Now I've done it! Stuck die.

Status
Not open for further replies.
Grandpa Shooter

Grandpa Shooter

Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
948
That's right. After all these years I have finally done it. I was trimming .308 brass at 1 AM and found one that needed the shoulder set back a bit. I turned to where my Lee Turret is set up with a turret full of sizing dies and slipped the case in and ran it up to form the shoulder. However I forgot to lube it first. Yup, you got it. Stuck big time! Tried reversing and tore the rim off.

Had to cut the end off and drill it out to get the sizing ball out. Couldn't get the case out. When I stick 'em, I do a good job. So far I have drilled out all but the thinest layer of brass, without hitting the die itself. Finally gave up and went to bed, only to have visions of sheep shaped reloading dies jumping through my head all night.

I have a spare decapping, resizing die so all is not lost. I just hate to give up on something I start to do. Besides if I give up on this, only means I will have to go back to drywallling and texturing my living room.

Any help?:banghead:
 
If you are using Lee dies you could have just removed the collet and tapped on the decapping pin to drive the case back out of the die. You are in for a bit more work at this point; a quick search should come up with a few suggestions.
 
stuck case

I had the same problem with a 30-06 case. If the base of the casing is still intact, you could try inserting a punch through the top of the die and hammer out the casing. I once had to slowly and very carefully bend in the sides of the case (with a metal pic) from the bottom (making sure not to damage/scratch the die internal sides) to get to let go.
 
Should have mentioned this is an RCBS die with a threaded interior. I can only work from the bottom so am having to be really careful. I probably will end up picking it out. Would a propane torch help or hurt?
 
I may be able to help you. Assuming you cut the cartridge head off(bad boy!) and were able to remove the decapping rod, get yourself a wooden or aluminum(brass will work also) rod just slightly smaller that will to enter the die from the top and contact what is left of the case. You may have to turn down an oversize rod. After contact, just tap it out. I have also seen Kroil used to lubricate surfaces between the die wall and case to make this easier. A cleaning rod usually will not work because it is soft aluminum and will bend. Cheer up though, a die body will only cost you about ten bucks if you have to replace it, a lot less if it is a Lee. Good luck. :banghead:
 
If you drill and tap the case head and use a bolt and washers a case can easily be pulled from a die. Now that you have cut the head off then drilled the case walls thin it might be hard to get enough hold on the case to extract it. I would try placing the whole mess in the freezer for a few hours and see if the brass will shrink enough more than the steel die to allow you to pull it out.
Is there enough case wall left to allow a tap to grasp the brass and not the die? If so perhaps threading the case then placing the die in your press and with a bolt, and washer's etc. for spacers, see if the case can be pulled out.
 
Something that worked for me recently on a stuck .223 case, but it assumes that you can get something down in there from the top. Use at your own risk - I had two other dies.

I cut off the bottom of the case - actually tore it off...
I threaded in a tap making sure that it wasn't wide/deep enough to cut through the tapered case and jack up the die.
I then dropped an old small phillipshead and gave it a whack or two. Case popped right out.

ETA eliphalet beat me to it!
 
Or you can just mail it to RCBS and they'll get the brass out of it.

Hornady offers this service for a very reasonable fee of four bucks. Don't ask me how I know...

Good luck! :)
 
The correct fix is to drill and tap for a quarter inch bolt and use a stack of washers or an appropriate size socket to pull the case out. Since you removed the bottom of the case I suggest you JB weld in a bolt to pull it out.
 
I bought an RCBS stuck case remover on a whim one day and sure enough about a year later I stuck a .308 case in my depriming die the Saturday night before a Sunday shoot.
The RCBS set up works great, is cheap, and was money well spent when I needed it.
 
You are pretty much screwed. I did the same thing. Get a new die, and next time, use the RCBS stuck case remover tool. Dont cut the head off like that, thats your only help obie won!!
 
The die body is reposing with dignity at the bottom of the rectangular file in my reloading room. After spending $100 worth of time I finally admitted defeat and am using the other RCBS die I had as a spare. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy.
 
they make something by belmont metals that melts at 158F you heat it up in hot water and it turns into a liquid like lead but better, you could pour it into the die and tap it out , not sure how your dies are made . it also works great for rifles if you need to make a casting of the barrel or stuck case (1919a4) , bending pipe with out crimping it , pluging barrels (just heat it up with warm water, pour out and you are back to shooting). ect. The machine shops use it a lot.
 
Grandpa I wouldn't feel too bad. I was size'n and de-cappin some 223 2 weeks ago and stuck my first case in over 25 years of reloading. After fooling around looking for easy fixes like you, I called a friend and borrowed his stuck case remover. Getting the stuck 223 case out was a piece 'o cheeze.

A few days ago I did it again.....stuck a 223 case. It had just come off my lube pad too. I figured out the brass I bought must have a few fired in a very generous chamber as a few size pretty hard like the 2nd case I stuck.

I had cleaned the stuck case remover and took it to work to give it back to the guy so I had to go and get it again. I just might have to buy one.
 
Just ordered a stuck case remover myself.. Fortunately i have been able to borrow one for the one (and hopefully only) case i ever stuck...

Perhaps you could use a easy out... Since you said the indie of the die is threaded get 1 thats tapered and reverse threaded... When you screw it in it will still be under sized cause the case will take up the space.. You wont be cutting new threads... And it should bite and pull the brass case out while it tries to feed in... I would reccomend using some good penetrating oil to try to sneak in by the case walls...
 
On a recent .223 loading session stretched over a week, I stuck 3cases. Got pretty good the drill/tap/extract cycle. Having a vice with soft jaw material to protect the die made things much faster. I had the cycle down to about 15 minutes by the third one with all the tools on the bench already.

You have to be careful not to break the decapping pin, it will be in the way. I broke one. Back out the decapper as much as possible before starting.

Get some redding die wax, and use it more than you think you need to. It'll never happen again.
 
Since I have never had a case stick in all these years I have never given any thought to getting one out. I looked up a kit on Midway and discovered I own all the tools needed to do it. No big deal. If it doesn't happen in another 15 years I'll be too old to lift a drill anyway.
 
If you cannot get it out send it back to rcbs. They will not only remove the case, but fix any damaged parts. They will only charge for removing the case. I know I just did this recently. I just never did it with that 308 brass, only 223.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top