Reloading question or now what?

[PaulDoug]

First off, I use to reload cartridges with dad and brothers when I was a kid in the '50's. I have long since forgotten any thing I knew about. I do have some equipment, a press, dies, that I have saved over the years, just in case. Anyway, here is my dilemma. Today I wanted to remove the primers and re-size some cases to make a few pens (I don't know if I am using the correct terms). I put the die in the press and the first cartridge went as I thought it should. The second and third not so good. I couldn't press the cartridges in far enough to have it eject the primer like it did the first one. Coarse I reefed on the third one and now the cartridge is stuck in the die. Any suggestions on how to get the cartridge out? It pulled out of the seat that the end of the cartridge slides into on the press.

 

[jskeen]

well, it kinda depends on what type of die you were trying to use and what happened exactly, but you may be able to remove the locking ring and then unscrew the pin/resizing rod from the top of the die and that may make it possible to work the casing out from the bottom, or insert a transfer punch from the top and tap it out. In either case, be gentle. A quick spray of wd40 or other light oil may help too. Cases should be lightly lubed before resizing in the future. And just to state the obvious, to be sure, make sure you are using the right die for the caliber of casing you are working with too.

Any specifics you can provide, IE caliber, brand of die and press, which die you were using or description if you are not sure, ect will help too.

Good luck
James

 

[Sylvanite]

It sounds like you tried to resize the cases without lubricating them first. Bottleneck shellcases MUST be lubricated when sizing.

A couple of questions:

1. Did you rip off the case head completely, or just the rim? That is, is the solid brass section of the case (with the flash hole in it) still present?
2. What brand of dies are you using?

If the case head is completely gone, your best recourse might be to send the die back to the manufacturer (or simply replace it). If the web is still present, you can either drive or pull the case out with a "stuck case removal tool".

Lee dies have a depriming pin strong enough to drive out a stuck case. If your die is Lee Precision brand, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piTWcqhH3No. You might want to spray some penetrating lube on the die first.

RCBS makes a removal tool that pulls the case out (after tapping the flash hole). If your dies are a different brand, you might want to invest in one. Take a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piTWcqhH3No and http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=504741.

Lee also makes a "universal decapping die", which will deprime a case without resizing it. If all you want is to remove the spent primer, check it out.

I hope that helps,
Eric

 

[PaulDoug]

The cartridges are 270. the press is an old Herter's I think. The dies are RCBS. The die I used is the one that has the pin/rod sticking out that pushes out the primer. And,yes I did forget the lub. I should know better. I tried to unscrew the top piece that the rod is attached to and you can adjust the depth with, but it only comes loose out so far. Feels like the is ridge or nut or something in there to prevent it from coming all the way out.

 

[ssajn]

With RCBS rifle sizing dies the de-priming rod comes out thru the bottom. It can't come out the top because of the expanding button.
There's several things you can do.

1. RCBS sells a stuck case removal tool. You drill and tap the primer pocket then pull the case out with a bolt and spacer. You can also make your own. If it's really stuck you'll strip out the threads.

Sounds strange but the next two methods are extreme opposites.

2. Put the die in the freezer for several hours or over night. Put the die in the press from the top upside down (case sticking up). Then grab onto the brass with a channel locks and twist. If you can get it to move it will come out.
3. The most extreme and last resort. Heat the DIE up with a propane torch. Do not heat the brass. I've had to result to this a few times and it works. The die will not get hot enough to harm the die.

If you try these and still have problems PM me.

 

[PaulDoug]

Ahhh thanks, I knew their were experts out there. Looks like I have about 5 things to try. If none work, than I will get a new die. This was a free one so my stupid won't hurt so bad.

Thanks for your input everyone.

 

[Hess]

Remember lube is your fiend

 

[PenMan1]

Remember lube is your fiend

Lol! I don't think that's really what he meant! Or maybe it is....lack of lube was certainly the fiend in this case.

I never really though it before, but the only difference between friend and fiend is one rrrrrr

 

[Sylvanite]

RCBS makes a removal tool that pulls the case out (after tapping the flash hole). If your dies are a different brand, you might want to invest in one. Take a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piTWcqhH3No

I just noticed that I pasted the url for the Lee dies where I should have pasted the RCBS link. Here is the correct reference: http://www.stu-offroad.com/firearms/reloading/rcbs/stuckcase/stuckcase-1.htm.

No matter what the brand, the decapping pin is not going to come out the top of a bottleneck rifle sizing die. The expander ball is larger in diameter than the interior of the case neck in the die.

Regards,
Eric

 

[PaulDoug]

Thanks, Eric

 

[PaulDoug]

Again thanks for the input. Using the extractor method I was able to remove the cartridge. Use a socket with a bolt method. Lesson learned: CLEAN and LUBRICATE!!

 

[Jgrden]

It turns out that all eighty cartridges that were sent to me are "spent" shells. The one I tried to drill out and "popped" may have been a misfire or some powder residue left inside. So now there are eighty cartridges ready to be drilled out. I went to a gun range to show them the shells and make sure they were spent. The "dimple" is the give away.