Advanced Reloading: Sorting Brass by Neck-Wall Thickness
He who dies with the most toys wins — right? Well Sinclair has another interesting gadget you can add to your reloading bench. The Sinclair Case Neck Sorting Tool lets you quickly sort brass by neck-wall thickness. For those who shoot “no-turn” brass, sorting your cases helps achieve more uniform neck tension and, thereby, more consistent bullet seating. Large variances in neck-wall thickness can cause inconsistent neck “grip” on the bullet. Generally, we’ve found that more consistent neck tension will lower ES and (usually) improve accuracy.
Get Better Results with No-Turn Brass
We know some guys who shoot no-turn 6mmBR brass in competition with considerable success — but their secret is pre-sorting their brass by neck-wall thickness. Cases that are out-of-spec are set aside for sighters (or are later skim-turned).
Watch Case Neck Sorting Tool Operation in Video (May not load on mobile devices)
How the Case Neck Sorting Tool Works
Here’s how the Sinclair tool works. Cases are rotated under an indicator tip while they are supported on a case-neck pilot and a support pin through the flash hole. The unit has a nice, wide base and low profile so it is stable in use. The tool works for .22 through .45 caliber cases and can be used on .17- and .20-caliber cases with an optional carbide alignment rod. The MIC-4 pin fits both .060 (PPC size) and .080 (standard size) flash holes. Sinclair’s Case Neck Sorting Tool can be ordered with or without a dial indicator. The basic unit without indicator (item 749-006-612WB) costs $59.99. Complete with dial indicator (item 749-007-129WB), the tool costs $89.99. IMPORTANT: This tool requires caliber-specific Case Neck Pilots (sold separately).
Editor’s Comment: The purpose of this Sinclair tool is rapid, high-quantity sorting of cartridge brass to ascertain significant case-neck-wall thickness variations. Consider this a rapid culling/sorting tool. If you are turning your necks, you will still need a quality ball micrometer tool to measure neck-wall thickness (to .0005) before and after neck-turning operations.
Similar Posts:
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Tags: Cartridge Brass, Case Neck, Micrometer, Neck Thickness, Neck-Turning, No-Turn Brass, Sinclair Tool, Sorting
I have a Sinclair tool and use it. I would like to suggest that they add a spring that can be fastened onto the indicator stem below the indicator clamp to put pressure on the case neck/ pilot interface. That would overcome the clearance between the ID of the neck and the OD of the pilot at the point of measurement. The clearance is necessary but can lead to jumping as the case is rotated. Thank you for your time.
Tom Alves
This tool is nowhere near a ball mic for accuracy here
A friend has one of the Sinclair tools, without a base. You can hold it in one hand with your index finger on the top of the exposed spindle that sticks out of the top of the indicator. By applying pressure you can pin the case neck to the mandrel. The best way to do this is to press and release four times, turning the case 90 degrees each time. This gives more reliable readings than depending on indicator’s internal spring and trying to take a continuous measurement to determine runout. Some shooters do not know that simply correcting neck runout by turning does not fix the whole case. Eccentricity found in the neck thickness will run down the case and may increase closer to the bottom. Evidence of this may be seen by examining the bulge near case heads that is commonly seen on fired brass from generously dimensioned factory chambers. If the bulge is more pronounced on one side, that side is thinner.
and inside of the neck must be clear, flat, no donuts!
otherwise the measurement can be false…