Dies

[300-win-mag]

Do dies go bad? Anyone have experience with bad dies?

 

[rayporter]

only if you let them rust. there is nothing to go bad but the expander or the pin that punches out the primer.

on occasion a die can be too long and you will need to shave the shell holder down a few thousands.

what's the problem?

 

[OXN939]

only if you let them rust. there is nothing to go bad but the expander or the pin that punches out the primer.

on occasion a die can be too long and you will need to shave the shell holder down a few thousands.

what's the problem?

So, my dies are about 7 months old, have maybe 100 rounds through them, and zero rust...but they have developed scratches on the inside of the sizing die that are scratching the wall of the cases. Doesn't look good to me. Are these things shot? The scratches on the case are just deep enough that you can feel them with a fingernail.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Could be caused by dirty brass. If you don't tumble your brass before resizing, wipe them real good with a clean cloth to remove as much dust, dirt, or grit that you can. If they are RCBS dies, send the sizer back, they will polish it out and return it to you in about a week, no charge. I have done it at least twice. I can't speak for other die companies, you could try calling them.

 

[OXN939]

Could be caused by dirty brass. If you don't tumble your brass before resizing, wipe them real good with a clean cloth to remove as much dust, dirt, or grit that you can. If they are RCBS dies, send the sizer back, they will polish it out and return it to you in about a week, no charge. I have done it at least twice. I can't speak for other die companies, you could try calling them.

I tumble and then clean all my casings before sizing. They're Hornady dies; I purchased three sets in the same order and none of the others show any signs of wear like that. Of course I just resized about 50 casings before noticing it... idiot move. Guess I'll be contacting Hornady. Any concerns about scratches like that on the brass affecting their structural integrity?

 

[Laelkhunter]

They appear to be cosmetic, and if you tumble them again it will probably not even be noticeable. I doubt you could even feel it if you scraped it with your fingernail. If it is deeper than that, you might not want to shoot them, just to be safe. From what I see, it only appears to be surface abrasion, not really a scratch.
Try tumbling them again, and see if it clears up.

You could also try cleaning the inside of the die with some type of metal polish like mother's mag polish or flitz. Using a cotton bore mop that fits snug, spin the bore mop with a little flitz or mother's mag polish on it with a drill to try to polish the inside of the die.

 

[OXN939]

I doubt you could even feel it if you scraped it with your fingernail.

The reason it's concerning me is that you can not only feel them, but they just barely stop the progress of a fingernail run around the circumference of the brass. They appear to be cosmetic to me as well, but I think I'm going to stay cautious and not load them. Bummer. Guess I'll be seeing how Hornady CS is...

 

[Laelkhunter]

Good Luck, Hornady might (should) polish the die for you. If not, you should be able to purchase the sizer only for less than what a new complete die set would cost. It will be cheaper in the end than if you discard the brass you sized and left the scratches on.
Did you try to tumble the brass again to see if it polished the scratches off?

 

[rayporter]

hard carbon on the brass caused the scratch in the die. and the carbon is still in there if it is causing cases to be scratched. midway will get you a single new hornady FL die if you dont want to send that one in to hornady.
do you have a bushing die? if not now is the time to switch to a bushing die.


it has been years and years since i tumbled brass. i find tumbling a pain.

 

[OXN939]

hard carbon on the brass caused the scratch in the die. and the carbon is still in there if it is causing cases to be scratched. midway will get you a single new hornady FL die if you dont want to send that one in to hornady.
do you have a bushing die? if not now is the time to switch to a bushing die.


it has been years and years since i tumbled brass. i find tumbling a pain.

My guess is it was some kind of burr from the factory that oxidized and got worse until I noticed it starting the effect the brass. I talked with a Hornady CS guy who said they'd polish it if I sent it in. So, I took a brass bore brush and some solvent to the inside of the die and it took most of the burr off. Resized two pieces without the marks. The burrs are still visible, but it's good enough for government work.

 

[rayporter]

goof job!
some mildly abrasive bore paste on a patch might help, too.

 

[OXN939]

goof job!
some mildly abrasive bore paste on a patch might help, too.

Yeah they're actually worse than I thought as I keep fighting this- the virgin cases I ran through were fine, but once fired stuff is still getting marks. Think the lapping compound for lapping scope rings would be too abrasive?

 

[Cahunter805]

Depending on the grit of lapping compound it might be to abrasive. I would get some Flitz polish to finish off your process with.

 

[Muley Buck]

Small brass bits, dust and other fine foreign matter can cause case galling in sizing dies and neck bushings. Poor machining or lack of polishing can also create this problem.
To combat this issue I get some wooden dowel stock, some electrical tape and some 1000 grit and 2000 grit wet/dry sand paper. First I cut a desired length of dowel then make a cut on one end with a thin blade hack saw. Then slide in a cut piece of 1000 grit sandpaper and wrap it around the dowel. Then you can chuck it all in a drill and get to polishing. I start with 1000 grit then on to the 2000 grit. The electrical tape can be used to get a desired diameter before adding the sandpaper. I also use bore brushes with and without 000 steel wool and 0000 steel wool to get the desired result. This has worked great for me, it leaves the insides of bushings and dies looking like a mirror... and best of all no more scratched cases!

 

[OXN939]

Small brass bits, dust and other fine foreign matter can cause case galling in sizing dies and neck bushings. Poor machining or lack of polishing can also create this problem.
To combat this issue I get some wooden dowel stock, some electrical tape and some 1000 grit and 2000 grit wet/dry sand paper. First I cut a desired length of dowel then make a cut on one end with a thin blade hack saw. Then slide in a cut piece of 1000 grit sandpaper and wrap it around the dowel. Then you can chuck it all in a drill and get to polishing. I start with 1000 grit then on to the 2000 grit. The electrical tape can be used to get a desired diameter before adding the sandpaper. I also use bore brushes with and without 000 steel wool and 0000 steel wool to get the desired result. This has worked great for me, it leaves the insides of bushings and dies looking like a mirror... and no scratched cases!View attachment 253071View attachment 253072View attachment 253073

Exactly where I'm headed now- thanks for the visual aids! Much appreciated

 

[Muley Buck]

Exactly where I'm headed now- thanks for the visual aids! Much appreciated

No problem, glad to help. It can definitely breathe new life into old neglected dies as well. Here is a bushing I have not polished next to one that is.

Edit: Also make sure to thoroughly clean the die/bushing after polishing and before running any brass through them.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Impressive !! I will have to try it.

 

[OXN939]

No problem, glad to help. It can definitely breathe new life into old neglected dies as well. Here is a bushing I have not polished next to one that is.

Edit: Also make sure to thoroughly clean the die/bushing after polishing and before running any brass through them.
View attachment 253094

Wanted to bump this and follow up. I did exactly what Muley Buck described, and had the same results shown on my .308 dies that had previously been scarring brass. In fact, the results were so good I did it to all my sizing dies. The interior of the die bodies are now smooth enough to reflect images like a mirror. Just resized a bunch of casings and it's impossible to tell they've ever seen a die. Total materials were about $15 from Home Depot. Thanks again for the hot tip!

 

[Stillkickin]

Great thread guys, I just noticed some scratches on one of my cases and looks like I’m headed to Home Depot too!

 

[Muley Buck]

Wanted to bump this and follow up. I did exactly what Muley Buck described, and had the same results shown on my .308 dies that had previously been scarring brass. In fact, the results were so good I did it to all my sizing dies. The interior of the die bodies are now smooth enough to reflect images like a mirror. Just resized a bunch of casings and it's impossible to tell they've ever seen a die. Total materials were about $15 from Home Depot. Thanks again for the hot tip!

Excellent! Good to hear.