EVERY case is getting stuck in sizing die (Lee 1000 Progressive)

[777funk]

EVERY case is getting stuck in sizing die

I just picked up a Lee 1000. My dad and I reloaded shot shells as a teen and really enjoyed the savings. Still miss shooting that much trap and skeet! Miss hunting the Iowa roosters even more.

Anyways...
got the Lee press in 223 and after setting it up with the directions (or lack of... lol) it works and seems like a nice progressive reloader.

But as mentioned in the title... EVERY single case is getting stuck in the sizing die.

Here's what I've done:
-according to the manual, I dialed the sizing die down to the shell plate with the press raised fully and then added 1/4" turn before snugging the lock nut. I moved the decaper/inside sizer up and down 3/16" or so each way from flush and that didn't do it either. I also buffed it to a shine. Still no luck.

And details on my brass:
-LC and WCC once fired red mark on primers
-Not tumbled (as it was from the range pickup)
-Tried adding motor oil to the case neck and no change
-EVERY time I do the full case resize it's extremely difficult to pull the handle and always results in a stuck case
-EXPERIMENT: I brought the die up a little bit (backed it off a turn or two) and it worked much better. But now I can see by the mark it leaves on the case that I'm not reaching about the last 3/8" at the bottom of the case. But I can actually pull the handle! And I don't have to drive the case out with a punch and use the pipe cutter to cut it off of the depriming pin (ruins the case obviously).

Just to clarify how bad it is, it's literally I have to push as hard as I can to get the sizer to go down. Then of course it's stuck and has to be driven out. After about 10 of these with the die set as described in the manual, I'm out of ideas.

Any tips? This is my first time loading rifle. So far it's been a frustrating event. I appreciate any advice.

 

[cfullgraf]

Are you putting case sizing lubricant on the outside of the case?

 

[rcmodel]

Tried adding motor oil to the case neck and no change

Well theres your problem right there!

Motor oil will not work as case lube.

Real reloading case lube is a high film strength lubricant that will not squeeze out of the way when sizing the case.

Then, you have to lube the outside of the case with it, where all the friction of resizing is, not the inside where it isn't.

Case lube:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/160333/rcbs-case-slick-spray-lube-4-oz-pump
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/204960/frankford-arsenal-case-lube-8-oz-pump
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/519525/imperial-case-sizing-wax-2-oz


rc

 

[T Bran]

Loose the motor oil and try some case lube instead. Motor oil doesnt have the film stregnth needed to lube cases.

 

[Reefinmike]

sometimes, especially when it comes to reloading little pieces of brass that experience a 50,000psi explosion inches from your face, its a good idea to read the instructions! namely a manual.

as RC said, you need to put case lube on them cases. its also a bad idea to run dirty range brass through the dies as one bit of sand or muck can trash your die. 223 is a bit of a PIA to load, but you gotta do the steps

tumble
lube
size and decap
tumble again to remove case lube
prime
powder charge
seat bullet
QC

 

[greyling22]

if you don't have actual case lube handy, you can use mink oil to tide you over until you do. it's mostly the same thing.

 

[splattergun]

Actually, the Lee die instructions say specifically to not use any petroleum products, ie, motor oil.

 

[777funk]

Reffinmike,

That looks like a lot of trips on and off of the loader. Seems like that'd take the progressive right out of the progressive loader. Kind of a bummer. But it makes sense, those primer pockets look dirty. But surprisingly the primers seem to be going in just fine... even without swaging.

The only problem I'm having at this point is the sizing die.

So no lube = no go... as in at all? That's where I'm currently at with this thing. It's pretty much impossible to size with this press. I wonder if mineral oil would work?

 

[rcmodel]

No.
Mineral oil will not work.
Motor oil will not work.
3 in 1 oil will not work.
Caster oil will not work.
WD-40 will not work.
Bacon grease will not work.
Vaseline will not work.
Your wifes wrinkle cream will not work.

You need real Case Lube.
Or Anhydrous Lanolin from a drug store.
Or Mink Oil boot dressing from a shoe store.

rc

 

[oldpapps]

Yep, the brass is lubed (the body not the neck, maybe a little inside the neck).

The shaft with the twist in the center does work a little(lot) better with oil on it, just not so much as to get all over. I grease the friction points for the ram unit.

What type of case lub is up to you. The spray on stuff seems to have a good following. I like the old fashion greasy lub on a pad. But, that needs to be cleaned off.

 

[777funk]

Will it work better with a different die? Maybe something's not right with my Lee die? Maybe a different die would be better? When I say it's a tight fit, I mean tight like it's not even possible to get that ram down (and the case up into the sizing die) without breaking something. That kind of tight.

Is that normal? I get the point that I need to lube these puppies. But just making sure nothing else is wrong. It's so tight I have a hard time imagining it actually working with even the best lube. It's ULTRA tight.

 

[cfullgraf]

Reffinmike,

That looks like a lot of trips on and off of the loader. Seems like that'd take the progressive right out of the progressive loader. Kind of a bummer.

As a minimum, you should clean cases before loading to get rid of range grime.

Case lubricant must be used with rifle cases, but usually it is a small amount. The correct amount is kind of a learned thing. Too much and things get messy, too little, cases get stuck.

There are lots of differing opinions on the value of primer pocket cleaning.

Many folks lubricate the cases then run them through the progressive, size them and load them in one cycle. Then they clean the lubricant off the cases after they are loaded.

Cleaning can be hand or some folks tumble them.

There are many permutations to the above process depending on the preferences of the loader.

Personally, I prefer to clean my cases between resizing and loading but it is by no means a requirement.

hope this helps.

 

[ljnowell]

Will it work better with a different die? Maybe something's not right with my Lee die? Maybe a different die would be better? When I say it's a tight fit, I mean tight like it's not even possible to get that ram down (and the case up into the sizing die) without breaking something. That kind of tight.

NOOOOO! You need caselube. End of story. How many more times does it have to be posted?

 

[cfullgraf]

Will it work better with a different die? Maybe something's not right with my Lee die? Maybe a different die would be better? When I say it's a tight fit, I mean tight like it's not even possible to get that ram down (and the case up into the sizing die) without breaking something. That kind of tight.

Is that normal? I get the point that I need to lube these puppies. But just making sure nothing else is wrong. It's so tight I have a hard time imagining it actually working with even the best lube. It's ULTRA tight.

Get the proper lubricant and the case will enter the sizing die slicker than, well, you know what.

 

[morcey2]

It's so tight I have a hard time imagining it actually working with even the best lube. It's ULTRA tight.

By definition, a full-length die is tight. Internally, it's supposed to be smaller than the external dimensions of the brass being fed into it.

Get the right lube as everyone else has said.

Matt

 

[beeenbag]

Look, it may seem like lube is not going to help as much as you need, but i'm telling you now, if you get a good case lube you will be able to size with about 20% of the effort you are using now.

 

[medalguy]

Once more, just in case.

1. Tumble the brass so it's clean of all dirt and carbon.
2. Use a good CASE LUBE. I prefer Imperial Sizing Wax myself. Just a bit smeared between your thumb and forefinger, then rub a thin layer on the outside of the case, not on the neck at all, and the cases should size easily.

OK?

 

[Blackrock]

http://www.midwayusa.com/find?newcategorydimensionid=11882

Almost any of these products used according to manufactureres directions are way better than anything you want to try. Time to 'Bone up' on your reloading procedures.

Proper case lube is an absolute neccesity for sizing rifle cartridges.

 

[777funk]

Ok got it. It sure have a hard time (as a mechanically minded person) seeing how this could even work as hard as it is right now. But the proof will be when the wax comes in. I ordered some with Lee earlier today. He was pretty confident in what you guys have said.

What about Galling from all of these stuck cases? Do I have to worry that maybe there's galled brass in the die?

 

[greyling22]

case lube is like magic. you will be amazed. I am not a lube expert, but here are my thoughts on what I have used:

Lee: cheap, fairly easy to apply, works well. doesn't really seem to leave residue.
hornady one shot: spray lube. super quick and easy to apply, didn't work very well when used sparingly. pricey.
hornady unique:cheap, easier to apply than lee, works better. leaves a reside that needs to be tumbled off. looks and smells like mink oil.

clean your die off. take it apart, rub the inside with a q-tip or alcohol, bore solvent or something to clean oil, funk, etc out of the die before you start moving forward with case lube.

 

[Trent]

For my progressive when loading 223, I use spray on lube, then dump the cases in the hopper of the auto case feeder.

Spread brass on cookie sheets.

Spray on lube (a little goes a long way)

Roll them around by shaking the sheet back and forth a few times in each direction.

Let sit for a couple hours - they should be slightly "tacky" to the touch.

Load.

Lots of choices, a little goes a LONG way:

http://www.midwayusa.com/find?userSearchQuery=spray+lube

(It takes literally a minute to lube 500 cases this way, provided you can steal enough cookie sheets from the kitchen)

 

[choppinlow]

77Funk

Just making sure, but you did NOT order bullet lube instead of case lube did you? Lee sells bullet lube as well which is more like WAX as you described.

 

[Reefinmike]

While we're on the topic of case lube, has anyone noticed that the lee case lube that comes in the toothpaste like bottle smells like static electricity? some people call me crazy, but static does have a smell. fluff open a new trash bag if you wanna smell it!

 

[Pete D.]

Lube

Said once before in this thread...
Imperial Sizing Die Wax.....the best stuff. You need only a tiny bit per case. The little tin of wax will last for....oh....maybe a gazillion cases. Maybe two gazillion.
The Lee case lube works and has the advantage of being water soluble. It is messier, though, than the Imperial wax.
About that "static electricity" smell. What you smell is not static electricity, it is ozone (O3) which is an oxygen molecule (O2) that has picked up an additional atom due to the passage of the static electrical charge. I cannot think of why Lee case lube would have that smell (it surely does have a smell, though).
Pete

 

[Master Blaster]

Clean the cases, clean the die, If it is damaged buy another,

" Imperial Sizing Die Wax.....the best stuff. You need only a tiny bit per case. The little tin of wax will last for....oh....maybe a gazillion cases. Maybe two gazillion."

The dillon lanolin spray works also, but roll cases in a towel to remove excess lube or you will get dents from the excess lube.
Hornady one shot and other aerosols may or may not work for YOU. I had trouble with Oneshot as have others. I have never heard anyone have trouble with imperial size wax and its all I ever use now, one tin will last for tens of thousands of cases.