So I'm hating Lyman right about now (rant)

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bangbig

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Finally get around to reloading 9mm (been reloading .40, 44, 38 forever). Get all the "stuff" ordered and the Lyman dies are 1st to arrive. Just went with Lyman as that's what I started on and pretty much all I have.

Deprime/resize about 100 on top of the ones I did with a buddies Lee deprimer, so I have some ready to work up a load. Still waiting for bullets so I prime the brass I had ready. Bullets arrive, but something tells me to stick my primed brass in a case gauge. I can not for the life of me get a single case to show as good. Go get some brass resized with a Lee resizer I had borrowed, all good.

Go get Lee and known brass from personal firearms, Lee brass is good, Lyman is not.

Start looking at the Lyman die, and the resizing ring is about twice as high up in the die as my .40, and about 3 times as my .44.

Even if I shave off the top of my shellholder, I don't know if that will give me enough to get the cases fully resized with the Lyman. Call 'em up, and they close at 2:30 on Fridays.:fire:

Anyone ever receive a defective resizer??? Should I just go ahead and buzz of the top of my shellplate to see If I can get the die down far enough to fully resize?
 
Should I just go ahead and buzz of the top of my shellplate to see If I can get the die down far enough to fully resize?
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NO!

Send the die back to Lyman and whine like a dog!!

It is obviously defective.

The carbide insert should at least be very close to, if not flush with the bottom of the die.

rc
 
My Lyman sizer in .32 Long/Mag is the same way. The carbide insert is probably 1/16" up in there. The steel below the insert is rolled over the insert a bit. It should never come out.

This won't pose a problem in straight walled revolver calibers, but might in .40 or .45, and in the tapered 9MM case I could see where it might be a real problem, if indeed their auto calibers are the same way.
 
My Redding sizer is flush. So's RCBS. If Lyman's carbide is deep in there, that gives you an opportunity to tune the die to your press. Start filing material off the bottom until you get the sizing you want, then take it to a machine shop and square it up.
 
All true. Tuesday I'll hit up Lyman and see if they'll replace. NONE of my other Lyman dies are that far up from the from the bottom of the die.
 
I wouldn't cut, file, or grind on anything. Sounds like a factory Q.C. problem. Let them fix it. Just my $0.02 worth. Remember, there is no problem that can't be made worse with a file, hammer, or Dremmel tool.
 
Lyman has, I'm told through so many THR threads, a top notch warranty. Give them a chance to make it right before you ruin a perfectly good shell plate. Sorry you have a holiday to wait out, but stuff happens. If they don't satisfy your complaint, at least you know of another brand that does work.
 
So you send it back and Lyman fixes it. It still won't size the case as it should. No factory 9mm die does, with the exception of the U die.
 
918v is right that no carbide die will properly size tapered cases (9mm for example). What the carbide ring does, is it resizes the case to the NECK diameter. What I mean is it resizes the case MOUTH to the proper diameter, then resizes the BASE to case mouth diameter as well.

However it sounds like you might have a problem with your die. Contact Lyman and see what they say before doing any grinding, filing or cutting on anything!
 
What I mean is it resizes the case MOUTH to the proper diameter, then resizes the BASE to case mouth diameter as well.
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If this has been your experience then you've worked with a very defective die. Carbide inserts for tapered cases such as 9mm and 30 carbine are full length and taper ground and this is one of the reasons they have always (or used to) cost more than straight walled carbide sizers.
 
Remember, there is no problem that can't be made worse with a file, hammer, or Dremmel tool.
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Oh so true. :)

I bet the average for all of humanity is every time a Dremel tool fixes something, there are five times it makes it worse. Maybe worse odds than that.
 
The carbide sizer ring is a funnel. The top of the funnel sizes the neck. The bottom of the funnel sizes the base. The further away the funnel from the shell holder, the less the base gets sized. This is why people are having so much trouble with these dies and progressive devil machines. I trimmed my shell holder. This allows the funnel to slide down further down the case and sizes the base more. In fact, I can get the cases smaller than the factory can.

If I had a progressive devil machine, I'd grind .030" off the top of the shell plate. That would solve the problem.
 
If I had a progressive devil machine, I'd grind .030" off the top of the shell plate. That would solve the problem.
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It generally isn't the shellplate that prevents the full insertion of the case on a progressive press, but rather improper adjustment of the other three or four dies. I think i would rather adjust my dies properly than butcher a shellplate.
 
I've had terrible customer service from Lyman. Please let us know how this plays out. If they do the right thing, I might give them another chance.
 
Walkalong said:
Oh so true. :)

I bet the average for all of humanity is every time a Dremel tool fixes something, there are five times it makes it worse. Maybe worse odds than that.
Click to expand...

:)

Loading on a single stage, no devil machines here!

Yea, I ordered a part from Lyman earlier this year, they sent the paperwork showing the right part, but they sent the wrong piece. They did make right and let me keep the wrong part (which I already had).

We'll see how it goes.
 
It generally isn't the shellplate that prevents the full insertion of the case on a progressive press, but rather improper adjustment of the other three or four dies. I think i would rather adjust my dies properly than butcher a shellplate.
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In the case of the 9mm, shell plate thickness is the culprit. Similarly, the shell holder thickness is what prevents the did from sizing the entire length of the case. I had to grind off the whole beveled section of my shell holder to get my die to size right.
 
bangbig

May I suggest you try the re-sized case in your barrel. Case gauges are meant to simulate minimum dimensions. Your chamber is the real deal.


So you send it back and Lyman fixes it. It still won't size the case as it should. No factory 9mm die does, with the exception of the U die.
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918v

Just ran a Winchester case through my Lee carbide sizer and measured .3845 just above the extractor groove. Factory Winchester measured at .3840 . SAMMI specs call for .3840 to .3910, if I'm reading the diagram correctly. I can't even imagine a factory chamber where that .0005 would prevent proper chambering. Definitely not worth modding a shellholder and possibly creating more issues. At least for me.
 
You prolly have an unmarked U die. Mr. Walkalong has the same Lee die as you, but it sizes his cases to .391+" and he is having chambering issues.
 
10% of range brass, not all the brass, and only in my EMP, which has a SAMMI minimum chamber.
 
res7s said:
I've had terrible customer service from Lyman. Please let us know how this plays out. If they do the right thing, I might give them another chance.
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Sent it back on my dime. They send back a die (seems to be the same one) with a note stating changed sizer ring.

Still WAY up in there, and will not size like the Lee I went out and purchased in the meantime.

Lyman = 0 for 2 so far.
 
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