Redding dies sticky on down stroke

[savagelh]

Im shoulder bumping my 280 ai brass back by .002 and my brass seems to really stick as it comes out of the die. The expander mandrel is .280" i lube with imperial sizing wax and rub my finger on the case mouth to get a bit of lube in the neck. It feels like im going to get one stuck one day as I have to give my press handle a whack sometimes for it to come out. Any tips?

 

[Smokinyotes]

I started using bushing dies with no expander. I was finding even with lube that after dragging the expander ball through the neck it was stretching my brass past the max trim length.

 

[savagelh]

Can you do that with regular dies? It's not too much neck tension? I could deprime on my frankford arsenal deprimer and do that.

 

[257hunter]

You could size without the expander ball and then use a mandrel die to expand to where you want it.

 

[Lefty Dick]

Have you inspected the expander ball, and maybe given it a bit of a polish(Dremel, felt pad, jewellers rouge).
Is the decapping rod assembly straight, it’s so easy to put a hoo haa in the assembly if you inadvertently bottom out on a case web while sizing.

 

[savagelh]

Have you inspected the expander ball, and maybe given it a bit of a polish(Dremel, felt pad, jewellers rouge).
Is the decapping rod assembly straight, it’s so easy to put a hoo haa in the assembly if you inadvertently bottom out on a case web while sizing.

Yes its all straight.the expander mandrel is in good shape and smooth. I tried lubing it with sizing wax too and it made no difference.

 

[bearhunter]

You're not getting enough lube into the case neck IMHO.

You should also use a bore brush to clean the inside of the neck before sizing down.

Many people neglect the inside of the case neck when reloading. It's a very critical area that needs just as much attention as the rest of the case.

 

[Hitzy]

Redding sells a replacement tapered expanded that is much more gentle then the big torpedo one they come with.

 

[257Wby]

If your brass has several firings , check for doughnuts. They will interfere with the travel of the expander ball.

 

[boxhitch]

Upgrade to the Redding carbide expander button and never worry about the fussing around with neck lube

Many people neglect the inside of the case neck when reloading. It's a very critical area that needs just as much attention as the rest of the case.

Not often mentioned, yet neck tension is the elephant
lube or not?, what kind of lube?, clean before seating or not?, leave some carbon? bullets seizing to shiny brass, break the weld?

 

[Mr Bill]

I used Dextron transmission fluid for many years for case lube and on a Q-tip for inside the neck. Then cleaned out the inside of the next with a Q-tip saturated in isopropanol to prevent primer contamination. Switched to Hornady One-shot and was generous with the spray from all angles and at 45 degrees down into the necks. Made the cases ‘swim’ and no issues with primer/powder contamination. Cases run through my Dillon 550s like grass through a goose.

Friends who have negative results with One-shot try to stretch one can a whole year ‘because its so expensive’.

Over lubricate several cases and see if it makes a difference. My instincts tell me it still could be a combination of other things that have been mentioned already by the more learned among us.

 

[bearhunter]

Upgrade to the Redding carbide expander button and never worry about the fussing around with neck lube


Not often mentioned, yet neck tension is the elephant
lube or not?, what kind of lube?, clean before seating or not?, leave some carbon? bullets seizing to shiny brass, break the weld?

You're overthinking it.

You aren't loading ammunition that will be stored for twenty or more years.

Keep the insides of the neck clean, and you will not only reduce the issues you're experiencing, slightly less stretch and more consistent neck tensions.

There will always be some resistance when the expander ball is withdrawn after the sizing stroke. There has to be, you've just reduced the diameter of the neck to be smaller than the expander ball, which is purpose designed to expand the neck slightly past ideal diameter, spring back slightly to ideal diameter, so proper neck tension will be achieved.

If your brass is too hard, which can be an issue with the 280AI after a few firings, the neck will be more difficult to expand after sizing down, and may not spring back enough for ideal neck tension.

 

[boxhitch]

You aren't loading ammunition that will be stored for twenty or more years.

Keep the insides of the neck clean

have had bullets seized-in after a few months

Pros will seat everything long with the intent of re-seating the day of a match, primarily to set oal for the conditions but also to have consistent release
how can things be as consistent as possible if the inside of the neck is not considered
clean? what is clean

 

[bearhunter]

I used to do the same thing when I was shooting matches.

Pros are also looking for absolute consistency from round to round and depending on the venue, some of them refuse to load their ammunition until they get to the match, into cartridges with turned necks, to fit the custom chambers of their rifles, with "undersize necks.

Again depending on the venue, the dies, often Wilson, such as your own, will have interchangeable neck sizing "bushings"

Clean depends on how "anal" you insist on being.

When I was match shooting, I used a bore brush to aggressively clean the inside of the necks, using Hoppe's carbon solvent, on a patched jag to wipe it out afterwards.

I'm not that anal with my hunting rounds.

I use a bore brush to clear away the crud, you can't clean burnt powder stains without polishing.

I have never had an issue with the bullets I handload, welding themselves to the case necks. But then, I usually use up all of the ammo in a short amount of time, less than a year.

I have had serious issues with "surplus" ammunition, and even some commercial ammunition, which I've picked up from estate sales.

 

[bearhunter]

"have had bullets seized-in after a few months"

That's extreme, and I think you know it.

 

[CaribooBC]

I used Dextron transmission fluid for many years for case lube and on a Q-tip for inside the neck. Then cleaned out the inside of the next with a Q-tip saturated in isopropanol to prevent primer contamination. Switched to Hornady One-shot and was generous with the spray from all angles and at 45 degrees down into the necks. Made the cases ‘swim’ and no issues with primer/powder contamination. Cases run through my Dillon 550s like grass through a goose.

Friends who have negative results with One-shot try to stretch one can a whole year ‘because its so expensive’.

Over lubricate several cases and see if it makes a difference. My instincts tell me it still could be a combination of other things that have been mentioned already by the more learned among us.

I also use Hornady One Shot..... but my supply is running out. After sizing I run them through an ultrasonic cleaner. Works great and no fears of primer contamination. Inside of the neck ends up clean, I should have consistent neck tension.

 

[I Dont Care About You]

Im shoulder bumping my 280 ai brass back by .002 and my brass seems to really stick as it comes out of the die. The expander mandrel is .280" i lube with imperial sizing wax and rub my finger on the case mouth to get a bit of lube in the neck. It feels like im going to get one stuck one day as I have to give my press handle a whack sometimes for it to come out. Any tips?

Are your cases clean? How do you clean your cases? Vibratory tumblers don't clean neck soot very well. Only a steel pin tumbler will do that.

Keep the insides of the neck clean, and you will not only reduce the issues you're experiencing,

This

I use a bore brush to clear away the crud,

This, if you are not steel pin tumbling.

 

[savagelh]

Cases are clean and I bore brush the necks. Ill try the torpedo shaped mandrel if I can find one

 

[jethunter]

Im shoulder bumping my 280 ai brass back by .002 and my brass seems to really stick as it comes out of the die. The expander mandrel is .280" i lube with imperial sizing wax and rub my finger on the case mouth to get a bit of lube in the neck. It feels like im going to get one stuck one day as I have to give my press handle a whack sometimes for it to come out. Any tips?

The first and probably only thing you need do is get more lube inside the neck. Try a q-tip to get lube all around the inside diameter.

 

[209jones]

I just recoil at the idea of using a Q-tip to lube interior case necks, waaaaay too much work. Forster and Lyman make dry neck lube brush kits that use motor mica lube, don't have to worry about powder contamination, only really have to dip& brush about every 3rd or 4th case, you'll feel when it needs more on the sizer button. And the dry lube is all you need with a neck die or neck/bushing die, works with mandrels too. Bag of dry lube is like 5.00 and lasts a pile of rounds, think I've used 3 bags in 45 yrs.