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Posted: 6/8/2013 6:11:41 PM EDT
| I attempted to size some .233 using a used Hornady FL die in a single stage press. I cleaned the die and lightly lubed. I also lubed the cases. The first case took a lot of force and the shell holder pulled the rim off the case when I tried to extract it. The next case was also hard to cycle. I stopped and didn't force it. I removed the die and tried to place a loaded factory shell in the die without the deprimer. The factor round won't fit either. What is up? |
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Sounds like not enough lube. Waiting for the One Shot haters lol This is my first attempt at reloading. How much should I use? I hit them with spray lube. A lot of people hate one shot. I on the other hand use it and have no issues. The key to it is you have to shake the ever livin piss out of that can before you spray it. Once you have shaken it, spray a couple shots into a garbage can and then spray the brass. It doesnt take much, just make sure you get each side. I also spray inside the die. Just give it a couple mins to dry. |
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I got rid of the Hornady .223 dies that I had. Complete junk. The reviews on midway appear that its a common thing these days with those dies. 
I have never heard bad things with Hornady dies. I did go on Midway and I read the two bad reviews. I would bet money it's user error. |
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I got rid of the Hornady .223 dies that I had. Complete junk. The reviews on midway appear that its a common thing these days with those dies.
I have never heard bad things with Hornady dies. I did go on Midway and I read the two bad reviews. I would bet money it's user error. Dies aren't hard to use I used the Hornady dies the exact same as I do the rcbs. The hornady were just crap.
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Sounds like not enough lube. Waiting for the One Shot haters lol This is my first attempt at reloading. How much should I use? I hit them with spray lube. A lot of people hate one shot. I on the other hand use it and have no issues. The key to it is you have to shake the ever livin piss out of that can before you spray it. Once you have shaken it, spray a couple shots into a garbage can and then spray the brass. It doesnt take much, just make sure you get each side. I also spray inside the die. Just give it a couple mins to dry. I stuck my first case bought a stuck case remover but have never needed it. Like tothemax said shake the can good and get coverage on all 4 sides. I don't skimp on it and spray at a 45 degree angle downward so it gets inside the neck too. I don't spray inside the die. I have loaded 1000's of 223, and 6.5 Creedmoor with no further problems. |
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I got rid of the Hornady .223 dies that I had. Complete junk. The reviews on midway appear that its a common thing these days with those dies.
I have never heard bad things with Hornady dies. I did go on Midway and I read the two bad reviews. I would bet money it's user error. Dies aren't hard to use I used the Hornady dies the exact same as I do the rcbs. The hornady were just crap.You're entitled to your own opinion but if their dies were so shitty then why do they sell hundreds of thousands of them and still stay in business? |
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I got rid of the Hornady .223 dies that I had. Complete junk. The reviews on midway appear that its a common thing these days with those dies.
I have never heard bad things with Hornady dies. I did go on Midway and I read the two bad reviews. I would bet money it's user error. Dies aren't hard to use I used the Hornady dies the exact same as I do the rcbs. The hornady were just crap.You're entitled to your own opinion but if their dies were so shitty then why do they sell hundreds of thousands of them and still stay in business? Good question. I didn't say every .223 hornady die was junk. All I know is the set I had was junk. I don't want to get OPs thread locked with bickering. |
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You may have a bad die or broken die, or not enough lube. If you can't get another type of lube, watch the video linked below (beginning at 4:25) and go get a quart of synthetic motor oil. If that doesn't solve the problem, you've got a bad die.
Using Synthetic Motor Oil as case lube I use it all the time . . . its cheap, easy to use, need to lube only every 5th to 20th case depending on equipment and cases. Retumble to remove the lube. ETA: Silly question, but are you certain its a .223 Remington die? |
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Folks thanks for the help.
1). It is a .233 die. 2) I noticed the case holder had some play so I tightened the set screw. 3) Cleaned the die with a brass brush and CLP. Wiped it clean. Bright and shiny. 4) Lubed the cases with Lyman Qwik lube aerosol. This time I used much more. The cases where completely coated. 5) Tried to size a few more. First one worked but was difficult the last 1/4 of an inch and hard to extract. The next two pulled the rim of again. I am going to look for a new die. Any other thoughts? |
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Folks thanks for the help. 1). It is a .233 die. 2) I noticed the case holder had some play so I tightened the set screw. 3) Cleaned the die with a brass brush and CLP. Wiped it clean. Bright and shiny. 4) Lubed the cases with Lyman Qwik lube aerosol. This time I used much more. The cases where completely coated. 5) Tried to size a few more. First one worked but was difficult the last 1/4 of an inch and hard to extract. The next two pulled the rim of again. I am going to look for a new die. Any other thoughts? Get an RCBS small base sizer die. Works like magic! |
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"I noticed the case holder had some play so I tightened the set screw. " Could you explain this comment more. Is you die centered properly in the press? It sounds like it is offset some how, and the brass is being held / forced to one side. Is that happening ? Could you post photos ? |
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Folks thanks for the help. 1). It is a .233 die. 2) I noticed the case holder had some play so I tightened the set screw. 3) Cleaned the die with a brass brush and CLP. Wiped it clean. Bright and shiny. 4) Lubed the cases with Lyman Qwik lube aerosol. This time I used much more. The cases where completely coated. 5) Tried to size a few more. First one worked but was difficult the last 1/4 of an inch and hard to extract. The next two pulled the rim of again. I am going to look for a new die. Any other thoughts? Before you give up on the die get some Redding Imperial Sizing Die Wax. It is as foolproof as you can get. lightly coat the top half of the case and try to resize again. How are you removing the stuck cases? What round are you reloading? |
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When a new die is brought back to the local shop with a complaint, it's usually a Hornady die.
But we've seen some really bad RCBS and LEE dies posted here, and I've found new RCBS dies that are so rough that they are my last choice, I'll buy old ones from the early 80's and older first. I have a feeling we still don't have the complete picture with this die and set up. The shell holder comment is interesting. |
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Folks thanks for the help. 1). It is a .233 die. 2) I noticed the case holder had some play so I tightened the set screw. 3) Cleaned the die with a brass brush and CLP. Wiped it clean. Bright and shiny. 4) Lubed the cases with Lyman Qwik lube aerosol. This time I used much more. The cases where completely coated. 5) Tried to size a few more. First one worked but was difficult the last 1/4 of an inch and hard to extract. The next two pulled the rim of again. I am going to look for a new die. Any other thoughts? Before you give up on the die get some Redding Imperial Sizing Die Wax. It is as foolproof as you can get. lightly coat the top half of the case and try to resize again. How are you removing the stuck cases? What round are you reloading? I have been heating the casing with a torh and driving them out with a drill bit and hammer. They are stuck too hard to pop out. Just trying to deprime and size some 223/556. |
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Folks thanks for the help. 1). It is a .233 die. 2) I noticed the case holder had some play so I tightened the set screw. 3) Cleaned the die with a brass brush and CLP. Wiped it clean. Bright and shiny. 4) Lubed the cases with Lyman Qwik lube aerosol. This time I used much more. The cases where completely coated. 5) Tried to size a few more. First one worked but was difficult the last 1/4 of an inch and hard to extract. The next two pulled the rim of again. I am going to look for a new die. Any other thoughts? Before you give up on the die get some Redding Imperial Sizing Die Wax. It is as foolproof as you can get. lightly coat the top half of the case and try to resize again. How are you removing the stuck cases? What round are you reloading? I have been heating the casing with a torh and driving them out with a drill bit and hammer. They are stuck too hard to pop out. Just trying to deprime and size some 223/556. 1. Ok then I assume that .233 is a typo? It should be stamped 223 Rem on top of the die. 2. Double check your die to make sure you haven't damaged it with the torch and/or drill. 3. If all is good get the Imperial Sizing Wax 4. Read the FAQ's at the top of the page to make sure your settings things up correctly. |
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Quoted: Imperial sizing wax is your answer - there is absolutely no doubt that this is the best stuff. You need only to touch the can, smear what little there is on your fingers around the case and you are good to go. I've been using the same can for the last 4 years and it is still 2/3 full, don't know when I will use the 4 other cans I brought back then - LOL! DO NOT use too much regular lube or you will get dents in the shoulders of the case.Quoted: Folks thanks for the help. 1). It is a .233 die. 2) I noticed the case holder had some play so I tightened the set screw. 3) Cleaned the die with a brass brush and CLP. Wiped it clean. Bright and shiny. 4) Lubed the cases with Lyman Qwik lube aerosol. This time I used much more. The cases where completely coated. 5) Tried to size a few more. First one worked but was difficult the last 1/4 of an inch and hard to extract. The next two pulled the rim of again. I am going to look for a new die. Any other thoughts? Before you give up on the die get some Redding Imperial Sizing Die Wax. It is as foolproof as you can get. lightly coat the top half of the case and try to resize again. How are you removing the stuck cases? What round are you reloading? |
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Hornady bought Pacific. They've always been two separate companies.
Tighten the shell holder no more than required to keep it in the ram. Let it float a little for self alignment with the die. If the interior of the die has a high polish, then you should be in good shape. But now that several cases have stuck, you need to clean it with a copper remover to remove any brass that has transferred to the die wall. If it's allowed to accumulate, galling will become worse. Double check the instructions on the lube you have and follow it to the letter. The only other question I have is about the brass, whether it's some badly swollen surplus brass from a machine gun. |
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Not machine gun brass. The die is tight on new factory ammo too. I tried to drop a loaded bullet into the die to check fit. It got tight about the same place. I am going to soak the die in some sweets 7.62 to remove any brass and try again. I'm glad you re-posted this comment (in red). A new round will not fit because the seated bullet has the neck expanded this is normal and expected. |
| One thing I have done in the past is take some 0000 steel wool or some 600 wet and dry sandpaper and wrap either around a drill bit. Stick it in the die and let it spin around. The steel wool will polish the interior of the die without removing the metal. The sandpaper will do the same thing, but can remove some metal. Over time die walls can become scored with grit from dirty cases when sized, If you want to try a quick test of the die take some Crisco oil or grease and run a couple of cases through the die after lubricating with the Crisco. That should tell you whether or not its a die problem or a lube problem. |
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I cleaned the die and lightly lubed. I also lubed the cases. I noticed that some instructions that come with .223 die sets recommend that you clean and lube the dies before use. Is that why you cleaned and lubed the dies? If so, did you just do it by intuition or follow the manufacturers directions? Also, it might help to list the part number of the die sets. I, for one, don't ever read instructions unless I have a problem. However, that means there are a lot of things I don't learn at the beginning and either learn the hard way or learn from use and general experience. All that to preface the question: did you read the instructions regarding set up? jonblack ETA - I posted these questions prior to reading all of the posts. Please disregard my questions. |
| I have those same Pacific Durachrome dies, they worked for me for a long time before I bought some nice RCBS competition dies. I have used many different lubes. You might have a bad die. They were made back about 30 years ago. Keep us informed of your experience with your new dies. |
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Quoted: Well I order some Imperial Sizing Wax from Midway on Monday. It arrived today. WOW that stuff really works. I sized about a dozen cases Winchester, NATO, Izzy..... No problems. Great stuff. Folks thanks for all the help. Glad you got some good lube and resolved the problem. |
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Makes me wonder what is up with the Lyman lube. We never hear reports of problems here, so I wonder if that is simply because it's not in wide spread use or if the reloaders that have problems simply move on without comment.
JIMBEAM There are a couple of tutorials in the tacked thread about efficient methods for using Imperial. 7zero1's method is what I use, and several use 1911smith's method with success. I also revert to my original method sometimes in which I wipe a little lube on the thumb and fingers of my left hand, then wipe the cases. I also scrape a finger across the case mouth every third case or so to keep the expander ball lubed. |
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