Armory Sponsor
Posted: 9/5/2026 7:46:21 PM EDT
[Last Edit: starjammir][Edited]
|
20 year reloader here I've been using Redding competition FL die for 3006 competition. Lately I've been having a super hard time resizing. Brass goes in but I have to rip it out of the die and feels like I'm going to rip the base off. I've tried different lubes, taking the dies apart, doesn't make a difference. Any suggestions? Brass is once fired Lapua. |
|
Originally Posted By starjammir: Unfortunately I can't adjust the expander. I have to have it deep to allow the primers to come out. Also the expander is shiny and smooth. Sure you can. His pondering is that you item has crept up, and you are wedging the brass |
|
I've been using RCBS liquid. I take a q tip and apply it to the inside of the neck. Doesn't seem to make a difference unfortunately. It seems like it suddenly started doing this out of nowhere. It's so bad I have to hit my handle with a hammer on the down stroke to get it to release. |
|
Try wax. That is not right and you will stick a case. I’m using the hornady brand. Maybe that liquid aged out? Attached File This stuff, and I don’t use a lot. Tiny smear on my -06 cases. Unless your die is out of adjustment, gotta be a lube issue. |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
|
https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Case-Lube-for-cheap-bastards/42-305174/ HOME BREW DILLON style case lube. |
|
Originally Posted By starjammir: I've been using RCBS liquid. I take a q tip and apply it to the inside of the neck. Doesn't seem to make a difference unfortunately. It seems like it suddenly started doing this out of nowhere. It's so bad I have to hit my handle with a hammer on the down stroke to get it to release. You also say the expander is down far enough to knock the primer out - that should be far enough on a 3006 so the ball doesn't enter the neck on the down-stroke (which would cause the jam you describe) but if it worked fine in the past and doesn't now, then something changed and that is one of the most obvious to check. |
Joined:
Jan 2023
Posts:
4017
EE: 0% (0)
OK, USA
|
Change case lube. I've used with good results: Imperial sizing wax. Frankford arsenal case spray lube. Dillion case spray lube. Lee case lube. Unique case lube. Only lube ever stuck a case with was One shot spray lube. idk what happened cause I'd bought several cans of it, used a couple cans with no problems then had a 300wm stick in my redding die. I changed to a lee neck die finished out the bag of lubed cases. |
|
Originally Posted By starjammir: I've been using RCBS liquid. I take a q tip and apply it to the inside of the neck. Doesn't seem to make a difference unfortunately. It seems like it suddenly started doing this out of nowhere. It's so bad I have to hit my handle with a hammer on the down stroke to get it to release. Lube goes on the OUTSIDE of the case. A tiny amount inside is helpful but not necessary. Stop! Something is seriously wrong. Do NOT use a hammer. |
| I use Dillon's spray lube (lanolin/ alcohol mix) I lay the cases on paper towels, spritz them, then roll them over. The alcohol breaks the surface tension and spreads the lube evenly. I run them through the press after the alcohol cooks off. A little gets on the inside of the case mouth and the expander ball doesn't drag. |
Joined:
Jan 2023
Posts:
4022
EE: 0% (0)
OK, USA
|
Originally Posted By Moondog: I use Dillon's spray lube (lanolin/ alcohol mix) I lay the cases on paper towels, spritz them, then roll them over. The alcohol breaks the surface tension and spreads the lube evenly. I run them through the press after the alcohol cooks off. A little gets on the inside of the case mouth and the expander ball doesn't drag. For spray lube I put cases in a few or more gallon size ziplock bags, Spray several or so squirts in, seal & shake a bit, let sit while I prep bench & press. Then shake bags again, then begin sizing/depriming. Uses a bit more spray lube than needed, but a bit too much is better than not enough & the ziplock bags are reusable many times. After size/deprime I put cases in tumbler to clean lube off, they can be wet tumbled too. |
|
Originally Posted By starjammir: I've been using RCBS liquid. I take a q tip and apply it to the inside of the neck. Doesn't seem to make a difference unfortunately. It seems like it suddenly started doing this out of nowhere. It's so bad I have to hit my handle with a hammer on the down stroke to get it to release. As noted by others, I assume you are also lubing case outside, yes? |
|
Originally Posted By starjammir: I've been using RCBS liquid. I take a q tip and apply it to the inside of the neck. Doesn't seem to make a difference unfortunately. It seems like it suddenly started doing this out of nowhere. It's so bad I have to hit my handle with a hammer on the down stroke to get it to release. Take the die apart. It really sounds like you have galled brass on the inside of the die. Time for a wad of steel wool on an old brush chucked in a drill and some solvent of nearly any kind. I am going to assume you know enough to lube the cases on the outside from the shoulder down and the neck as well. Skip the shoulder. Maybe you don’t, you may for all I know have 20 years of experience but with straight wall pistol in carbide dies. |
|
Originally Posted By starjammir: I can raise the expander however it won't deprime the brass then. It's screw onto the rod. The poster was suggesting you might need to LOWER the expander, not raise it. If the expander engages while the case neck is still in the neckportion of the die, frictional force go thru the roof and you are indeed atr risk of ripping the rim off the brass, or breaking your press with that hammer. |
Joined:
Oct 2025
Posts:
1122
EE: 0% (0)
KY, USA
|
Originally Posted By SteelonSteel: Take the die apart. It really sounds like you have galled brass on the inside of the die. Time for a wad of steel wool on an old brush chucked in a drill and some solvent of nearly any kind. More than likely this explains the sudden increase in resistance. All it takes is one piece of brass that wasn't completely lubed-just enough to not get stuck, but rubbed brass inside the die. |
Armory Sponsor