Frankford Universal seating dies and 223

[philcox]

For some reason, I feel like I am doing something wrong, I am trying to load 7 PM K, the 77 SMK, or 77 AeroMatch BUT I cannot get the bullet seated to the length that I need. Without brushing the case. I’m not sure what the deal is, and they sent me a second full die Set, and having the same problem. It seems to me that the seating stem does not protrude far enough down into the alignment sleeve, and when I get to a certain point actually get jammed in, and my still not. I tried one to crank it down a little bit, and you see the results of the compressed case.

If anyone has any ideas of what I’m doing wrong, or if this guy said just won’t seat an SMK at 2.226

 

[Huntintherain]

I’m having the same issue with the seating stem jamming/ getting stuck in the bushing and not allowing the bushing to go back down with the case and that happens before I get to book length spec. You could try polishing the seating stem down so it doesn’t stick in the die??

 

[philcox]

Note that I have no problem getting it seated with my standard RCBS 2-die set

 

[pbroski]

Are you using the longest seating stem? Mine will seat 77 TMK's to 2.226" without any problem.

 

[Taudisio]

Have the same set. Zero issues here. Just confirming, you have the .223 sleeve and the longest stem of the three in there? Die is set so the ram touches the base, not the sleeve? You are seating based on the actual measurements of the COAL and not the lines on the die? I typically seat to 2.300, but I have at least another .200 I could push it in if I so choose.

 

[philcox]

Are you using the longest seating stem? Mine will seat 77 TMK's to 2.226" without any problem.

Can you shot me a picture of the seater die in the press and where the micrometer is dialed to for the 2.226 on the TMK? I want to get a visual as to where the locking ring is on the die, and the mic setting.

I am using the longest seating stem and the .224 alignment sleve.

Thanks,

Phil

 

[Walker6]

Here’s how I do mine on my press.

Long seating stem and .224 bushing:

Start threading the die in with the seating window facing me:



I give it 9 turns, which should just barely keep the bottom of the die from making contact with the shell holder when the ram is raised:



Having started with the micrometer up around 5 or 6, I load a case and drop a bullet in the window, raise the ram, and then start turning the micrometer down until I feel contact, then I lower the ram, crank it a little and then seat the bullet and measure. Then I start doing math and seating deeper.

2.226” COAL is getting close to running out of room, but it works:




The key for me is to get the die body as low as possible to start off without it making contact with the shell holder.

 

[philcox]

Ok, something is amiss.

Here is dies screwed in and up top. So I put the bullet in the alignment sleeve, raised the arm, and crewed the die body down until the bullet just seated, then lowered the ram ... pic shown.



As you can see the shoulder is not yet in the alignment die, is was just the pressure of the screw in that seated the bullet (ever so sslightly)




As I screwed the mic down, it was at this point that the actual seater stem started to lower. To this point, turning the mic has no movement on the seater stem.




I dialed it down to where it was moving down, then raised the ram ... seated the bullet to 2.297



BUT the stem got stuck in the alignment sleeve





Can you take a picture of the ram at the top with the cartrige in it? Also, can you tell me at what point your seater stem starts to move?

 

[Walker6]

I think I know the problem:




Also, if I screw the die body that far in on my press, the case gets stuck in the bushing, just like yours. I think you need to back it out at least one turn, maybe two.

 

[philcox]

For reference, that is the seater die I am using. Frankford says it is VLD. Honestly is seems like if the tip were narrower, it would go further into the alignment sleeve before getting "stuck". But this is the second die set I have, and both are having the same problem.

 

[Walker6]

I think you have the die body threaded too far into the press. I made this same mistake once and all my stuff got stuck together too.

To clarify, you do not want or need the bullet alignment sleeve to contact your brass and the seating stem at the same time when the ram is raised. This is what causes things to get stuck.

 

[philcox]

I hear ya, but I am seeing something else. The seater stem is not able to push my bullet far enough into the case. I'll walk through it ...

Sharpied the tip of a properly seated SMK



Took the seater stem and made a mark where it would be contacting the bullet (about 1/2 way down)



Re-Sharpied, then put the case into the alignment die, and seater stem, then did the same "make a line"



I would expect the seater stem to contact the bullet at the same spot (and like was stated, the shoulder should not hit the sleeve, or you get my crush noted in original post) ... As you will see there are 2 lines (one from the holder spring in the alignment die, the lower one) and one about 1/4 down the tip. This is where the seater stem is hitting the alignment sleeve and won't go any further down ... do case is as high as it can go, and stem is as low as it can go ... and I am no where near the proper seat depth.



IF I use the 243 alignment, then the seater stem does go further down (which makes sense, since bigger hole), and the "seat line" looks more like what I need in the 224 ... go figure....

 

[Walker6]

Yeah mine doesn’t do that.

If I do what you just did, the seating stem rests on the bullet and the alignment sleeve can slide up and down a little. If your stem binds up inside your sleeve then it might be messed up.

 

[philcox]

Yeah mine doesn’t do that.

If I do what you just did, the seating stem rests on the bullet and the alignment sleeve can slide up and down a little. If your stem binds up inside your sleeve then it might be messed up.

If I used a 243 alignment sleeve, then essentially the seater stem rest on the bullet and I can move the alignment sleeve back and forth. I went and tried it on my factory fiocci 55g, and same issue. The only 223 load I have that I get ANY play with is the 77 AAC from PSA.

Curious, how old is your universal set?

 

[pbroski]

Can you shot me a picture of the seater die in the press and where the micrometer is dialed to for the 2.226 on the TMK? I want to get a visual as to where the locking ring is on the die, and the mic setting.

I am using the longest seating stem and the .224 alignment sleve.

Thanks,

Phil

I set it up like this. Put the ram at the top of the stroke. Screwed the die down until it touched the shellholder, then backed it out until the window faced towards me. That left about .020" - .025" space between the top of the shellholder and bottom of die. Had to turn the micrometer top to 220 to seat 77 TMK to 2.226". There is no binding in the seating stem.