What is wrong with my die ?

Niko-PG said:
i must have check that a hundred time :D

I tried the q-tip and nothing catches, blurs must be too small.

I really cant figure out how my die got damaged in the press. I smell sabotage!

Good time to switch to Reddings I guess.
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I get exactly the same marks using my Redding stainless steel bushings, I just ordered a set of Titanium ones to see if it makes these vertical stripes go away.

I chucked the ss bushing in my lathe and polished it with diamond compound but got the same effects, Hope the new titanium bushings do a better job !
 
Just a newbie to reloading, but to me it looks like you may have sized dirty brass and scored your dies in the process. Just my 2 cents.
 
Send LEE a couple clear pic's and wait for their response,probably withen a day or 2.
They'll probably tell you to send it back.Tell them your in Canada and then see what happen's.They'll come good for it.
 
I may have missed it earlier in the thread but which Lee .308 Winchester die are you using? The Full Length Sizing die, or Collet neck sizing die?
 
I had the same issue with brass that had been fired in a lose chamber doing that as well. My problem was to much lube, it kept plugging up the top of the die and getting on the shoulders of the brass. but after I figured that out I kept the die clean and the lube low and the problem almost completly disapeared
 
I had a similar problem with a Redding bushing die. Determined it was brass building up on the inside of the bushing. I took the bushing out of the die and soaked in Sweets solvent overnite - problem solved. I would soak the neck of your die in Sweets or some other aggressive brass solvent - it might work.

Regards

Aubrey
 
OP, gotta go with 4831 on his..."Why are you FL resizing new LAPUA brass????"

Folks, I am quite sure that lube is not the issue here. The issue is that sometime in the past week, the Lee dies went from sizing properly to scoring the necks of the brass quite deeply.

OP, I have some concerns as to cleanliness of your brass. I am seeing wisps of fibre on the first pics, even on the new brass case. If you cannot keep the brass clean, it is going to impart that same dirt into the lube inside the die, that is going to allow any microscopic shavings to adhere to it which in turn will start shaving off larger pieces of brass, which will get stuck in the die, which will shave off larger pieces and so on until you get an inoperative die.
I would follow Banished's advice and really clean the bushing. There is no problem with Lee dies that Lee won't fix, even your own stupidity, guaranteed.
I have a dozen or so sets of dies, most are Lee, several RCBS, some Hornady, and even a Redding. I haven't seen this type of damage in any of my dies, but I keep my brass SUPER clean and clean the dies out after every 500 reloads.
I would also remove the decapping pin and try to resize that way to see if the mandrel is squeezing too much. Is your neck brass too thick? This will help determine that.

If you decide to trash your dies, send them to me instead, although postage from AFRICA is quite a bit.
 
Something wrong with that die. Send it and a case to Lee. They should figure out what's wrong. I've never had that happen and I don't clean my brass (other than rubbing a bit of Hornady case lube on the neck and body) before sizing it.
 
I've had that problem before, but with pistol cases. I was using a Lee carbide resizing die and one day started noticing vertical scratches down the side. It looked the same as the ones on the case neck as pictured. I cleaned the die good and that seem to help a little, but then it quickly (within 200 rounds) came back. It got worse so I finally bought some Hornady dies. I have not had that problem since.
 
Have you resized any nickel cases with this die. I had bought a bag of 338 win mag nickel plated brass years ago, resized them before first reloading to smooth out bent case necks etc. The nickel plated brass had rough case mouths and they badly scratched the inside of the die. My brass looked exactly like yours after sizing. I ended up tossing my sizing die and buying a new one. I should mention that after the first firing I then I trimmed and deburred the brass and it never happened again. It was just the first time through the die when the brass was new. Too bad you can't debur before sizing and straightening out the case necks. In my opinion, it was the hard nickel plating that scratched my die up. I have never ruined a die using brass cases, but I do tumble before resizing so my cases are always clean.
 
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I'm having this exact same problem with my Lapua 308 brass (unfired). I've tried 2 RCBS FL dies, a comp and regular. What's going on?


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