Lee 9 mm Deluxe dies, dissasembly and cleaning

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Nordeste

Nordeste

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So, this one is the second time I take my dies out of my LCT for cleaning. I like to do so every 1000 rounds, and this weekend I hit the 2000 rounds mark. Thing is, I've had no problem taking apart the decapping&resizing die, the bullet seating die and the factory crimp die. Then I give them a thorough clean, some oiling and assemble them again. It's not that they were very dirty, but some cleaning didn't hurt them.

Problem is the powder through-expanding die. I wonder how one could disassemble this one. The expanding part seems to be locked inside the die's body. It looks like a metal sleeve that moves up and down, but it doesn't fall out of the die if you put it upside down. I've been able to clean the parts that are easily accessible, but would like to clean the rest of it.

Any ideas?. Do you think it's possible to take it apart completely?.

Inputs appreciated ;) .
 
The only thing I clean is the expander plug, because a good amount of brass dust builds up. And thats only when I go through a few thousand. Other than that I haven't really touched anything in terms of cleaning.
Just unscrew the top for the expander, and it should drop right out.
 
The cleaning part is fine but you really don't want to oil them. The oil itself will attract dirt and cause problems. If you're worried about rust you should at least wile off any excess oil with a lint free rage and leave only a film of oil you can't feel.
 
Perhaps I should have pointed out that it's the outer part what I'm oiling. I live very close to the sea. Very close is that from my window to the sea there are less than 400 yards. I have already spotted some rust on my LCT so this oiling is mandatory, as far as I'm concerned. No oil inside, though.

I have just checked again my powder through-expander die. I can remove the riser, no problem, but there is a part that remains inside and won't go out, which is the one that does the flaring, evidently. No way, it won't come out if I turn it upside down, and obviously I don't wanna force it in any way.

Weird?.

Edit: I had forgotten about the riser... :banghead::banghead: :eek:
 
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Did the "O" ring come off the riser and stop the removal? I have had to "gently" push a seating plug out of a seating die because of wax buildup before but as stated my Lee expander dies all have the plug fall out with ease when the top is removed and the die is inverted.

I take my dies apart and clean the junk off them and then tumble them in walnut and NU-Finish for a couple hours to keep them from rusting every year or two if they are used extensively. Just do not mix up different caliber die parts if you do a bunch, I do one set at a time to prevent troubles.

IIRC Walkalong had a good thread on how to clean dies that he got used.
 
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No problem with the O-ring or any other part, once I disassembled the riser's body :mad::banghead:.

I can tell you, the expander was dirty. I don't use a tumbler, but, instead, clean my cases "in the wet" with a mix of white vinegar, dish soap and hot water. Then I rinse them in hot water with baking soda and let them dry, or use a hair dryer to dry them if they are to be realoded soon. They come out pretty clean. Even though I use this method, there was a significant amount of dirt in the expander. As said, it's probably not "mandatory" to do this, but it doesn't hurt.

After all the dies got clean and reassembled, they got a light coat of gun oil on their outer part, never on their inner parts ;).
 
Save yourself all the aggravation of washing & drying dies.
Buy a 1/2" and 3/4"" nylon bottle brush at the hardware store.

I have never completely dissembled a die set in 50+ years of reloading.

I do brush the dirt & lube out occasionally with a bottle brush though.

rc
 
I have the same 9mm die set and my expander plug definitely comes out with ease. As others have said its probably just really gunked, don't be afraid to manhandle it a bit to get that plug out of there.
 
Nordeste said:
No problem with the O-ring or any other part, once I disassembled the riser's body :mad::banghead:.

I can tell you, the expander was dirty. I don't use a tumbler, but, instead, clean my cases "in the wet" with a mix of white vinegar, dish soap and hot water. Then I rinse them in hot water with baking soda and let them dry, or use a hair dryer to dry them if they are to be realoded soon. They come out pretty clean. Even though I use this method, there was a significant amount of dirt in the expander. As said, it's probably not "mandatory" to do this, but it doesn't hurt.

After all the dies got clean and reassembled, they got a light coat of gun oil on their outer part, never on their inner parts ;).
Click to expand...

There is absolutely no reason to clean them this way and it can hurt. There is no need to use soap and water on metal. If you "must" clean them, clean them like a gun barrel, use gun cleaning solvent and wipe dry, As mentioned before, no oil outside or in. Use a dry lube spry like silicone or WD 40 on the outside whatever is available in your area. There is also nothing to be gained by taking apart the de capping (priming) die. All that will come out is the pin. The decapper clamp nut on top is a split collet type and hard to get back in. Just use some spray gun solvent up into the die.
 
Rule3 :rolleyes:... it's the cases what I clean with soapy water mixed with vinegar, not the dies! ;). I have, nonetheless, ordered a Lee Universal Decapping die. It will go along the ultrasonic cleaner that is also on her way. That way, it will only take a couple of minutes to remove my resizer-decapper, install the universal decapper, decap a couple of hundreds of 9 mm cases and send them to the ultrasonic cleaner. No more shaking :D.

I did notice the decapping pin was kind of hard to disassemble. I was already aware of this because it's clearly stated in the die set instructions, though. It took some fiddling with it but was not a big deal. Once clean and reassembled, it looks like it works fine.
 
Nordeste, AH yes I read your post again.:eek: My only excuse other than I can't read was it was late;)
That of course is a fine way to clean brass.

Did you get the powder charge die insert (expander plug)out???
 
Yep, I eventually did. It was dirty enough to be worth cleaning it. Perhaps, as others say, it's not that necessary to take your dies apart and clean them, but I definitely feel some peace of mind looking after my equipment. After all, I try to do this with all my belongings and the stuff I use at work ;).
 
Nordeste said:
Yep, I eventually did. It was dirty enough to be worth cleaning it. Perhaps, as others say, it's not that necessary to take your dies apart and clean them, but I definitely feel some peace of mind looking after my equipment. After all, I try to do this with all my belongings and the stuff I use at work ;).
Click to expand...

Glad you got it apart. Nothing wrong with taking care of your tools. My Dad sure made me do that and still have his tools today.:)
 
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