.32 H&R sToOpId issue

[JLDickmon]

OK.. I've been reloading too long to not know I'm missing something, and I'm missing something stoopid..

loading .32 H&R..
new Starline brass..
had sized and was belling mouths..

about 25 rounds in, I noticed they were drawing hard off the expander ball..
about 5 more, one stuck to the ball and I ripped the rim off the case
RCBS carbide dies, Lee shellholder..

I took the die apart, had to take a cookie grinder and thin out a case to where I could crack it and remove it..

polished the ball with the cookie..

about five rounds later, I did it AGAIN..

this time, I took some 220 sand paper and gave the ball a good polish..

five or so rounds later, noticed the cases were drawing back hard..

WTH am I missing?

 

[rcmodel]

Thats real strange right there!

I can't imagine a handgun expander having enough resistance to tear the rim off a revolver case.

Only suggestion I have is maybe call RCBS and tell them what is going on.
Maybe you got a defective expander plug, although that seems very unlikely??
How defective can an expander plug be anyway??

I suppose another possibility is they sent you a sizing die body with the expander rod in it.
Or an expander die that missed the finish reamer step.
Either would get real tight real fast if you expand with no place for it to go in the die I betcha!

In the meantime, use a nylon brush rolled on a case lube pad to lightly lube the necks and try that.

rc

 

[Boxhead]

Call RCBS and they should take care of it. They will want you to send them the die, they will evaluate and generally resolve one way or the other. That said, recently, they did not do that with a 416 Rem die seat/crimp I sent them.

 

[JLDickmon]

Thats real strange right there!

I can't imagine a handgun expander having enough resistance to tear the rim off a revolver case.

Only suggestion I have is maybe call RCBS and tell them what is going on.
Maybe you got a defective expander plug, although that seems very unlikely??
How defective can an expander plug be anyway??

I suppose another possibility is they sent you a sizing die body with the expander rod in it.
Or an expander die that missed the finish reamer step.
Either would get real tight real fast if you expand with no place for it to go in the die I betcha!

In the meantime, use a nylon brush rolled on a case lube pad to lightly lube the necks and try that.

rc

I've had this die for 20+ years, I doubt it's defective, or in the wrong body (I did check the die body, however)..

I'll try the lube trick, I've got nothing else to go on..

brass annealed TOO hard, maybe?

 

[rcmodel]

I don't know, but too hard or too soft should have nothing to do with it.
.32 handgun brass ain't that tough!

It sounds to me like the case mouth is getting pinched in the die when the expander/beller goes in it.

Maybe try unscrewing the die body a turn or two, and screwing down the expander rod a like amount to make up the differance.

Thats is all I got!

rc

 

[JLDickmon]

I don't know, but too hard or too soft should have nothing to do with it.
.32 handgun brass ain't that tough!

It sounds to me like the case mouth is getting pinched in the die when the expander/beller goes in it.

Maybe try unscrewing the die body a turn or two, and screwing down the expander rod a like amount to make up the differance.

Thats is all I got!

rc

good idea..

doing that now...

I've got another couple hundred rounds to do...

 

[Certaindeaf]

Maybe like RC said, the Starline brass is just thick enough to get pinched between the body and expander when drawing/removing it. I'd check that out and use a light spritz of spray lube also. Also, 320 grit seems a little rough to me for smoothing/polishing. Anyway, good luck.
Maybe your Lee shellholder isn't quite proper/ideal, leading to ripped off rims.

 

[Walkalong]

I am having no trouble with my Starline .32 Long brass when expanding. Perhaps rcmodel is onto something and the expander plug is to far up in the die body and the brass is getting jammed/pinched somehow. Adjust the expander plug down further, and adjust the body up to compensate, and try that.

Curious for sure.

 

[JLDickmon]

die went up, expander ball went down, spritzed the cases with One-Shot...

everything was fine until I blew one out of the shellholder with the priming ram..

so I'm blaming the shellholder..

 

[rcmodel]

Well darn.
Mr. Lee seems to think the .32 revolver calibers use the same #4 shell holder as the .223 Rem. size cartridges.

Mr. RCBS seems to disagree, and makes a #10 shell holder for the .223's and a #23 shell holder for the .32's.

Mr. RCBS is probably right, as the .32's have a slightly smaller rim dia then the .223.

rc

 

[Certaindeaf]

Lee seems to group or multi-purpose shellholders. One of the things I don't like is a non-proper shellholder.

 

[dnite]

Had the same issue on a Dillon 650 with new Star brass. Was told that it was common to new brass. I clenaed and polished the expander several times during loading 100pieces. No issue after being shot ine time.
Your case is more extreme than mine however. I noticed the increase in leverage on the Dillon.
Good Luck!
dk

 

[JLDickmon]

Well darn.
Mr. Lee seems to think the .32 revolver calibers use the same #4 shell holder as the .223 Rem. size cartridges.

Mr. RCBS seems to disagree, and makes a #10 shell holder for the .223's and a #23 shell holder for the .32's.

Mr. RCBS is probably right, as the .32's have a slightly smaller rim dia then the .223.

rc

which is the shellholder I have.. the #4 Lee.

Looks like it's time to make a shopping list for supplies... darn it.

 

[Certaindeaf]

My Lee 9mm shellholder.. anyway/nevermind. Looks like that's the bugaboo.