Hi Fellow Reloaders!
My Lee Classic 4 die turret has made about 1400 rounds of 40SW since purchasing it from MidwayUSA in March of this year. That's the only caliber I currently reload.
Mostly I've been using Once Fired Brass (mixed) from OnceFiredBrass.com . It's been very clean and always in good condition. Recently I've purchased Starline brass just to try out. I've loaded about 50 so far. Nice, but expensive for me.
So here's the problem...(yeah Joe, get on with it)... After the very first few hundred rounds, I've noticed the case gets snagged when removing it from the Powder Thru Expander (PTE) die. At first I thought I may have made the flair too big and it may have been hitting the die on the way out. So I reduced the flair as much as possible yet still big enough to receive a bullet. Yet as I withdraw the case, it still catches on the die at the very last bit just before it clears the die. And I mean it catches and you've got to give it a good tug to pop the case out of the die.
It hasn't caused any damage to the case. At least nothing that I can see. And all rounds fire just fine.
But in the last four hundred or so rounds, it has been hanging up SO tightly that it takes two hands to pull the handle up and get the shell out. Doing so shakes my reloading bench and everything on it! Like an earthquake. This should not be happening.
Today I called Lee Precision and spoke with a gentleman named Peter. He recommended I disassemble the PTE die (once again) and sand down the insert which may be collecting brass on it causing it to stick to the cases. He made a comment about Starline brass being a little smaller in diameter than other brands and that could also be the problem. But this has been happening with Winchester brass and other brands so it's not a problem isolated to just Starline brass.
Suffice it to say the problem still exists tonight and it was all I could do to make 50 more rounds before getting too frustrated to continue.
Just so you know, I've removed and reset all my dies, multiple times. I've cleaned them at least 3 times that I remember over the course of loading 1400 rounds. Nothing has been abused.
Has anyone here experienced this kind of problem and could offer advice on how to solve it? I'd really appreciate any constructive help you can offer.
Thanks for letting me vent!
Joe
My Lee Classic 4 die turret has made about 1400 rounds of 40SW since purchasing it from MidwayUSA in March of this year. That's the only caliber I currently reload.
Mostly I've been using Once Fired Brass (mixed) from OnceFiredBrass.com . It's been very clean and always in good condition. Recently I've purchased Starline brass just to try out. I've loaded about 50 so far. Nice, but expensive for me.
So here's the problem...(yeah Joe, get on with it)... After the very first few hundred rounds, I've noticed the case gets snagged when removing it from the Powder Thru Expander (PTE) die. At first I thought I may have made the flair too big and it may have been hitting the die on the way out. So I reduced the flair as much as possible yet still big enough to receive a bullet. Yet as I withdraw the case, it still catches on the die at the very last bit just before it clears the die. And I mean it catches and you've got to give it a good tug to pop the case out of the die.
It hasn't caused any damage to the case. At least nothing that I can see. And all rounds fire just fine.
But in the last four hundred or so rounds, it has been hanging up SO tightly that it takes two hands to pull the handle up and get the shell out. Doing so shakes my reloading bench and everything on it! Like an earthquake. This should not be happening.
Today I called Lee Precision and spoke with a gentleman named Peter. He recommended I disassemble the PTE die (once again) and sand down the insert which may be collecting brass on it causing it to stick to the cases. He made a comment about Starline brass being a little smaller in diameter than other brands and that could also be the problem. But this has been happening with Winchester brass and other brands so it's not a problem isolated to just Starline brass.
Suffice it to say the problem still exists tonight and it was all I could do to make 50 more rounds before getting too frustrated to continue.
Just so you know, I've removed and reset all my dies, multiple times. I've cleaned them at least 3 times that I remember over the course of loading 1400 rounds. Nothing has been abused.
Has anyone here experienced this kind of problem and could offer advice on how to solve it? I'd really appreciate any constructive help you can offer.
Thanks for letting me vent!
Joe