Advice on dealing with a frozen seating stem

stickhunter said:
Yes, but counter that with the other feeling you get with you severely mess things up. I know, first hand, that feeling of having a bolt sheer off when working on my vehicle ;)
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Totally didn't do that to bolt that holds the brake line to the knuckle on my truck a month ago... nope... lol... Luckily some great man invented zip ties...
 
If you run out of ideas, try a propane torch, but only on the very top of the die where the threads are. You need to heat the die body faster than the stem.
 
Don't be afraid to triple up the lock nuts and snug them down good. If you get any movement start going back and forth. When you hit the tight spot, turn into it a bit then bck off the other way. Keep lots of penetrating oil on it and you can almost always work stubborn threads out. All it takes is a little movement to start working oil down the threads and you're set.
 
supernova said:
Don't be afraid to triple up the lock nuts and snug them down good. If you get any movement start going back and forth. When you hit the tight spot, turn into it a bit then bck off the other way. Keep lots of penetrating oil on it and you can almost always work stubborn threads out. All it takes is a little movement to start working oil down the threads and you're set.
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^^^ That is excellent advice. Best thing to do to easily fix this.
I've done it many times.

Another variation that will also work is take two smallish blocks of hardwood, pinch these against the threads with a Vicegrip and you will get it turning without any thread damage.

Addition: Shock will be a huge aid in loosening the threaded members from each other. Tap the rod very firmly with brass or aluminum. Can also do this from the inside of the die up the stem if your "tapper" will fit.

Also excellent, similar advice from another poster...
Find a screwdriver that fits tightly in the slot and give it a couple of sharp but forceful taps straight down as if you were driving a nail.
 
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It looks like you need to break the rust ring at the top of the threads to let the oil seep down into the threads, a dowel in a drill or small pick may help remove whatever external rust you can access.
 
I have freed up a fair number of bolts at work. The trick is to remove the corrosion at the joint of the nut and bolt. all of it My preference is for fine wire cup/disc on a mini grinder, but I have used a flex shaft powered by drill motor in awkward places on cars. It works.
 
I would honestly reach out to RCBS. I had a stuck case that gave me hell (Even with a stuck case remover tool) an I reached out to them. They said ship it down and I did, about 4 weeks later it came back in perfect condition, the polished it, put in a new decapping pin and expander ball. All it cost me was shipping to the warranty center.

So they might be able to help out and save you time and money buying different things. Shipping cost me about 20$ an the stuck case remover tool costed more than that to purchase.

Cheers,
B
 
RCBS is still doing free replacements of dies and other non electric parts, nothing has changed there. I just got a new 9mm die after the carbide bushing came out while processing brass on my Mk7. Sent them an email with pics, had a new die a week later. They also included some green (I think it was green) loctite to use on the old bushing so I could put the die back together.
 
I would be surprised if rcbs didn’t take care of you if you don’t manage to get the stem freed up, they sent me replacement priming parts for a single stage press last year free of charge. I was up front that I wasn’t the original owner and I was just looking for part numbers and would like to buy the missing parts, they were insistent on sending me parts at no cost. They wouldn’t even let me cover shipping, I’ll happily buy rcbs in the future.
 
Hey all,

Just wanted to close this one out. After a week+ of soaking the seating die in Kroil and ATF, I could not get the stem to budge. With multiple jam nuts, I actually ended up slightly stretching the threads. So I decided to take the advice to send them down to RCBS. I paid for postage to California (CanPost, about $25), and within 2 weeks have them back. RCBS covered the return shipping (USPS) and there was no customs charges even though they did have to clear in Richmond, BC.

All in all, I'm very happy with the outcome. RCBS ended up replacing the entire seating die and also polished up the sizing die. I'm back in business!

Thanks all!
 
rcbs is great people. I took a tour of the plant when i was much younger and had relatives in the area. got a rockchucker press and a lot of accessories to go with it, kind of a kit of sorts I guess. anyway I'm glad things worked out for you OP.
 
AWESOME news ! Need more of these kinds of end results posted.

I'll keep trying to restore my faith in customer service returning all across the board.

Laugh2 Laugh2
 
kevin g said:
Slave...was your reply from 8USHNELL ??...just curious
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Yes, Bushnell is where the replies come from now. I have to send a 9mm die back again lol. case head ripped off, now there is a case body stuck in the die, sigh
 
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