Resize/decapping die broke

ECM4 · December 31, 2019, 03:43 PM

Has anyone every ran into a expander cracking in half. I assume the decapping pin broke. Couldn’t find it after it fell out of the die. But the expander cracked down the side and fell apart. Tried to upload a picture from my cell phone but it wouldn’t let me. What would be the cause of this? Never had this happen and this was a brand new die set. Used it to resize/decap maybe 200-225 cases. I have never had this happen and not sure what the cause would be.

Nathan · December 31, 2019, 03:55 PM

what brand?

Never in ~30 yrs of reloading.

ECM4 · December 31, 2019, 04:03 PM

Hornady

Where it threads into the spindle it just cracked in half where the threads are and 2 pieces just dropped out of the die and were in my 357 mag case. I of course dropped the case and couldn’t find the decapping pin or the piece that cracked off the expander.

ECM4 · December 31, 2019, 04:16 PM

Here is a picture. Had to make it smaller to post

gwpercle · December 31, 2019, 04:46 PM

Call Hornady , send them the photo , be nice and they will send you a replacement.
It happens occasionally , defect in metal , improper heat treatment could have left it brittle .
Hornady stands by their products they will take care of you...just remember to be nice to the person you talk to .
I suggest you call in case they have any questions so it can be resolved quickly .
Gary

oley55 · December 31, 2019, 05:34 PM

ECM4,

What caliber and press in use? Not knowing which model RCBS dies you are using, I can not help but speculate the decapping pin assembly was set too long and the button bottomed out in the cases and eventually failed.

Although, I would expect to see a little bit of brass smeared on the bottom of the button if that was the cause.

ECM4 · December 31, 2019, 05:59 PM

I am using a single stage Hornady lock in load. Reloading .357 mag with hornady custom grade die set it was like the 100th I did in a row. It worked just fine for all the previous ones so it bottoming out I don’t think could of been the problem. When I first moved the ram up it felt like I didn’t have the case in the shell holder correctly. Backed it down and reset the case in the shell holder and when I went down it felt weird again so I just gave a little pressure and it cracked. It wasn’t excessive pressure. Just felt like I was resizing a case that was slightly deformed or something and started in hard. Didn’t feel any different than what I have felt before.

oley55 · December 31, 2019, 08:04 PM

I was just throwing an idea out there. FYI, I wouldn't expect instant failure unless it was impacting something more solid than the base of a brass shell casing. It could have been bottoming out on every third case or who knows. Or more likely, not the problem at all.

It's just that sometimes the unexpected sneaks in there. I once (actually twice in a row) crumpled and broke my decapper rod. I was using my Dillon RL450 more or less as a single stage press and had station 1 set up for something else. I needed to push a primer out so I put my decapper in station two and immediately broke the pin. What the heck? So I replaced the pin and immediately broke another. Head slap to forehead as I realized the shell plate base is solid with no place to push out a spent primer except at station 1. Now how dumb is that, twice in a row??

scatterbrain · December 31, 2019, 08:33 PM

Was the case centered under the die, is the primmer pocket centered on the case? I have bent pins becasue of these issues, but haven't broke the button, yet.

jetinteriorguy · December 31, 2019, 09:35 PM

So your .357 mag die has an expander?

**44 AMP** · December 31, 2019, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Used it to resize/decap maybe 200-225 cases. I have never had this happen and not sure what the cause would be.

Quote:

It worked just fine for all the previous ones so it bottoming out I don’t think could of been the problem.

Other than the part being defective to begin with, "bottoming out" could still be your problem.

Very drastic bottoming out can break it right then. But less severe impact, that you won't even feel in the press handle, will cause stress on the threaded parts, and can even bend the shaft, over time. The shaft should be adjusted so the stem never contacts the case web at all. Decapping pins are long enough to push out the fired primer without the stem touching the case. (if they aren't you need longer pins).

Most die makers are really good about sending replacement parts often at no charge. Contact your die maker and tell them what happened. Odds are they'll send you new parts.

Another possibility, is that the button was simply not fully screwed on the shaft, and possibly bottoming out because of that. Or even if not bottoming out being loose could cause enough "wobble" to crack the part.

Get the replacement, snug everything up, make sure the shaft isn't too far "down" and go back to loading. Things should be ok.

I don't load for "speed" (number of rounds per hour) and some years ago gave up on progressive presses, not only going back to a single stage press, but going to hand depriming, using the nearly unbreakable Lee punch and base set. I do it in batches, and might spend a day doing nothing but depriming my brass (several calibers) using that set. also gives me the emotional release of hitting something with a hammer, and feeling good about it.

reddog81 · January 1, 2020, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ECM4

When I first moved the ram up it felt like I didn’t have the case in the shell holder correctly. Backed it down and reset the case in the shell holder and when I went down it felt weird again so I just gave a little pressure and it cracked. It wasn’t excessive pressure. Just felt like I was resizing a case that was slightly deformed or something and started in hard. Didn’t feel any different than what I have felt before.

The first stroke that felt off probably bent the decapping pin. When the case is slightly cockeyed this will happen. The second stroke broke the decapping pin and took out part of the die with it. At least that’s my guess because I’ve had it happen a couple of times, but I’ve only ever snapped off the decapping pin.

When the case is slightly off centered, the decapping pin doesn’t go through the flash hole. This bends the pin. The next stroke breaks it.

Grey_Lion · January 3, 2020, 10:22 PM

Any chance any of the brass was PERFECTA? - They're terrible about primer holes being off-center. I've posted pistol brass pics in the past. Another consideration is if any of the brass was european. GECO brass primer holes are smaller than typical and decapping pins get stuck in once fired GECO I ream mine out as I'm otherwise fond of GECO brass.

December 31, 2019, 03:43 PM	#1
ECM4 Member Join Date: February 18, 2019 Location: West Virginia Posts: 55	Resize/decapping die broke Has anyone every ran into a expander cracking in half. I assume the decapping pin broke. Couldn’t find it after it fell out of the die. But the expander cracked down the side and fell apart. Tried to upload a picture from my cell phone but it wouldn’t let me. What would be the cause of this? Never had this happen and this was a brand new die set. Used it to resize/decap maybe 200-225 cases. I have never had this happen and not sure what the cause would be.

December 31, 2019, 05:34 PM	#6
oley55 Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2013 Location: JAX, FL Posts: 377	ECM4, What caliber and press in use? Not knowing which model RCBS dies you are using, I can not help but speculate the decapping pin assembly was set too long and the button bottomed out in the cases and eventually failed. Although, I would expect to see a little bit of brass smeared on the bottom of the button if that was the cause. __________________ “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.” ― Ronald Reagan

December 31, 2019, 08:04 PM	#8
oley55 Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2013 Location: JAX, FL Posts: 377	I was just throwing an idea out there. FYI, I wouldn't expect instant failure unless it was impacting something more solid than the base of a brass shell casing. It could have been bottoming out on every third case or who knows. Or more likely, not the problem at all. It's just that sometimes the unexpected sneaks in there. I once (actually twice in a row) crumpled and broke my decapper rod. I was using my Dillon RL450 more or less as a single stage press and had station 1 set up for something else. I needed to push a primer out so I put my decapper in station two and immediately broke the pin. What the heck? So I replaced the pin and immediately broke another. Head slap to forehead as I realized the shell plate base is solid with no place to push out a spent primer except at station 1. Now how dumb is that, twice in a row?? __________________ “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.” ― Ronald Reagan Last edited by oley55; December 31, 2019 at 08:25 PM.

December 31, 2019, 03:55 PM	#2
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2001 Posts: 6,334	what brand? Never in ~30 yrs of reloading.

December 31, 2019, 04:03 PM	#3
ECM4 Member Join Date: February 18, 2019 Location: West Virginia Posts: 55	Hornady Where it threads into the spindle it just cracked in half where the threads are and 2 pieces just dropped out of the die and were in my 357 mag case. I of course dropped the case and couldn’t find the decapping pin or the piece that cracked off the expander.

December 31, 2019, 04:46 PM	#5
gwpercle Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2012 Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Posts: 1,752	Call Hornady , send them the photo , be nice and they will send you a replacement. It happens occasionally , defect in metal , improper heat treatment could have left it brittle . Hornady stands by their products they will take care of you...just remember to be nice to the person you talk to . I suggest you call in case they have any questions so it can be resolved quickly . Gary

December 31, 2019, 05:59 PM	#7
ECM4 Member Join Date: February 18, 2019 Location: West Virginia Posts: 55	I am using a single stage Hornady lock in load. Reloading .357 mag with hornady custom grade die set it was like the 100th I did in a row. It worked just fine for all the previous ones so it bottoming out I don’t think could of been the problem. When I first moved the ram up it felt like I didn’t have the case in the shell holder correctly. Backed it down and reset the case in the shell holder and when I went down it felt weird again so I just gave a little pressure and it cracked. It wasn’t excessive pressure. Just felt like I was resizing a case that was slightly deformed or something and started in hard. Didn’t feel any different than what I have felt before.

December 31, 2019, 08:33 PM	#9
scatterbrain Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2015 Posts: 160	Was the case centered under the die, is the primmer pocket centered on the case? I have bent pins becasue of these issues, but haven't broke the button, yet.

December 31, 2019, 09:35 PM	#10
jetinteriorguy Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2013 Posts: 3,182	So your .357 mag die has an expander?

January 3, 2020, 10:22 PM	#13
Grey_Lion Senior Member Join Date: April 15, 2018 Location: Baton Rouge - Louisiana Posts: 407	Any chance any of the brass was PERFECTA? - They're terrible about primer holes being off-center. I've posted pistol brass pics in the past. Another consideration is if any of the brass was european. GECO brass primer holes are smaller than typical and decapping pins get stuck in once fired GECO I ream mine out as I'm otherwise fond of GECO brass.