When the case is coming down from the expanding die it is very rough and feels like it is hanging or grabbing on something. It is a Lee 9mm die. Nothing seems to be wrong with the case or case mouth when it comes out, but man it is rough. Shakes the table and causes small amounts of powder to fall. Any advice appreciated.
What is wrong with my Lee expanding die?
- Thread starter bbooker
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Wil Terry
Member
YOU gotta be kidding us, right ??
JohnM
Member
That's how they work.
But if it's hanging on so much it shakes everything, polish it some.
But if it's hanging on so much it shakes everything, polish it some.
From Lee Precision: In use, the expander plug travels approximately
3/8” within the die and comes to an abrupt stop at extraction.
This helps to shake the powder through. However,
we recommend you check to be sure all the powder has
cleared the funnel and expander plug.
-----------------------------
Yes, the tug you feel while lifting is supposed to be there.
3/8” within the die and comes to an abrupt stop at extraction.
This helps to shake the powder through. However,
we recommend you check to be sure all the powder has
cleared the funnel and expander plug.
-----------------------------
Yes, the tug you feel while lifting is supposed to be there.
JohnM
Member
And you got your press mounted tight to a good solid bench too, right?
R.W.Dale
Member
I lube the expander up slightly from time to time with case lube when it gets particularly jerky
Well, This explains why our Lee 9mm expanding die does the exact same thing. I have to hold onto the case sometimes in order for it to not do that. Then I just learn to bell the case just enough to accept the bullet and has been easier to remove the case since then.
gamestalker
member
I've polished mine to have just a light click. But yes, that is what the powder thru die is intended to do.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Polish the snot out of it with a drill and fine emery paper..
There is no good reason it has bolt thread lathe tracks on it from the factory except it is cheaper to make it that way.
rc
There is no good reason it has bolt thread lathe tracks on it from the factory except it is cheaper to make it that way.
rc
Yep, polish them. They can be rough as a cob.
The old, it makes the powder fall out, is still humorous after all these years. The proper angle and smooth insides will cure sticking powder every time, unless you are trying to meter 800X through a .32 expander of course.
The old, it makes the powder fall out, is still humorous after all these years. The proper angle and smooth insides will cure sticking powder every time, unless you are trying to meter 800X through a .32 expander of course.
JamieC
Member
Get out your calipers and measure how much of a 'bell' you are putting on the case..005" is all there should be.
Look at the inside of the case necks for vertical scratches.
I have 6 different Lee pistol die sets. The quality on the expander finish is quite hit or miss. At least 3 or 4 were super rough, including the 9mm, especially.
I bet what you'll find is a rough expander, with lots of galled brass imbedded in it.
Just sand it down to remove the galling and smooth out the ridges. You don't need any lube, but you may need to repeat the process every blue moon if the expander picks up a bit of galling, again. Steel and brass are somewhat sticky to each other. Galling can occur at some point, especially if you clean the inside of your cases squeaky clean.
I have 6 different Lee pistol die sets. The quality on the expander finish is quite hit or miss. At least 3 or 4 were super rough, including the 9mm, especially.
I bet what you'll find is a rough expander, with lots of galled brass imbedded in it.
Just sand it down to remove the galling and smooth out the ridges. You don't need any lube, but you may need to repeat the process every blue moon if the expander picks up a bit of galling, again. Steel and brass are somewhat sticky to each other. Galling can occur at some point, especially if you clean the inside of your cases squeaky clean.
mike.h
Member
My 9mm expanding die works pretty good. It requires a little more pressure then what I'm used to when doing .45acp. However I add polish to my media and tumble the brass until shiny.
So my question to the OP, do you tumble your brass with a decent polish?
MIke
So my question to the OP, do you tumble your brass with a decent polish?
MIke
The die body squeezes the outside of the mouth of an overflared case just a bit on the way back down. But if you wanna see the die really catch, you need to get it stuck on the inside of the mouth. It can take more force to get a badly galled expander out of the case than it does to size the brass.
Sport45
Member
What is the condition of your brass? I get the same effect when using brand-new brass, but not on subsequent loadings.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Kinda like Mr. Lee doesn't want to spend the money to make the expander stop shaving brass and jerking too.
Old manufacturing rule:
Screw machine lathes produce more parts rougher cheaper the faster you run the cross feed on them.
Old sales rule:
Tell the customer it's an added feature and some of them will believe you.
You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
rc
Old manufacturing rule:
Screw machine lathes produce more parts rougher cheaper the faster you run the cross feed on them.
Old sales rule:
Tell the customer it's an added feature and some of them will believe you.
You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
rc
Or you can pretend to know more about an engineers own design so that people on a public forum think you are just really smart.
If the engineer tells me that it is an added precaution to help guard against squib loads in one case and an overcharge in another, and if it makes sense then i believe him.rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Yes, I can do that too.
Thank you!
It seems in the last 50 years of reloading, I sometimes do seem to know more then the engineers that were not reloaders who designed something for reloading.
At least I learned a smooth expander rod is better the a rough expander rod because it doen't wear brass shavings out of my cases every time I reload them.
rc
Thank you!
It seems in the last 50 years of reloading, I sometimes do seem to know more then the engineers that were not reloaders who designed something for reloading.
At least I learned a smooth expander rod is better the a rough expander rod because it doen't wear brass shavings out of my cases every time I reload them.
rc
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