What in the WORLD am I doing wrong?!!! Last night, I got a case stuck in my Lee full length sizing die. Destroyed the die in the process of getting it out, then found out yer supposed to use a drift punch and hammer. Figured maybe it was my fault, although I had thoroughly lubed the cases and the die. Went today and bought a new set of Lee dies (the one with collet neck sizer, seater, and FL sizer). Lubed my cases, lubed the die, followed the instructions EXPLICITLY on adjusting the die. First case in...first case doesn't come out. This REALLY pisses me off because I just remounted my press on the bench today after I tore it off last night while trying to get the case out by lowering the ram, and just basically tore it off again. I checked my shellholder...no damage. Don't see anything wrong with the press itself. Cases are going just as far in as they always have before with no problems. They aren't coming off of a super hot load or anything (63 grains IMR 4350 behind a 220 grain Sierra RN, .300 Win Mag, which I've reloaded after before with no problems). It seems the problem HAS to be with the brass, but what would it be that wasn't there before?

Did you clean the dies? Are you lubing the inside of the case necks? Kudude

On the first one I'll admit that may have been the problem, as I never cleaned the die, just lubed them each time. I can live with that and eat the cost without much complaining. The second time though was with a brand new die straight out of the package...would have THOUGHT it to be clean and ready to use. I guess I was wrong to assume that a company would ensure that their product is ready to use or state otherwise.

As far as lubing the cases...I spray (One Shot) from every angle and directly spray into the case mouth as well to ensure thorough lubrication. Have never had any problem before.

quote:

would have THOUGHT it to be clean and ready to use.

Always clean new or used dies no matter who makes them or where you got them.

Seems strange allright. Just for shits and grins I'd try a different case lube and see what happens.

I did a little experimenting and found that spinning the cases in a drill and polishing them with steel wool makes them slide in and out of the die body alot more easily. Will the die body (with the decapper pin removed) work alone for full length sizing if needed? I've got the collet neck die that I'm set to experiment with and see if it produces equal or better results in my rifle, and will have to use it to some extent just to deprime the cases.

I will be the first to admit that I am not a fan of spray type case lubes. I found Imperial wax years ago and have never looked back. Perhaps a change in case lube is in order.

One other point. Are you positive that the shell holder you are using is correct for your cases? I assume when you stuck the case in the die, you tore the rim off.

Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by Catfish Hunter:

As far as lubing the cases...I spray (One Shot) from every angle and directly spray into the case mouth as well to ensure thorough lubrication. Have never had any problem before.

There's your problem. One Shot is marginal, at best.

Imperial wax!
I haven`t ried Hornadies stuff but did stick a case in the past with Lees lube. No problems with sizeing at all have come up since I went to Imperial a few years ago.

Bardahl roger

Catfish,

A coupla things to consider for my way of thinking.....

Could be an oversized chamber, just had that issue with a friend's .308 Winchester when I loaded some rounds for him. Like yourself, thought I was gonna break the press off the bench re-sizing the brass after being shot in his rifle (Steyr-Mannlicher) and having no issues with the initial sizing. Whew! Every other .308 Win. brass & load has been easily sized & loaded with that Die set - but his brass was definately not anywhere near the size it was when I loaded it for him and that with a mild "target" load.

I know you made the point of the shell holder but IME the so-called magnum case heads can entail some tweaking with different shellholders to ensure optimal fit.

From my point of view the RCBS (my only expereince) new fangled water based lube is that it is hydroscopic. When used and the Dies not cleaned the next piece of brass that gets shoved up the die: goes in hard, comes out with a film of lube & gunk on it that was clinging to the Die. After that they got a fresh load of lube and appeared to work O.K.

Like the old hands above I have gone to Imperial Lube Wax and it is the best thing since sliced bread. Absolutely glitch-free, you just have to get used to re-sizing with an old hand towel over your shoulder and wipe the stuff off the brass when they come out of the Die. Imperial and a Lyman inside neck graphiter set do it for me.

What I have found with one shot is and other spray lubes thats all I use anymore.

Is if one does not leave them dry properly after useing them they do not lube properly.

Using lube that requires rolling your cases is ok if one is only doing a few. But with one is sizing hundreds at a time spray lube is the only way to go.

Don't know how you ruined your die if you were using a struck case puller. I have stuck many cases and used home made pullers and RCBS factory ones worked well. I don't think I would use a hammer and punch.

Can't really see how a chamber issue would cause sticking. Harder to size yes. I build a lot of case from cylinder brass. I have never had a stuck case in 30+ years of realoading. Knock on wood.
To me sticking is a lube issue. I tried numerous lubes over the years. The spray only once or twice. I was not impressed. While I have not used Imperial. The last 5+ years and 1000s of cases I have used Hornady Unique. Still using the same $3.50 tube. A little goes a long long way.

Yes some Lee dies are rough. Throw away all lubes except Imperial Die . If there is any trace of a
hydro-carbon protective coat from the maker it may stick, try laquer thinner.
Good Luck!

It sounds like there is a problem with the lube or the way you are using it. I've always used a pad and RCBS lube that comes in a tube. I've never had a problem in 35yrs, resizing 25 different calibers. Imperial Lube Wax sounds good. I'll have to give that a try.

You need to make, or buy, a stuck case puller kit. Do a search. What you need, and how to use it, have been explained here before.
.

Why are you lubing a collect type die anyway? I have several Lee collet dies and I don't lube any of them. That's why I like them, they neck size only. Am I missing something here?
Peter.

You've got to really work at sticking a case with Imperial Sizing Die wax.

i had problems with one shot too. stuck a couple of cases using it. now i use dillions stuff and have no problems

quote:

Originally posted by Masterifleman:
You've got to really work at sticking a case with Imperial Sizing Die wax.

This is good advise. Bardahl for me has done just as good. Does anyone out there besides me use Bardahl? I've also been playing with Casite Motor Honey and it so far has done a good job. roger

Ah, I heard the word
spray lube".....

If you use it, give it 5 minutes to dry before you put the case in the die. If you use it too soon, it will stick you tight.

Bartsche. I haven't used the ones you mentioned, but I do use STP. After the cases are sized, I dump them into the tumbler with straight corn cob and some 70 percent rubbing alcohol and run it for about three hours to clean the STP off. For the Lyman 1200 tumbler, I use one measuring cap (Measuring cup from a Nyquil bottle)and for the larger Dillon, two measuring cupfuls, sometimes three if it's a really large batch of brass.
For small batches of brass, I use the Imperial stuff and dry tumble it in corn cob afterwards.
Paul B.

quote:

Originally posted by Paul B:
Bartsche. I haven't used the ones you mentioned, but I do use STP.

Thanks Paul roger

The only time I have ever stuck a case in a sizing die was not enough case lube. I use Imperial for tough jobs & plain old RCBS for everyday stuff. You don't need case lube at all for collet neck dies.
Do youreslf a favor & buy a stuck case remover. Cheap insurance.

I'm thinking it must be the case lube. A bit of thinking and I'm guessing I probably just didn't let it dry enough. Was fairly cool outside when I did this, and my room is a closed in garage and gets a little chillier than the rest of the house...so maybe what is USUALLY enough drying time wasn't enough with it being a little cooler than before.

I'm thinking for now until I can get a new expander plug, I'm just going to run the cases into the FL die body for FL sizing, then run them through the collet neck die for decapping and better neck sizing. Would this work (although it's an extra step)?

For what it's worth, I've had a number of stuck cases over the years with an RCBS press and their sticky roll-em lube pad.

Since I purchased a Forster Co-Ax press I've not had a stuck case. As an experiment, I sized 50, 300 Win Mag cases without any lube at all and didn't have a single problem... mind you it was just an experiment to test one of Forster's marketing claims and probably experienced a slight bit more neck stretch that with a lubed case, but none of them stuck.

That said, I regularly use One Shot and always let it dry.

With a standard die like Lee, I doubt the expander has anything to do with your case sticking. If the case is sticking at the top of the ram stroke, the expander is not touching the case, and neck lube doesn't matter (inside neck lube does help my necks go longer without cracking.)

I suspect poor lube, dirt, or rusty dies.

I reccomend Imperial wax, the best I've used. I use a Q-Tip to put a very little inside the neck, and finger to apply a very thin film on the outside.

Assemble a stuck case remover. Get a drill bit and tap slightly larger than the primer pocket, a bolt with threads that match the tap, and a spacer, like a 1/2" copper x male adapter.

i was being lazy one time and didnt use lube for 3 reloads and on the third the brass got stuck and i spent the rest on the night with small punch and hammer taking it out piece by piece

How dirty is your brass? I ask because you said that when you cleaned them up by spinning against steel wool they stopped sticking. A dirty piece of brass combined with one of the spray lubes that is still wet is a very good recipe to stick a case in the sizing die.

I think it is good policy to clean new dies. They are usually coated in some sort of rust preventive gook. I have had great luck removing that stuff with carb cleaner or wd 40. Just spray down the die and let the oil drip out.

As for cases sticking, assuming a clean die, then it is lube related. I have tried Lee and Hornady and found that if the stuff dries on the case sticking cases are likely to happen. Imperial has always worked well but takes too long to apply.

I have ended up using RCBS Watersoluble case lube and I tumber the cases in a can on top of my thumbler tumbler. A few drops of case lube and a patch and maybe five minutes of racket and the cases are done.

Even so, the thickness of the case lube is very important. To thin a case lube film and I will get sticking cases, especially on cases fired in military chambers. You see I use small base dies on .223, 308, and 30-06. When the sizing reduction is large, such as cases fired in huge military chambers, the film thickness has to be thicker than sizing cases fired in match chambers.

I think the spray lubes have very thin film thicknesses and do not recommend them for severe sizing.

You know you can use just about any medium thick oil, lanolin, etc as a sizing lube. I like the RCBS stuff because I can wash it off with soap and water. Wish I knew a cheap industrial equivalent.

I do tumble cases before lubing. Really don't know if it reduces sizing effort if the cases are just half way clean.

It is worth purchasing a stuck case tool. I think mine is RCBS. If you size thousands of cases a year, such as I do, you are going to pull the rim off one once in a while. Nothing has worked better than the case removal tool. I believe mine has a drill, a tap, and a screw. You drill through the case, thread the hole, and use the screw and your press to pull the case out.

Catfish, wait for the lube to dry completely, it should solve the problem.

Imperial wax, Imperial wax, Imperial wax . . .

I'm on my second container--but only because my hunting buddy took the first one--still half-full even though it was 5 years old. As the old Brylcreem commercials say, "A little dab'll do ya."

Catfish
As others have stated, try some Imperial sizing Wax.

I use Imperial sizing wax for small jobs(20 cases or less) but find the Hornady One Shot just as satisfactory for larger numbers of cases. You should remember, however to shake the contents well before spraying. This could be a possible explanation for the stuck cases.

Geronimo

I haven't had a stuck case yet and have not tried this but does the Lee die not have a built in stuck case remover? Just unscrew the nut on top that holds the expander/decapper and put the die in the press upside down from underneath and push on the expander/decapper with the press ram.

I have never stuck a case but I tried the imperial sizing wax about a month ago and the old lube pad is going in the trash. That imperial sizing wax is the ticket to a smooth job and easy cleanup. A little goes a long way.

I love "One Shot". It's all I use anymore. Also have some Dillon, work's well. Used RCBS worked well and STP is great, messy but great. Roll a Q-tip on a pad with STP for inside the neck. Now, just love my "One Shot". By the way I have stuck cases but don't remember what I was using. I have a stuck case remover just in case. Never stuck one with "One Shot".