Red Cent wrote on Jan 5
th, 2018 at 5:25pm:
When a neck expander is used, how does life keep the expander in the center? The case could distort/be distorted without being noticed. This begs for a concentricity gauge. Does anyone here use one?
I don't do much case neck manipulation when making up ammo, either breech seat, or seat in un-sized cases, so don't feel that I have concentricity problems, but....
When expanding necks up to a larger size, I use a section of expander the ID of the existing neck as a pilot, then a taper up to another cylindrical section of perhaps 0.035" larger, etc. With a properly-made plug of several steps, one can take a 30-30 up to 38-55 (or a 30-40 to 40-60) in one stroke, and keep everything straight and centered.
Properly made, an expander plug with a guiding cylindrical section could be of help, but, since life is short, FIRST be sure there is a problem, before you set out to fix it!!
CHRIS
RGChristensen