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Sevens · June 6, 2011, 08:58 PM

Well...
I managed to break the decapping pin in a Lee 9mm sizing die. These are basically indestructible -- unless you are dumb enough to WAY over tighten the collet that holds the rod in place, which I did.

Over-tightening the collet won't allow the rod to slide harmlessly out of the way when under extreme stress. So -- I -- was the reason that I was able to break a nearly unbreakable decap rod on a Lee die.

In 20+ years, maybe 100k rounds... I've broken a total of ONE. That one. So I stole the decap rod from my Lee .44 Magnum die and contacted Lee.

I continued to work on 9mm with my borrowed decap rod from the .44 die. Lee mailed me a new one, completely free of charge. When it arrived, I installed it -- in the .44 Mag die, where it still resides.

And I'm still making 9mm with my borrowed .44 Mag decap rod. I think that was two years ago. Three, maybe?

So... buy spares? I don't think so. I've got Lee dies in more than a dozen calibers. I've broken one and at this rate, I'll break my next Lee decap pin in the year 2030, so I'm neither going to "stock up" on spares nor lose sleep over it.

If I had a slew of RCBS with their crappy decap pins, I'd probably keep a dozen spares on hand.

(that was for you, FrankenMauser!

)

June 6, 2011, 08:58 PM	#32
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	Well... I managed to break the decapping pin in a Lee 9mm sizing die. These are basically indestructible -- unless you are dumb enough to WAY over tighten the collet that holds the rod in place, which I did. Over-tightening the collet won't allow the rod to slide harmlessly out of the way when under extreme stress. So -- I -- was the reason that I was able to break a nearly unbreakable decap rod on a Lee die. In 20+ years, maybe 100k rounds... I've broken a total of ONE. That one. So I stole the decap rod from my Lee .44 Magnum die and contacted Lee. I continued to work on 9mm with my borrowed decap rod from the .44 die. Lee mailed me a new one, completely free of charge. When it arrived, I installed it -- in the .44 Mag die, where it still resides. And I'm still making 9mm with my borrowed .44 Mag decap rod. I think that was two years ago. Three, maybe? So... buy spares? I don't think so. I've got Lee dies in more than a dozen calibers. I've broken one and at this rate, I'll break my next Lee decap pin in the year 2030, so I'm neither going to "stock up" on spares nor lose sleep over it. If I had a slew of RCBS with their crappy decap pins, I'd probably keep a dozen spares on hand. (that was for you, FrankenMauser! ) __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.