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Post by linebaugh on May 16, 2017 8:58:09 GMT -5
Has anyone on here made their own? I have a gun I want to put together tomorrow and was considering making my own gauge. Any thoughts.
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Post by hillbill on May 16, 2017 16:07:33 GMT -5
Jeff, Elkman or Richard would be the guys to answer that.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2017 19:01:16 GMT -5
I don't use them because the tolerances are so loose. I use new brass of good quality that I run thru my FF die.
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Post by elkman1310 on May 17, 2017 8:12:43 GMT -5
It is true that Head space gauges vary. I do use them. I also use minimum head space on all my 1,000 yard rifles. I will compare the new Laupa brass or Norma brass to my chamber I have just cut while the barrel is still setup in the lathe. Sometimes you will get new brass that is longer than your minimum chamber you just cut if that is the case they I will match the chamber to the new brass. I have done six 6mm Dashers and all the brass inter changes.
You could take a new case and fit the chamber to that case then take another case and put two layers of Scotch tape on the base of the case and trim the tape so it fits inside the bolt face. That would act as your no go gauge. Bolt should close will a little resistance on the case with no tape and it should not close at all with the case that has two layers of tape on it. If you do that it would be safe to fire. Mag head space gauges really vary because the belts are all different but you could cut a case short just ahead of the belt and do the same thing with tape
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Post by linebaugh on May 17, 2017 13:04:25 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies. I made a guage and fitted it to a gun I put together last year. Same caliber. As it stands now I should have 2 nearly identical chambers along the lines of what Elkman said. This actually worked out great because this gun will be high volume and a barrel burner so I assume the barrel will be replaced every other year. Next time I can chamber and use the same gauge for each sequential chambering to keep the chambers the same.
I incorporated a firing pin hole and a relief cut for the ejector into my design so I dont have to pull the bolt apart either. Didnt take long to make and if I would have had the proper sized collet it would have went even faster.
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Post by Richard on May 17, 2017 14:57:22 GMT -5
If doing one of my own where I will be doing all the reloading for it, I just use a good piece of brass or if re-chambering, a piece of old fired brass. Once you fire form the new brass it will all be at proper head space? Occasionally I will rent a reamer for a customer's specific chambering. In that case I will also rent the Go headspace gauge in the event he is using factory ammo.
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Post by elkman1310 on May 17, 2017 16:55:31 GMT -5
It is still a good idea to remove the firing pin from the bolt. You will get the most accurate feel when doing a close head space job. Since this chamber job is only going to be used by you. You can set it up anyway you want to fit the brass you use. If it is for a customer and he wants to use factory ammo then go with a head space gauge and give it a nice .002 clearance so he or she want have any problems with any ammo.
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Post by Hank on May 19, 2017 13:23:26 GMT -5
I use head space gauges on every rifle I build. A go gauge must close in the chamber and a no-go gauge must not close. There are .003 difference between a go and a no-go gauge.
Since you are doing this chamber for yourself, I guess you can set it up how ever you want, you can have .010 clearance if you wanted and once you fire formed you brass and only neck size them then you will be fine, if you full length size them then you will not get many firings from a case before you have case head separation.
I set up each rifle to a min-spec, but need to make sure all factory brass will close in the chamber. Only exception is when I'm building a wildcat or special customer instruction.
A set of gauges are not that expensive and they make life so much easier.
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