Problems with the 45 Auto

[rcmodel]

Do you chamfer your cases??

Try that.

I have had occasional problems like yours with lead bullets when seating and taper crimping in one step.

This is due to the over-size lead bullet not reaching full depth before the taper crimp is closing the case mouth on it.

But if you are seating and crimping in two dies, that can't be your problem.

The only thing that leaves I can think of is:
Seating die is closing the bell, even though you aren't crimping.
(Maybe? Back off the seating die a half turn and readjust the seating stem.)

And if left unchamfered, the sharp edge of the mouth is digging into the plating.

rc

 

[ArchAngelCD]

UPDATE:
I went out and got new batteries for my calipers because as we all know the batteries always die at night!

I checked the numbers on the brass and used Speed, Rem, Magtech and PMC brass. All the resized brass measured .467" or .4675". When I put all 10 through the powder through die none would flare more than .470" with several .469". I would say this is the problem and I don't know why I didn't realize this earlier. I'm sure I measured the cases when I first had the problem. I screwed the die in all the way in until it touched the shell holder, no change. Nothing looks wrong with the expander but it is obviously at fault. I would buy a different expander if I didn't need a powder through die. I guess I will contact Lee for a replacement.

Thanks to everyone who helped out especially bds.

 

[forestswin]

never mind

 

[LiveLife]

from the archives here at THR

seems like same issue, many of the same players too

No.

While I did not participate in the archived thread, the OP found 40S&W plug included with the 45ACP dies to be the cause and the problem was fixed when Lee sent the 45ACP plug. Picture of two different plugs on this post - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=7025089#post7025089

In the current thread, the OP has issue with 45ACP plug not flaring the case mouth enough. My Lee expander plug will flare the case mouth more than .472" but ArchAngelCD can't expand more than .470".

[expander plug] should measure about .450"

ArchAngelCD, not sure if this was done before. My expander plug measures .465" at the widest part with .450"+ at the worn part. Can you measure your plug to see what it measures?

If the plug measures .450"+, you should be able to expand the case mouth to .472"+ (.450" + .011" + .011" = .472").

 

[forestswin]

never mind

 

[ArchAngelCD]

My plug is .450" at the front and .458" at the very back. I think the problem is the plug isn't going deep enough to hit that shoulder on the plug that flares the very edge of the brass neck forming a sorta lip.

Just a note, I ordered a die instead of contacting Lee since I found one online for only $9.99 and the shipping was eaten up by a few other items I ordered.

 

[LiveLife]

If your expander plug is .450"+, you should be able to adjust the flare to get .472"+ (.450" + .011" + .011" = .472").

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Well I turned the die in until it hits the shell holder and still can't expand the mouth enough. The plug might be too short for some reason. It's not the plug from the 45 Colt, I checked both and they are very different. When I get the new die I will compare them... My plug is 1.350" in length. The brass measures .891" to .892".

 

[LiveLife]

Well, my measurements are about the same: 1.352" for the plug length and .892" - .893" for once-fired resized case lengths with some older cases at .891"-.892".

For .472"+ flare, I have about .050" gap between the shell holder and the bottom of the die.

Just to be sure, can you remove the powder measure and check if there is one rubber "O" ring or two. The O ring thickness is around .065" (probably .050" squished) and an extra ring could keep the case mouths from hitting the wider part of the expander plug.

 

[Rule3]

The Lee 45 ACP expander plug is 1.355" long (total) The Diameter at the widest point of the taper portion is .458. (depending on how hard you squeeze the caliper)

The 45 Colt is .970"L total and the diameter is the same,

The length of each taper portion is the same for both plugs, sorry did not measure that, or the beginning taper but if you need that I can.

 

[LiveLife]

OK, I checked my two other Lee 45ACP die sets. The lengths are 1.355" and widest parts measured .463" with well worn parts at .450".

Using powder measure, taper crimp setting of .472"+ produced similar .050" gap between the shell holder and bottom of the die.

With OP's expander plug at .450", I think there's a reason (like an extra O ring) why OP has to screw the die so the bottom contacts the top of the shell holder.

 

[LiveLife]

Well, this is interesting.

I went ahead and put an extra O ring on the powder measure and screwed the die down until the bottom almost touched the top of the shell plate.

The case mouth flare measured .478"-.479" on several test cases.

 

[LiveLife]

Since the expander plug is free-floating, how much the case mouth travels up the expander plug is primarily determined by the powder drop tube that contacts the inside lip of the plug.

ArchAngelCD, have you tried flaring the cases with the funnel adapter which would eliminate the variable of the drop tube?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

All the tests I did yesterday were done with the funnel adapter just to remove any possible problem with the powder measure. No extra O rings anywhere. All good ideas but I already eliminated them. Thanks again for your help.

 

[LiveLife]

Thanks for the PM update!

Well, I think we exhausted our testing for now as we await your new die to arrive.

Just out of curiosity, does your die body show "LEE - 45ACP - I6" or "LEE - 45 - ACP"?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Neither, mine is marked LEE - 45 ACP -I7

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Well well, it seems the new die did the trick. I tested it tonight and all flared enough to seat the bullet without incident. The only difference I can see but don't have the proper gauges to check is the taper at the top of the plug seems to be steeper and start slightly sooner. It's the only explanation since all the other numbers I can measure are the same.

Thank you for all your assistance, this is the place to be!