This is the first time this has happened to me. While knocking out spend primers from 22 Hornet cases I had a case break leaving most of the case inside the die. The base is broken off so I can't drive it out. Any ideas of hoe to pull it out? I am thinking broken case extractor but what size?
Thanks, Ted

Ted,

Depends on how you would like to go about it.

I've had this happen to me before as well.

I managed to pry/bend the inside of a broken case wall inwards with a fine screwdriver until I had enough purchase to grab the case with a small pair of needle nose pliers to pull the remaining part of the case out of the die.

The dies are quite hard & substantial, so you you're not gonna bend it, you simply do not want to mar or scratch the mouth or inside of the die.

Or, using an electric screwdriver find a bit that will just engadge the throat of the broken 22 Hornet case. Using NO pressure attempt to get a purchase on the brass case which should spin it. This ought to free it up enough to remove it from the die without marring anything.

I would give the F/L Die (if that's what you're using) setting a check and the remainder of the cases, also to enure it coinsides with the chamber of the firearm you're shooting them in. To break off a case like this inside the die would indicate to me that it probably broke at the point where an insipent case separtion was about to occur.

Deep freeze the die for 24 hours. The brass will shrink at a diff rate than the thick steel die.
I've had good luck getting stuck cases out of friends dies doing this.
As the die/brass warms up---you can heat it with a hair dryer or paint burner, this will "flex" the brass and sometimes free the case up enough you can pull it out with force or a broken shell extractor.

If all else fails, You could send it back to the manufacturer. They will remove it for you. That's what I finally had to do with a .30-06 die once.

Here's a show and tell:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFW9URitdAU

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:
Here's a show and tell:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFW9URitdAU

Both those ways work well if you still have the case head in tact. However I believe the original poster said he has torn the whole case head off. That video shows how to remove a case if you have only torn off the rim of the case.

If you can find a 223 broken case extractor you might be able to remove the decapping shaft, engage the case at the mouth and gently tap through the hole with a small pin punch. I have used a 30-06 stuck case extractor on different 308 cal stuck cases in rifles by engaging the stuck case and tapping though the barrel with a cleaning rod. Of course, if you have a 22 cal stuck case remover and the corresponding shell holder, you could remove it on your press.
Failing that, the freezer ought to work.

With the case head gone, the way I have done it is to get a tap a bit smaller than the case OD, tap the inside of the case and tap it out. You could remove the decapping pin assembly before you use the tap

Jim

Another way which has worked for me is to remove the decapping stem assembly if you can, and then push a stiff bronze bore brush of the correct size into the die through the hole for the decapping stem.

This only works for some brands of dies. The others have too small a decapping assembly hole to allow the brush and cleaning rod it is mounted on to pass though into the case.

A stainless steel brush might remove the case even more reliably, but I wouldn't use one in any of my dies because of the danger of also scratching the interior of the die.

All of this is assuming, of course, that trhe case head broke off because it became brittle through use, not because you forgot to lube it.

Incidentally, if the case head is complexly off, it is even better. Push the brush in from where the case head used to be, then when the brush is in far enough, just pull it back out. Reversing the brush when the bristle's are bent back a bit from being pushed into the case neck will take a little bit of effort and won't be good for the brush, but it WILL force bristles in between the end of the case and the rest of the die. That gives it more purchase to pull the case out.

(obviously, you DON'T want to lubricate the brush. So spend a dollar or so. Use a new brush which has never been slicked up with solvent or gun oil.)

Try reversed action brush and the freezing method.
If they don't work for you, I've had good experience using a tapered rat tail file.
Use a clean sharp file.

Use a medium cut file so the teeth bite into the brass inside. Use one w/the end blunted and squared off to keep it as large as you can and still engage as deeply up inside the case as you want it to.

The large dia and square tip will add strength and give a flat surface to tap it back out.

Place the end up into the broken off case and give the file a twist. One way will engage & tighten the teeth into the brass as if they are being screwed into it.
Using a medium cut file you won't damage the die but will still have plenty of grab on the brass.
Now with a punch from the top of the die,,carefully tap on the tip of the file pushing it and the case out of the die.

Remember that the file is brittle so don't over do it when tapping on it do push it out.

Some good ideas, Thanks. It is in the Freezer now. I'll try to remove tomorrow.
Thanks, TEd

If you have any cerro safe you can pour the broken case full and knock it out.

Tried the freezer and still no luck. I can not get enough purchase on the neck to tap it out. Tried a couple of files and they hit the wall of the die before the neck of the shell. If I were to buy a broken shell extractor, what size would work? There are several on Ebay for about $10 to $12. At this point it is probably cheaper and easier to replace the die, but now there is a challenge involved.

OK, two more tip's I have done a "few" times in the 50 years I've been reloading.
Take a good,sized casing and cut the base off, and find a FINE thread tap that will go into the body of the cartridge's walls. You want one that will cut threads into the body deeply but NOT cut through the walls itself. Don't worry about the slight taper of the case,the tap is tapered as well.
You screw the tap into the die with the stuck case and place it into your loading press or a padded vice. You take a brass punch and come down from the decapping rods hole on the top of the die. Use a one pound hammer or heavier and while keeping a downward force of the brass punch/rod,smack the rod. The tap will dig into the case walls and will pull the case from the die.
If you are careful with the "threading" of the torn case, this will work.
since you have tried several tips to remove the stuck case,I would turn the die over and soak the stuck case with KROIL for 24 hours. This stuff has saved so many parts and other things over the years I found that it will always be on my work bench.
The liquid will seep into a gap of .000001".
Between these two tips if the case does not come out of the die, you will need to send it back to the maker.

Thanks for the help. I got it out today. I used a drill bit to push it out, but the neck end broke off when doing it. I think all of the pushing and pounding on it scored the inside of the die. I am going to try to polish it but I fear it is ruined. I will have to replace.
Thanks again, Ted

quote:

I think all of the pushing and pounding on it scored the inside of the die.

I doubt it, sizers are usually case hardened harder than a woodpecker's lips. Normal steel tools, including files, simply slide off a sizer. It takes carbide cutting tools to machine them so your drill bit is unlikely to have done a thing to the die.

If you are really patient you can always get a broken case out with Hoppe's or a similar bored cleaner. Just submerge the die in a glass container and seal the top to prevent evaporation. Check every few days. If dissolving of the brass slows agitate or warm the solution. If it still does not work pour in fresh bore cleaner. Eventually the brass will be destroyed.
I would guess one of the discontinued electric bore cleaners would remove it over night.

I trashed a 7mm RenMag once in the die.
I cleaned the inside of the case and glued a threaded rod in with epoxy.
A small length of piping, a big washer and a nut.
Pop and out it went.