Sizing Die Scratching Brass

stonebl · September 25, 2011, 03:13 PM

I think I messed up....

I have 1000 pieces of Remington .223 brass, and as usual, the necks are terribly out of round. I starting running them through the sizing die to straighten the necks and after about 400 rounds, the die starting leaving scratches on the brass. I did not lube the cases because they were new and I did not think I needed to.

I have learned a lesson, but the question is can the die be polished to remove the scratches or is it scrap?

Stone

jepp2 · September 25, 2011, 03:30 PM

How far into the die were your running them?

I normally just run the expander into the neck to make them round again.

Yes, it is possible to polish the die interior. I always polish mine with Flitz just to make resizing easier. You probably have a bit of brass on the die interior that is marking the brass necks. Key is to polish and not remove metal. But the dies are really hard (try to mark one with a center punch sometime and you will see). Keep your speeds low and just smooth the surface. You can use a bore mop, but I normally just use a paper towel wrapped around a wood dowel rod. Flitz does a really nice job.

September 25, 2011, 03:13 PM	#1
stonebl Member Join Date: March 21, 2009 Location: Peoria, IL Posts: 39	Sizing Die Scratching Brass I think I messed up.... I have 1000 pieces of Remington .223 brass, and as usual, the necks are terribly out of round. I starting running them through the sizing die to straighten the necks and after about 400 rounds, the die starting leaving scratches on the brass. I did not lube the cases because they were new and I did not think I needed to. I have learned a lesson, but the question is can the die be polished to remove the scratches or is it scrap? Stone

September 25, 2011, 03:30 PM	#2
jepp2 Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2008 Location: Loveland, CO Posts: 1,476	How far into the die were your running them? I normally just run the expander into the neck to make them round again. Yes, it is possible to polish the die interior. I always polish mine with Flitz just to make resizing easier. You probably have a bit of brass on the die interior that is marking the brass necks. Key is to polish and not remove metal. But the dies are really hard (try to mark one with a center punch sometime and you will see). Keep your speeds low and just smooth the surface. You can use a bore mop, but I normally just use a paper towel wrapped around a wood dowel rod. Flitz does a really nice job.