I have been reloading for many years, and never had a case get stuck in a re-sizing die. I had it happen to me twice recently with a brand new set of Redding FL dies. The brass was once fired, and all were well lubes. It seems strange that I sized many cases before, and then one felt tight, and then the next one got stuck.

Any idea's on what might have caused this?

thanks

Well, every case I ever got stuck was due to insufficient lube. Is your new die a bit tighter than your old one and might be sticking at the head? What kind of lube do you use and how do you apply it? It could be a rough die but I have never seen one and I have about 50 sets of dies of all makes.
Now, I do have a theory that new dies need to be "seasoned" like an iron frying pan or an engine cylinder before they run smoothly. Probably BS. I think that after a die has been used a few times they work smoother. Probably just in my head....

What type of lube was in use?

I have always figure there are two types of reloaders those that have stuck a case and those that well.

A stuck case remover is cheap to buy or even make

Thanks for the replies. The lube I am using is Lyman Qwick lube, and perhaps my mistake was that I did not lube the die itself, and only the brass?

I never normally lube the die with all of the other calibres I load for, but most of my other dies are RCBS,

What do you mean "sticking at the head"?

thanks

Never knew a stuck case not to be a lube issue. Some dies are a touch tighter in the web area. Kind of like a small base etc. You can do some serious resizing and never stick a case if you use the proper lube.

I tried Qwik lube. Didn't care for it. Get some Imperial sizing wax from Redding or Unique by Hornady. A LITTLE goes a LONG way.

Yeah, what Ram said; I mean at the thick part of the head of the case; at the web area; if your die is a bit small and your brass a bit big, you need some lube there; I only use Hornady, after using all the others. As for new dies, not that you need to lube the die, but I think that the first time they are used they might need a bit more lube than later. Anyway, make sure your brass is lubed enough, and not too much, at the web/head end. Not much at all at the shoulder end.

Imperial wax is the end all fix all

I completely agree with using the Imperial wax. Your stuck case was most likely caused by having a case or two that wasn't sufficiently lubed. I've never had a stuck case when using it.

Now having said all that, I find it interesting that you felt a couple that were "tight." I've used Redding dies for decades and like them a lot. However I've noticed in a few instances they seem to want to size the cases down IMHO excessively at the shoulder. I remember sending a .222 FL die back for lapping years ago. It was sizing the shoulder more like a .223. A bit later I encountered another one and was told by the factory that the old guy who used to do this had retired and they hadn't replaced him. Yes, craftsmanship is dying off unfortunately.

When I asked why the excess sizing, the reply was that they guaranteed cases sized with their dies would fit ANY chamber... sort of a cop out if you ask me. Anyway, long story short, I learned how to lap my own dies (no, not just polishing with abrasive cloth, but actually lapping with an impregnated brass lap to better control dimension and finish.) So far I've only had to do this with Redding.

But if your die is tight at the shoulder something like this might help. Just some thoughts here.

I agree on Imperial wax, it's the best IMO..

I have stuck a number of cases in my lifetime, and none of them were lubed for various reasons of which I can't recall..

When you look at the relatively huge tolerances that SAAMI allows between brass and chambers it is a wonder to me how reloading die makers ever know what to do. And that they are as good as they are.

In my experience with several sets of Redding dies, including wildcat dies, they are very rough internally and increase sizing force. I have polished every Redding sizing die I own, sizing is far easier and no stuck cases. Redding and Lyman dies are the only ones I have ever stuck cases in, not once in a RCBS die, which I have a couple dozen sets of.
To polish at home, I put a cotton bore mop of the appropriate size in a drill press, add some metal polish to the inside of the die and on the mop, and run the mop at moderate speed and hold the die and use a motion akin to honing a cylinder bore, up and down strokes, when it looks well polished, thoroughly clean the die and get to sizing.

Cheers.

The only stuck cases I had (5 in a row) was due to using Lyman Spay Lube. Never used it again and I am now only using Redding or Imperial Wax. Never had any stuck case again!

quote:

Originally posted by ramrod340:
Never knew a stuck case not to be a lube issue.

Get some Imperial sizing wax A LITTLE goes a LONG way.

Yup....Imperial wax is something I learned the hard way.....also lube the die when they are new. I now use Imperial wax on a Q-tip for that task.....It flat out works. It's the best I've ever used bar none.

With the spray type lubes I don't use the entire can. even with keeping it shaken up as you get to the bottom of the can the actually lube may have been used up and you're just spraying the carrier liquid on the cases which evaporates off.

Did you clean the packaging lube
From the die before its first use? Redding uses it liberally and yup ya stick cases if that shipping gunk is not totally cleaned out? Had two new 300 wby fl die stick cases sent both back to redding and they said they were unable to polish the inside to their spec and sent me two more new fl die as replacements along with a small amount of
IMPERIAL WAX which is what I was already using and what was on the original stuck cases.