Lyman dies !!!VERY!!! tight.

01 June 2001, 16:48

<IEATKANGAROOS>

I just bought a set of Lyman dies in 243win and the sizing die is extremely tight. So much that I pulled the screws out of the bench holding my press in place. Probably a good thing because I think if the screws didn't give way I would have broken my press! Has anybody experienced this problem? And yes I have lubed the cases.

01 June 2001, 23:36

rcasto

I just bought a 416 Rigby sizing die from Hornady. 2/3's of the way down it starts to cut into the brass. They are sending me a new one.

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RC

02 June 2001, 02:10

<Pygmy>

Roo.......I had the same experience with a set of .300 Win mag from Lyman, although my .280 Rem dies are fine..I have since gone back to RCBS dies and have alwys had good results with them...

02 June 2001, 04:57

Stonecreek

While your dies could be tighter than standard, it's also possible that your gun's chamber is larger than standard. Fired with high-pressure loads, and oversized chamber would make the dies seem very tight, indeed.

Just a suggestion to check out before you jump to any conclusion about the dies themselves.

Incidentally, just being "tight" shouldn't cause case sticking with properly lubed cases. Being "rough", on the other hand, would have that effect.

02 June 2001, 06:30

Alex Szabo

Hello "Kangaroo Eater",

Since this thread starts with 'tight', and don't know all of the starting points, it would be good to know did you start with form-fired brass or brand new?

It is supposedly well known that multiply fired brass may not fully respond or reform properly on a full resizing die because of the gap from the base at the case head and the holder. In this instance, the head area does not receive the full benefit.

In that case there are specialty dies made by Wilson to accommodate the hobbyist to ensure the brass is placed back to its correct form.

Cleaning of the brass has a significant bearing on the outcome as well. I too have experienced this condition while using Lyman. I have found that new brass tends to act favorably as opposed to those that have a number of reload cycles attached.

Currently, I use an ultrasonic cleaning process for my brass and then tumble it in polishing media. after an acetone bath and proper lubrication, I have found the Lyman resizing die to react much more favorably. In addition, typically, half of the brass receives a nice burnishing during the resizing process.

I would therefore assert (assuming the die itself is within specifications) that despite its tightness, it is within acceptable limits. Good reloading!

Best regards,
Alex

02 June 2001, 14:52

<IEATKANGAROOS>

Thanks for your time.

I have tried both fired brass and new cases. Both give about the same result.

Last night I secured the press again and gave it another go. I sized about 100 cases. Most went throught just a little tight, about 1 in 8 were very tight. It seems to be getting better.

Just out of curiosity I tried a few cases without the expander button and had no problems at all.

02 June 2001, 15:23

Alex Szabo

quote:
Originally posted by IEATKANGAROOS:
<snip>I tried a few cases without the expander button and had no problems at all.

Hi Kangaroo Eater,

Since are gaining additional satisfaction with using the die w/o the expander, have you thought of polishing the button a bit with some bore cleaner?

That is an apparent feature of the die that may defeat your necking accuracy it not used!?

Best regards,
Alex