Broke my First Decapping Pin

[markr6754]

I broke off the tip of my 9mm sizing tip while trying to remove the die from my Lyman All American 8 Turret press. Neither the pin, not the decapping rod are replaceable. The rod is captive in the knurled knob that tightens the pin to the die.

I really wish I'd broke it in operation rather than while doing something stupid. That just shows that I am overtightening my lock rings.

Lyman shipped out a replacement part despite the out-of-stock status showing on the website. I admitted my stupidity in breaking the tip, but they didn't care. They said the product is under warranty, no matter the reason.

Gotta love an industry that stands by its products and customers like that.

 

[Marco Califo]

You do not NEED to Deprime with your sizer die.
I prefer to Deprime before cleaning used brass.
Lee Universal Deprime die and the Frankfort arsenal hand deprimers work well for this.
Deprimed brass drains and dries easier. Then I only handle clean brass.

 

[ghbucky]

I agree with Marco. I got a cheapy Lee single stage press and a universal decapper with a couple of spare pins.

Got all the filthy crap that comes out of decapping off my main press.

 

[hounddawg]

A bit spendy @ 40 bucks but I have decapped over 10K rounds with one of these, they are as close to indestructible as a decapping die can be

https://www.mightyarmory.com/collec...m-100-universal-decapping-die-for-all-presses

 

[markr6754]

You do not NEED to Deprime with your sizer die.
I prefer to Deprime before cleaning used brass.
Lee Universal Deprime die and the Frankfort arsenal hand deprimers work well for this.
Deprimed brass drains and dries easier. Then I only handle clean brass.

I’ve tried all the above. Started out depriming while resizing w/my Lee 9mm die set. Bought the Lee Universal decapping die, then the Lee Hand Loader and using the Lee Universal...then bought the Frankford Arsenal Hand Deprimer. Ruined the Lee Universal trying to deprime crimped .223 Rem cases (overtightened it and destroyed the aluminum hex screw), dropped far too many dirty primer tubes using the Frankford Arsenal tool...that primer catcher really needs to be threaded.
Bought the Hornady Universal Depriming die...should’ve bought this in the first place - very Solid die.

However, I decided to say “screw it”. I bought a priming catcher with tube for my Hornady press...now spent primers and vast majority of crud drops down the chute to a catch bottle, and I’m resizing my dirty brass (only indoor shooting) while depriming. The carbon acts as a lubricant, and my Hornady TiN dies make the process smooth as butter. It takes less effort than when I lubed brass for resizing after wet pin cleaning...and no lube...not even Hornady One Shot.

 

[Marco Califo]

Aluminum hex screw? You mean the die lock ring? You probably have, or certainly can buy, spares.
I have NEVER heard of someone ruining any decapping die. Did you call Lee? 1000 rounds of range brass will change your POV.

 

[Unclenick]

I know folks have hit a range-pickup Berdan primed case and broken the pin. I broke a Redding pin on a piece of brass with a very far off-center flash hole one time. Brok another when a piece of vibratory tumbling media stuck in the flash hole on the burrs on the inside of the case which diverted the pin to the side.

As to the aluminum die lock "ring", they don't need to be very tight. Many's the time I've done a quick several rounds with no lock ring at all and the die didn't move. You basically just need to snug the Lee type down a little with your fingers. No tools involved. If you have hands like a steel vice, just go easier on them next time around. If you are suspicious the die won't hold still, put an index mark on it with a pencil so you can check that it doesn't move. The male die body threads pressing up against the female press threads is what controls the die position as the ram comes up and components press against the die.

 

[markr6754]

Aluminum hex screw? You mean the die lock ring? You probably have, or certainly can buy, spares.
I have NEVER heard of someone ruining any decapping die. Did you call Lee? 1000 rounds of range brass will change your POV.

Actually, I mean the decapping rod lock nut. I overtightened it and ruined the threads. Now the rod sits angled just enough that it misses the primer 100% of the time. I was told that Aguila has offset flash holes, so it would probably work fine for them.

 

[markr6754]

Well how do you like those apples??

After posting my photos I tried, yet again, to clean the threads on the stripped decapping pin head. Failed...but I thought, "Why don't I set it into a deprimed case, capturing the decapping pin straight and true, and then tighten it down again?"

I put my thought into action and it worked...much to my chagrin. It is now a restored, straight and true universal decapping die. As long as I don't hit an Aguila case I'm probably good to go. And I definitely won't be attempting crimped cases on this die.

To put a final answer on the questions....No, I haven't called Lee.

 

[ms6852]

I agree with Marco. I got a cheapy Lee single stage press and a universal decapper with a couple of spare pins.

Got all the filthy crap that comes out of decapping off my main press.

It is exactly the same set up I have. I prefer to recap all my brass before cleaning them.

 

[Unclenick]

Markr6754,

Another thing to try, while it seems backward, is to put a very small amount of grease or anti-seize on those threads. I had a neighbor years ago who was a civilian engineer for the military who said they had done tests on wheel lug nuts that showed lubrication did not make them more prone to falling off. Rather, the lubrication allowed the same torque to make the nuts tighter and that actually made them less likely to get loose and fall off. The same will work in the die, as long as none of the lube gets between the rod and collet, where you want friction to be high.

 

[markr6754]

Markr6754,

Another thing to try, while it seems backward, is to put a very small amount of grease or anti-seize on those threads. I had a neighbor years ago who was a civilian engineer for the military who said they had done tests on wheel lug nuts that showed lubrication did not make them more prone to falling off. Rather, the lubrication allowed the same torque to make the nuts tighter and that actually made them less likely to get loose and fall off. The same will work in the die, as long as none of the lube gets between the rod and collet, where you want friction to be high.

Thanks Nick...good suggestion. Worth a try.