Ala Dan
Member in memoriam
Greeting's All-
Saw this over on another forum, and thought I would
bring it to our membership. The question was/is, is it
possible to wear out a tungsten-carbide (TC) FL die?
Well, I really don't know the answer myself; but I will
offer this explanation? Recently, I acquired a Lyman
.38/.357 TC die that the previous owner said his 78
year old relative had used for 20 (+ or -) years. I had
to try it out, so I used it to full length resize a total of
100 cleaned and polished cases the other day. Guess
what? It worked like a champ; with NO visible marks
or scratches on the cases!
I have read that over a long duration, that bits and
pieces of brass tend to cling to the TC sizing ring and
create a build-up of sort's. And if not properly cleaned,
it will indeed scratch the cases; but the die can be
polished out using 400-grit wet sandpaper used on a
dowel with a drill.
So, what does everyone think? Just keep the die clean
after each use to ensure proper functioning would be
my guess.
Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
Saw this over on another forum, and thought I would
bring it to our membership. The question was/is, is it
possible to wear out a tungsten-carbide (TC) FL die?
Well, I really don't know the answer myself; but I will
offer this explanation? Recently, I acquired a Lyman
.38/.357 TC die that the previous owner said his 78
year old relative had used for 20 (+ or -) years. I had
to try it out, so I used it to full length resize a total of
100 cleaned and polished cases the other day. Guess
what? It worked like a champ; with NO visible marks
or scratches on the cases!
I have read that over a long duration, that bits and
pieces of brass tend to cling to the TC sizing ring and
create a build-up of sort's. And if not properly cleaned,
it will indeed scratch the cases; but the die can be
polished out using 400-grit wet sandpaper used on a
dowel with a drill.
So, what does everyone think? Just keep the die clean
after each use to ensure proper functioning would be
my guess.
Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member