Help: LE Wilson die STUUUUUCK!

[earthquake]

Am in the middle of reloading some 6BR. Shot 200 pc's brand new Lapua brass for barrel break-in and brass prep for load development. Brand new die with 0.266" bushing. Ran them all through once before shooting any of them just to get the necks right, so in total, only 200 pieces through this die.

Today I sized the first batch of 50 and took them to the expander mandrel and noticed zero effort getting them into the necks....there's always been a bit of resistance with the Dasher necks.

Thought this odd, started measuring....I'm getting 0.242" after sizing and mandrel "work". The mandrel is 0.242"....so I guess that's why! So I only have 0.001" neck tension?

Brass is 0.013" thick. After sizing, neck is 0.268".
0.268-(0.013*2) = 0.242" ✓

Well that seems low, so to double check the bushing, I tried taking the die apart. It's STUCK so bad it's damn near breaking my bench vise and the wrenches are tearing the shit out of the die. Nothing budges even a little bit! I've tried holding and turning it every which way to no avail.

What am I doing wrong?

I guess I could leave it as is, but I'll never be able to change bushings or clean it out. Help?!

 

[Foul Mike]

Is it cold where you are?
Many times, Heat is your friend.
Do you have one in the press and you can't get it out or just the rings etc. on the die alone?

 

[sabrecross]

Kroil oil on the die and let it sit for a while.

 

[hafejd30]

If that doesn’t work sending it to the manufacturer will probably be your best bet vs destroying the die

 

[Thud]

Which Wilson die is it,
Neck only or their new full length sizer or the older style die.
Show picture if possible.

 

[earthquake]

WilsonFLsizer6mm01

View2

It's an FL sizer. Can't get the die open. Cases don't get stuck... bushing is moving around inside freely....top is just stuck so bad I'm grinding metal shavings off it!

 

[spife7980]

Have you tried backing this nut off to loosen it up instead of the internal piece?

 

[Thud]

try what spife pointed out

 

[smoooth1]

Wondering if OP was over thinking and turning the pieces against each other? I have the same die and absolutely love it ? lol.


I watched maybe 2 minutes of that video and it does show how simply the die comes apart. That D-bag says “piece of gear” 5 times or more in those 2 minutes.......?

 

[earthquake]

I made sure I wasn't turning them against each other. I've held the nut in a vise and tried turning the top inner piece. No go.
I've tried holding the top inner piece in a vise and turning the nut. No go. I've tried holding the die body with smart-grip wrenches and turning the nut. No go.

It's hard to hold the die body and turn the nut with any force without damaging the die body....but I tried anyway. I really can't fathom how it got King Kong'd on there. No way I would have tightened it like that.

I'm used to using Redding dies and have never had an issue like this.

 

[crunchy]

Righty tighty lefty loosy

 

[Sheldon N]

Next step, get it nice and warm with a torch or heat gun.

 

[crunchy]

Next step, get it nice and warm with a torch or heat gun.

Heat gun would be my next step as well

 

[Thud]

It's stainless you probably galled it.
It won't budge without superforce may distort die body.

 

[earthquake]

Got it! Penetrating oil and a metric shit-ton of force. She's all scratched up now, but still works. Thanks, fellas!

 

[crunchy]

Good news. Any idea what seized it up?

 

[Foul Mike]

Maybe a bit of anti-seize on the threads now that you have it apart.
Use sparingly as that shit gets to moving and you don't wash it off, your wear it until gone.
Permatex is what I use and put it on with a toothpick, not the brush in the bottle.

 

[sabrecross]

Got it! Penetrating oil and a metric shit-ton of force. She's all scratched up now, but still works. Thanks, fellas!

glad you got it un-stuck. I've used a lot of penetrating oils and I've had the best results with the Kroil oil. Check it out if you have a chance.