Case stuck in die. Help Please.

[SidecarFlip]

You may or may not have an issue after you get the case out and that is....

The die isn't carbide lined like a pistol die so it may be scratched inside from the siezed case against the die wall. You'll know right away on the next sizing because the sized case will have lateral scratches in it. If it does (case scratches), it means the inside of the die has inclusions that need to be removed and can be with an appropriately sized buffing bob on a mandrel chucked in your cordless drill and a bit of fine lapping compound or good old rubbing compound.

The buffing bobs and the mandrel are available at any hobby shop or Lowes that sells Dremel accessories or on line at Amazon.com. Size on to fit snugly, a dab of compound and tun the bob inside the die body, keeping it moving in a cross hatch pattern. Don't linger inside the die or hold the bob in one place, keep it moving and it won't take long do check the die every 15 seconds or so of buffing.

Remove it regularly and check the inside of the die with a borescope (if you have one) or size a cartridge and check to see if the scratches are gone. Just don't forget to clean the die inside before sizing the brass to remove the compound. I use brake cleaner in a spray can for that. After you clean it, lube the inside of the die with case lube and make sure the vent hole is open so you don't deforn the bottleneck.

 

[dbhostler]

Last time I got a case stuck, I took the guts out of the die, screwed the die into the bottom of the press inserted a steel rod and pressed it out with the ram. As several have said, don't skimp on the lube. I like Dillon the best.
db

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Are we going to get an update RangerBrad?

 

[joeycoates]

Old thread, but after 20 years of never getting one stuck I had to do the research. And yes, I was using One Shot instead of my pad... That 7RM is stuck in there good too, ripped that rim right off. Has anyone tried the RCBS stuck case remover?

 

[BrentM]

Yes, I used it last night. It is a good kit but it is not easy. Drill, tap, and insert the bolt throught the base and thread it. I put a fair amount of tension on the allen wrench and then applied some heat via my torch, not a lot, and gently taped the top of the bolt, through the top with the end of a philips screw driver, repeat. It came loose just fine.

 

[joeycoates]

BrentM was absolutely correct. The RCBS Stuck Case Remover worked like a charm. That case came right out, no issues at all. Highly recommend.

 

[SidecarFlip]

There is a third option...

If it's a Lee die, throw it away and get another one..........

 

[Sully2]

Last time I got a case stuck, I took the guts out of the die, screwed the die into the bottom of the press inserted a steel rod and pressed it out with the ram. As several have said, don't skimp on the lube. I like Dillon the best.
db

I left the die installed and removed the guts....took a wooden dowel and put that down into the die and gave it a good SMACK with a hammer.....case came right out

 

[joeycoates]

I thought about that, but the case sizing ball would not come out of the top.. That was actually the first idea. The case was all of the way in so the mouth was still being sized. If it would have been a little bit further down then I could have done that.

And SidecarFlip it was a RCBS die that I wanted to keep! I have had it for many, many years and it has always worked well. I did think that I was going to have to dig the case out possibly damaging it, but like I said, the case remover worked great so she was up and sizing more cases last night. Thoroughly lubed of course!! gun)