Sticky Expander Ball

[TX_Diver]

Didn't do much reloading for a few months and now my brass want's to stick on the up stroke when I re-size it.

Seems like the expander ball is sticking and I have to put a good amount of force on the arm to get the ball through the neck of the brass.

I tried lubing the inside of the brass and it works well for the pieces I lube, but almost immediately starts sticking again on unlubed brass. Previously I would lube every 5th or 10th neck and never had issues.

I'm using 99% alcohol and lanolin for lube. Die is a redding premium which has the carbide ball.

Not sure if maybe the ball has rusted a tiny bit and just needs to be sanded? I'd be concerned w/ making it out of round though. Press is a T7 and I'm loading 6.5CM 1x starline brass.

Any other ideas or solutions?

 

[Lawnboi]

Likely a result of less lube and a gross over working of the brass, like most standard FL dies unfortunately.

Only real option would be to lube more, or try a different lube. I would take it out, see how much you’re actually sizing and how much you’re expanding, my guess would be a lot.

If this becomes unfavorable you can do the expanding in a separate step and lube accordingly, that is what I personally did before buying fancy dies.

 

[Wapiti1]

Try pulling the expander out, size a case and seat a bullet. If the bullet seats fine without feeling like you are smashing the hell out of it, leave the expander out forever. If the dies require the expander to hold the decapping pin, swap in an undersize expander. This is what I do in a lot of die sets.

Some brass also have thicker necks than other brands. Not sure if this is how Starline is in the Creed. Did you change brass makes in the meantime?

Jeremy

 

[TX_Diver]

I'll pull it and see how it goes.

Never changed brass or anything, just noticed it last time I tried sizing brass.

Do you have a link to the expander ball replacement you use? If I stick w/ redding it appears .25 cal is the next size down?

 

[EdP]

Maybe try annealing the necks of your brass to see if that makes a difference.

If you determine that you want to polish the expander, chuck it up in a drill and spin it to address the concern of getting it out of round. A drill press or lathe would be ideal but a hand drill would work too.

 

[hiker270]

I always lube the inside of the case neck. I also frequently take my resizing die apart and clean all parts with alcohol. After cleaning the die I give it a light spray of Hornady OneShot. Haven't had any issues for years resizing using this method.

 

[Hackleback]

My experience with Starline pistol brass is it does run on the thick side. I use Imperial sizing wax for all my RL lube these days. Works really well and a little goes a long way. I'd also give the inside of the necks a good scrub before resizing.

 

[PlumberED]

Annealing and lubing the inside of the necks are both good advice.

 

[TX_Diver]

Not really looking to start annealing although I'm sure it'd have some benefits.

I will re-size a few without the ball and see how it goes. I've cleaned the die but I'm sure doing it again wouldn't hurt. And if I do polish that expander I'll definitely do it w/ a drill. Thanks!

 

[Pharmseller]

Are you interested in neck sizing only? I went in that direction years ago and I have had an excellent experience.




P

 

[Laelkhunter]

Try pulling the expander out, size a case and seat a bullet. If the bullet seats fine without feeling like you are smashing the hell out of it, leave the expander out forever. If the dies require the expander to hold the decapping pin, swap in an undersize expander. This is what I do in a lot of die sets.

Jeremy

This is what I do too. I use a .30 expander for my .338, a .270 for my .30, and .243 for my .270. I just happen to have the die sets mentioned. If you have to buy an expander, just buy a caliber or two smaller than the cartridge you are loading. You can get a carbide expander for less than $10.

edited to add: That price is long gone. They have gone up a considerable amount since I last saw them.

 

[TX_Diver]

This is what I do too. I use a .30 expander for my .338, a .270 for my .30, and .243 for my .270. I just happen to have the die sets mentioned. If you have to buy an expander, just buy a caliber or two smaller than the cartridge you are loading. You can get a carbide expander for less than $10.

I was seeing the carbide expanders for like $40. If you have a link that'd be awesome.

 

[TX_Diver]

Are you interested in neck sizing only? I went in that direction years ago and I have had an excellent experience.




P

Not really for no other reason than I don't want to go buy new dies I guess...

 

[Laelkhunter]

I was seeing the carbide expanders for like $40. If you have a link that'd be awesome.

You could be correct. It's been several years since I saw them at the price I quoted. I never really had to buy one, I was just using the decapping stem/expander from dies I have. Sorry if I mislead you. I will see if I can find one for you. Not sure if yours will only take a Redding ball, might be difficult to find.

edited to add: I found a complete assembly for $16.99 at MidwayUSA. Part # 33223 for the .223 rem or a 31203 for a .204 Ruger. Either cal should work for your 6.5, and you won't need carbide because the ball will not touch the mouth of the case. Just make sure the assembly will fit your die set.

 

[TX_Diver]

You could be correct. It's been several years since I saw them at the price I quoted. I never really had to buy one, I was just using the decapping stem/expander from dies I have. Sorry if I mislead you. I will see if I can find one for you. Not sure if yours will only take a Redding ball, might be difficult to find.

No worries.

I'll take some measurements in the next day or so and see if I can figure out what's going on too then post back.

 

[TX_Diver]

Will seat a few bullets after dinner.

Some quick neck od measurements with and without ball

 

[TX_Diver]

seated a bullet in each case and it’s noticeably more pressure without the ball but they still seat fine. My math has .003 neck tension with the ball and .0085 without it.

4-6 above were without the ball. I’ll post a rotated pic tomorrow.

Other update is I realized I didn’t buy the premium dies for this caliber as I only wanted the sizer and didn’t want their seater. So this die does have the standard expander ball which means I probably do need to lube the inside more.

I’ve never measured how much a die actually works the brass but this one goes from .295 to .283 which is .012” (before the expander ball goes back through and expands it). Is .012” a lot?

 

[Rckymtnshooter]

Good chance you have a slight coating of brass on your expander. Once that coatng builds up it will really stick to an unlubed case. It will take a bit more cleaning g than just wiping with solvent.

 

[TaperPin]

No expander ball? That’s a new one I’ve never even heard before. If that amount of neck tension works it would make the process easier. Interesting.

 

[Lawnboi]

seated a bullet in each case and it’s noticeably more pressure without the ball but they still seat fine. My math has .003 neck tension with the ball and .0085 without it.

4-6 above were without the ball. I’ll post a rotated pic tomorrow.

Other update is I realized I didn’t buy the premium dies for this caliber as I only wanted the sizer and didn’t want their seater. So this die does have the standard expander ball which means I probably do need to lube the inside more.

I’ve never measured how much a die actually works the brass but this one goes from .295 to .283 which is .012” (before the expander ball goes back through and expands it). Is .012” a lot?

That’s a lot. A lot of everything. I always err on the side of a little more tension than the traditional .002, but that’s just to make sure there is always enough for odd brass.

For reference. My last 6.5 barrel, with lapua brass (thick necks) I was sizing with a .288 bushing and running a .262 mandrel through it. Moving the brass as little as I needed to provide .0025-.003 of neck tension.

Another issue I see happening that may help you is neck hardening if you do not anneal. This might make your problem worse, but also might yield a little larger neck diameter after sizing eventually.

The issues you’re seeing are 100% from factory dies designed to size all brass regardless of thickness. Unfortunately there’s not many ways around it.

Personally if I were you, and if you have a bucch of that brass, I’d just order a forester honed to your dimension on the neck and enjoy more consistent brass.