Steel sizing die life
- Thread starter KY DAN
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troy fairweather
Member
Longer then you can count.
AJC1
Member
How many times does a piston go up and down in a motor before its worn out..... with proper clean lubrication a loooot.
reloaded_in_pa
Member
With care, the dies can outlast us. I'm still using some of my grandfather's that are 70 years old.
Bcwitt
Member
My oldest dies are 357 mag circa 1971 rcbs. They used to stamp the date on the sizer. They haven't done that for a long time. That was back when the neck expander was also the decapper. You could not expand a primed case without pushing the primer back out. I'm not certain, but I think Lee might have beat them to the punch w decapping in the sizing die.
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Bcwitt
Member
I'm pretty sure if you use only clean brass & store dies in climate controlled environment or lube them if not, you can expect to use them for life.
Bazoo
Member
I'm interested to know myself. I think I heard around 1/3 of a million rounds once would cause enough wear to be where they'd start being out of spec. But I'm going on a faulty memory board currently.
FROGO207
Member
They are hardened steel and they are sizing brass. I am willing to bet they will last several lifetimes if kept lubed and dirt/sand is removed first. I am working on my grandfathers 30-30 dies that are unmarked. Probably Ideal or Pacific brand from the early 50's.
stillquietvoice
Contributing Member
Brass is way softer than steel rings, inside a nonhardened steel cylinder.
My first 223 dies were 1981 manufacture, still sizing correctly, but now reside at a friend's. He's loaded about 2k since he's had them.
lightman
Member
Like the others have said, if properly cared for they should last a lifetime. I personally don't know of anyone thats worn a die out. Damaged a die, yes! Improper care, yes! But worn out, no!
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