Expander Ball Issue.

[CMBTshooter]

I'm having trouble with the expander ball in my .308 Win sizing die being difficult to pull back out of the case. I'm only having trouble on one batch of Lapua cases that have been 9X fired. Never had an issue before this. What's the deal here?

 

[DrMike]

Sounds as if the brass is getting work hardened. Annealing would likely resolve the drag on the expander ball.

 

[Guest]

As usual, Mike is spot-on. Time to anneal, if the primer pockets are still tight.

 

[CMBTshooter]

I anneal every other firing. Maybe I'm not doing it right?

 

[RiverRider]

You might be facing the "dreaded donut," where thicker brass has flowed from the shoulder area into the neck.

 

[SJB358]

Are you using any lube on the neck? If there annealed, they should slip over the expander ball really slick, being the 1st or 15th firing. Just wondering, what sorta does are you running?

 

[rick smith]

Polish the expander ball to a mirror finish and use a dry lube inside the case neck.Rick.

 

[DrMike]

Polish the expander ball to a mirror finish and use a dry lube inside the case neck.Rick.

Excellent advice, that. I use Imperial Application Media and Dry Lube (graphite). I also use motor mica for some select instances.

 

[BeeTee]

As a test, use a bore brush and a little brass polish to clean the inside of the fired case neck. Then see if that helps the expander ball pull-through when you size it. I'd bet it does. Carbon residue can make it harder for the expander ball. Different powders can produce varying degrees of resistance, due to different amounts of residue and different flame temperatures. BT

 

[jimbires]

I've noticed after annealing inside the case neck seems a little rough . I'm not sure if it's the brass or if it's some carbon that got cooked in the annealing process . try using a brass brush inside the neck just a little , and also use some type of lube . I use the powdered mica . hornady one shot seems to work well too . or you can just use resizing lube on a Q-tip and give it ever so slight of a coating . Jim

 

[BeeTee]

Through the years I've noticed that pulling the expander ball through cases produced varying degrees of resistance during the sizing process, and as a result, saw varying degrees of bullet seating resistance. That must have an effect on consistency and SD.

For my 223, I began polishing the inside case necks in an effort to produce more uniform resizing and bullet seating resistance. At first, it seemed onerous to add another step to the case prep especially for a volume loading cartridge like the 223, but I think it's worth it. I don't load that many 308 or 7RM rounds at a time, so it's not an issue with them.

I added a carbide expander ball to my RCBS 223 resizing die. I soon learned that powder residue inside the 223 case necks still required lube - unless the inside case necks were first polished. If polished, no inside case neck lube is required. That clearly tells me the burnt powder residue affects both expander ball passage and bullet seating.

After polishing the inside case necks, I run all of the cases through a vibratory case cleaner with clean corn cob for several hours, then I resize them.

For my 308 & 7RM, I use a light swipe of case lube inside the case necks. The 223 carbide expander button doesn't need inside case neck lube. For all my rifle cases, I rinse the resized cases in a couple solvent washes to remove the case lube. I've been removing the case lube this way this since 1970. BT

 

[jimbires]

I just use carburetor cleaner , or brake cleaner on a rag and wipe my lube off .

 

[Dr. Vette]

Imperial dry neck lube:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/319390 ... -oz-powder

I dip every neck in here before resizing, and you don't have to remove it at all.
No muss, no fuss.

 

[truck driver]

I have a duster I have dry moly in and dust the inside of the case mouths when the expander drags or gets tight. It helps to keep the case neck from stretching.

 

[DrMike]

Imperial dry neck lube:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/319390 ... -oz-powder

I dip every neck in here before resizing, and you don't have to remove it at all.
No muss, no fuss.

Bingo! True, dat.

 

[SJB358]

Imperial dry neck lube:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/319390 ... -oz-powder

I dip every neck in here before resizing, and you don't have to remove it at all.
No muss, no fuss.

Bingo! True, dat.

Same stuff here. I was taught by Mike and it has worked excellent since I added it as a step.

 

[jimbires]

I use this case neck dipper .

http://www.opticsplanet.com/frankford-a ... 32530.html

 

[CMBTshooter]

I took out the expander ball and polished it up. It was pretty dang dirty. I've neglected to clean them for a long time. I sized a few cases and it was much smoother even with the dirty cases I was using. I'll try it with the imperial powder next. Thanks guys.

 

[Oldtrader3]

Imperial dry neck lube:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/319390 ... -oz-powder

I dip every neck in here before resizing, and you don't have to remove it at all.
No muss, no fuss.

That and carbide expander balls!