Brass getting scratches in my press.

[Nushif]

I've been noticing that when I seat my bullet in my Lee Turret press with Carbide dies it puts a scratch on the side of them.

It doesn't hinder performance, and I haven't seen the fired versions of it yet, but how can I prevent that from happening? It looks unsightly.

 

[Rob_W]

scratches

Must be something in the die, or just a bad sizing ring. I'd eyeball it under a bright light and see what is up.

 

[paperpuncher49]

Nushif-
A carbide seating die? Are you sure? Only sizing dies are typically carbide. If the scratch is on the bullet it usually is caused by a seating plug that doesn't somewhat match the profile of the bullet, or is a bit rough and could use polishing. Is the scratch down the side of the bullet or is it a ring around the bullet? I do not have much experience with Lee dies if that is what you are using, but I know RCBS provides "custom" seating plugs to correct that very problem.

 

[Nushif]

Die looks alright ... rough around the edges of the inner ... tuby-thing that moves, but I don't see anything protruding or any debris inside.

P.S. Good call on the non-carbide. The scratch is on the side of the brass, going downward. how do I polish this thing up?

 

[WhiteMikeCN]

Piece of nickel from a case maybe?

 

[paperpuncher49]

Disassemble the die, clean it well, reassemble and try again. If it still scratches, then polish the inside of the die body with some kind of polishing compound. Easiest way to do that is to chuck it in a lathe if you have access to one. If you do that, clean thouroughly after polishing. If the scratch is on the side of the brass, it's not from the seater plug (what you are calling the tuby thing, which sound like the description of the seating plug in Lee dies).

 

[jcwit]

400 to 600 grit sandpaper on a small dowel rod with a saw cut to hold the sandpaper and spin the dowel in an electric drill. Drill press prefered if available or a lathe. Do not run at high speed and polish the inside of the die.

Simple, right?

 

[Walkalong]

Slightly chamfer the leading edge into the die and polish the insides.

 

[ranger335v]

"Brass getting scratches in my press. "

Presses don't scratch cases; it's the dies and probably the sizing die, not the seater.

The carbide sizer ring itself is unlikely to be scratched, it takes something as hard as diamond to do that. What you probably have is tiny brass bits galled (a fancy metalergist word for "stuck") onto the carbide surface. Galling happens when two dry metals are forced together under pressure during sliding contact as resizing does.

Remove the stuck bits as Mr. Jcwit suggests. You cannot change the dimensions of the carbide ring with the fine grit sandpaper but you can completly remove the offending brass bits that are scratching your cases.

To prevent a recurrance of the galling just lightly lube one case in maybe ten or so.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I polish my dies the way Varmint Al suggests. This is from his site, and has worked on numerous dies:

POLISH THE DIES.... I polish the inside of my rifle reloading dies. Most die manufacturers leave the die bores smooth but not polished. A polished die will resize with much less axial force than one in the as-received condition. I disassemble them and put a little Flitz on a cotton bore mop held in a drill motor and polish each one for 30 seconds or more at a 300 to 600 rpm speed. Sometimes I have to wrap a paper towel around the swab to get a good fit. Then I clean all the polish out with hot water and dry with a paper towel wrapped around a clean cotton swab. The polishing process does not remove a measurable amount of material, but results in smoother operation, minimizes the scratching or scoring of the brass, and minimizes crumpling problems when I use them while forming wildcat brass.



Flitz is slightly more aggressive than JB. I took a piece of mild steel with a reasonably smooth finish and polished it with Flitz and JB. The left end was polished for about 2 minutes at 500 rpm with Flitz and the right end for about 2 minutes with JB. There is no detectable decrease in the diameter on either end measured with my high-precision Mitutoyo Micrometer. It was a very easy test. Try it for yourself.



Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[snuffy]

Lots of things we don't know. 1. Are these lee dies? 2. Which ones, 3 die set, or 4 die set? 3. Which die is doing the scratching? 4. What caliber?

Pictures would be helpful. Answer these questions, we can figure this out.

 

[Maj Dad]

I dropped Lee carbide sizers for Hornady Titanium Nitride 25 years ago for that reason. All the Lees (and a Lyman 45 Colt I had) seemed to do that and though it wasn't a function issue, my artistic sensibilities were deeply offended and I dumped them. The Hornadys are slicker'n greased owl feces...

 

[bonza]

I have a set of RCBS .32/20 dies in which the sizer is a notorious 'scratcher'. I've tried polishing it, but have had little success. I have some JB Paste that I'll try as decribed above. The sandpaper sounds a little drastic for a non-carbide sizer.....am I right?

 

[jcwit]

I have a set of RCBS .32/20 dies in which the sizer is a notorious 'scratcher'. I've tried polishing it, but have had little success. I have some JB Paste that I'll try as decribed above. The sandpaper sounds a little drastic for a non-carbide sizer.....am I right?

No not really if you're careful doing it. Polished out many a hole and blind hole when I worked as a tool & die maker. Thats why I suggested 400/600 grit sandpaper, usually available as wet or dry paper used in the body shop trade. Now 80 or 100 or 150 grit would be a different story.

 

[Red Cent]

Nushif, do you tumble clean your brass?

 

[1SOW]

Mine did it suddenly. I removed the die and found some metal shavings in it. I cleaned it carefully and haven't had the problem since.

I haven't polished mine, but it sounds like a good idea. I will eventually polish it using the same methods used on the sear, slide rails and breach surfaces--minimum removal and maximum smoothness. I like 800/1000+ grit paper, white rouge or something like Flitz.