i think i broke the sizing die

[7thGenAustinite]

well to start with I'm new to reloading. i just set up my lee pro 1000. after successfully de priming some of my used(clean) brass and loading them up. i noticed that it was no longer de priming my used brass and it looks like i broke the sizing/de capping die. the little piece that used to stick all the way out of the die is now more flush… what would have caused it to break so quick?

 

[GP100man]

What brand of dies ???

Make sure the pin/stem is centered in the die .most are repairable/replaceable either by loosening the lock collar & simply pushing it back down or unscrewing the end & replacing the pin (brand specific in most cases)

Check brass to see if it`s berdan primers(2 small off set holes instead of 1 in center)

Check for debris in brass.

If the brass has ever been wet & not dried rite away the primer corrodes a bit & gets harder on pins , also some milsurp brass primers are overly crimped & tuff to punch out .

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If you're using Lee dies the decapping pin may have just pushed up into the collet. You can loosen the collet nut and push the pin back down. If you're using a different brand the the pin is broken you can replace the pin.

As to why it broke, that's hard to tell without being there to look at everything. Like mentioned above, if you tried to decap a berdan primer, that would do it!

 

[ljnowell]

Second or third on that Lee dies will usually push the pin out the top. Just loosen up the nut and push it back down then crank it down tight. Also, the only time I ever pushed the decapper out of my lee die was when I had a .40 case stuck inside a 45. That sucked.

 

[GLOOB]

Break a Lee pin? Guess it's possible. I wanna see pics.

 

[jwrowland77]

My first guess would be that your collet wasn't tightened down enough after making your adjustment to knock out old primer.

If this is the case, just loosen it a bit and push it back down and tighten again, and you should be good to go.

If it truly is broken, just call manufacture, and they'll probably replace for free.

 

[wardor]

Break a Lee pin? Guess it's possible. I wanna see pics.

Wasn't me that started the thread, but here is a broken decapping pin in a Lee Universal Decapping Die. Broke a crimped 308 -- still can't get out the primer, broke 1 more after this then just set it as an immortal trophy on my bench.

 

[SSN Vet]

Read the instruction for your die set carefully and they will tell you about the collet nut that holds the decapping pin in place.

The idea is that rather than breaking or bending the pin, you will push it up in the collet. Then you can see what the problem is and reset the pin.

When the dies are brandy new, they will often have a little residual oil on them form the manufacturing processes and the pin may slip in the collet when it shouldn't.

Rather than over-tightening the collet nut and stripping the threads on the collet, completely remove the collet nut and decapping pin and wipe them down with a solvent like mineral spirits (aka. paint thinner). Then dry them off completely.

At this point, I use a trick an old machinist taught me. Any collet will grip a lot tighter if ther is a uniform coating, just dust thin, of something gritty (like clay dust) on it. So I take the top end of the decapping pin and swish it in either a bag of cat litter or speedy dry, and then reassemble. This will give the collet a good tight grip on the pin, without tightening it untill your eyes pop.

 

[readyeddy]

Same happened to me with my Lee resizing die. For me the problem was primer crimped .223 brass. The added pressure pushed the decapping pin up the die, making it flush. I had to loosen the nuts using two wrenches to push the pin back down. Eventually, the pin broke. My solution was to box all of my once fired .223 brass and buy 1000 pieces of new LC brass.

 

[GLOOB]

When decapping crimped 223, I keep a hammer on the bench. When the pin backs out on an extra tight crimp (that one stubborn pocket out of 20), I tap the primer out by tapping the spindle with the hammer, ram all the way up. Once the primer pops, the spindle is placed and ready to go until the next stubborn case. This is so much easier than loosening the spindle and then trying to tighten it again with the spindle just right.

The only downside is I had to turn down the end of the spindle a little due to peening.