[flashhole]

For those of you who own a Sinclair Concentricity Gage - did you buy it with the Sinclair dial indicator or did you purchase a different indicator?

Is the dial indicator that comes with the tool adequate or should it have finer resolution?

If you purchased a different make indicator what kind did you get and do you like it?

What about a digital indicator? Does it have a distinct advantage over the dial type?

How important/useful is the extender finger on the dial indicator?

Lots of questions but I only want to do this once and I'm sure a few members will express an opinion.

Thanks.

[esheato]

I have one....bought it with the Sinclair indicator. I think thousands of an inch are fine enough for what I'm doing. I put the case on the tool, spin it and watch the dial...some are more, some are less.

I didn't feel it necessary to buy the Mitutoyo for the extra hundred. I'm not a professional ya know.

Personal preference regarding dial vs. digital. I like seeing the spread on the dial

Extender finger? Huh?

I don't use mine as much as I thought I would. I use it when I set up dies...build some confidence in them but it sits on my bench unused for the majority of the time. Would I get rid of it? No, it's useful to have.

Ed

[ranger335v]

Mine is different but I think you can be sure that Sinclair's basic gage is plenty good enough.

[allain]

I bought one in '98 and used it a couple of times. It sits on a shelf now.

I shoot Competition Benchrest and most know how anal we are. However, if your dies are good ones and are set up properly, you should only need the gauge to occasionally check TIR on your loaded rounds. Just to be sure.

[gearheadpyro]

I do not have the Sinclair concentricity gauge (yet), but I do have lots of experience reading both digital and dial indicators. I'm a technician and we deal with them regularly.

When I buy mine (hopefully within a month or two) it will have a dial indicator. I have found that watching the needle move during measuring is much more helpful then seeing the actual numbers. Digital indicators take a second to measure the actual change which means your measuring where you were, not where you are. Then you have to compute high spots or low spots in your head. With the dial you just set it up and watch for the needle to move on high spots or low spots. Plus you'll have to feed a digital indicator batteries, that's the biggest reason I got rid of all my digitals.

[Walkalong]

allain is right. It gets used to check yourself, and then gets put aside. The targets speak for themselves. ;)

I have a NECO (http://www.neconos.com/details.htm) that hasn't been used in years. All I can say is my 6PPC loads were straight, and it showed on target.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=96450&d=1240061816

[proplinker]

Take it from someone who has made many concentricity fixture......don't! I mean DON'T!!! wast your money. They can't do anything to help!!! spend the money on primers and use good dies I like the Wilson. Good Luck eric sinclair

[Walkalong]

Take it from someone who has made many concentricity fixture......don't! I mean DON'T!!! wast your money. They can't do anything to help!!! spend the money on primers and use good dies I like the Wilson. Good Luck eric sinclair
You have had a couple of posts lately that I find extremely interesting, or is that the right word? :scrutiny:

[Afy]

I currently dont have one, and my targets are pressed to tell the difference.

[flashhole]

You guys are doing a good job of talking me out of buying one.

[esheato]

It's not that they're useless....but if you're worried about bullet runout and neck concentricity, I'm willing to bet you're already using quality components and dies. If that's the case, that concentricity gauge is going to get used less than you think.

Ed

[proplinker]

esheato said it best. As far as my posts......Truth sometimes hurts......Sinclair International has no products made by a Sinclair. I started working in the shop at 13 now at 47 they are having my tools made by??? who ever is cheepest......maybe sour grapes OR is it thier GREED good luck eric sinclair

[Walkalong]

Ah, that explains it. ;)

Everything I have that came from Sinclair has been top notch. Not many folks make their own stuff these days.

[allain]

is if I have concentricity (out of round) problems. If you are using high quality dies, you shouldn't be having these problems. If you are, check your sizing die. Most problems lie there.

Another thing. If you buy an indicator, do not buy one with +- .0001 resolution. Just get the .001. The .0001 is much more expensive and it wanders all over the place and is not stable enough to get a decent reading.

If TIR is .001/.002 you are good to go. If your dies do their job, the needle will barely move, indicating .001 TIR.

Roy

[USSR]

I had a NECO, just like Walkalong. Used it once and sold it. Still, there's something about a gage with a dial indicator.:cool: I still find myself fighting the urge to pull the trigger on buying another dial indicator gage of some sort.

Don

[proplinker]

USSR Thats why they make them. Any gaget guy wants one. I have had 2 and the last one was sold 5 or 6 years ago. Wilson die will fix most run out questions. if it does'nt you will have to rebarrel!

[1858]

Still, there's something about a gage with a dial indicator. I still find myself fighting the urge to pull the trigger on buying another dial indicator gage of some sort.

Don, I have Redding Instant Indicator Bullet Comparators for all of my rifle calibers and also have a Redding Case Neck Gauge. I find them very useful and use them regularly ... perhaps one or both would satisfy your desire for a dial indicator gauge. The headspace gauges are particularly useful. Combined with Redding Competition Shellholder Sets and Redding body dies, I'm able to get very consistent headspace dimensions ... a lot better than new Lapua brass which varies by more than 0.005" (based on 400 new cases).

http://128.171.62.162/hawthorn-engineering/thr/reloading/dies/bc_2.jpg http://128.171.62.162/hawthorn-engineering/thr/reloading/dies/bc_1.jpg

http://128.171.62.162/hawthorn-engineering/thr/reloading/case_neck/redding_neck_good.jpg

:)

[snuffy]

Huh!? So the tool I've been using for a couple of years is a waste of time?

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/arrow/websize/P7040057.JPG

I'm never so sure that I'm being successful in loading straight shells. So I run them across the case gauge each time I load.

I agree that once you have a good set of dies, you'll always get better runnouts, but it's nice to check often to make sure something hasn't happened.

The RCBS tool does a lot of checks on brass and loaded ammo. Case neck thickness and runnout, Neck and case runnout, bullet runnout, inside incipient case head separation check,(detecting the "ring" in the case wall).

[flashhole]

1858 what are you trying to show in the first picture with the dial in the top of a die mounted to the press?

[1858]

1858 what are you trying to show in the first picture with the dial in the top of a die mounted to the press?

That's the Redding Instant Indicator Bullet Comparator. The left photo shows the gauge zeroed using the solid brass SAAMI standard (case) that comes as part of the set. The right photo shows a case being measured that has been fired. It's a .300 Win Mag case so it headspaces on the belt but it's still useful to get a chamber measurement to bump the shoulder back to prevent interference. After zeroing the gauge, fired cases can be measured to determine chamber size compared to SAAMI. After sizing, cases can be measured to determine the amount and consistency of shoulder set back as a result of the sizing method used. The IIBC has other uses too but I'm not interested in sorting bullets by ogive, bullet seating depth or OAL measurements at this point.

:)

[flashhole]

So in your example you are showing the shoulder (from whatever datum is used) is moved forward about .005" after being fired in your gun? Is that correct?

[1858]

So in your example you are showing the shoulder (from whatever datum is used) is moved forward about .005" after being fired in your gun? Is that correct?

Yes, but bear in mind that SAAMI + 0.005" is atypical (based on five of my rifles) since a .300 Win Mag case was being measured in this photo and the case headspaces on the belt. I neck size only (I used to anyway) so the cases stop "growing" after a few firings. A more typical example are the Lapua cases that I shoot in my .308 with a match chamber. Those cases only "grow" by 0.001" over SAAMI at the most when fired, but many are around SAAMI or even SAAMI - 0.0005". I now neck size those cases then bump the shoulder back to SAAMI - 0.001".

:)

[USSR]

Aaagh, 1858! I've been fighting the urge to buy the Redding Case Neck Gauge, and you have to go and show it. Why, that's like watching a beer commercial after attending an AA meeting.:uhoh:

Don

[freakshow10mm]

Snuffy, I use the same thing. Way more versatile than the Redding number. Can you believe I only paid $25 for mine NIB at a gun show?