Lee Carbide Dies

[Mac Attack]

I picked up a set of Lee carbide dies in .45 ACP and tried them out this past weekend. Not sure if this is an issue but the cases stick or hang up in the expander die. There really isn't much of an adjustment on the expander die. I know that the expander die has a sliding center piece but is it supposed to stick?

 

[TexasSkyhawk]

Sounds like you have it set too deep--try backing it out some.

Jeff

 

[Mac Attack]

How do I back it off, by screwing the die out?

 

[Shoney]

Yes! Back out the die.

You may also wish to remove the entire expander assembly from the die, chuck it up in a drill, and polish it with very fine emmery cloth.

 

[PowderApe]

Sticking cases

For what it's worth: you might want to try to lube up some cases by dipping the mouth of a few case in some graphite powder before running it through the expansion die. The expander is not carbide- the carbide ring is only in the deprime/ resize die. You may not need to lube all your cases but rather toss in a lubed one once in a while...

Remember that the expansion plug should bell the case only enough to form a tiny flare so that the projectile will start easier and not shave lead or crumple the case. You don't need very much of a flare at all. Lots of people bell way too much and use it to resize the entire neck of the case. That "work hardens" the mouth of the case and shortens it's useful life

I'd be real careful with the emery cloth on the spinning expander button. Try some steel wool first to polish it up....

 

[FieroCDSP]

THe Lee expander is designed to resist enough to get a slight thump in normal use. This is to jar any stuck powder in the die loose. It might be possible you're setting it too deep, but it's perfectly normal to feel some resistance on the up-stroke.

 

[Walkalong]

Like Shoney said, polish the expander. (Lee ones I meen)They are rough and grab the brass. You can hear and feel it jerk back out until it is polished some.

 

[DWARREN123]

Sounds like the expender is set too deep. A little thump on the upstroke is normal. Like said just a small amount of belling is needed, adjust and try until the bullet wil just start and no more. Also different brass brands will feel different because of brass thickness.

 

[The Bushmaster]

It is NORMAL to feel a small amount of resistence when pulling the case back out of the Through powder/expander die. It's just the case coming off the expander cone. As long as you are not over expanding the case mouth don't worry about it. Remember...expand or bell the case mouth just enough to allow the bullet to start.

You guys sure make this a tough one and it's soooo simple...

 

[Mac Attack]

I don't think I am belling the mouths too much. As a matter of fact I was thinking I wasn't expanding them enough because I am shaving rings off my hard cast bullets.

I feel the resistance on the upstroke or when I am pulling the case out of the die. I will back it out and see if there is an improvement. If not then I will try polishing and lubing the cases.

 

[FieroCDSP]

You will have to flare the mouth more for hard-cast than plated or jacketed. I've actually had to flare to a point that I couldn't believe it was right, but sure enough, I stopped shaving lead on seating. The other thing with lead is getting just the right setting on the crimp. It takes practice and experience.

 

[Iron Sight]

My Lee expander die would make my bench jump when extracting it from a case. I polished the male die in order to correct the problem. In fact lee suggested that I polish it.

 

[dagger dog]

I was sizing some 9mm Luger the other day through my Lee carbide die,and had just purchased a tin of Imperial sizing wax,and tried some of it on the 9mm. !WOW! talk about easing the force it takes to shove one through the carbide die, try it some day.

 

[RDA 226sig]

FWIW: Resistance on the upstroke is typical of the Lee Carbide expander dies I own - 40 s&w and 380 auto. Have not tried 45 but I would expect the same.

 

[JDGray]

You guys sure make this a tough one and it's soooo simple...

Polishing is pretty simple I polish all my plungers, makes live easier

 

[The Bushmaster]

I had a look at my expander in my Lee .45 ACP die and it's already polished. Must be that it's over 20 years old. Still sticks a bit on the down stroke as the case mouth comes off the expander. Never really been a problem. at least for me. Always thought it was normal and still do. But do polish it if it's that rough. Mine looks like a mirror finish.

Yes, I know JD...To some, it's simple. To others, it's a challenge...

 

[Hanzerik]

Nice to hear other folks saying it sticks some. Sounds like you folks are using bench mounted presses...I'm using a Lee Handpress and was thinking my expander die was jacked up. I too was shaving lead from the cast bullets until I figured I had to turn it (The whole die because the adjustment for the expander is all the way down) in more to get more of a bell. But getting enough bell to stop shaving makes it a bit tougher to get the case off the expander.

 

[rondog]

It's the floating piece inside the die, called the expander plug. There's a tiny bevel on that plug that bells the mouth of the case, and just in front of that bevel the machined surface on the plug is kinda rough.

I put a piece of a dowel rod in my drill, put the ex. plug on the dowel, and polished that rough surface with some 220 wet/dry paper. Made a world of difference!

But, like has been mentioned, it's supposed to stick a little bit to help shake the powder down into the case. And don't polish off the tiny bevel! It's your friend.

Take an empty case, resize it, then check how it fits on the plug, you'll see where it's hanging up and what it needs.

 

[e3mrk]

I find that sizing wax does a great job.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I've found that .45 Auto cases are a little harder to work with than .38 Special and other revolver calibers.

- Like the others have said, make sure the expander is clean and has no burs. Polishing it will help.
- Make sure you tumble your brass well. Dirty brass could damage the dies and make resizing difficult.
- Make sure your dies are adjusted correctly. (When all else fails, read the instructions no matter how much we hate to do that! LOL)
- I like to use some "One Shot" spray on my .45 Auto brass. It seems to make thing go a lot smother.