Spindle For Hornady Die Keeps Slipping

Alpha Centauri · August 10, 2009, 04:53 AM

Wow. This is ANNOYING.

I bought Hornady New Dimension 7.62x39 Dies on eBay about 2 months ago used. Upon inspection they appear to be in good condition (I did clean them in liquid wrench, then dissolved out the solvent in denatured alcohol and let it evaporate. I do this to ALL used dies).

However, when I proceed to decapping/resizing, after about 10-20 casings the spindle creeps upward and both fails to deprime the cartridge (on a Hornady LNL) AND fails to adequately expand the mouth of the brass. I am cranking on the wrench after re-adjusting every 10 rounds to somehow keep the spindle from sliding upwards again.

I know it's not residue of liquid wrench. I really dissolved the hell out of that with denatured alcohol, have done this with all my dies and it works well.

Worse, on about 50% of my casings (7.62x39 winchester brass) I am not getting circular neck openings and even with repeated pressings I still can't get them perfect. They are dented slightly on one side due to ejection collision.

Any ideas? The work on this is tedious and no fun.

Master Blaster · August 10, 2009, 06:08 AM

What kind of press are you mounting the dies in? give us a hint about your loading procedure, the cases don't eject after they are sized on a progressive or on any single stage I have ever worked with. Are the case mouths out of round or is it the area below that (shoulder) as well? What are you using for case lube?

More info needed.

F. Guffey · August 10, 2009, 06:10 AM

Tighten the nut at the top of the die, it locks the rod like slips abound drill pipe only one prevents the stem from coming up and the other is released when the stem comes up. It is a designed to prevent braking the primer punch when it hits a Berdan primed case of when something is not aligned.

F. Guffey

wncchester · August 10, 2009, 07:24 AM

Yeah, tighten the collet holder.

zullo74 · August 10, 2009, 08:05 AM

Make the spindle nut MUCH tighter than you have been and lube the inside of the case necks.

Alpha Centauri · August 10, 2009, 11:58 AM

I've got the spindle nut tightened to wrench breaking levels. I'm using FF mica dry lube but have switched to Hornady One Shot. The press is an 09' Hornady LNL Progressive that I am using in single stage mode.

snuffy · August 10, 2009, 12:35 PM

The Hornady collet is a poor design. It's a copy of the lee design, but it don't work well. Hornady realized this, now they have switched to a threaded rod, with a collet nut like the old one. Give Hornady a call, they'll send you a new threaded rod that replaces the old smooth rod. I did, they sent me 3 for all my Hornady dies, NO CHARGE!

Alpha Centauri · August 10, 2009, 03:20 PM

You da man Snuffy!!!

Tanks.

Master Blaster · August 10, 2009, 08:06 PM

Do yourself a big favor, stick with the mica or get some imperial sizing wax.

Skip the Hornady One Shot, or you will stick a case in the Die before too long.
It took me three stuck cases in 2 different .223 dies right after I started loading .223) to understand that one shot does not Work!!!!! I have loaded a few thousand .223 rounds using imperial sizing wax since then and not stuck a single case.

Gun 4 Fun · August 10, 2009, 08:18 PM

It may have happened to you, but I'm calling BS on problems with One Shot.

Most guys who use it spray a light coat from one direction, and that's it. I dust all of my cases from all directions, with a very light coat from each pass. It get to all sides of the brass, and especially down around the base this way, and in 20,000 rounds or more since first using it, I've never had one problem with it.

wncchester · August 10, 2009, 09:08 PM

"One Shot. Most guys who use it spray a light coat from one direction, and that's it."

I don't care for spray lubes but, from what I read on the net, many fail to keep the contents shook up, some start sizing immediately, before the carrier has evaporated and some set the cases in a loading block that effectively shields the important lower body of the case. And then they get on the net to cuss the lube when they get stuck cases!

Such pholks is phunny!

Gun 4 Fun · August 10, 2009, 09:10 PM

I heard all that!

BigJakeJ1s · August 10, 2009, 09:38 PM

lubricate the collet nut threads with a tiny bit of oil (keep oil off the inside of the collet and the stem). That will help tighten it better with the wrench.

Does you decapping/expander stem have shallow threads, or is it smooth? If the latter, like said above, get the new one from Hornady. If the former, you already have it.

Andy

Seedtick · August 11, 2009, 12:59 AM

Hey Alpha Centauri,
While you are waiting on replacements from Hornady try this and see if it works: take some fairly course emery cloth or sand paper, like 100 grit or so, and rough up the shank of the rod and also roll up a small piece and see if you can rough up the inside of the collet that holds the rod. If you'll notice the surface on the rod and on the collet jaws have taken on a slick kind of glazed look, they will all do it eventually, and breaking the 'glaze' + the added friction will give you a better grip. You don't want to remove any metal to speak of you just need to break the glaze. I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I've done this in the past 28 years of machining with collets from 1/8" all the way up to 4 1/2". HTH

ST

August 10, 2009, 04:53 AM	#1
Alpha Centauri Member Join Date: June 5, 2009 Posts: 19	Spindle For Hornady Die Keeps Slipping Wow. This is ANNOYING. I bought Hornady New Dimension 7.62x39 Dies on eBay about 2 months ago used. Upon inspection they appear to be in good condition (I did clean them in liquid wrench, then dissolved out the solvent in denatured alcohol and let it evaporate. I do this to ALL used dies). However, when I proceed to decapping/resizing, after about 10-20 casings the spindle creeps upward and both fails to deprime the cartridge (on a Hornady LNL) AND fails to adequately expand the mouth of the brass. I am cranking on the wrench after re-adjusting every 10 rounds to somehow keep the spindle from sliding upwards again. I know it's not residue of liquid wrench. I really dissolved the hell out of that with denatured alcohol, have done this with all my dies and it works well. Worse, on about 50% of my casings (7.62x39 winchester brass) I am not getting circular neck openings and even with repeated pressings I still can't get them perfect. They are dented slightly on one side due to ejection collision. Any ideas? The work on this is tedious and no fun.

August 10, 2009, 12:35 PM	#7
snuffy Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2001 Location: Oshkosh wi. Posts: 3,055	The Hornady collet is a poor design. It's a copy of the lee design, but it don't work well. Hornady realized this, now they have switched to a threaded rod, with a collet nut like the old one. Give Hornady a call, they'll send you a new threaded rod that replaces the old smooth rod. I did, they sent me 3 for all my Hornady dies, NO CHARGE! __________________ The more people I meet, the more I love my dog They're going to get their butts kicked over there this election. How come people can't spell and use words correctly?

August 10, 2009, 08:18 PM	#10
Gun 4 Fun Senior Member Join Date: November 3, 2008 Posts: 956	It may have happened to you, but I'm calling BS on problems with One Shot. Most guys who use it spray a light coat from one direction, and that's it. I dust all of my cases from all directions, with a very light coat from each pass. It get to all sides of the brass, and especially down around the base this way, and in 20,000 rounds or more since first using it, I've never had one problem with it. __________________ S&WCA member NRA member NAHC Life member

August 10, 2009, 09:10 PM	#12
Gun 4 Fun Senior Member Join Date: November 3, 2008 Posts: 956	I heard all that! __________________ S&WCA member NRA member NAHC Life member

August 11, 2009, 12:59 AM	#14
Seedtick Member Join Date: June 11, 2009 Location: Central Arkansas Posts: 45	Hey Alpha Centauri, While you are waiting on replacements from Hornady try this and see if it works: take some fairly course emery cloth or sand paper, like 100 grit or so, and rough up the shank of the rod and also roll up a small piece and see if you can rough up the inside of the collet that holds the rod. If you'll notice the surface on the rod and on the collet jaws have taken on a slick kind of glazed look, they will all do it eventually, and breaking the 'glaze' + the added friction will give you a better grip. You don't want to remove any metal to speak of you just need to break the glaze. I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I've done this in the past 28 years of machining with collets from 1/8" all the way up to 4 1/2". HTH ST __________________ Parasite On Society : /

August 10, 2009, 06:08 AM	#2
Master Blaster Senior Member Join Date: October 11, 1999 Location: One of the original 13 Colonies Posts: 2,281	What kind of press are you mounting the dies in? give us a hint about your loading procedure, the cases don't eject after they are sized on a progressive or on any single stage I have ever worked with. Are the case mouths out of round or is it the area below that (shoulder) as well? What are you using for case lube? More info needed.

August 10, 2009, 06:10 AM	#3
F. Guffey Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2008 Posts: 7,249	Tighten the nut at the top of the die, it locks the rod like slips abound drill pipe only one prevents the stem from coming up and the other is released when the stem comes up. It is a designed to prevent braking the primer punch when it hits a Berdan primed case of when something is not aligned. F. Guffey

August 10, 2009, 07:24 AM	#4
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	Yeah, tighten the collet holder.

August 10, 2009, 08:05 AM	#5
zullo74 Junior member Join Date: August 8, 2009 Posts: 374	Make the spindle nut MUCH tighter than you have been and lube the inside of the case necks.

August 10, 2009, 11:58 AM	#6
Alpha Centauri Member Join Date: June 5, 2009 Posts: 19	I've got the spindle nut tightened to wrench breaking levels. I'm using FF mica dry lube but have switched to Hornady One Shot. The press is an 09' Hornady LNL Progressive that I am using in single stage mode.

August 10, 2009, 03:20 PM	#8
Alpha Centauri Member Join Date: June 5, 2009 Posts: 19	You da man Snuffy!!! Tanks.

August 10, 2009, 08:06 PM	#9
Master Blaster Senior Member Join Date: October 11, 1999 Location: One of the original 13 Colonies Posts: 2,281	Do yourself a big favor, stick with the mica or get some imperial sizing wax. Skip the Hornady One Shot, or you will stick a case in the Die before too long. It took me three stuck cases in 2 different .223 dies right after I started loading .223) to understand that one shot does not Work!!!!! I have loaded a few thousand .223 rounds using imperial sizing wax since then and not stuck a single case.

August 10, 2009, 09:08 PM	#11
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	"One Shot. Most guys who use it spray a light coat from one direction, and that's it." I don't care for spray lubes but, from what I read on the net, many fail to keep the contents shook up, some start sizing immediately, before the carrier has evaporated and some set the cases in a loading block that effectively shields the important lower body of the case. And then they get on the net to cuss the lube when they get stuck cases! Such pholks is phunny!

August 10, 2009, 09:38 PM	#13
BigJakeJ1s Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2005 Location: Arlington TX Posts: 663	lubricate the collet nut threads with a tiny bit of oil (keep oil off the inside of the collet and the stem). That will help tighten it better with the wrench. Does you decapping/expander stem have shallow threads, or is it smooth? If the latter, like said above, get the new one from Hornady. If the former, you already have it. Andy