Stuck my first case

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edfardos

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So I finally didit, after 1000's of rounds, i stuck a 30'06 case in the sizing die and stripped the rim off. I tried the tap/die/screw/socket trick, but the threads stripped out the flashole. I managed to get the decapping mandrel out of the top of the die, leaving just the expander ball inside the brass. After a lot of failed attempts i jammed an appropriately sized alen wrench through the top of the die and started pounding on the top of the expander ball, which eventually pushed the stuck brass out of the die.

The expander ball did not fare well. The very top of it was flared outward and i had to drill the thread hole just a bit to get the mandrel to rethread. I took the flare off the top of the ball with a dremel, being careful to leave some of the precision surface untouched around the circumference. After some sanding and polishing, it looked pretty darn good, but the precision surface presumably expanded a couple thousands (.308" total). I ran some brass through the die, and it was really tough to pull the expander ball through the neck, so I slowly reduced the diameter of the ball by chucking it in a drill and turning it down with some sand paper. At .306" it felt normal again when I sized brass, and normal when i seated bullets.

So having said all that, is .306" the right diameter for a 30'06 expander ball? I'm really into target shooting, so I want to make sure I have the right neck tension. I put a new die on order while mucking with this, but it'd be nice to have two fully working RCBS 30'06 sizing dies.

curiously,
-edfardos
 
Re case lube, it's a long story, but let's just say I sized three cases in a row with *no* lube. The first two are free, the third fuses with the die.

embarasingly,
-edfardos
 
Edfardos,

That sucks. Hate to even think to have a problem. I wouldn't really know what to do had I got a case stuck. Sorry, I have no information for you as to if it is right with the .306.....

BTW, What's wrong with One Shot? I have used it for some 30-30 cases and all went fine when I had resized them and all?....
 
I got a .270 win. case stuck back in the 1980's and remembered an old trick my Brother in law Taught me, heat the die up slightly, add some lube, and then do the removal. I didn't spend 15 minutes getting it out. Without heat to expand the die slightly it can be a real nighmare, as you found out.
 
.306" will probably be ok, that's .002" press fit, depending on spring back

So what brand of lube was it? :)
 
So .306" should be okay then (that's -0.002" smaller that the bullet). Anyone have a 30'06 die and can measure the diameter of their expander ball?

I normally use RCBS lube, with the lube pad, works great. I typically lube every other brass and don't have a problem. But if you rotate the loading tray, size one twice on accident, there's a possibility you'll run three in a row with no lube. And that's when the fun begins.

--edfardos
 
Stuck case? straight across on the forums the mindset is use a 1/4 (.250) tap, I use 3/8 (.375), not necessary to order a stuck case puller, a well stocked garage of junk will have as many as 20 +, my technique varies from others, I use a longer puller bolt with a nut, I hold the bolt and turn the nut, this pulls the case without turning the case in the die.

Advantage to the .375 hole in the head of the case? The primer punch/sizer ball assemble can be removed out the bottom.

When the die is 223 go with the smaller hole in the head of the case.

I can not improve on the surface4 inside of the die, I clean the inside of the die with a towel on a dowel.

F. Guffey
 
I stuck a .223 case stuck really good the other day. I tried inverting the die and using the ram to press up on the decapper/expander. No good. I tried putting the die in a vice and hammering on the decapper. I finally got it out by banging the decapper stem against concrete. I fully planned on replacing the part after this. But once the case came out, the decapper/expander actually looked fine. It was still perfectly straight. I just had to grind the end a little bit where it mushroomed from the blows.
 
So gloob, did you measure the expander ball after you filed off the "mushroom" from the blows? I guess the point of me starting this thread was the fact that the expander ball "expands" as a result of the blows, and not just at the mushroomed area.

Anyone have a 30'06 expander ball they can measure? Mine was .3085" after i hammered the crap out of it to get the brass out. I'm down to .306" and I'm wondering if that's in the right ballpark for neck-tension diameter.

cool,
-craig
 
Edfardos, I have .308 type dies, none of my neck expander's are .308+, always at or less then .307, the two diameters of the barrel are .308 and .300. In my opinion .306 is small, not for all seating dies but for standard seating dies it could be difficult to seat a bullet without collapsing the neck with flat vase bullets, not a problem for boat tail bullets and competition type seater dies with bullet guides that center the bullet on the top of the case mouth.

F. Guffey
 
I just meausured a 308,30-06 and a 300 Win,all are RCBS and all are .305.Just give RCBS a call,they will send you one,probably for free.They are famous for their customer service. Lightman
 
Thanks lightman, that's exactly the measurement I was looking for. So I'm .001" too big. I'll make up 20 rounds, maybe the reduced neck tension will tighten my groups? RCBS just put a ball and mandrel in the mail. Their support is simply amazing.

thanks again,
-edfardos
 
I think your expander ball mushroomed because you took out the stem and beat it, directly, with an allen wrench, maybe? Mine doesn't have a screw out stem, so I was beating on the end of the stem. That's where it mushroomed.

The widest part of my LEE expander/decapper is sorta in the middle of the thing, where you don't expect any mushrooming. The end by the decapper against the head of the brass is thinner and rounded, anyway (measures .200).

I don't have a micrometer, but the widest part measures .222" (to the closest half a thou).

So the only part I had to grind was the top of the stem, so it would fit back in the lock bolt.

I beat the heck out of it, and I was almost ready to give up. I was sure I'd have to try to straighten it, at least. But it came out perfectly straight.
 
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Lee's unique decap spindle is made to allow us to drive stuck cases out with it. Others are not so made.
 
In the FYI department, a buddy of mine had a case really stuck good a few years ago and I seem to recall he returned it to RCBS and they removed the case, replaced the expander, and returned it to him gratis. That's service!!
 
I stuck my first case not too long ago. It's 9mm and pulled out the carbide resizing ring out of the Redding die.

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I sent it back to Redding (actually my dealer did it for me) and I expect I'll get a new die as soon as Redding catches up. I may use lube even with the carbide die. I've tried doing so and it surely works smoother, even though technically it's not needed.
 
Redding carbide sizing dies have been known to do that to other people. Before I'd go through the bother of lubing pistol cases, I'd buy another brand.
 
Regarding lubing handgun cases I place mine in a bowl and spray them with spray teflon by Blaster, available at home improvement stores. Clean, non greasy, no need to remove but easily removed if one wishes to, and sure makes operating the press easier.

Ya I have the strength to do it, but why work so hard. FWIW Menards has the Blaster brand on sale every so often for a buck a can.
 
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