Jim Wooten
Just Me
I have never been happy with using a tubing mike to check the uniformity of necks after turning, so I have been measuring the diameter of loaded rounds instead. With this in mind I started thinking about a different way to check uniformity that would be usable on every every piece of brass after turning without having to seat a bullet.
Having a bit of time, I decided to see what I could come up with in my shop. I used a .0001 reading Starrett dial indicator, and a stainless steel madrel that I turned and threaded on my lathe. To assure measuring the same spot on the neck I turned and fitted a naval bronze stop collar. The upright post and base are aluminum.
The problem with most indicators in this application is that they do not have enough tension to hold the neck against the mandrel and read consistently, so I modified the indicator to allow adjustment of the tension of the indicator tip on the case neck. This adds greatly to the consistency of the readings.
The result turned out even better than I hoped, and gives VERY accurate and consistent readings to a ten thousandth. It can also measure neck thickness if you zero out the dial prior to starting your readings.
Would something like this have any commercial interest to precision reloaders? I know that somewhat similar products are available, but maybe some BR shooters might like a robust and purpose specific gage that is accurate, repeatable, and would be produced by a fellow BR shooter.
I am currently looking for a source of lower cost, but still dependable, .0001 reading dial indicators that would keep the cost of the finished gage more affordable. The other thing of note is that even though the device looks very simple, it requires a lot of time to produce on my non-CNC equipment to my satisfaction.
Any comments appreciated. Please note that I am only posting to see if there is any interest in this type of gage, not trying to get around listing in the classifieds (there are none produced to sell yet, and may never be if no one is interested
).
Jim
Having a bit of time, I decided to see what I could come up with in my shop. I used a .0001 reading Starrett dial indicator, and a stainless steel madrel that I turned and threaded on my lathe. To assure measuring the same spot on the neck I turned and fitted a naval bronze stop collar. The upright post and base are aluminum.
The problem with most indicators in this application is that they do not have enough tension to hold the neck against the mandrel and read consistently, so I modified the indicator to allow adjustment of the tension of the indicator tip on the case neck. This adds greatly to the consistency of the readings.
The result turned out even better than I hoped, and gives VERY accurate and consistent readings to a ten thousandth. It can also measure neck thickness if you zero out the dial prior to starting your readings.
Would something like this have any commercial interest to precision reloaders? I know that somewhat similar products are available, but maybe some BR shooters might like a robust and purpose specific gage that is accurate, repeatable, and would be produced by a fellow BR shooter.
I am currently looking for a source of lower cost, but still dependable, .0001 reading dial indicators that would keep the cost of the finished gage more affordable. The other thing of note is that even though the device looks very simple, it requires a lot of time to produce on my non-CNC equipment to my satisfaction.
Any comments appreciated. Please note that I am only posting to see if there is any interest in this type of gage, not trying to get around listing in the classifieds (there are none produced to sell yet, and may never be if no one is interested
).Jim
