I'm back (total nube, I know) Die problem?

[Bergie]

Ok, I know, I'm taking up a lot of time, but I'm learning more here than any book, etc.
*Thanks btw on the tumbler cleaning answers)
So I went to deprime some rounds last night and after 9-10, one jammed in the decapping/sizing die. So I drilled and tapped and screwed it out. I went back and with a tiny tiny bit of PB Blaster on the round tried the press again. No go. It froze about 3/16" before 'seating' and the primer never budged. So I tried another round....same thing. (These are LC empties) So I tried IMI empties. Same thing. Look at the pic- is the die now shot for some reason? It seems like it wants to make it a .17!
I tried applying more presssure thinking I'm just being a puss, but the whole backside of the bench started lifting. What the heck? (The die is stamped 223 Rem) Thoughts?

[Bergie]

* I really want this to work, so should I just get another die set of three- one seating, one decapping and one sizing? Reloading should be 'fun' not a strength training event.

[xd ED]

I'm nowhere near an expert, or the best source of reloading info on this board, but it sounds like a lubricating issue. Perhaps different lube, or lubing technique.

FWIW, I make decapping a separate, first step with a Lee Universal decapping die, then clean similar to Erud's methods before lubing with Imperial wax, although I have heard excellent things, and might soon try OneShot spray. If cases are getting stuck, figure out what's going on before you get one hopelessly stuck. I got a case stuck in a brand new, custom Whidden die, and it took an extraordinary amount of time and effort to fix it; almost had to discard the die, due to insufficient, careless lubing.

[Bergie]

Thanks XdED, I've read about the dreaded excess lube, and have seen casings damaged as a result. They usually look like dents on the shoulder, whereas this is crunching the case mouth (is that a case term?) in the pic, see how it really wants to cinch in the neck right at the opening? And I did run a couple rounds in without any lube, thinking the little that was in the die from a prior round was plenty sufficient to cease sticking.

[xd ED]

It's hard to tell from the photo, but is the neck being pushed into the body by the expander?
An unlubed case neck or expander might do that
When I mentioned lube, I was thinking it might be too little. Too muck might well wreck the case, but I don't think it would cause a jamb, or hydraulic lock.
Possibly the wrong diameter expander...

[870TC]

go back and look at the first case you stuck, is the entire case mouth/neck intact? or did part of it rip off and stay in the die?

[crbutler]

Make sure you have enough lube. Too much is better than not enough.

Check that the neck resizing button is not in the neck portion of the die. If you are trying to expand the neck at the same time you squeeze it down it won’t work. The decapping stem should be in the body part of the case.

.223 doesn’t take much effort to resize on a normal press. If it isn’t going right, there is a problem...

Check the case with a flashlight and make sure it’s not obstructed (rock, steel pin, whatever) and that it’s a boxer primed case- one flash hole.

Lube the case.

We the die up so the decapping pin is at least sticking 3/8 an inch out the bottom of the die.

Run the ram up, and put the die in until it contacts the shell holder. That is supposedly set for full length resize.

To minimize case resizing you can do a couple of other things, but stick with simple.

Then run your case in, and it should take a bit of effort, but not much.

Clean off the lube and check in a case gauge. If it’s right by a case gauge, your good to go- the die is set up right.

A caution with military brass is that if you brought it as once fired, it may have been run through a belt fed gun. They have much more generous chambers. Also, the primers are crimped. Hopefully you have a swage to deal with that? That can make getting them primer out a bit different effort, but mostly it just makes a pop sound when it comes out- it’s a bigger deal on repriming.

If it’s range pick up, it could be a wildcat case (6x47 or something) and that would make strange changes.

[crbutler]

If it’s a .17 die, BTW, it shouldn’t be that bad- it’s not unusual to reform cases from another caliber, and shouldn’t take too much effort. Something else is going on here.

[Bergie]

Ok, so I took out the die and made sure there was no brass in it. A paper clip runs smooth all the way around the interior with the exception of one tiny spot- it sticks there (?) Then I made sure the air hole is clear- it was. So I screwed it back into the press and tried it all again- took a lot of force, but it finally punched out a primer....but more interesting was the fact that the case came out drenched in oil. Huh? And of course the shoulder was dented. So I ran another dry and it too came out wet and dented. Then another and finally on the fourth it ran fine. Then I ran six or so rounds with no lube until it started feeling tight. A little Ballistol on the finger tip rubbed on a case and again dented the shoulder! It seems like there a really fine line between too much and not enough.
*these are Lake City rounds I picked up at Quantico and Perry, so maybe that has something to do with it.

[crbutler]

Did you clean the die before using it?

Pretty heavy duty preservatives on them when they ship them.

Use a spray on lube or imperial. You don’t need much, but if you stick one in, it can be a major undertaking to get it out, even with a stuck case remover.

[Rip Van Winkle]

x

[wrench]

Agree you need better lube. Clean out the die, and get some Imperial sizing wax, my favorite. That little tin will last a loooooooong time.
You shouldn't have to grit your teeth to push a case into the die.

[speedy396]

I had a similar issue with LC brass from my Garand. Some brass would size, but more than enough would stick to require a stuck case remover. Tried different lubes, more or less lube, and 4 different sizing dies. Never figured it out after getting the case stuck too many times and dealing with crimped primers. Just wasn’t worth the time. The LC brass seems heavier and harder than other brass. Wonder if that anything to do with it. I don’t have any issues with other brass.

[grimbeaver]

Gotta agree more lube. It's a lot harder to overdue it than you think. I load up a tray of brass and give it a shot from every side using Hornady One Shot at an angle so a little gets down the neck and every piece gets hit. Even then that's sometimes light.

[Rotary12]

Just one more thing that wasn't mentioned; a crimped primer will take a little more force to remove, but never force anything or you will start breaking stuff.