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Old September 29, 2012, 10:50 PM   #1
THORN74
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Broke another zip spindle...

OK what the farfeknugen am I doing wrong .... I have broke my 3rd zip spindle on my hornady 30-06 die. I am lubing the cases. Just working the press. Once fired hxp brass from my lot of 200 from cmp.

I am reloading 45,40, and 9mm w/o issue, but 30-06, my only rifle caliber, is nothing but a head ache. I am loading for my m1, and my formula seems to work well when I'm not breaking ****.

Any clue here guys?

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Old September 29, 2012, 10:58 PM   #2
mrawesome22
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Crimped primers.

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Old September 30, 2012, 01:52 AM   #3
sidewindr
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That would seem to be the most likely^^^. Is it old military brass?
other option: are the flash holes too small for the pin or way off-center?
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Old September 30, 2012, 06:26 AM   #4
Mike40-11
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I reload a lot of HXP. The primers are crimped but that shouldn't break your spindle. I haven't found HXP to have undersized or misaligned flash holes either.

I would be suspicious of the alignment of the spindle. 30-06 being such a long case, it doesn't take much of an angle on it to miss the flash hole. Also, loosen up the collet that holds the spindle in place. It should be just tight enough to punch the primer. The idea being that, if it hits an obstruction, it will slide up out of the die rather than break.
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Old September 30, 2012, 09:55 AM   #5
Kevin Rohrer
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1. Military brass with crimped primers, or
2. The spindle is out of alignment, due to being loose or deformed.
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Old September 30, 2012, 11:00 AM   #6
Gary L. Griffiths
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I ran into the same problem with Hornady dies in .223. Broke the decapping pin, bent the zip spindle and broke the expander ball on the 2nd case I ran through. It was a Prvi Partisan .223 match case. No crimped primer. When I got it back from Hornady, bent the zip spindle on a Remington .223 case after about a dozen cases. Managed to bend it back.

The problem is that Hornady apparently makes their zip spindles out of cheap malleable metal. I figured part of the problem might be that a .22 would be thinner and therefore weaker than a .30 or larger. Apparently .30s are also weak. Like the OP, I have a .45-70 die that works fine.

My solution will be to replace the Hornady dies with a 3-die set from Dillon with a solid steel decapping pin.
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Old September 30, 2012, 11:59 AM   #7
PA-Joe
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For military primers I use a universal de-priming die and deprime as a separate step.
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Old September 30, 2012, 02:28 PM   #8
rajbcpa
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I had this problem with 270 win in RCBS dies... cases were winchester...
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Old September 30, 2012, 03:25 PM   #9
THORN74
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Hey guys ... the zip spindle broke right behind the expander...litter ally snapped of and the pin and expander ball are stuck one the case. I'm loading on a lnl-ap press... I'm glad that there is a no questions asked warrenty,but its irritating to be stuck waiting for another part. ...it seems to be breaking on the up stroke... pulling out of the case

I'm lubing wit some CBS case lube... everything seems OK ... I made 24 ends before it broke, and everything seemed fine until it broke

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Old October 1, 2012, 05:47 AM   #10
Mike40-11
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Quote:
...seems to be breaking on the up stroke...CBS case lube...
Ah. That's not primers or misalignment then. Are you lubing inside the case neck? Try using a nylon brush or an old bore brush with just a touch of lube on it and running that into the necks.
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Old October 1, 2012, 07:50 AM   #11
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Make sure the decapping pin protrudes from the die only 3/16", and center it as well as possible. The more it sticks out, the more likely it will miss the hole and break when the hole is slightly off center. I got this from the Tech guy at RCBS after I broke two spindles. Same principle Hornady or RCBS.
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Old October 1, 2012, 02:20 PM   #12
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Hornady has morphed through several design changes in their FL bottle neck sizers. At first they had a smooth spindle held only by a collet nut and tapered collet. The elliptical sizer button was GLUED to the spindle. It could and would come loose when the sizer button was pulled OUT OF the case. The second design the expander was screwed to the spindle. The third generation, the zip spindle, has threads on the spindle shaft to help the collet to get a grip on the spindle, the old smooth spindles would slip too easily.

Maybe some day they will get it right. I have one of the old glued on buttons,(.308), the button is stuck in a brand new case the die is unusable. I'm going to send the whole shebang back to Hornady, I hope to get back a useable die.
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Old October 3, 2012, 09:03 AM   #13
Howard31
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Broken Spindle

I've been reloading close to 50 years. I have broken many decap pins in the past. My sons bike was missing a few spokes ,a fast expedient for need it now decap pins.
A year ago I started reloading 22/250 with a micrometer die set by Hornady. I have broken more decap pins and spindles in the last six months than I have in the past 50 yrs. I use all R-P brass , no crimped primers and I'm not making a bunch of rookie mistakes.
Hornady has a problem and I wind up buying the complete spindle 6 at a time because you can't buy just the spindle. I'm not sure the rubber gromet is a great idea and may remove it my next loading session.
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Old October 6, 2012, 12:26 AM   #14
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Quote:
Hornady has a problem
The Bottom Line!
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