I just pulled the extractor rim off the bottom of a 30-06 case in my Lee Pacesetter resizing die. How do I get the case out of the die without destroying things?

Chuck Graber

Chuck - I'm guessing you don't have a stuck case remover? I bet you will soon, right? Stuck cases have happened to most of us (some of us, more than once ), or, if not yet, will, sooner or later.

You can make up one of your own (might have to make a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot, or, the local gunshop and see if they have a stuck case remover setup - usually about $10.00):
Take the die (you can get it out of the press, right?) with the stuck case in it and put it in a vise; drill a 3/16" hole through the primer flashhole and tap it to 1/4-20; then get a 1/4" bolt and some washers, nuts or whatever to use as spacers (a 1/2" or 5/8" nut or flat washers work). Set the spacer on the die (make sure the spacer doesn't touch the case, only the die), put a 3/8" and 1/4" washer over the spacer and run the 1/4" bolt through them into the threaded primer hole. What you're doing is pulling the case up into the area inside the spacer as you tighten the 1/4" bolt. You only have to move the case a little bit, maybe 1/8 - 1/4" to get it free.

R-WEST

After you've removed the stuck case and while the decapping assembly is removed, take a few minutes to clean the inside of the die and then polish the inside, too. Just use a small length of dowell rod, split the end and slide a cleaning patch in it, add some Flitz or other good, fine metal polish and chuck up the dowell rod in your drill. In about a minute, your die will be in better shape than the day you bought it.
Regards,
'puck

I'm not completely familiar with the die set you mention.

Can you not simply loosen the locking nut which holds the expander ball and slip the case, expander ball and all out the bottom?

If so, you could then slip the case over the expander ball mandrel.

And yes, as mentioned above, chuck the expander mandrel into a drill and use 400, 600, and then 800 automotive sandpaper to polish the expander ball to a mirror finish. This might make it about .001" smaller, but that won't be a problem.

Let me know if I'm missing something here... I would have thought that the case would be hung on the expander ball rather than in the main body, but perhaps I'm wrong.

Dan Newberry
green 788

Chuck,

It's just the rim that's gone, not the case head, right?

I don't own any pacesetter dies, but in principle, I think you could leave that die in the press, unscrew and remove the decapping assembly, and drive the case out with a skinny dowel. Probably that dowel will be too weak, and it will break off inside the case.

Okay, take the decapping assembly to the hardware store, and match the threads to a long screw (slightly longer than the die). Thread that screw through the same hole the decapping assembly came out of. When the end of the screw hits the inside of the case head, it will push the case out.

That's my $0.07 solution.

If you want to get fancy, machine or file the end of the screw down to the diameter of the decapping pin. The small diameter section will enter the flash hole and keep the screw centered in the case.

H. C.

Read your instuctions,loosen your collet holding the rod and and drift it out with a 3/16 pin punch.Been there ,done that

I've done this twice in 30+ years of reloading. My first step now is to; loosen my collar, step back and have a refreshing drink.

20 minutes later I go back to the bench with the stuck case remover.

Then I have another drink and don't reload for at least a day. Lets me calm down so I don't make more mistakes and maybe hurt myself.

Heck, it is a HOBBY!

CHUCK,
RCBS makes a reasonably priced stuck case remover that contains everything you'll need to remove the case. Since I use a decapping die, my sizing dies have had the decapping pins removed which makes removing the stuck case. Rather than placing the die in a vice, I've found screwing the dieinto the press upside down works pretty good. Sounds as if I've done this before doesn't it? You have joined a very large club. Good luck.

I think I see where I got confused...

If you have a case stuck in an RCBS type die, my idea won't work.

Since this is a Lee die, I believe you could simply loosen the top nut, which is the chuck that holds the mandrel in place, and tap the mandrel, case and all out the bottom.

This would still leave the mandrel/expander ball in the brass case, of course. So you'd just need to hacksaw the bottom of the case off and slip the mandrel/expander ball assembly out.

Will this not work?

Dan

Thanks Guys! I tried the drill, tap and bolt trick and got the case out. I cut the bottom of the case off and got the expander ball out of the case. The directions say to use the case lube "sparingly". I guess that I need to use a little more than I was.

Thanks Again!
Chuck Graber

Chuck - There is a moral to this story. NEVER force a case into your sizing dies!

Granted most reloading presses have the power to do it...but you'll play hell ever getting it back out...as you just discovered.

I, like all long term reloaders, have done this damnable mistake more times than I care to remember...but I've pretty well trained myself to load more by feel. I know how much pressure a properly lubricated case should require to resize. If I encounter MORE than this resistance, I stop IMMEDIATELY and try to back off and find out why. Usually it is because I didn't lube the case properly.

I was chuckling as I read my way to the bottom. When I got there I had nothing to add - so I'll just copy/paste Pecos45's comment.

*****

I, like all long term reloaders, have done this damnable mistake more times than I care to remember...but I've pretty well trained myself to load more by feel. I know how much pressure a properly lubricated case should require to resize. If I encounter MORE than this resistance, I stop IMMEDIATELY and try to back off and find out why. Usually it is because I didn't lube the case properly.

*****

- and that "try" that Pecos45 is sometimes just that - boy does it grab quickly..

Never try drive the case out with the rod holding the decapping pin - it doesn't work - and you have to go and buy a new one. Also don't try straighten the bent rod - it never lines up centrally with the flash hole.

Been there - got the T-shirt - and a very nice working RCBS stuck case remover.

cheers edi

Gents,
As mentioned above the Lee dies are designed so you just loosen the collet and drive the case out.
Never stuck a case here YET but more and more of my dies are Lee..Price,quality and function. RCBS wanted 400 bucks for 38-56 form dies and another 70 for the size & seating dies. My Lee dies reformed 45-70 cases in one pass. 'Nuf said. 45nut

I use a socket from wrench set for my homebrew stuck case remover and a 1/4 x 20 allen head screw with a couple of washers.

This is also a good place for a word about case lubes. Imperial Die Sizing wax is the only thing to use for major case forming. I like the Lee stuff in the squeeze tube of production work. I dump a hundred or so cases into a plastic tub of 3 quarts or so, squeeze in about a 4 inch strip of goo, and shake.

I do NOT trust the spray on stuff.

Thanks again for the info and the moral support. When I started reloading shotgun shells more than a decade ago I made some of the usual rookie mistakes and did the same when I started loading hand gun ammo. The loading maunuals don't tell you everything and many of these tricks can only be found from folks who have done the same thing and are willing to fess up to having done it. I am not to proud to admit my mistakes and am glad to find others who are willing to help out with the fine points on rifle reloading.

Chuck Graber

Yeppers, I did it once with my Hornet -- but tore the whole base off (that Hornet brass is really thin! ) Luckily, I could just disassemble the die and feed the broken bit of shell backwards.

That (and the filthy hands) made me give up using powdered graphite to lube cases. Now I use a spray 3-in-1 type lubricant BUT -- I spray it onto a rag until I have a wet patch about 3 x 3. I rub the outside of the case with the cloth, and push a section of wet cloth into the neck of the case using the top of an unused rivet.

Works perfectly, and is very quick. There is sufficient lube left on the die, I only have to lube every second case -- never had a problem since.

My next step is to chuck them in a shellholder in my cordless drill and use a Lee tool to check/trim case length. Chamfer the neck and THEN spin the shell in a handful of steel wool, which smooths away any burrs, polishes the shell (gotta look pretty ) and removes any leftover lube.

Easy!

Bruce