Varibase dies

M

MarkR

Guest
It seems like a mighty good idea but they are no longer made by the Harrel bros. Was there a problem with them or were they just getting prohibitively time consuming to market?
I have run some known good brass through one that I recently bought and there seems to be no more or less runout in the brass than with my standard bump die by the same maker. I am not looking to bring out the dirt on these fine guys, just wanting honest opinions.
Thanks
Mark
 
It is hard to know for sure. The Vari-Base was their first die product. There are those (me & Boyd come immediately to mind) who think they are great. There were others who found problems, whether due to the dies themselves or some people's technique, will never be clear.

As Harrells became one of the go-to businesses for benchrest, and since the variations in PPC body diameters were within a small range, apparently they found it easier just to inventory a number of regular FL dies than all the pieces of the Vari-Base.

As with so much in benchrest, opinions seem to run heavily one way or the other. Mine aren't for sale, there are people who you couldn't pay to have them.
 
Thank you for your honest answer Charles! Thats why I measured runout in the brass before and after sizing a few with it, It seems to be perfectly suitable for BR use.
Mark
 
To test my die, I sized a few cases without the bushing, They came out of the die as straight as they came out of the rifle. When I have tried straighter bushings, my brass has been straighter. I have several base inserts, so I am good to go for just about any chamber. I really like mine.
 
Tolerances

Boyd Allen said:
To test my die, I sized a few cases without the bushing, They came out of the die as straight as they came out of the rifle. When I have tried straighter bushings, my brass has been straighter. I have several base inserts, so I am good to go for just about any chamber. I really like mine.
Click to expand...

Hi Boyd,
Yours may run dead true but remember that it introduces 2 more tolerances in the threads that can make them not as consistent.
 
I guess that Lynwood must have his process pretty well under control. Another thing that probably helps is that the Varibase is not designed to size the diameter of the shoulder. I set mine to bump about a thou. The insert that I use sizes the back of the case about half that, the shoulder diameter is unchanged, and cases chamber quite easily. Bottom line, in he body of the case, the absolute minimum of brass is moved during FL sizing.
 
If all else fails and you are still looking for a good competition 6ppc die try one Reddings small base type S full length dies. They may size your case down slightly more than a "custom" die but it does not seem to effect accuracy or case life and you eliminate the dreaded bolt click. I got this advise from Kent Harshman. At the time I asked him what his case life was like and I can't remember exactly what he told me but it was pretty impressive. I believe the part number is #RD77211 Apparently the specs. on most custom ppc reamers are pretty darn close for this die to work this well.
 
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