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Old June 28, 2010, 08:19 PM   #1
StiveC2007
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Lee decapping pin

On my lee .30-06 FL sizing and decapping die, I had a stuck case due to not enough lube. So i followed the instruction on how to remove it and now i cannot get the pin back into the the top piece. How is it done? I also bent the decapping pin so i have to order a new one from lee. but while im waiting for it to ship i want to see if i can do it with the old one so i dont F up the new one.
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Old June 28, 2010, 08:40 PM   #2
Unclenick
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Should just slip it back into the collet in the die. Loosen the nut and push it back up in. Did your hammer upset the top until it is wider than it was? If so, then you may have to file or grind it back to diameter, first. If it is part way in but just won't move up, then the bend may be too much to fit?
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Old June 28, 2010, 08:44 PM   #3
StiveC2007
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What happened was i got a stuck case so i took a punch and loosend the top nut that attaches to the rod, then punched the rod out. Now i cant get the rod to go back up into the nut where is was before.
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Old June 28, 2010, 09:59 PM   #4
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On my Lee Decapping Die, the decapping pin slides through the top of the locking nut.

Try taking the top nut (My wife says I am the top nut) out of the die and sliding the pin in, then placing the nut and pin in the die. The top nut is also called a collet.

Uncle Nick may be right, he usually is , the pin could be bent quite a bit more than you realize and it will not go back in.

Or you could have buggered the top of it enough were it will no longer fit. Since you have got to get another pin, practice with a file or lightly grind the top of the shaft and see if it will go in.

Also, remember that "Considerable torque force may be necessary" when replacing the nut. (Per Lee Decapping Die Instructions)

Good Luck
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Old June 28, 2010, 10:01 PM   #5
Sport45
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Sounds like the end is mushroomed a little bit as Unclenick suggested. Grind a chamfer around the top of the rod and see if it won't go in.

As for bending the pin, if you heat it you MIGHT be able to straighten it. If it breaks it will have to be replaced (unless you use a universal decapper). The pin is a bearing roller from a u-joint.

On a Lee die I call the small bit that fits through the flash hole th epin and the part that holds it the rod. Use some never-seize on th ethreads of the collet, but keep the rod dry and they hold in place just fine.
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Last edited by Sport45; June 28, 2010 at 10:12 PM.
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Old June 29, 2010, 10:16 PM   #6
Prof Young
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Same problem.

When I first started reloading 223 I had stuck case and de-capping pin problems as well. I actually broke the small part of the pin. So I bought a three replacement pins and started using the wax type case lube. Still have two spare pins hundreds of loads later.

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Old June 29, 2010, 10:23 PM   #7
coyote17
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Lee Decapping Pin Problems

Man never have managed to do this with a Lee Die.
As the decapping pin is one part machined on to the rod assembley.
Check to be sure you have the shell holder locked into the center position at all times, as a miss alinement between the shell holder and the sizing die which includes the depriming pin probably caused your pin breakage problem.
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Old June 29, 2010, 10:33 PM   #8
Prof Young
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I hear you.

Coyote 17:
I'm fuzzy on the details as it was some time ago, but the "pin break" was due to my inexperience and failure to use enough case lube to prevent seriously stuck case. I think I broke the pin when I was trying to dislodge the stuck case. I think Lee gear, when used correctly is fine stuff. It's all I own.

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Old June 30, 2010, 01:13 AM   #9
Sport45
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The last pin I broke happened when I turned the turret with the ram partway up. I won't do that again...
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Old June 30, 2010, 08:41 AM   #10
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"I won't do that again... "

Smart people make mistakes, same as dumb people.

Smart people just don't make the same mistake again!
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