resizing die trashing brass

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talonxracer
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Re: resizing die trashing brass

Post by talonxracer »

That sure looks like brass deposits all over that expander, clean it with a heavy brass bristle brush and polish not only the radius portion at the top, but the body as well.
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AR-300
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Re: resizing die trashing brass

Post by AR-300 »

redding
the "heavy brass buildup" is really just a trick of the light/flash
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mbogo
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Re: resizing die trashing brass

Post by mbogo »

Call Redding tomorrow. Explain what you are seeing; they will fix the die(s).

I had a small issue with my .243 Ackley Improved die; I sent them three fireformed cases along with the sizing dies and they took care of it within a day of getting it.

The expander ball does look different from those on my dies which look like this:
Image


The turned section between the knurled portion and the 'shoulder' above is longer on my dies.

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toxicity
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Re: resizing die trashing brass

Post by toxicity »

That really doesn't look all that bad. You could lock the expander into a drill and polish it to perfection with FLITZ- mothers is not gonna do it. Use a chamber mop with flitz on the inside of the die and a clean one to finish it off. Should take care of it. Flitz should be in everyone's kit, its great.
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AR-300
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Re: resizing die trashing brass

Post by AR-300 »

YES! Flitz for the win!
Cleaned the dies out using a drill, old cleaning rod
and some large patches from rags with Flitz
I was amazed at how much crud came out!
Resizes smooth as butter now and brass is perfect
Thanks Toxicity for reminding me I had Flitz in the gun cleaning bag
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Meridian
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Re: resizing die trashing brass

Post by Meridian »

You can also use Blue Magic or Simichrome. Blue Magic tend to be a less expensive.
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AR-300
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Re: resizing die trashing brass

Post by AR-300 »

well, it worked good for 50 cases and then went back to the same thing
I think the REM brass is too soft and smearing in the die.
Time to get out the copper bore solvent
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'Borg
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Re: resizing die trashing brass

Post by 'Borg »

Curious, what type of lube are you using?
To me, it looks like bad/not enough lube or dusty/dirty brass. Some on the inside of the neck would also help on the expander ball.
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Re: resizing die trashing brass

Post by BobbyG »

AR-300 wrote:redding
the "heavy brass buildup" is really just a trick of the light/flash
I use Redding dies as well.

I've never had pickup like that but I polish mine to a bright finish. Perhaps the knurled area of the button is possibly scraping the inner portion of the case leaving the marks shown and flaking brass. Measure both diameters and see if this could be the root cause of the issue.

One note about Redding.

Several times I've found that the bullet moves once inserted in a properly sized cartridge. I've had three come apart while chambering and this is quite a mess and very dangerous.

I measured the case wall thickness and it's right on he money. When I measured the sizing button it measured .3070 in diameter and in my opinion this is to large and won't provide the necessary grip on the bullet when seated.

Now, this could work fine in a bolt gun as the cycling is very genital but in an semi automatic more retention is needed.

When sizing, the brass will spring back a little but not that much. A more reasonable diameter for the sizing button is .3055. I've had superb luck using a sizing button ground to .3055 and would highly recommend others do so as well.
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BobbyG
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Re: resizing die trashing brass

Post by BobbyG »

I was looking closely at your expander button and the finish appears to be very rough, much more so than the button in my Redding dies. This could be the cause of the scrapping and flake you're seeing. Try polishing it with a fine compound available in most hardware stores or Lowe's and see if it improves.
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