Harriw
Member
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2018
- Messages
- 282
Hey folks,
Just wanted to share this quickly. I was re-sizing some .223 cases, and managed to bend the decapping pin pretty badly. Completely my fault. It happens. When I pulled out the decapping stem, I discovered that the expander ball that holds in the pin was also cocked at a funny angle. I had to lock the expander into a wood vice and crank the stem out of it with a pair of pliers (wrapped in cloth to avoid marring the stem), and confirmed I'd bent the end of the decapping stem where the expander ball threads on as well.
The decapping pin was bent badly enough that it wouldn't come out of the expander ball, and snapped off when I tried to straighten it in a vice. I wound up grinding the pin down on a bench grinder until it would drop out. After putting it through that, I wasn't sure I trusted the expander ball anymore. And I needed a new decapping stem anyway, so I called up Hornady.
I was talking to a service tech within 2 minutes of dialing. I had my credit card ready, but was pleased to find that they ordered all the parts I need free of charge - not even a shipping charge. Not only that, but he included extras. The warranty confirmation email showed up before I even got off the phone with him, which showed that Hornady is sending me 2 new stems (I only needed or asked for one, so I'll have a spare now), a new expander ball, and a pair of new decapping pins as well (which I didn't even ask for). I thought that was pretty impressive service.
Also wanted to mention... I'm 99% sure that all (most?) of Hornady's newer decapping stems ("zip spindles" they call them) are inter-changeable, and I have plenty of spare decapping pins as well. So I probably could get up and running again by "borrowing" a zip spindle from another die set. But as I said I'm not sure I trust this expander ball anymore. I'll probably just throw it in the drawer as a back-up, and finish sizing these cases when the new parts arrive. I've got plenty of clean, processed brass to last me until then.
Just wanted to share this quickly. I was re-sizing some .223 cases, and managed to bend the decapping pin pretty badly. Completely my fault. It happens. When I pulled out the decapping stem, I discovered that the expander ball that holds in the pin was also cocked at a funny angle. I had to lock the expander into a wood vice and crank the stem out of it with a pair of pliers (wrapped in cloth to avoid marring the stem), and confirmed I'd bent the end of the decapping stem where the expander ball threads on as well.
The decapping pin was bent badly enough that it wouldn't come out of the expander ball, and snapped off when I tried to straighten it in a vice. I wound up grinding the pin down on a bench grinder until it would drop out. After putting it through that, I wasn't sure I trusted the expander ball anymore. And I needed a new decapping stem anyway, so I called up Hornady.
I was talking to a service tech within 2 minutes of dialing. I had my credit card ready, but was pleased to find that they ordered all the parts I need free of charge - not even a shipping charge. Not only that, but he included extras. The warranty confirmation email showed up before I even got off the phone with him, which showed that Hornady is sending me 2 new stems (I only needed or asked for one, so I'll have a spare now), a new expander ball, and a pair of new decapping pins as well (which I didn't even ask for). I thought that was pretty impressive service.
Also wanted to mention... I'm 99% sure that all (most?) of Hornady's newer decapping stems ("zip spindles" they call them) are inter-changeable, and I have plenty of spare decapping pins as well. So I probably could get up and running again by "borrowing" a zip spindle from another die set. But as I said I'm not sure I trust this expander ball anymore. I'll probably just throw it in the drawer as a back-up, and finish sizing these cases when the new parts arrive. I've got plenty of clean, processed brass to last me until then.
