the shoulder bump was relative to a case that had been fired several times, neck sized, to establish a maximum for that chamber. Additionally, I am curious as to whether the degree of bump was the result of measurement. or feel. It is possible that a die may simply be a bad fit for a particular chamber, because of being too large to size the case body within the limits of proper shoulder bump. In these cases, adjusting the die down, and possibly modifying equipment to get the desired bolt feel, may lead to the shoulder being pushed back excessively, and that to an incipient and eventually an actual separation. If you cannot get the bolt feel that you want with a reasonable, measured shoulder bump, you need another die.
 
Boyd you make a good point. In my case it is a minimum chamber and I measure the case. You have to know where the case is tight in in the chamber not assume it is the shoulder. It your not measuring leave the die alone.
 
Twenty five years ago, when I was even more naive than I am now, and believed all factory guns were at least relatively well made I had a problem with loaded ammuntion going into a T/C Contender.
I assumed, not having any tools to measure with, that it had a short chamber and filed off the shellholder to bump the shoulder more so the .223 case would chamber.
The chambered round then promptly seperated at the web when fired.
I ordered a small base die, used it to size fired cases with a standard shellholder while checking it for feel in chambering and had no more problems with case seperation.
Now comes the theory. I think the chamber was small enough at the base and the regular die was large enough at the base that when I sized I was actually headspacing using the taper of the case near the web and bumping the shoulder back several thousandths. The chamber held the case well enough to fire but the shoulder not being in contact caused web seperation. A combination of maximum sizing die and minimum chamber.
I probably have not explained this incident all that well and for that I apologize.
 
ncnbrsa said:
I would not turn die down unless absolutely necessary. I would turn the shell holder instead. I have a forster and I have done it with mine and it works fine. If you don't have a lathe you can take it down by chucking up in drill press or hand drill and bring down on a fairly course piece of sand paper.
Click to expand...

His Forster press uses no seperate "shellholder" to turn. The shellholder is a pair of spring loaded plates that close in the extractor groove of the cartridge. You could, I suppose mill them down but they are not very thick to begin with and I don`t now how much you would weaken them doing so. If anything needs metal removal in this situation the die is the best bet IMHO.
I fully agree though that before anythig this drastic is done, the brass should be measured and the exact problem needing correcting found.
 
What kind of rifle do you have?

I was just reading this and wondering if your rifle is a savage?if so maybe you could ajust the headspace a bit, or maybe your barrel is screwed on a little fo far already?? I dont own a savge nor have i ever messed with one so please take what i say for what it is. Just a thought! Good luck! Lee
 
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