Case head separation -- stuck in die

tjhaile said:
A separated case is much easier to remove from a gun than from a sizing die. A head separation will take your gun out of action until you clear it, but it is not going to blow it up.

Broken case extractors are worth having around if you reload bottle-necked cases and, as mentioned, would definitely be worth trying on a die.
Click to expand...

Wasn't referring to difficulty of removal.
Was referring to the level of hazard to the shooter.
I'd rather have a weak case fail in the sizing die than in the rifle under full chamber pressure.
If it fails in the die I'll have all my fingers and both eyes intact to fix the problem.
If the case fails catastrophically in the gun under live fire conditions that might not be the case.
 
One day I had a new set of RCBS 25-35 dies.
Lubed a case and ran it up there.
The lever nawb went down firmer than it usually did.
Upon lifting, I felt/heard the dreaded noise of the shell holder getting ripped of the
case head.
All my case removing tools dint work and I had left where you are now.
I took my drill index and found one bit that would just fit up in there ...........snuggly.
I carefully drilled the inside of the case and bumped the shoulder with said bit.
Went to the next bigger drill bit. Worked my way up until I was scared of busting through the brass.
Eventually I got the brass case off the shoulder and neck part of the case.
Then I worked from the top end. Drill the case mouth and increased the bit size until there was a sliver
of brass left. Then I picked at it until I could fold it over. From there I just pushed it out.
The die was buggered anyways, so I figured I had one chance left.
This procedure worked for me ............ this time.
I did call RCBS and they said to send it to them. I figured with the cost of postage and such, it would be
cheaper/faster to buy a new die.

Good luck.
 
torontogungal said:
Wasn't referring to difficulty of removal.
Was referring to the level of hazard to the shooter.
I'd rather have a weak case fail in the sizing die than in the rifle under full chamber pressure.
If it fails in the die I'll have all my fingers and both eyes intact to fix the problem.
If the case fails catastrophically in the gun under live fire conditions that might not be the case.
Click to expand...

You missed the part where I said that case separations do not cause catastrophic failures. The head of the case separates at the point where the transition from the thick base to the thin wall, such that the remaining base is still able to contain the pressure. Pages 241-242 of Hatcher's Notebook discuss this. Hatcher even discusses deliberately setting up the M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gun with excess headspace as a training aid in removing broken cases. For most recreational purposes, the result is more annoying than hazardous.
 
If I remember correctly, the thermal expansion coefficient of steel is higher than of brass. i.e. steel expands more than brass when heated. Heating the whole setup should loosen the brass inside and make it easier to tap out. Cooling would make it harder... (unless my memory is backwards of course - there should be reference tables somewhere ;) )
 
Dogleg said:
Take the expander assembly out. Find a tap that will slip about 1/2 way into the case; then give it about a half a turn. A starter tap with pronounced leade is best. You don't want to cut right through and mar the inside of the die, just enough to get a good grip. Run a drift punch or rod in from the top and give it a few love-taps with a hammer. It'll either pop out or tear out the partial threads you cut. If it tears out put the die back in and give it another 1/4 turn. Alternately to the punch and hammer you could screw a nut on the exposed part of the die and use a wrench to pull it. It probably isn't very stuck, the cases break because they were mostly separated to begun with.
Click to expand...

works very well, just go slow as to not cut too deep. done this method for a couple people with the same problem.
 
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