Newbie reloader gets a stuck case...

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well it had to happen sooner or later, and I guess for me it was sooner...

I got two sets of dies. A carbide 45acp, and a normal .308.

I tried out the carbide first. My brass wasn't that clean, so figured I would put a few through, and call it quits until I could tumble them.

So up next was the .308 that had been tumbled before I bought it..

first one went in...it was a little tough. Second, same thing...but I realized I wasn't seating them all the way in(I could see a distinct mark near the bottom of the case).

I put my 13th case in, and really reamed on it...my bench was bending and everything. Obviously, as soon as I tried to extract it, the rim shredded. Stuck(and stuck good!!) after 13 full length resizes. I suck.

They are Lee dies, so I tried to loosen the collet, and tap the decaping pin. That didn't work, and actually made it much worst. I wedged the decapping pin into the collet.

I pried the collet off, and at this point my brand new dies are all scratched and bulged so my blood is boiling. I pretty much lose all hope, and start reaming on the decapping pin. The case didn't budge a millimeter, and that ended up bending it pretty bad, and once again making it much worst.

So I guess the only good news is that I got to try out my homemade stuck case extractor...and if anybody reads this and finds a bit of humor by a newb getting schooled.

to finally get it out, I just...
-broke the decapping pin tip off.
-hacksawed off a bit more of the pin.
-drilled the case with 7/32 drill bit.
-tapped it using a 1/4 20 tap
-unscrewed it out using a bit of copper pipe and a bolt that was holding my press down.

The die looks fine, but I'll need to get another decapping pin - which I'm guessing will be just as cheap to buy a new RGB Lee die set(17 bucks).



drilled and tapped...
IMG_1931.jpg


the die seems to be ok...
IMG_1937.jpg


poor decapping pin...for some reason I wasn't able to pull it back through the top of the die. I had to snip the case mouth to even get it out of the case once the case came out of the die. If I could have pulled it out the top, everything would have been salvaged. any hints on this one?
IMG_1939.jpg


homeade extractor...This actually worked awesome...I really didn't think it was going to budge, but it pulled it right out. I wish I would have taken a video now...
IMG_1941.jpg


Also, no comments on why this got stuck in the first place....I think we all know why. :redface: let us never speak of this again.:D

Jody
 
I've probably put close to 1000 .223 casings through my Lee FL resizing die and I haven't had a stuck case yet...

Like bcshooter mentioned, are you lightly lubing the casings (including inside the neck) before sending them through the die? I've had several casings latch onto my decapping pin and pull it out of the die, but I have yet to have a casing stick in the die itself.
 
No mention of lubing the 308?? If thats the case, I am surprised you got up to 13 without this happening sooner. Carbide dies dont require lube(but a teeny spray makes a helluva less efort) but with regular steel dies lube is a must. As for the decapper, easily replaced. Try Higginsons for that.
Cheers
dB
 
If you e-mail Lee Precision and tell them that you have broken the decapper assembly, they will undoubtedly send you a replacement free of charge. I recently broke a part on my Lee auto prime and I had a replacement within about a week. Their customer service is great.
 
what ive done with a stuck depriming tool is once the case is out of the die (brass mallet and a vice) i grab the depriming pin in the rubber jaws of the vice and grab the case with a pair of vice grips and yank straight away from the deprimer pulls it right out.
 
If the case is stuck in the die, you can just release the decapping pin, and pop the case out.Now if you cut the head off the case, the pin will come out that way , without much fuss.
Scott
 
I did it again :mad:


Lee was awsome and sent me a new decapping pin free of charge...and I did the same thing...

This time, I made sure there was plenty of lube on the outside of the case, and in the neck...

Same thing happened though. I don't think the case was getting stuck in the die - I think it was getting stuck in the decapping pin.

I bet if I would have loosened the decapper clamp before the rim ripped off, it would have came out(with the decapping pin still stuck in the case).

Any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong here? I'm going to get a new set of dies in case something is wrong with the ones I have..


the decapping pin is still stuck in the case...

IMG_1987-1.jpg


IMG_1989.jpg


I tried to put a thread on it, and pull it out, but it was so stuck it just ripped the threads off..so it is stuck on there good.

IMG_1990.jpg
 
Even with the full length dies, there seems to be a bit of casing at the bottom that is untouched. This is normal. If the Shell holder touches the bottom of your die when at full throw, this is normal. Do not over force the press as you are squeezing the brass casing over the large sizer side of the decapper. My 2 year old grandson does resizing for me and this shows that it does not take much downward force to get the job done.

I have done thousands of casings of various calibers and with a "little" lube but do not put lube on the neck....never had a "stuck" i use the Lee dies with not a problem , carbide or not.
 
no dremmel ?

if you have a dremmel or even a hacksaw. pop the case out of the resizing die, hold the case in a vice and hack it off below the depriming pin, then push the depriming pin through and out the larger hole. didnt need to thread it.

ive stuck .223 cases in my lee full length sizer a couple times. all i had to do was use a brass hammer. (losten the collet that holds the depriming pin) and give it a whack, pops the case out with the pin, then i hold the pin in the vice (rubber jaws) and hold the case with a pair of vice grips and give it a good yank, pops the case off the depriming rod. no damage to the rod, and its a borked case. easy peasy
 
Winnipeg Toymaker said:
Even with the full length dies, there seems to be a bit of casing at the bottom that is untouched. This is normal. If the Shell holder touches the bottom of your die when at full throw, this is normal. Do not over force the press as you are squeezing the brass casing over the large sizer side of the decapper. My 2 year old grandson does resizing for me and this shows that it does not take much downward force to get the job done.

I have done thousands of casings of various calibers and with a "little" lube but do not put lube on the neck....never had a "stuck" i use the Lee dies with not a problem , carbide or not.
Click to expand...

gotcha... I should still be able to resize with the decapping pin I have(it just won't do the decapping part).

When I set the decapping pin clearance I tried to make it as little as possible. The first few runs through didn't pop out the primer. I increased it until the primer finally popped. I ran through about 10 cases before I got stuck. Maybe this case had a bit more length on the neck or something?? It was mixed brass from the range.

I'll run though a buch more and see if I can get a better "feel" for it.

Thanks!
 
Get you some Imperial sizing lube and use it on the outside of the case but not on the neck or shoulder. Get some smaller tube brushes with plastic or hair bristles and some dry moly or mica and use on inside of case neck. The other alt. i use is a small container full of BBs and a small amount of dry moly mixed, then just stick the case neck into the BBs. Either way, nothing should get stuck.
 
Well - Are you lubing inside the necks? The neck of the case is deformed, suggesting that some damage is occuring during sizing. Are you setting the decapping pin at the right height? Too high or too low will cause problems..
 
cosmic said:
Well - Are you lubing inside the necks? The neck of the case is deformed, suggesting that some damage is occuring during sizing. Are you setting the decapping pin at the right height? Too high or too low will cause problems..
Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinkin, especially when he says it sometimes didn't remove the primer. Maybe the neck sizer on the decapper is trying to come out of the case before the sizing die has lifted high enough to allow for the case expansion?
 
ben hunchak said:
Get you some Imperial sizing lube and use it on the outside of the case but not on the neck or shoulder. Get some smaller tube brushes with plastic or hair bristles and some dry moly or mica and use on inside of case neck. The other alt. i use is a small container full of BBs and a small amount of dry moly mixed, then just stick the case neck into the BBs. Either way, nothing should get stuck.
Click to expand...

You beat me to it Ben. Imperial sizing wax (a little goes a long way) applied below the shoulder of the case and some dry neck lube for the case mouth (just dip the case neck into the powder) and your problems will be over. After the case is resized, Imperial Sizing Wax is easily wiped off with a clean rag.
 
I have the same .308 dies. My de-capping pin sticks up above the collet about 1/8". You have to have the collet fairly tight on the pin or it will pull though, leaving the pin inside the case. At that point, just use a pair of side-cutters to cut the case off the pin, with no damage.

I use lube sparingly, and only lube the inside of every 4th case. I'm still on the same tube of lube after 2 years and probably a couple thousand re-sizes. I only had a stuck case once, and it was because the collet wasn't tight enough on the pin.
 
I may be wrong, but the pic of that .308 neck looks like it's longer than normal..........I'm curious as to how you set your dies ie. you're setting them too deep. It shouldn't require much force at all to pop the primer and resize the case. Even on my .50 cases (providing you have a solid bench), it doesn't take that much force.
I highly doubt it's the die that is the problem.
 
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