Conference foundr::firearms

    Well this looks like as good a place as any for this, and I can't seem
    to find the answer anywhere else in this file.
    
    I have a set of Lee dies that when I am doing the resize/deprime, the
    downstroke (per handle) seems to go fairly smooth (using Lee lubricant) 
    but the upstroke is _extremely_ difficult.  The deprime pin/interternal-
    sizer seems clean of any gunk.  I'm probably showing my ignorance again, 
    but does anybody know what in blazes is causing this?
    
    fred();

    Try lubing the inside of the case necks.  
    Carbon residue seems to be an excellent non skid compound.
    
    - gene

    If these are bottle necked rifle cases, the expander button is
    dragging on the neck.  Even tumbling won't help.  You need to do one of
    three things.
    
    1. get a case "graphiter" box.  This lubes the inside of the neck with
    either mica or graphite.   Won't harm powder or primers.  Midway has a
    cheap one with brushes and a well for the mica.
    
    2. get a carbide expander.  These are available for Hornady, RCBS
    and some others.  It's basicly a replacement decapping rod, and may fit
    your Lee dies.
    
    3. get rid of the expander button completely, and get a Lyman "M" die. 
    This adds an extra pass, but uses a stepped expander plug that is
    pushed down, not drawn back through the case mouth.
    
    jim

    re: last couple
    
    Or stop using an expander 'anything'. remove the expander ball from the
    die & then remove a couple of thousandths from the neck of the die with
    grinding compound & polish. This works best if your case necks are of a
    uniform thickness.
    
    Randy
    
    
    
    

From:	AUSS::HAGARTY "Dennis HAGARTY - ARC/ARMS @ OPTUS  04-Feb-1997 1557 +1100"  4-FEB-1997 16:15:43.33
To:	CSC32::HADDOCK
CC:	HAGARTY
Subj:	Case necks and expander balls

Gi'day Fred();

    Well, I can give you some more advice on the expander problem...

    Firstly, you must clean out the necks - on the inside. This is best
    done with a tumbler, it will clean the carbon out nicely. You can also
    use a neck cleaning brush in a drill to do the same thing, or a
    specialised case prep station.

    Secondly, you must use some form of lubrication. I use graphite, I find
    it to be much better than mica. I dip the cases necks (you don't have
    to do every case - but it probably helps uniformity) in a shallow dish
    of graphite.

    Thirdly, you must make sure that the expander ball is the correct
    dimension, like just under the bullet diameter. I cannot remember what
    the proper dimension should be, but remember that the brass springs
    back after working, so it should be usually a bit smaller than the
    bullet diameter. You should probably end up with .002 or .003 of neck
    tension (depending on application), so make sure that your button sizes
    your brass down to approx .305 for .308 brass. You may have to
    experiment to find out what diameter button will acheive this. If it's
    too big, then attack it with some grit or something.

    Fourthly, you must make sure that the expander ball is properly
    polished. But, paradoxically, you must ensure that a very well polished
    expander is lubricated - one not as nicely finished doesn't need the
    lubrication as much. This is because a finely polished button will have
    much more surface area in contact with the neck. You can polish the
    expander ball with some 1200 grit and a drill. You should only remove a
    few tenths of thou with it (if that).

    By now, you should be neck sizing/expanding like a knife through
    butter, but if you want to continue...

    Penultimately, you could get a carbide expander ball. These really are
    good, I have managed to retro-fit a few Redding ones to Hornady dies,
    but originals should be now available.

    Lastly, you should make sure that the expander ball is being withdrawn
    through the case neck at a point where the lever is close to the bottom
    of its travel as possible (not always possible with long cases). This
    will increase the leverage.

    This is BEFORE you go onto neck turning, no expander button, etc etc

    Cheers
    Dennis

Just a note on expander ball maintenance

I've done a few things to my .223 (bottle neck) expander ball that have made
my reloading life easier:

        - removed the rod/expander ball/decapping pin assy. from the die
        - removed the decapping pin
        - wrapped the threads of the rod in a layer of "white" cardboard
            and chucked it into my electric drill
        - ground the leading end of the expander ball - at an angle - against
            a fine grinding wheel (drill rotating counter to the grinding
            wheel rotation) to a torpedo profile so that it gets inside even
            VERY dented case necks
        - "drilled" the diameter down to .218 against a FINE metal file
            checking diameter often with calipers
        - polished to mirror finish by drilling into a cleaning patch
            full of "Flitz" polish

I also polish the expander ball on a sporadic basis using the electric drill
and cleaning patch full-o-Flitz.  A gob of Flitz in the patch and the patch
pinched FIRMLY around the ball while the drill is spun works GREAT.

Non-Gell toothpaste or Jewelers Rouge should work equally as well.  None of
the "soft"/paste polishes will remove enough metal to worry about.

- jw