Why does pulling case out of FL resizing die require so much force?

Hi Team,

Looking for advice on how to make pulling case out of resizing die easier.

Moving the case up into the FL resizing die and decapping aren't too bad, but pulling it out requires tremendous amount of force. 10 cases later I need a 5 minute break. 50 cases later I am too tired to continue for the day.

Before resizing I always lubricate the case body, shoulder and neck from outside by rolling on lubed pad.

Manufacturer's instructions on how to use the dies have always been followed precisely.

I use Hornady and RCBS full length resizing dies. 223, 243, 308, 7.62x39..... This occurs regardless of calibre, die brand, and case brand.

I really enjoy every other step of reloading, the only step that puts me off is the amount of effort required to resize.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Assume you’re using rcbs, Lee or something similar. I started off using the rcbs pad and lube and quickly switched to using crc lanolin spray, same active ingredient in some reloading companies aerosol lube but a lot cheaper. Brass in bucket couple of quick squirts swill it around and off you go. Best spray it outside. Huge difference in press effort. One everything is sized chuck the brass into the tumbler or wipe it clean. Think the can cost about $20, have loaded couple of thousand rounds so far and it still feels full.

You need to lube inside the case neck! Otherwise friction of the expander ball will stretch your case.

Lots of ways to do this from graphite powder to lube on a swab, patch and tweezers or a ear bud.

Should be minimal friction on the upstroke.

What @Dicko said, live the inside of the case neck.

I use a cotton tip, put some case lube on it and do about 10 necks then size, then lube the next 10.

Makes a huge difference. I'm using the Lee paste stuff.

Good chance it is reducing the neck too much and then the expander is having to work hard to get back through. Hornady FL dies are terrible for this. Measure the necks and use a bushing die with the appropriate mandrel to give 1 - 3 thou neck tension. It will change your life.

Been there done that it's a tongue holding issue crazy though ,makes reloading exciting [emoji120]

Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk

1. Yes, lubrication is necessary for the expander ball. If you don't wash cases afterwards, make sure it's a lubricant that won't interfere with primers.

2. My expander ball travels easier since I polished it to mirror shine with 2000 grit paper. Less lubrication needed.

3. Properly anneal case necks before you FL resize the the cases. The FL resize adds additional work-hardening of case necks, which in turn increases resistance to the expander button, so at least start out with an annealed case neck.

Hornady dies work fine if you lube inside the necks. Saying this, they are my least favourite dies.

Agree on the annealing comment

I lube outside of cases with Lyman imperial wax and then dip the necks in graphite powder which does inside and outside.
Annealing also makes it easier to size cases

Sent from my CPH1903 using Tapatalk

An easy and cheap way to lubricate case necks is to get a small container of about 6 shot (I use lead, don't know how steel would go) and give it a good dose of powdered graphite. Just dip and swirl the top of the case in it.

Or just use hornady one shot lube and angle the spray shot so a bit gets into the case neck.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tentman

An easy and cheap way to lubricate case necks is to get a small container of about 6 shot (I use lead, don't know how steel would go) and give it a good dose of powdered graphite. Just dip and swirl the top of the case in it.

Or just use hornady one shot lube and angle the spray shot so a bit gets into the case neck.

---

I use steel and it works a treat :thumbsup:

Greetings Synthetic,
Being a low tech sort of chap I lubricate the inside of the case necks with a strip of Chux cloth wrapped around an old bore brush. I lubricate the cases by smearing the wax type lube on with my fingers and just give the Chux a light smear from time to time. Popular to popular belief cases are not stretched by the expander button. Pulled out of line yes stretched no. This is a natural conclusion judging by the din made but the actual stretching happens in the chamber plus a little more going into the FL die. If you are getting a lot of stretching and I assume not it is due to oversizing the case.
Regards Grandpamac.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rated M for Magnum

What @Dicko said, live the inside of the case neck.

I use a cotton tip, put some case lube on it and do about 10 necks then size, then lube the next 10.

Makes a huge difference. I'm using the Lee paste stuff.

---

CHUCK IT AWAY....99% of cases of stuck cases Ive read about in last 20 years have been using this toothpaste like stuff...yes it works if all is perfect....but sometimes it just doesnt and then you poked...

graphite powder in jar lid with some steel shot to help move it around is ideal for case necks....taking out expander ball and putting it in cordless drill and giving LIGHT sand to smooth off edged helps no end too...you dont want to make it smaller,just take sharpness of angle off corners.

Ditto on the Hornady dies, least favorite.

Gotta agree with all.
Got a small tobacco tin of graphite powder, it's lasted for years.
Have a number of different brand die sets, Hornady's not one of them.
If you're going to replace, possibly have a look at Lee, you might be surprised.

its weird..my oldest set of dies are hornady in poohseventy..they work great...new set in 308 are a pig on up stroke and Ive tried all the tricks....that theory they squish it too much to begin with sounds like could be the reason...the also dont squash base of body much...50% wouldnt chamber in BLR....but run them back through old old old lyman 30/06 with guts removed and most would....figure the body MUST be skinnier at base.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

its weird..my oldest set of dies are hornady in poohseventy..they work great...new set in 308 are a pig on up stroke and Ive tried all the tricks....that theory they squish it too much to begin with sounds like could be the reason...the also dont squash base of body much...50% wouldnt chamber in BLR....but run them back through old old old lyman 30/06 with guts removed and most would....figure the body MUST be skinnier at base.

---

Greeting Micky and All,
The die makers are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to die dimensions. There is considerable variation in chambers and case wall and neck thickness. Dies need to size the case down enough to fit in the smallest chamber meaning oversizing the case for roomier chambers. My 6.5 x 55 neck and FL dies just size the necks enough for my Norma and Lapua cases and nowhere near enough for Winchester cases. The dies were made before the US started making 6.5 cases. If I bought a new set of 6.5 dies today they would oversize the necks. Chambers for later rifles often are tighter, sometimes chambering older factory rounds hard. Recent factory cases can be smaller in dia of the base creating even more slop in older chambers. Additionally resized cases from other rifles will often not chamber in lever action rifles with limited camming power. Die manufacturers offer small base dies to fix this problem. Redding also offer die sets that include a bushing type neck die and a body die for sizing the case body only but they are pricey especially the competition types. I have some S dies for my 7mm SAUM but have barely used them. Non cartridge specific neck dies are often worse. I have a 6.5 Hornady neck die that is worthless.
Regards Grandpamac.

You have to lube the inside of the cases

@grandpamac years ago I was loading my 22-250 using my Lyman 310 tool. I decided I would in future neck size in a press so ordered from a company in the SE of the NI a "neck sizing die for 22-250 please". It arrived but I ended up not using it for a year and when I finally did I found it to be a Hornady abomination 22 cal non cartridge specific neck sizer.
Like your 6.5 die it was worthless giving no support for the case being sized. Just a great big hole with a decapping rod and integral pin in it.

I later ground the decapping pin down and now use the die as a decapping die for my small primer pocket Lapua brass.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ihmsakiwi

Ditto on the Hornady dies, least favorite.

---

It also happened to be a Hornady expander ball I had to polish to reduce sticking.

I have a set of RCBS dies in .222 Rem, they were shocking to use, in the pressure-to-operate department, and tore a few rims (rimless) off the bottom, on the up-stroke. I tried everything with them, and eventually discovered a' breather-hole', in the die-body, was blocked with swarf. I sorted this and put a cross file-groove ,across the locking-ring (corresponding to the hole, which it covered). I still cant get my head around Why it worked, but it did . I've also never checked my other dies to see if they have this hole, but cant recall noticing one

I shot a .222 for many a year, and my first purchase of reloading gear was second hand gear. The 2nd hand RCBS full length resizing die produced a runout of at least 40 thou, so I sent two full length resized cases off to RCBS in USA, and two months later received a brand new die. Late 1980's.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rewa

I have a set of RCBS dies in .222 Rem, they were shocking to use, in the pressure-to-operate department, and tore a few rims (rimless) off the bottom, on the up-stroke. I tried everything with them, and eventually discovered a' breather-hole', in the die-body, was blocked with swarf. I sorted this and put a cross file-groove ,across the locking-ring (corresponding to the hole, which it covered). I still cant get my head around Why it worked, but it did . I've also never checked my other dies to see if they have this hole, but cant recall noticing one

---

Some brands of dies don't even have a breather hole.
Important to give dies a good clean out occasionally not just the ones with breather holes.
I used to wash mine in petrol. Nowadays I blast them with Brakleen. If not using them again straight away I lube the iternals otherwise they will corrode.

Forster and Lee are the best FL dies I have used with the stock expander. I too polish them to a mirror finish. The worst I have used are Hornady (243, 7mm08, 308), and a newish Redding FL die in 270. Didn't matter how clean and well lubed the insides of the neck were, it was very stiff getting the expander back through.

I've more or less moved onto Forster exclusively if I just want a basic FL die. The expander assembly is a far better idea being located at the top the the decapping stem, where the case is supported as you pull it back through. If I'm going for more control over neck tension, it's Redding FL bushing dies.

I have recently replaced 3 of my FLSing dies (well actually Redding Body dies, not true FLS dies) with Forster and must say I am mightily impressed with them.
As you have pointed out, the expander high up is very good as the last bit of the neck is still being supported in the sizing down section as the expander button begins it's work on the neck.
These dies produce zero runout. A lot of dies induce runout rather than remove it including expensive Whidden dies I purchased.