Other than lube Stuck Die

[1lnbrdg]

LC 07 7.62 once fired MG brass, keeps sticking in my die. RCBS Small-base die that I've been using for years (?1990?). The case goes in all the way without an extreme amout of effort, just will not come back out. The rim finally pulls off.

Imperial was the 1st and 2nd stuck cases. That can't be right?

Lubed with Pam cooking spray, very slick, seems as slick or slicker than Imperial when sizing. 50 or 60-cases and then another sticks.

Last night, it was the Lanolin lube, again, 50 - 60 cases and another stuck case.

I've looked at the die and can't see anything inside of it after cleaning that would cause this.

I've always used the small-base die on once-fired MG brass on the 1st reloading due to the expansion from the generous chambers on MG's.

I tried my regular die on this brass and it will not get the demensions down far enough due to the spring-back. I did get 200 of them to resize without sticking though with the regular die.

Any Ideas?

 

[FN in MT]

Size in the std die, then run them through the small base die. Used to have to do that with brass fired in fluted HK chambers.

I'd also use something other than PAM. Imperial sizing lube is probably as good as it gets.

 

[AZ.noob]

Have you tried thoroughly cleaning out the die? An old bore brush works well, followed by Q-tips and brake cleaner. Compressed air if you have it.
I've had 'problem' dies that benefited from light polishing, i.e. 400-1000 grit sandpaper. Obviously, clean thoroughly after using an abrasive and before sizing.

I'd avoid small-base dies unless absolutely necessary

edit: I agree on Imperial... slick stuff. Pam has an intended use, case resizing isn't it

 

[milo 2.0]

Have you tried thoroughly cleaning out the die? An old bore brush works well, followed by Q-tips and brake cleaner. Compressed air if you have it.
I've had 'problem' dies that benefited from light polishing, i.e. 400-1000 grit sandpaper. Obviously, clean thoroughly after using an abrasive and before sizing.

I'd avoid small-base dies unless absolutely necessary

edit: I agree on Imperial... slick stuff. Pam has an intended use, case resizing isn't it

+1 on this.
Dried lube in a die will just fight you to death, it doesn't reactivate itself, 3-4 uses and it needs cleaned. After cleaning, take a Qtip and apply Imperial to bottom 1/4 of die, lightly, I'll bet your problem goes away.

 

[Fuzzball]

If the sizer is clean, cases get stuck for ONE reason; insufficent lube.

 

[damoncali]

For what it's worth, Pam is surprisingly good case lube. I used it in a pinch once, and it worked so well I kept it up for about 1000 rounds. Never had a problem. Easy to apply and easy to clean off.

That said, you never know what they're putting in Pam, and ConAgra could change it on you. So I went back to the proper stuff (alcohol/lanolin).

 

[1lnbrdg]

The die was cleaned after the 1st stuck case and that was with Imperial wax. It did it again about 50-something rounds later with the Imperial wax.

I cleaned each time I got the stuck case out and lubed with a lubed patch on a bore brush before starting over.

When I get home this evening, I'm going to re-size the cases from the standard die I sized yesterday with the small-base and see if that alleviates the problem.

When I was running the Bisley, it was more generous and I didn't need to use the small-base dies. Now that I've gone to the 95 Palma Chamber, I have to use the small-base dies the 1'st time I reload them.

 

[oldfatguy]

OP,

Dumb question. You are lubing the cases aren't you?

OFG

 

[AZ.noob]

Since you must use the small base, I would size them with a standard die first and follow with the small. Kind of a two-step process, but it beats the alternative.

You might even go custom... have the standard die's neck reamed/honed out so you're not crushing that neck down any more than necessary. No sense squishing it down, expanding it out, only to have to do it again with the small base.

Then again, I don't use/need small base dies. I'm just throwing out ideas... hopefully the Palma-chamber guys will be along shortly

 

[lightman]

It sounds like you are doing everything right! I just have 2 thoughts to share. #1, I would clean the die with your favorite bore cleaner, maybe on a large patch or bore mop. Then maybe hit it with a 45cal brush. I know that you said that it was clean, but there may be a buildup of brass, or other crud that would be easy to miss. #2, try another shellholder. Sometimes a shellholder is a little loose on different brands of brass. My Redding shellholders seems to be a little tighter, size for size, than my RCBS shellholders.

Sizing them in a FL die and then again in a SB die should help, but thats twice the work! Imperial seems to be the lube of choice for case forming, so you should be good there. Hope you get this worked out. Lightman

 

[former naval person]

I have found that in extreme cases (pun) a 50/50 mix of lanolin and STP will stop ALL sticking. Messy, but slick.

 

[stockdoc]

Hornady one shot does the trick for me.

 

[zx1963]

How clean are your cases, if you tumbled them there might be some residue left on them ....

 

[JGorski]

LC 07 7.62 once fired MG brass, keeps sticking in my die. RCBS Small-base die that I've been using for years (?1990?). The case goes in all the way without an extreme amout of effort, just will not come back out. The rim finally pulls off.

Imperial was the 1st and 2nd stuck cases. That can't be right?

Lubed with Pam cooking spray, very slick, seems as slick or slicker than Imperial when sizing. 50 or 60-cases and then another sticks.

Last night, it was the Lanolin lube, again, 50 - 60 cases and another stuck case.

I've looked at the die and can't see anything inside of it after cleaning that would cause this.

I've always used the small-base die on once-fired MG brass on the 1st reloading due to the expansion from the generous chambers on MG's.

I tried my regular die on this brass and it will not get the dimensions down far enough due to the spring-back. I did get 200 of them to resize without sticking though with the regular die.

Any Ideas?

Wait a minute, you're using a small base die to resize the brass so there will be more room in the chamber? That doesnt make any sense, wouldn't you just size the brass so it fits the chamber within lets say a few thou instead of 10 thou? In other words, use the small base die for a tighter chamber not a looser chamber. So when you use the regular die it wont size enough so the brass doesn't fit in the MG chamber? Are you setting the shoulder back enough?

 

[JGorski]

Hornady one shot does the trick for me.

I use it as well, but Hornadys Unique works even better.

 

[1lnbrdg]

Wait a minute, you're using a small base die to resize the brass so there will be more room in the chamber? That doesnt make any sense, wouldn't you just size the brass so it fits the chamber within lets say a few thou instead of 10 thou? In other words, use the small base die for a tighter chamber not a looser chamber. So when you use the regular die it wont size enough so the brass doesn't fit in the MG chamber? Are you setting the shoulder back enough?

JGorski,

Small BASE die with BASE being the operative word here.

When I fire the once-fired machine-gun brass after re-working with a standard die, it seems to have a bit of a memory to it. About 1/8th of a inch at the base of the case is very tight again. I get a slight amount of bolt lift problems after firing. The bolt lift is right at cam-extaction point. This is the only place that is tight after firing per a magic marker on the case. It takes all the magic marker off about 1/8" to 3/16" all the way around the bottom.

I can set the headspace with either die, not the issue. The headspace before resizing is still good according to previously fired brass, should go right back into the chamber except for the base enlarging. To get away from the brass memory problem, I have to run them thru a small base die.

Can Imperial sizing wax go bad? I stuck a case in both my small-base and my standard die this weekend.

I had polished out the small base die with some 800 grit media on a cleaning patch wrapped around a .45 cal bore brush. Cleaned afterward and looked at it under a magnifying glass. It had a mirror finish.

 

[1lnbrdg]

Hornady Unique is great stuff. Also, brake cleaner does a good job of removing lube that's built up in the die.

Make sure your expander ball is low enough that it's not trying to pull through the neck at the same time the die is sizing the outside of the neck.

I didn't have the expander assemblies in either of the dies.

A problem that I've never had before, not sure what is going on with it. I haven't figured out what I'm doing different.

I'm going to pick up some Slick 50 this evening and if I can get the honey-dews taken care of, try it again.

 

[armorpl8chikn]

For all you guys using PAM do me a favor. Spray a piece of steel with it and leave it out in the air for several weeks. After a while it will set up into a sticky mess like glue. I wouldn't use it for lubing anything on a bet, let alone eat the nasty shit. FYI any vegatable oil will do the same thing on a piece of cast iron or any steel, probably aluminum as well.

 

[Fuzzball]

I reform 7.62 and .30-06 into 22-250, your sizing 7.62 in a .308 SB die really isn't all that difficult. Properly lube the lower, thicker part of your cases with any standard sizing lube and you'll be fine.