[meanmotorscooter]

I have a Lee factory crimp die for 45 auto and I also have their four die set for 9mm. Right now I'm expanding the case mouths for 9mm with the expander die. I have to use a pretty good amount of force on the down stroke because the cases seem stuck as I try to pull them out after expanding the mouth. When I use my factory crimp die on 45 it does the same thing. Anyone else have this problem? Have you figured out how to get rid of it? Thanks.

[rcmodel]

What kind of press?
I.E Lack of leverage on some of the little ones.

Lee dies are kind of noted for sometimes having very rough expander stems, almost like they are threaded!
Chuck it up in a drill and polish it with fine black emery paper.

The FCD sticking indicates you are doing something wrong with the .45 ACP loads before you get to the FCD die.

They are over-size, or the FCD wouldn't be that tight.

Might check and make sure you have enough bell to prevent shaving lead off of lead bullets. The shavings can get between the case and the bullet causing bumps & oversize cases.

rc

[meanmotorscooter]

I'm using a hand press, but it's the dies not the press. My rcbs dies don't do this. I have the rcbs 3 die set for 45. They all work fine except when I put the cases into the Lee FCD. BTW, I just took a batch 45 to the range and they all worked flawlessly. I'm thinking it's just Lee dies.

[rcmodel]

Are you using any case lube at all?

Even with the finest carbide dies, it always makes things run much smoother.

rc

[meanmotorscooter]

I used some for decapping/resizing but I tumbled them after that. I primed all my cases already. If I re-apply case lube, will it affect my primers in any way? I think in the future I will decap/resize then expand then prime.

[Walkalong]

Lee dies are kind of noted for sometimes having very rough expander stems, almost like they are threaded!
Chuck it up in a drill and polish it with fine black emery paperDitto. You can feel it grab the case on the downstroke. Polishing pretty much eliminates it.

The FCD sticking indicates you are doing something wrong with the .45 ACP loads before you get to the FCD dieDitto again. Oversized bullets or getting seated crooked because of not enough bell or something.

Case lube is not needed with carbide dies, but will make it slicker than snot on a doorknob if you do. No need to prime later, it won't hurt the primers unless you soak the case in it. :)

[Sam1911]

Are you loading cast or jacketed bullets?

Cast are usually 0.001-2" bigger than jacketed and you can feel it in the FCD.

I use the FCD for my .45 LSWC loads and it touches just a bit on the way back out.

When I used it for a while for .44 Spc, it grabbed like a sonuvagun! The .429 jacketed vs. .431 cast bullte difference made it so the upstroke was often a two-hands affair!

But I don't use the FCD for revolver loads so I took it out and it's very smooth now.

-Sam

[lgbloader]

Chuck it up in a drill and polish it with fine black emery paper

Yep. I did this with a set of LEE 9mm dies (I have them specifically for cast bullets) and now they are much more smoother. By the way, as RC advised, I use spray on case lube (very lightly) for all my pistol brass even though I use carbide dies. Butter...

LGB

[The Bushmaster]

It is not uncommon to have a bit of resistence on the down stroke with 9mm X 19. I have a bit of resistence on all my powder through/expanding dies. 9mm X 19 being the worst...I really wouldn't worry about it unless you are having to use two hands to pull the handle down.

[meanmotorscooter]

Are you loading cast or jacketed bullets?


When I did my most recent batch of 45 they were all 230 grn fmj. I'm using a single stage press. I'm loading 9x19 right now and I'm still on the expanding step with a brand new Lee 4 die set.

[Marlin 45 carbine]

it is only the sizeing/decapping die that is carbide. the expander can/does/and will 'bugger up'. remove the expander button and polish it well w/600grit or finer (better the fine stuff) or take to a buddy that owns a buffing wheel to use compound to polish it slick.

[rondog]

Yep, I took my expander stems, put them in a drill, and polished them smooth with emery paper. Works FAR batter now!

It's kind of hard to see, but there's a very slight amount of taper at the top of the stem, that's the part that expands the case mouth, and that's where you want to smooth it up. I used a fine 6" file, and wrapped it with the emery paper. You could probably use a stone too. Just don't remove that tiny taper, just smooth it up.

And FWIW - I've found that the "jerk" from the rough surface helps to shake the powder down from the Auto Disk powder measure, if you're using it.

[jfh]

"And FWIW - I've found that the "jerk" from the rough surface helps to shake the powder down from the Auto Disk powder measure, if you're using it."

That bears repeating, I think. It may be a case of serendipity on Lee's part (that is, they didn't intend for that need to occur with the Lee measures), but I did try one polishing job and did discover that the PADM was a bit less consistent.

Jim H.

[meanmotorscooter]

A little polishing with the wife's nail sponge did the trick. Don't worry, I got permission first.

[1SOW]

I'm new at reloading, so for what it's worth:

Lee says to lube the cases IF they are cleaned even with carbide dies. Dirty cases won't stick It was true with my new LEE turret press with the carbide 4 die set. (I had deprimed and then cleaned.)

I've been lubing every 5th case with the LEE lube, and my dies don't stick.

I really like the full case die. I fixed some reloads I bought that had some feed problems with my CZ. They drop in nicely...all 300+ of the d@$# things.