Is my full-length sizing die toast?

[J-B welder]

mid just like to commend you for (1) reading the replies, (2) trying the recommendations, (3) letting the people who responded to the thread the results of their suggestions. Usually OPs will not even acknowledge responders even said anything. Thank you for this reply!!

My momma teached me good manners.

 

[smokey3]

Except the cost of buying a tumbler and medium. Seriously, thanks for all the suggestions.

Are you being serious?
If you are to frugal to buy the standard equipment that most people accept as necessary for quality hand loading, then this activity may not be for you. A new FL sizing die is cheaper than a tumbler I suppose.

 

[ntsqd]

Reloaded for years w/o a tumbler and among other things still managed respectable BR scores at my local range. I was never going to win, but I never embarrassed myself either. What I had was all that a starving college student could afford and a tumbler was well outside my budget.

Now I have a tumbler, but getting my wife's silver jewery-making bowl off of it long enough to tumble some brass can be a challenge. And it's too much work to clean her SS media for use with my brass.

 

[RiverShooter]

Try soaking it in like kroil let it soak while. Then clean it out after you let it soak and look at it. Maybe a scotch bright pad after you soak it in the kroil or what ever penetrating oil you have will get it if it's just surface rust. If not you might just need a new die. Luckily there not to expensive if you can find them. You don't use lube on the case neck or shoulder? Didn't that kind of size hard?

Try soaking in white vinegar.

 

[J-B welder]

Are you being serious?
If you are to frugal to buy the standard equipment that most people accept as necessary for quality hand loading, then this activity may not be for you. A new FL sizing die is cheaper than a tumbler I suppose.

Are YOU being serious? I just went to MidwayUSA and took a quick look at tumblers, and they start around $60. A basic SET of dies can be had for a little more than half that. In both cases the prices go up from there. I'm sure one could find both cheaper from other sources, but that's a rough price comparison from the same source.

I am very fastidious about cleaning each piece of brass by hand so that I can inspect every case for splits, cracks, bulges, etc. I'm not loading hundreds of rounds at a clip. At this point I'm doing less than 20 in a batch, working slowly to safely develop my first loads.

I'm going to assume you meant your comment in the friendliest sense with the best intentions of trying to help me be a safe hand loader, in which case thank you for your concern.

 

[J-B welder]

Are YOU being serious? I just went to MidwayUSA and took a quick look at tumblers, and they start around $60. A basic SET of dies can be had for a little more than half that. In both cases the prices go up from there. I'm sure one could find both cheaper from other sources, but that's a rough price comparison from the same source.

I am very fastidious about cleaning each piece of brass by hand so that I can inspect every case for splits, cracks, bulges, etc. I'm not loading hundreds of rounds at a clip. At this point I'm doing less than 20 in a batch, working slowly to safely develop my first loads.

I'm going to assume you meant your comment in the friendliest sense with the best intentions of trying to help me be a safe hand loader, in which case thank you for your concern.

I guess I proved your point that a new die is cheaper. Still don't think I need to throw money at a tumbler to clean less than a box of cases at a time

 

[GatorTrapper]

Does anyone NOT agree that every possible suggestion under the sun,moon and stars has been made ?

 

[J-B welder]

Does anyone NOT agree that every possible suggestion under the sun,moon and stars has been made ?

Some more than once.

 

[tribb]

1. Get a new unfired case
2. Drive a self tapping screw into the primer hole.
3. Cut off screw head.
4. Coat the shoulder of case with fine valve grinding compound.
5. Put case in die, decapper removed.
6. Put cutoff screw in electric drill.
7. Run drill at low speed for 30 seconds.
8. Clean die and inspect
9. Repeat 7 if necessary.

Might first use tooth paste mixed with baking soda then other abrasives if this proves ineffective.

 

[Muddyboots]

Ok one more for the road. I cleaned up a set of 06 dies for a friend that doesn't get the term lubrication. Bore mopped with Flitz in drill cleaned up and polished the dies like new. Bore mops are awesome for polishing dies, chambers and throats.

 

[ntsqd]

There's an echo in here. Toothpaste is the most over-looked lapping compound out there.

Be cautious with the white vinegar. No, your fingers won't melt off or some other horrible thing, obviously. Just don't leave steel in it for very long. I did this by accident, what came out of the vinegar was useless and uglier than what went in it. It was in there a full 24 hours at least and possibly more (been a while since that happened and I've slept since then). Now my rule is no more than 4 hours.

When you pull it out, immediately rinse with clear water. then immediately dry with compressed air. Then immediately coat with some form of light oil. Here on the lower left coastal desert if I don't do these steps as described I can watch the part rust before my eyes. It is kind of amazing to watch, but when it does that means more soaking time since rust is what I'm trying to get rid of.

 

[baggy270]

Amazing how many people don't read previous posts and dispense same advice over and over.....

 

[NielsC]

Junk it.

 

[smokey3]

Are YOU being serious? I just went to MidwayUSA and took a quick look at tumblers, and they start around $60. A basic SET of dies can be had for a little more than half that. In both cases the prices go up from there. I'm sure one could find both cheaper from other sources, but that's a rough price comparison from the same source.

I am very fastidious about cleaning each piece of brass by hand so that I can inspect every case for splits, cracks, bulges, etc. I'm not loading hundreds of rounds at a clip. At this point I'm doing less than 20 in a batch, working slowly to safely develop my first loads.

I'm going to assume you meant your comment in the friendliest sense with the best intentions of trying to help me be a safe hand loader, in which case thank you for your concern.

I was not trying to be rude. I just assumed that most reloaders would have that equipment on hand. I too sometimes will inspect my brass and polish by hand, but in some instances, a tumbler comes in pretty handy if you are doing large batches of brass. Most people that shoot a lot just do not have the time to hand polish their brass and speaking for myself only, I can not stand dirty brass going in my dies or my rifle chambers. Brass inspection is very important, especially when doing load development and checking for pressure signs. You are doing it right, keep doing what you are doing and be safe. I have a lot of money tied up in my equipment and saving money by reloading takes many years to even break even, so I have just always bought what I thought I needed and didn't worry too much about the cost of it.
PS, I have had many years to purchase my equipment also. I started out in the early eighties with hand-me-down equipment from my father.
Enjoy your new hobby and remember that most on here handload for the custom ammo and accuracy that is achieved by doing it themselves. With the price and availability of components in todays markets, it is hard to save money but it is very gratifying.