Harrells Vari-base die?

goodgrouper

goodgrouper

tryingtobeabettergrouper
Does anyone know what the size range of base inserts were for the Harrells Vari-base die they used to make back in the day? I have .438" thru .441" but would like to find a .437" if they made one.
 
They did. I have one, and a .436, although I can't imagine a use for the latter. I gave Bob White a call, to see if he has one. I will be checking back with him later today. If he does, It will probably go with the die. A little trick that has fixed a click...you can try loosening the bushing till it contacts the shell holder, and size that way. I have done that, with good results. If you want to do a fancier job you could make a spacer. The base bushings have almost no radius at their bottom IDs, and this is an advantage over most other dies that I have seen. IMO a lot of clicking is about effective die reach VS. chamber reach, down the case. If the chamber has a close fit farther down the case than the die can reach, without and excessive shoulder bump, there will be a problem. Another approach, that I have not tried is the Jones die that has the shoulder and neck in the bushing, so that the die can be set to contact the shell holder, and the bump adjusted with the bushing. I forgot to mention one thing. My shell holder has been shortened by about .012, if I remember correctly.
 
I think that they stopped for a couple of reasons. They were ahead of their time, and for that reason not well received in all quarters, being different, and they were a bit pricey. I value mine greatly. I have bushings in .440, .438,.437, and .436 diameters. If someone has a .439 laying around that he has no use for, I would be interested, just to complete my set. Currently, I am using the .438, and with that, get a reduction of about a half thousandth. One other detail, although they are a close fit at the shoulder to fired cases, they were not designed to reduce the shoulder diameter. I can feel no tightness on chambering a sized case, that results from this lack of reduction. One thing that it does help with is case growth. With only a half thousandth sizing at the base, none at the shoulder, and a thousandth or less bump, case growth is practically nonexistent.
 
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I appreciate the offer, but the .439 is more of complete the set thing than anything else, but if you would sell it for a reasonable amount...BTW what do your fired cases measure, at their largest point? Does your current bushing reduce the diameter? Do you have a click in spite of this? If that is what you are trying to fix, you might take another look at my earlier post.
Boyd
 
Boyd Allen said:
I appreciate the offer, but the .439 is more of complete the set thing than anything else, but if you would sell it for a reasonable amount...BTW what do your fired cases measure, at their largest point? Does your current bushing reduce the diameter? Do you have a click in spite of this? If that is what you are trying to fix, you might take another look at my earlier post.
Boyd
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I have no idea what "reasonable price" would be!?

Well, I have four various sized 6ppc dies and the Vari-base. I have no click issues at the moment, but I want to be prepared for the next time I have to run 55 clicks of N133 in hot/dry conditions. My reamer produces chambers which make the brass come out at .4395" to .440". The die I use most often takes them down about a half thou. That may not be enough when things get "hot". Problem is, my .438 insert seems to measure a bit large and doesn't squeeze the brass much more than my most often used die. A .437" insert would probably work perfect. But I'm having no luck finding one for sale.
 
I have 7 Harrell bushing I will sell 1-.436, 2-.437, 1-.438, 2-.439, 1-.440. Sold my Harrell die with a complete set. I made me the best die that I have ever had. Took a Redding FL bushing die shortened it .012 and gave it a very light chamfer so the it will size down the case further and size the web to .4395 every time. First I bored the bushing recess .255 deeper to a depth of .630 removing the 6ppc shoulder from the die. Then got some shoulder bump bushing (.257 / .258) from Neal Jones and turned them down to .5005 diameter. Now I have a FL shoulder bump die that will size the web area of my brass. Love it like I said earlier best die I have ever had.
Chet
P8093653.jpg P8093654.jpg
 
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coyotechet said:
I have 7 Harrell bushing I will sell 1-.436, 2-.437, 1-.438, 2-.439, 1-.440. Sold my Harrell die with a complete set. I made me the best die that I have ever had. Took a Redding FL bushing die shortened it .012 and gave it a very light chamfer so the it will size down the case further and size the web to .4395 every time. First I bored the bushing recess .255 deeper to a depth of .630 removing the 6ppc shoulder from the die. Then got some shoulder bump bushing (.257 / .258) from Neal Jones and turned them down to .5005 diameter. Now I have a FL shoulder bump die that will size the web area of my brass. Love it like I said earlier best die I have ever had.
Chet
View attachment 12942 View attachment 12943
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Chet, PM sent.
 
Ok here is the order goodgrouper 436?-437, Geryfox all 436? 437-438-439-440, Boyd Allen 439
I have know idea what these are worth. Give me some help I want to be fair both ways. Thanks Chet
PM's ok
 
coyotechet said:
Ok here is the order goodgrouper 436?-437, Geryfox all 436? 437-438-439-440, Boyd Allen 439
I have know idea what these are worth. Give me some help I want to be fair both ways. Thanks Chet
PM's ok
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I don't know what they sold for when they were new. Now that they are relegated to the land of unobtanium, I'd guess you can ask whatever you want for them! :)

Maybe Boyd knows..........
 
How about $17.50 TYD for one, $16.00 ea for two and $15.00 ea. for 3 or more .
I don't beleive any of these has ever been in a die.
If you want any of these PM me. Thanks Chet
 
Some time ago I, just on a hunch, ran my 30 Br cases through a 308 Small Base Die. I noted that the first part of the brass that the die re-sized was the area just below the shoulder-body junction and then the die re-sized the base of the case, just above the extraction groove. I also noted that the cases grew in length as a result. This entailed a two step process for re-sizing but it made my cases as new!

This lead me to wonder WHY do folks who make full length dies make them so close to the chamber size? Is this a hold over from old times? How could anyone think cases wouldn't grow as they were fired? Why wouldn't folks understand one would need to shrink the case back to the size it was whan new? Why are die makers so reticent to make their full length dies smaller? Why do reamer grinders design reamers that allow cases to expand so much?

It is totally unnecessary for folks to go through so many cases when they could, with proper dies, use cases until the primer pockets wore out and even then, with proper dies, which some folks have learned to make; none who seem to be interested in making any for sale, can restore primer pockets. There seems to be a lot of ignorance when it comes to Brass Cases.
 
goodgrouper I have tried six times to reply to your pm but can not get it to go thru. Your bushing will be in the mailing monday.
Thanks Chet
 
coyotechet said:
goodgrouper I have tried six times to reply to your pm but can not get it to go thru. Your bushing will be in the mailing monday.
Thanks Chet
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Thank you very much Chet. Sorry about the trouble. I'll clear out my inbox so I can get your address to send a check to you.
 
In looking around for this image, I found that the price, (with one insert) was not as high as I "remembered". It was $100 and extra inserts were $13.50. It seems that there were slight variations in the name as well. Given what the die can do, it seems a remarkable bargain. With mine, and the set of inserts that I have, I can do a good job of covering the slight variations that will be found in the chambers of different rifles.


die.gif
 
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