scrat
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just wipe
What am I doing wrong w/ resizing?
- Thread starter Zeede
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floydster
Member
Zeede,
Here is what I would do, take a new cartridge and pull the bullet, lube as usual, run it up in the die, it should go up all the way with no problem.
I can't imagine it is the lube or an obstruction in the die.
Oh, don't forget to dump the powder out of the cartridge,he,he.
See what this does.
Floydster a.k.a. Smokeyloads
Here is what I would do, take a new cartridge and pull the bullet, lube as usual, run it up in the die, it should go up all the way with no problem.
I can't imagine it is the lube or an obstruction in the die.
Oh, don't forget to dump the powder out of the cartridge,he,he.
See what this does.
Floydster a.k.a. Smokeyloads
Zeede
Member
I've done that with some of my Greek surplus. I pulled the bullet, dumped the powder, popped the primer in my gun, then tried to size it in the die. Same deal. I can't see what I'm doing wrong w/ the lube. You just shake up the can real well, spray lightly all over the brass, let it dry for a couple of minutes, then put it in the die.
Cameron
Cameron
Jeff F
Member
You know it is possible you have a bad die.
jim147
Member
You could run it in dry at this point and it should go in you just won't get it back out.
I'm not sure what your doing but the case is not getting stuck if your not pulling the rim off when you lower the ram.
Put a little oil on one case and push hard.
I'm not sure what your doing but the case is not getting stuck if your not pulling the rim off when you lower the ram.
Put a little oil on one case and push hard.
snuffy
Member
That Hornady press should have plenty of leverage to size just about anything. IF your bench is heavy AND strong enough to support it. What is the bench made of? Mine weighs well over a hundred pounds, then it is bolted to the floor and lag screwed to the wall! That way when I'm resizing, I don't have to worry about the bench moving. Then the top is solid core door plywood, reinforced with 2X4's underneath.
I think you are just scared of getting a case stuck in your die, you stop BEFORE the die has a chance to do it's job. Or your bench is not up to the force necessary to resize rifle shells. If I were to stop halfway through sizing a shell, it would be real hard to withdraw the shell. In fact I just tried it! Until the shell was fully sized, it was difficult to pull out,(.308 with a bonanza co-ax).
floydster
Member
And the mystery continues.
I wonder if it's not something with the die.
Have you tried different lube yet because this does sounds like a lube problem to me.
BUT, an unfired case that's been lubed should slide in and out with minimal force - I've even ran them in without any lube at all before.
If an unfired casing runs in and stops there almost has to be something wrong with the die IMO.
Have you tried a different brand of die?
I've only bought one Hornady product but it required me to repair it before I could use it.
FWIW, usually RCBS and Lyman dies serve me well and they're only about $25 to try a set.
Also, does this happen with a different brand of brass?
Have you tried different lube yet because this does sounds like a lube problem to me.
BUT, an unfired case that's been lubed should slide in and out with minimal force - I've even ran them in without any lube at all before.
If an unfired casing runs in and stops there almost has to be something wrong with the die IMO.
Have you tried a different brand of die?
I've only bought one Hornady product but it required me to repair it before I could use it.
FWIW, usually RCBS and Lyman dies serve me well and they're only about $25 to try a set.
Also, does this happen with a different brand of brass?
1moa@500
Member
check the adjustment on your decapping pin. If you set it to low it could prevent your case from fully entering the die.
DEDON45
Member
I have that press... and it has plenty O' leverage... resizes .300 Weatherby Cases with ease. The other posters have suggested trying some different lube; I would suggest the same... it's cheap enough, just try it and see if it works. Hell, maybe the can of One Shot you have somehow had the lube chemicals left out! I've also read countless threads about folks having problems with One Shot (and, of course, those that say it's great) I've had good success with the lube that comes with the Hornady Lube pad, and I've also used their Unique case lube... other stuff from other mfg. should work fine too. Try changing that. Sounds like you've already tried a different die body... have you tried taking the decapping pin and expander plug out, and seeing what happens? Maybe the expander plug is too big... put a set of calipers on that plug, shouldn't be bigger than .308 (I suspect it should be .001" or so smaller).
I have a friend with a 6.5-06 rifle and reloading equipment he inherited from his father... and he had a wierd experience sort of like yours. He had a set of RCBS dies for that 6.5-06, but he could not get a single case to resize without it trying to stick, or crumbling, etc. I took a look at it over at his house one day, and noticed that the spindle the decapping pin and expander plug were screwed onto was seriously bent... we had RCBS send us a new one, I adjusted it (I think he had the expander too far down, hitting the brass head, before) on his press, and he still couldn't get it to work. I put it on my press, he brought over cases and primers, and they worked just fine on my press. He took it back, and "magically" his problems went away... still not sure what happened between me running it on my press and then on his... I suspect he wasn't used to the force necessary to resize the brass, as his press is an old Lyman Spar-T which doesn't have as good a leverage factor as modern presses (but is still a good press... his dad reloaded countless 10,000s of rounds on it). I also mentioned that his "bench" (it was a 2x4 screwed to a 4x4 post on one end and the other end was screwed to a desk) was way too shaky -- I told him he might be subconsciously "holding back" on putting "the man" to the press handle, being afraid he'd tear up the "bench." He's beefed all that up, and he's been putting along just fine since then.
I have a friend with a 6.5-06 rifle and reloading equipment he inherited from his father... and he had a wierd experience sort of like yours. He had a set of RCBS dies for that 6.5-06, but he could not get a single case to resize without it trying to stick, or crumbling, etc. I took a look at it over at his house one day, and noticed that the spindle the decapping pin and expander plug were screwed onto was seriously bent... we had RCBS send us a new one, I adjusted it (I think he had the expander too far down, hitting the brass head, before) on his press, and he still couldn't get it to work. I put it on my press, he brought over cases and primers, and they worked just fine on my press. He took it back, and "magically" his problems went away... still not sure what happened between me running it on my press and then on his... I suspect he wasn't used to the force necessary to resize the brass, as his press is an old Lyman Spar-T which doesn't have as good a leverage factor as modern presses (but is still a good press... his dad reloaded countless 10,000s of rounds on it). I also mentioned that his "bench" (it was a 2x4 screwed to a 4x4 post on one end and the other end was screwed to a desk) was way too shaky -- I told him he might be subconsciously "holding back" on putting "the man" to the press handle, being afraid he'd tear up the "bench." He's beefed all that up, and he's been putting along just fine since then.
SSN Vet
Member
very interested in seeing how this one turns out...
Zeede???
Zeede???
DEDON45
Member
Heh heh... for fun (I'm workin' from home today) I tried resizing some fresh, once-fired Federal .308 cases (they are for my brother's Savage)... you know, the .308 cases are harder to resize than my .300 Weatherby cases... kinda tight getting them into the die, and real jerky coming back out of the expander... could be you just need to use more force... try the lube first.
BTW, this was with a brand new RCBS .308 Small Base sizing die... I'll be reloading for a M1A, that's why it's a small base die.
BTW, this was with a brand new RCBS .308 Small Base sizing die... I'll be reloading for a M1A, that's why it's a small base die.
Deanimator
Member
1. CHANGE LUBES!!! I used a previous encarnation of that One Shot stuff when it first came out. A friend and I stuck SO many cases we ditched it forever. I just use the RCBS lube that looks like KY and goes on a rubber pad on which you roll the cases. I will sometimes either use an RCBS case neck brush to lube the insides of the case necks, or stick the necks in mica. I NEVER stick cases, either .308 or .30-06.
2. Have somebody else who's reloaded before take your place. Have them go through all of the preparatory steps and try to size/decap.
Zeede
Member
I put my whole body weight into it last night, and the case wouldn't go in, so it isn't leverage. I got some calipers and made several measurements on the cases, and on the die, and they are within spec.
I've ordered some Imperial die wax. We'll see if that clears it up.
Cameron
I've ordered some Imperial die wax. We'll see if that clears it up.
Cameron
floydster
Member
This is not to believe, I have been using RCBS lube for 54 years and have one stuck case in all this time, and that was when I was a kid and didn't know what I was doing, I still cannot believe it is the lube, I have used everything from lanolin to motoroil to vaseline in my time at the bench and have never came across a problem such as this.
I am now going in my Cave,going to reflect on all my past experience's and see what comes up.
Peace and Love to all.
Floydster a.k.a. Smokeyloads
I am now going in my Cave,going to reflect on all my past experience's and see what comes up.
Peace and Love to all.
Floydster a.k.a. Smokeyloads
Yep.
At this point even if the OP had no idea what he was doing at all (not saying that's the case), he still would have eventaully accidentally lubed a few cases right and managed to get them resized.
I've never had a problem with a particular lube either, only when I didn't lube enough.
IMO, he might be better off to just shell out a little $$ for a set of RCBS or Lyman dies.
At this point even if the OP had no idea what he was doing at all (not saying that's the case), he still would have eventaully accidentally lubed a few cases right and managed to get them resized.
I've never had a problem with a particular lube either, only when I didn't lube enough.
IMO, he might be better off to just shell out a little $$ for a set of RCBS or Lyman dies.
Sport45
Member
Take the whole decapping rod out and try again. Taking the pin out doesn't do anything but prevent decapping. If the rod is set too low, as someone suggested earlier, it will bottom out in the case. This will stop the ram no matter how hard you push. (If you had a Lee die the decapping rod would slide up to about where it should be anyway.)
The die should be turned in past the point where it contacts the raised ram. Without a case in place the shell holder should remain firmly pressed to the die after camming over.
Zeede
Member
Just to clarify, I've just got the die body on the press at the moment. The decapping rod, pin and collet, and anything else I don't know the name for, but is involved in decapping, is out.
Yes, it's hard to believe it's the lube, but I don't know what else it could be. I've sprayed just a little, I've painted a coating of lube on, I've lubed inside the die, I've rubbed some on by hand, I've tried running it in right away, I've let it dry one minute like the can says to do, I've let it dry five minutes.
I have the replacement die body from Hornady, and I doubt both dies are wrong, and this is confirmed by some measurements I took w/ my calipers. I have several different lots of HXP Greek surplus brass as well as Federal brass, which was shot in my friend's Browning BAR, so I don't think it's any particular lot of brass.
I've cleaned the inside of the dies as best as I could w/ patches, it's not easy to get at the inside effectively, but I did use solvent, same stuff I use to clean my bores. I suppose I might still have some rust preventative inside, but that alone can't be why I'm having so much trouble.
I've adjusted the die according to Hornady's instructions, which is to get the ram to the highest point w/o camming over, then screw the die so it's touching. At any rate, the case is getting stuck way before how far the die is screwed in would matter. Some say to have it screwed in even at the cam over point, some say to back it off one turn, and Hornady's instructions say another.
I'm quite baffled at this point.
Cameron
Yes, it's hard to believe it's the lube, but I don't know what else it could be. I've sprayed just a little, I've painted a coating of lube on, I've lubed inside the die, I've rubbed some on by hand, I've tried running it in right away, I've let it dry one minute like the can says to do, I've let it dry five minutes.
I have the replacement die body from Hornady, and I doubt both dies are wrong, and this is confirmed by some measurements I took w/ my calipers. I have several different lots of HXP Greek surplus brass as well as Federal brass, which was shot in my friend's Browning BAR, so I don't think it's any particular lot of brass.
I've cleaned the inside of the dies as best as I could w/ patches, it's not easy to get at the inside effectively, but I did use solvent, same stuff I use to clean my bores. I suppose I might still have some rust preventative inside, but that alone can't be why I'm having so much trouble.
I've adjusted the die according to Hornady's instructions, which is to get the ram to the highest point w/o camming over, then screw the die so it's touching. At any rate, the case is getting stuck way before how far the die is screwed in would matter. Some say to have it screwed in even at the cam over point, some say to back it off one turn, and Hornady's instructions say another.
I'm quite baffled at this point.
Cameron
Almost has to be the dies at this point.
No matter how bad/old the lube is, if you slather enough on there you'll eventually get one slippery enough to go in. No doubt you've tried this to exhaustion.
And with an unfired casing, really, I'd suprised if it didn't go in with no lube at all. I've done this to slighly resize cases that were already sized once just a little more with no lube and didn't notice any real resistance.
Plus, what you describe doesn't sound like a lube problem anymore. When I didn't lube adequately, I would notice a gradual tightening until my press just stopped.
What you describe is more like just a dead stop.
Do you know anyone who loads '06 who could loan you their dies for the weekend?
Also, are your cases getting sized enough to chamber in your rifle?
If so, I say size them all that way and use them while you send both die bodies back for repair. I know that RCBS will correct sizing problems if you send the die in with five fired casings.
Will Hornady also do something like that?
Might be worthwhile to find out - then they could either fix it or help you diagnose your problem.
Also, does your ram run smoothly on its own?
If something is hanging up your ram that could be causing your problem. I've had that before with decapped primers falling down in the works and needing to be cleaned out.
No matter how bad/old the lube is, if you slather enough on there you'll eventually get one slippery enough to go in. No doubt you've tried this to exhaustion.
And with an unfired casing, really, I'd suprised if it didn't go in with no lube at all. I've done this to slighly resize cases that were already sized once just a little more with no lube and didn't notice any real resistance.
Plus, what you describe doesn't sound like a lube problem anymore. When I didn't lube adequately, I would notice a gradual tightening until my press just stopped.
What you describe is more like just a dead stop.
Do you know anyone who loads '06 who could loan you their dies for the weekend?
Also, are your cases getting sized enough to chamber in your rifle?
If so, I say size them all that way and use them while you send both die bodies back for repair. I know that RCBS will correct sizing problems if you send the die in with five fired casings.
Will Hornady also do something like that?
Might be worthwhile to find out - then they could either fix it or help you diagnose your problem.
Also, does your ram run smoothly on its own?
If something is hanging up your ram that could be causing your problem. I've had that before with decapped primers falling down in the works and needing to be cleaned out.
I still think its the lube. I have a 50-90 sharps and with one shot I couldnt get any cases in the die more than about half way and it did not matter how much or little, how long I waited to run them they got stuck half way(and they were new unfired starline).......Lube!
Zeede
Member
I have a second die body because Hornady's solution was to send me out a replacement one ASAP. I give them an "A" for customer service, but the new die body has the same issue. If the lube doesn't work then I have to presume it's the die body.
The first brass I tried was some brass that I had just pulled the bullet and powder out of. I did pop off the primer in my M1, but surely the primer alone can't cause the brass to expand.
I will take some measurements of my "fired primer only" brass and some of my fired brass from shooting my M1 this week.
Cameron
The first brass I tried was some brass that I had just pulled the bullet and powder out of. I did pop off the primer in my M1, but surely the primer alone can't cause the brass to expand.
I will take some measurements of my "fired primer only" brass and some of my fired brass from shooting my M1 this week.
Cameron
scratcherky
Member
I am not trying to be funny but are you sure you are not trying to resize using the seating die??
Don
Don
ranger335v
Member
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This ain't rocket science and there ain't many options for what's wrong.
The dies are right. The dies are being installled correctly. The ram has full travel without a case. Sufficent pressure is being applied to the ram.
So - again, the problem is insufficent lube.
You have established that the lube you are using is not doing the job. Get another lube.
The dies are right. The dies are being installled correctly. The ram has full travel without a case. Sufficent pressure is being applied to the ram.
So - again, the problem is insufficent lube.
You have established that the lube you are using is not doing the job. Get another lube.
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