is a scratched case safe to load

jjhc · October 23, 2009, 07:49 AM

i was expanding the necks on new .308 rem brass to load as .358 win. it was late and i was just looking at the necks so i did not notice the scratch untill after 30 cases. rcbs sizing die needs cleaned and or polished it was putting about a 1" scratch on the side of the case below the bottle neck are these safe to load and shoot.

margiesex · October 23, 2009, 08:14 AM

Hello - well, I can't know for sure how deep the scratch is, but if it's not cracked through the brass, and there is no indentation, aka like a dent in your car door - I'd go ahead and load it up. They are pretty tough. You may want to make the case, however, so that after you load and fire it, you can recheck it again.

My guess is, it's fine - I've done it myself - it's sure easy to happen.

God bless.

Margiesex

And remember: Hug your God and your guns - 'cause he's coming for them both, and soon!

edward5759 · October 23, 2009, 10:03 AM

but when your brass does crack, it will most likely be on the neck.
I do have some brass that did crack on the score line but it is a rare happing.

Take a 20 gauge mop with white rubbing compound. "Take your die apart totally" chuck the mop on a short rod into an electric drill, spin the drill between 200-300 rpm. Work the mop in and out of the die. Do this for about two minutes. This will polish the die.
The polishing compound will remove any galling on the inside and will remove less than 0.00002 of an inch.
I spin mine on a lathe. Brass on steel is a bad combination. That is why we use different lubes, Even though we use lube we still get galling in the die.
I polish all my dies this way. They are all in spec and some of the dies I bought back in the early 60s

Ed

Big Don · October 23, 2009, 12:05 PM

Ed, what a great idea. Thanks!

jepp2 · October 24, 2009, 08:16 PM

I use Flitz metal polish instead of white polishing compound, but the results are the same. It will significantly reduce the effort required to size cases. It also works on cleaning pistol carbide dies if I notice I have picked up something and I am starting to mark the brass.

The interior of the die will look significantly different after polishing.

I pick up some surface scratches on 223 brass going through an AR15. As a test, I tried to get the case to fail by crushing it with vise grips at the scratch. The surface scratch did not make the case fail when being crushed.

minniedog2 · October 24, 2009, 08:49 PM

I would shoot the case you rescribe

TheNatureBoy · October 25, 2009, 07:14 AM

I've loaded scratched brass many times and haven't had any problems. If it isn't a deep gouge I think you'll be ok.

October 23, 2009, 07:49 AM	#1
jjhc Junior Member Join Date: July 11, 2009 Location: South West OH Posts: 8	is a scratched case safe to load i was expanding the necks on new .308 rem brass to load as .358 win. it was late and i was just looking at the necks so i did not notice the scratch untill after 30 cases. rcbs sizing die needs cleaned and or polished it was putting about a 1" scratch on the side of the case below the bottle neck are these safe to load and shoot.

October 23, 2009, 08:14 AM	#2
margiesex Senior Member Join Date: June 5, 2009 Location: Levittown, PA Posts: 210	I would, if... Hello - well, I can't know for sure how deep the scratch is, but if it's not cracked through the brass, and there is no indentation, aka like a dent in your car door - I'd go ahead and load it up. They are pretty tough. You may want to make the case, however, so that after you load and fire it, you can recheck it again. My guess is, it's fine - I've done it myself - it's sure easy to happen. God bless. Margiesex And remember: Hug your God and your guns - 'cause he's coming for them both, and soon!

October 23, 2009, 10:03 AM	#3
edward5759 Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ. 30 miles from water, two feet from Hell. Posts: 355	Yep but when your brass does crack, it will most likely be on the neck. I do have some brass that did crack on the score line but it is a rare happing. Take a 20 gauge mop with white rubbing compound. "Take your die apart totally" chuck the mop on a short rod into an electric drill, spin the drill between 200-300 rpm. Work the mop in and out of the die. Do this for about two minutes. This will polish the die. The polishing compound will remove any galling on the inside and will remove less than 0.00002 of an inch. I spin mine on a lathe. Brass on steel is a bad combination. That is why we use different lubes, Even though we use lube we still get galling in the die. I polish all my dies this way. They are all in spec and some of the dies I bought back in the early 60s Ed

October 23, 2009, 12:05 PM	#4
Big Don Senior Member Join Date: June 13, 2006 Location: Hayden, ID Posts: 375	Thanks Ed, what a great idea. Thanks! __________________ [SIZE="3"][SIZE="2"]Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he's too old to fight, he'll just kill you. "If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be if without it?"- Benjamin Franklin

October 24, 2009, 08:16 PM	#5
jepp2 Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2008 Location: Loveland, CO Posts: 1,476	I use Flitz metal polish instead of white polishing compound, but the results are the same. It will significantly reduce the effort required to size cases. It also works on cleaning pistol carbide dies if I notice I have picked up something and I am starting to mark the brass. The interior of the die will look significantly different after polishing. I pick up some surface scratches on 223 brass going through an AR15. As a test, I tried to get the case to fail by crushing it with vise grips at the scratch. The surface scratch did not make the case fail when being crushed.

October 24, 2009, 08:49 PM	#6
minniedog2 Member Join Date: April 7, 2007 Location: Amarillo TX Posts: 31	I would shoot the case you rescribe

October 25, 2009, 07:14 AM	#7
TheNatureBoy Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2007 Posts: 1,204	I've loaded scratched brass many times and haven't had any problems. If it isn't a deep gouge I think you'll be ok.