[hotbarrel]

I did not want to post this in the group buy thread but I have a few questions. first off if they are around $25 each pluss shipping, that would mean it will be well over $50 for one set of GO NO/GO to my house rite??
I can understand, it could be bad if the head space is too much, but how bad can it be if the round chambers and the gun runs fine if the head space is too tight??
my thought is to just buy a no/go to be shure their is not too much space. this way all I have spent is thirty something.
I do understand what they check and how they work but to be honest I have never used head space guages. I made individual guage disks from feeler guages. start big and the bolt will not close then step down till it closes and that is my head space. RITE??
I have done this with a round that I carefully pulled the head and dumped the powder, I have guaged off of many differant brands including U.S. made rounds. I have found less that one thousandth ".001" differance in the differant brands.
I have done this many times it is slow but it works for me. cost 99 cent.
yes I am trying to get in on the group buy if I am not too late. please DO NOT TAKE ME AS PUTTING DOWN THE GUAGES. I am just wondering about a few things. anyone have oppinions?? or something to convince me that my H.S. disk method is not acceptable?? or is it just the guages will be faster??
I am poor and trying to justify the money to myself. AGAIN I AM NOT BASHING :boxing: ANYONE OR ANYTHING.

:thankyou: :thankyou:

 

[sks_hunter]

When the bolt closes on the round, the bullet could hit the lands, and be shoved back into the case slightly, changing your dimension. The same can happen the other way, the bullet becoming lodged in the lands, and when you extract it, it pulls slightly from the case, making your round longer. The headspace guage is solid, and the dimensions never change, giving you consistant tolerances. I only know this from handloading, and my own experiences with that, because when I've tried to set OAL for a specific round, this has happened to me. Although the cartridge headspaces on the shoulder, if the lead is out far enough, you may never get there. Just my $.02.

 

[hotbarrel]

well it sounds like I am ok with my old styl method, just slow. I guess I will still get a no go guage but I am not up for spending big bucks for full sets. oh yes, my home made set will work on all calabers. I used the disks on my Romak111 just to check it, and the romak is 7.62x54. again I checked it with differant brands of ammo and found them all to space the same. 99 cent well spent I guess. I think at this point even if I got full sets of guages all I would know is it was within tolerance, after getting the EXACT measurement on all my past builds I would find myself useing the feeler guages anyway to get the measurement. maby I will double check with the no/goand justify the money that way.

 

[Grendeljaeger]

Hotbarrel I'm getting a set in both 7.62 and 5.45 and I'll lend you mine when ever you need 'em. I'll email you after I get them.

 

[Toten Kopf]

The headspace guage is solid, and the dimensions never change, giving you consistant tolerances. I only know this from handloading, and my own experiences with that, because when I've tried to set OAL for a specific round, this has happened to me. Although the cartridge headspaces on the shoulder, if the lead is out far enough, you may never get there. Just my $.02.

This is true...You should never use a case to check headsapce, why? Beacuse you can make a case do what ever you want. Depending on how the manufacturer sizes the cases (or the individual) the shoulder can be moved up or down so with a case I can make it work or not work. The gauge is fixed you cannot change the dimensions. If using the actual case was good enough they wouldn't be making headspace gauges. Builders would just buy a box of what-ever ammo and use them. The only quality control on our builds is "US". It would be like using a ruler instead of a digital caliper to take a measurement. Close just isn't good enough! Just my .02

 

[Trotsky]

Hotbarrel? You really do need a set of real HS gauges... so many things can go wrong, and we happen to LIKE you.... Think of what you spend on Medical Insurance - this is cheap

 

[hotbarrel]

I am not shure what you mean when you say "you can make the case do whatever you want". It is a fixed dimention. also when you say depending on manufacturer size, because many brands all seem to space the same.
I am not shure what you mean when you say "the sholder can be moved up ar down". after the head is out I see nouthing that can move.
I do see what you are saying that a guage is solid and can not change, if you hit a case hard enough it may change. I do not force it and also this is why I use many differant brands each time.
do not get me wrong I am not arguing , but if I do not ask detailed questions I will not understand. thanks HB

grendeljaeger THANKS A LOT I may take you up on the offer . I could double check them quick and get the guages rite back to you. I should be able to strip a bolt and do both checks in no time. it shure would be intresting to see how a "real" guage compaires to my method.

oh yes just a note , I have run the living heck out of the one with the largest measurement ,I mean a torture test without issue. still it will be intresting to compaire.

 

[sks_hunter]

The shoulder can easily be pushed back (especially true for brass cases), and between 2 manufacturers of ammo, the base to shoulder dimension can be off as much as .005", or more, I have seen this with my own eyes using a comparitor. So then we have to ask... which ammo do I use, and which one is closest to the designed tolerance?...The guages are made to exacting tolerances, and won't be distorted over use. They maintain thier accuracy.

 

[Toten Kopf]

The shoulder can easily be pushed back (especially true for brass cases), and between 2 manufacturers of ammo, the base to shoulder dimension can be off as much as .005", or more, I have seen this with my own eyes using a comparitor. So then we have to ask... which ammo do I use, and which one is closest to the designed tolerance?...The guages are made to exacting tolerances, and won't be distorted over use. They maintain thier accuracy.

Thank you, that's what I was trying to say. When I reload, I have a gauge that checks case dimensions. It's like a headspace gauge in reverse. It ensures that the case will fit the chamber correctly. I have one for every caliber I reload (rifle and pistol) for. Like the headspace gauge without it your only guessing.

Also the reason for the "Go" gauge is to check the chamber to make sure it's within specs. This is especially critical in a self-loading gun, where the bolt doesn't have a strong caming action to remove the case from the chamber. If your bolt doesn't close on the "Go" gauge you would need a chamber reamer to open it up a little so the bolt will close on the gauge. All these gauges are just a better means of "checks and balances" to ensure what your doing is correct. Home grown gauges are okay in some instances but not in others. The only thing I can say is for you to do what feels right. If you feel that your method works, use it.

 

[hotbarrel]

i guess this is another advantage of beeing on a great board like this . guys willing to help with advise, and even offer to loan a tool . NOT sell but actualy loan it like a friend would!! only here . thanks guys.