Ok when I set up my press(for 50-90 sharps) the sizeing die was a bit stiff but not a big deal. So last night I was "preping" and I lubed the cases properly and not a single one would go the whole way in I am completely clueless on this I rechecked to see if everything was set right and it was but the case will not go all the way in. I checked to be sure the decaping pin was not the problem and it was not. It seems like the case is binding on the die. Whay is this what has happened since the other day when I set it up? Its a set of lyman dies.
Die problems
- Thread starter Eric F
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ReloaderFred
Member
It sounds like the lube may be the problem. What kind are you using? If the lube isn't doing it's job, there will be too much friction and it'll take a great amount of effort to get that big shell into the die, and then it will probably get stuck and you'll tear off the rim trying to pull it back out.
I load the .45-120 Sharps without problem, and that's a 3.25" long case. Try cleaning your die and then relubing the inside, plus the brass.
Hope this helps.
Fred
I load the .45-120 Sharps without problem, and that's a 3.25" long case. Try cleaning your die and then relubing the inside, plus the brass.
Hope this helps.
Fred
30Cal
Member
I could see that coming. It's not a good lube for anything but lightweight resizing. Get some Imperial Case Wax.
SASS#23149
Member
+1 on changing lubes.Imperial is a good one to try.
snuffy
Member
Imperial isn't the answer either. While it's better than one shot,(nearly ANYTHING is better than one shot), it is too thin a film to size a big case like that black powder case.
When I started using a lee hand press to size 45-70 cases, I was using imperial. It seemed to be darn near impossible to get the shell all the way into the die. I gave up on the hand press, switched to the lee chalanger, it was still darn hard to get them to completely size. I had been using RCBS case slick spray, so I gave it a try. I couldn't believe how much easier it was to size. This stuff goes on as a thin liquid, then the carrier evaporates to leave a very slippery film THAT DOES NOT CONTAMINATE PRIMER OR POWDER.
Eric, get some other lube! More cases have been stuck in sizer dies while using that stuff than with any other lube.
When I started using a lee hand press to size 45-70 cases, I was using imperial. It seemed to be darn near impossible to get the shell all the way into the die. I gave up on the hand press, switched to the lee chalanger, it was still darn hard to get them to completely size. I had been using RCBS case slick spray, so I gave it a try. I couldn't believe how much easier it was to size. This stuff goes on as a thin liquid, then the carrier evaporates to leave a very slippery film THAT DOES NOT CONTAMINATE PRIMER OR POWDER.
Eric, get some other lube! More cases have been stuck in sizer dies while using that stuff than with any other lube.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Aren't you the guy that was trying to load 50-90 and had a 50-70 Lyman expanding die?
Maybe they sent you a 50-70 sizing die too?
rcmodel
Maybe they sent you a 50-70 sizing die too?
rcmodel
No the die is correct for the 50-90 Lyman just does that one thing for the expander die. Ah the growing pains of reloading, I loved the 45-70 and the lee dies I lubed with wd-40 and never had a problem.
I called the local suply shop and one shot is all they carry, would break free work? I have an abundence of that.
I called the local suply shop and one shot is all they carry, would break free work? I have an abundence of that.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Nothing much will work except real sizing lube.
I'm very surprised you got WD-40 to do anything at all.
There is one very good sizing lube substitute called "Anhydrous Lanolin" available at a good pharmacy.
Upside: = It works better then many sizing lubes, and makes your hands soft at the same time!
Downside: = It also makes you smell like a wet sheep!
rcmodel
I'm very surprised you got WD-40 to do anything at all.
There is one very good sizing lube substitute called "Anhydrous Lanolin" available at a good pharmacy.
Upside: = It works better then many sizing lubes, and makes your hands soft at the same time!
Downside: = It also makes you smell like a wet sheep!
rcmodel
ReloaderFred
Member
CBS220,
I don't shoot BPCR, but I do use my .45-120 in SASS long range single shot matches. Mine is on a Browning B-78, with a very heavy octogon barrel. It's a real thumper and very few people like to shoot it more than once. It's very accurate, but since I don't like the mess of black powder, I shoot large amounts of smokeless in it. In my case, it's IMR 4895 and a 420 grain bullet, stepping out smartly.
EricF,
I use a spray lube on my .45-120 and .45-70 cases. Did you clean the die and then spray a shot of lube inside the die and let it dry for a several minutes? This seems to be the key to using spray lubes. You have to thoroughly clean the die and then coat it with the same lube you're using on your brass. I've done this with all my dies that I use with spray lubes and it makes all the difference in the world.
Hope this helps.
Fred
I don't shoot BPCR, but I do use my .45-120 in SASS long range single shot matches. Mine is on a Browning B-78, with a very heavy octogon barrel. It's a real thumper and very few people like to shoot it more than once. It's very accurate, but since I don't like the mess of black powder, I shoot large amounts of smokeless in it. In my case, it's IMR 4895 and a 420 grain bullet, stepping out smartly.
EricF,
I use a spray lube on my .45-120 and .45-70 cases. Did you clean the die and then spray a shot of lube inside the die and let it dry for a several minutes? This seems to be the key to using spray lubes. You have to thoroughly clean the die and then coat it with the same lube you're using on your brass. I've done this with all my dies that I use with spray lubes and it makes all the difference in the world.
Hope this helps.
Fred
ReloaderFred
Member
There is always this from Varmint Al's page:
POLISH THE DIES.... I polish the inside of my rifle reloading dies. Most die manufacturers leave the die bores smooth but not polished. A polished die will resize with much less axial force than one in the as-received condition. I disassemble them and put a little Flitz on a cotton bore mop held in a drill motor and polish each one for 30 seconds or more at a 300 to 600 rpm speed. Sometimes I have to wrap a paper towel around the swab to get a good fit. Then I clean all the polish out with hot water and dry with a paper towel wrapped around a clean cotton swab. The polishing process does not remove a measurable amount of material, but results in smoother operation, minimizes the scratching or scoring of the brass, and minimizes crumpling problems when I use them while forming wildcat brass.
Flitz is slightly more aggressive than JB. I took a piece of mild steel with a reasonably smooth finish and polished it with Flitz and JB. The left end was polished for about 2 minutes at 500 rpm with Flitz and the right end for about 2 minutes with JB. There is no detectable decrease in the diameter on either end measured with my high-precision Mitutoyo Micrometer. It was a very easy test. Try it for yourself.
WHY POLISHED DIES HELP.... When you are resizing brass, there are combined forces involved. In necking down a diameter, there is a radial force moving the metal toward the center and an axial force, produced by friction, that tends to shorten the column length. For larger changes in diameter, the radial force increases. Since the axial force is equal to the friction coefficient times the radial force, a corresponding larger axial force is produced. High axial forces can crumple the brass when its critical buckling load is exceeded.
How do you minimize the axial force? You can reduce the axial force by reducing the radial force when the reduction in diameter is taken in smaller steps. But this takes a series of separate dies and costs more. If you have only a few dies at your disposal, you can also reduce the axial force by reducing the friction coefficient. The inside of the die can be polished with a metal polish like Flitz and used in conjunction with a thin film of lubricant. This will greatly reduce the axial forces and minimize possibility of buckled cases.
Here is the link: http://www.varmintal.com/arelo.htm#Polish
I've done this with several dies, and have used his process to restore dies that have started scratching, instead of replacing them. I did 3 sizing dies for a friend and he's still using them almost two years later.
This might help in your case.
Fred
POLISH THE DIES.... I polish the inside of my rifle reloading dies. Most die manufacturers leave the die bores smooth but not polished. A polished die will resize with much less axial force than one in the as-received condition. I disassemble them and put a little Flitz on a cotton bore mop held in a drill motor and polish each one for 30 seconds or more at a 300 to 600 rpm speed. Sometimes I have to wrap a paper towel around the swab to get a good fit. Then I clean all the polish out with hot water and dry with a paper towel wrapped around a clean cotton swab. The polishing process does not remove a measurable amount of material, but results in smoother operation, minimizes the scratching or scoring of the brass, and minimizes crumpling problems when I use them while forming wildcat brass.
Flitz is slightly more aggressive than JB. I took a piece of mild steel with a reasonably smooth finish and polished it with Flitz and JB. The left end was polished for about 2 minutes at 500 rpm with Flitz and the right end for about 2 minutes with JB. There is no detectable decrease in the diameter on either end measured with my high-precision Mitutoyo Micrometer. It was a very easy test. Try it for yourself.
WHY POLISHED DIES HELP.... When you are resizing brass, there are combined forces involved. In necking down a diameter, there is a radial force moving the metal toward the center and an axial force, produced by friction, that tends to shorten the column length. For larger changes in diameter, the radial force increases. Since the axial force is equal to the friction coefficient times the radial force, a corresponding larger axial force is produced. High axial forces can crumple the brass when its critical buckling load is exceeded.
How do you minimize the axial force? You can reduce the axial force by reducing the radial force when the reduction in diameter is taken in smaller steps. But this takes a series of separate dies and costs more. If you have only a few dies at your disposal, you can also reduce the axial force by reducing the friction coefficient. The inside of the die can be polished with a metal polish like Flitz and used in conjunction with a thin film of lubricant. This will greatly reduce the axial forces and minimize possibility of buckled cases.
Here is the link: http://www.varmintal.com/arelo.htm#Polish
I've done this with several dies, and have used his process to restore dies that have started scratching, instead of replacing them. I did 3 sizing dies for a friend and he's still using them almost two years later.
This might help in your case.
Fred
jerkface11
Member
Find a store that sells welding supplies. Go there and get wire lube for a wire fed welder. It will work better than any sizing lube on the market.
30Cal
Member
Hand press? Ugh.
Speaking of which. What press are we talking about here, OP? Some of them don't have more than just a tiny squirt of leverage (fine for 9mm, lotsa work for rifle cases).
its a new lee classic turret, I got a diffrent spray lube and its doing better if I work slowly it now sizes the whole way in, I did use some polishing compound and my drill press to work the die over a bit, that in its self did the most for me.
stubbicatt
Member
Lee case lube works very well.
After you size these cases one time, you might consider in the future just sizing maybe 1/4" of the case mouth enough to hold a bullet. It is going in a single shot rifle, no?
When I shot BPCR, that's what I'd do. Just much less work and they still slide right in the chamber like you would want them to do.
After you size these cases one time, you might consider in the future just sizing maybe 1/4" of the case mouth enough to hold a bullet. It is going in a single shot rifle, no?
When I shot BPCR, that's what I'd do. Just much less work and they still slide right in the chamber like you would want them to do.
Master Blaster
Member
Every time I read a thread about a lubed case that stuck I think Hornady One Shot.
Take that big can of stinky worthless poo to the garbage can and throw it in. Get some real lube like imperial sizing wax or even the lee wax and you wont have any more problems.
The only two cases I have ever stuck in a die were .223 and both were lubed with One ****.
ATAShooter
Member
Just for grins and giggles, check the number stamping on the die and make SURE it says 50-90. Sometimes things do get packaged wrong. Had it happen one time with a ( supposed to be ) 357 mag die, and turned out it was a 38 spl die in there by mistake from the factory.
K3
Member
I did that just the other night. Away went the One-Shot. Now I use Imperial. I opted to send the die to Lee for $4. I could not get that case to budge, and the case head was all messed up.
K3
Member
One Shot works well until it fails massively. That's my experience anyway.
K3
Member
Seems like it'd be kinda tough to spray accurately while shaking. Maybe I ought to give it a try. 
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