Hydraulic case forming

C

Centerfire

Member
Before I spend $183.95 for a Hornady hydraulic case forming die I thought I would ask what the opinion of this die, ease of use, does what it is supposed to is among our members.
I would be using this die to from 6PPC from Lapua .220 R cases.
Thanks,
Centerfire
 
have you spoken with Lonnie or Ben Styling at Hornaday yet ... they'll give you a run down.. Ben made my set
i had a .250 humdinger built an needed a way to form cases .. my thought was to save the barrel usage from fire forming plus all the cost of components an cleaning involved. making the from .308 winchester would need more work than to just blow it out in the barrel any..
once you get the hang of 'how to' use forming die it goes easy.. you mite want to send them a few fired cases an have a FL die made as well .. little more money

RichG,...
 
Be sure to post the info you get here...I for one would love to take advantage of this if it works.
 
I played around a little with hydraulic case forming years ago. I'm here to tell you that it's no fun. I would use that method only for cases that are extremely difficult to form by any other method. 220 Russian to 6PPC certainly would not be one of them. Chances are that you will still have to do a final fire-form with a bullet and powder so what have you really accomplished? $183.95 will buy a lot of components and a fire-form barrel as well.

JMHO

Ray
 
Hydraulic forming die

I have a 6mmBR to 6mmBRX Hornady Forming die. I used it two years ago prior to the F-Class Nationals. I ened up with two case head seperations. And throwing awat 300 pieces of once fireed Lapua brass.

I have gone back to fire forming the old method bullets into the rifling with an 90% load.

I have three rifles chambered exactly the same with the same reamer. I still find it best only to use brass in one barrel.

Nat Lambeth
 
Rustystud said:
I have a 6mmBR to 6mmBRX Hornady Forming die. I used it two years ago prior to the F-Class Nationals. I ened up with two case head seperations. And throwing awat 300 pieces of once fireed Lapua brass.

I have gone back to fire forming the old method bullets into the rifling with an 90% load.

I have three rifles chambered exactly the same with the same reamer. I still find it best only to use brass in one barrel.

Nat Lambeth
Click to expand...

Nat, could you please explain why this is the fault of the die?

tx,

al
 
6mmBR to 6mmBRX Hydraulic forming

I am not saying it is the fault of the die. The process left the webs thin in my case. It may have been operator error on my part. The hydraulic die can create a lot more presure than a measured load. The other thing is I might have gotten a batch of thin Lapua brass. Other wise it created a lot of work and heart ache for me.

Nat Lambeth
 
Al

It's possible to form a case hydraulically without the need to have a solid headspacing point or shoulder holding the parent case solidly in the die. Brass that is moved around by the hydraulics can come from anywhere, including the solid head.

Ray
 
Centerfire: Amen to what Ben Syring said: there is not enough difference between the 220 Russian and final 6ppc case to get involved with hydraulic forming. It's one of the easiest cases to form. I push the shoulder back just far enough to chamber the round in one of my 6ppc's, outside neck turn for the .262" necks, or load 'em and fire for the .272" necks. I shot and you have a perfectly formed case.
 
Although it is not perfect for all chamberings, I have had great success using it to form Dasher cases. I would not shoot a Dasher if I didn't have a hydraulic die. I use isopropyl alcohol and try to form the cases long...then bump them back with the FL Hornady dies. Good shooting....James
 
JD Mock said:
Although it is not perfect for all chamberings, I have had great success using it to form Dasher cases. I would not shoot a Dasher if I didn't have a hydraulic die. I use isopropyl alcohol and try to form the cases long...then bump them back with the FL Hornady dies. Good shooting....James
Click to expand...

Wow, NICE use of product. Well thought out.

al
 
Vern: Here is all I have right now to post.
FBecigneul: Well I wish I had read your information before today as when I was in contact with Ben Syring and told him what I wanted to accomplish he did not share with me the same information. ( .220R to 6PPC)
So I have invested $183.95 as of last Wednesday and now we wait.
I asked Ben what type of hammer he uses and he said that he uses a 5 lb lead hammer. Since I do not think a steel hammer would be a first choice I think I'll use my 3 lb brass hammer.
Cheechako: What have I accomplished? Well nothing right now but since I fireform with 3 firings I am hoping to eliminate two of the firings and fill up a lot of time over the winter which I seem to have a lot of right now.
FDS: I must agree with what you have said as I do as you. But since I fireform at the range and it has been really cold lately I suppose I am trying to get a jump on the fireforming that I can do in the basement.

I would be interested in knowing what weight hammer you guys are using and how many times you have to hit the die. Also do you use any lubrication on the die shaft pin to minimize wear?
Thanks for the input,
Centerfire
 
[I would be interested in knowing what weight hammer]

forget the brass hammer get a 3-4 lb lead hammer or order an extra pin

a couple of tips.....
make sure your dead primer is in tight
no lub... make sure the case is filled with water up into the die.. then drop the pin lightly
you mite want to wrap a small rag around the pin after its in the die.. keeps from splashing when you hit it
hit the pin twice..
after each case is formed run a patch into the die [i use the pin to push it in] it keeps the wrinkles off the shoulder like in to much greese

after the first 3 or 4 cases you make you'll get the idea it goes faster then you think once in the swing of it

i don't know if you ordered a FL die to match but not every case comes out perfect rather then putting the back in... just FL an it will close to perfect
 
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You can get an old 6mm barrel for nothing or practically nothing. You can get it chambered cheaper than the die as it only needs the chamber machined. Now you have a fireform barrel and it is much better than the hammer and juice forming.
Butch
 
MrGee, Thanks for the input. I have a bump die and a Harrels FL resizing die.
Just for clarification I was thinking about applying a dab of lube (140W) to the shaft to minimize wear/gauling of the lapped/hones shaft and hole in the top of the die. Did not plan to use enough that would run into the die.
The plan is to expand the .220R cases to 6mm then hydraulically expand.
Next would be to turn the necks to .0086" wall thickness for the .262" chamber.
After turning I check to see if the cases will chamber and if not I run through the Redding bump die.
Hopefully I will then just have to fireform once.
Thanks for the advice.
Centerfire
 
that would be ok, you'll as you go... the case outside should be clean an almost dry.. just like if you were chambering a live round in your firearm.
not to be fanatical the little towel i use around the pin [to keep from splashing] i use it to wipe the case after i fill w/ water before going up in the H"""" die. doesn't need to be perfect...
you'll be surprised how nice they come out...
new cases work the very best.. fired cases if you find your starting to splitting [if brittel] to many older fired rounds .. you mite find the need to anneal forgot to mention that
if they do split you'll first notice it on the shoulder...

Edit.. [The plan is to expand the .220R cases to 6mm then hydraulically expand]
you have to expand the neck a lttle bit larger then 6mm so as it will make a seal going up into the form die
 
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Centerfire said:
Cheechako: What have I accomplished? Well nothing right now but since I fireform with 3 firings I am hoping to eliminate two of the firings and fill up a lot of time over the winter which I seem to have a lot of right now.
Click to expand...

I don't question your desire to case form using hydraulics. It's your time and money and not for me to say. But, I have to ask, why do you feel the need for 3 firings to form a case??? Most shooters I know do it once and the job is done. Use a bullet and a full case of powder and you can even use the rounds for barrel break in, sighting, etc. Hell, I know some guys who think that 5 firings of a case is reason to toss it.

Ray
 
Mr. Mock,
I use mine on a Dasher too. Works Great! Why alcohol instead of water?
Tim Thompson
JD Mock said:
Although it is not perfect for all chamberings, I have had great success using it to form Dasher cases. I would not shoot a Dasher if I didn't have a hydraulic die. I use isopropyl alcohol and try to form the cases long...then bump them back with the FL Hornady dies. Good shooting....James
Click to expand...
 
Wow........compressing alcohol in a cylinder..........fuelie dragster?..........Enough pressure and boom?
 
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