expander ball problem.

[Tom Tamer]

Hey guys, having a reoccurring issue with stuck cases and the expander ball. Stuck case not the problem seems to be weak rimmed .223brass. The rim shears off when on the downward stroke over the expander. Brand new expander as of today. But once I re install the exapnder ball doesn't seem to be large enough to expand the neck. Like it has collapsed a few thousandths. What causes the expander to basically get smashed? Is this common on a stuck case? Happened last night so I bought a new decapper pin assembly about 50 rds later same thing. Any help will be great.

[Fl0und3rz]

The expander should be some alloy of steel. So the case neck expander ball should not change size in the resizing operation.  As dies vary among manufacturers, and can vary between lines of the same manufacturer.  It might help if you could specify the type/brand of die you are experiencing this with. 

Is it possible that you got a replacement "expander" ball that is intended for a neck sizing die, but you are using it in a full length sizing die?  Dimensions of the expander ball might also help clue someone to the problem that is more familiar with the appropriate dimensions for the die you are using.


The only case I ever got stuck was a .223 rem, and I can attribute that to not enough lube.  Are you lubing the inside of the case necks liberally?  The outside? The rim should hold, even on the weakest of brass, with appropriate amounts of a good lube. If it's military surplus brass, it can be particularly difficult to resize.  I like to use regular gear lube when resizing surplus brass, but it is a bit more of a pain to clean cases afterward.

[Heredoggydoggy]

Never had a case rim shear off just from pulling over the expander ball.  Are you cleaning your brass before resizing it?  I always run my fired cases in the case cleaner for a few hours before resizing to get rid of any grit on the cases.  You can get a brush to run inside the case neck to dislodge any fouling, too, or just use a worn out bore brush.  I press the case mouth onto the lube pad every few cases just to get a little lube on the expander ball.  I can feel the difference after this is done.  Once the cases are resized and trimmed, they go back into the case cleaner for a few more hours to get the lube off before I reprime the cases.  I've used the same expander for 1,000's of cases with no problems except the occasional broken decapping pin.  Brass is softer than the expander ball.  Sounds more like a dirty case neck to me.   

[Time Immemorial]

Lol I love the thread name lol

[high country]

Lube the neck rim so some lube can get into the neck.....land check the shell holder, could be all your trouble right there.

[Tom Tamer]

Yeah now that it's mentioned I was getting a little lacking on the lube. Makes sense. First thought it was some cheap brass the couple that stuck were Pirvpartisan stuff and had a couple that he heads deformed even on a lubed case. I'm pitching all the PPU brass.

[mazama]

Corrosion and or lack of lube,been there done that.

[Tom Tamer]

Thanks guys. In my haste to get thru a mountain of brass one gets carried away and misses a little thing like lubing frequent enough. No doubt that is the issue.

[Heredoggydoggy]

Good!  I think the problem was more due to the manufacturer using some kind of cheap powder that left a lot of residue in the case.