Ran into an issue while re sizing some 308 brass last night. The brass (second fired Lapua) required a TON of pressure to get the die (Redding S-type bushing FL die) to cam over. Once it did, the brass extracted easily, but I still added more lube. Adding more lube made no difference. I inspected the brass, and noticed that the die was shaving off a small bit of the case. The shaving was very thin buy was almost the full diameter of the case.
The brass looked normal except for the "sizing marks" extended further down the case than normal, and not completely round. The shaving was causing this mark.
I checked that the fit of the die was snug (it was) and checked the decapping rod assembly to make sure it wasn't bent (it wasn't.)
I finished the job off with a Redding body die, which required normal effort and shaved no brass, and then neck sized with the same size bushing in a neck die, which went as normal as well. This leads me to believe something is wrong with my FL die, as conceptually the redding body die should have the same dimensions as the redding FL die.
A few things of note- I have resized thousands of pieces of brass with this die, including brass from this lot. This is the first time FL sizing brass from this rifle- my new to me DTA SRS. The virgin brass I only ran through an expander ball then chamfered/deburred as normal. After the first firing, I only cleaned, neck sized, and cleaned the primer pockets.
Another item of note- I noticed that the die was getting caked with lube, so I cleaned it out with a paper towel with lighter fluid on it. I did spray some lube in it before using, however.
Finally- the brass shavings didn't amount to much mass. I couldn't get a reading on my Chargemaster, even when putting two shavings from two pieces of brass in, and the resolution of the scale is to the hundredth of a gram. The shaved brass doesn't appear to be deformed or missing anything, leading me to believe that the shaving is very thin.
Any ideas? Hone the "feed edge" of the die maybe?
I know I should test some other brass fired from another rifle, that is the next step.
Thanks,
-Bob
The brass looked normal except for the "sizing marks" extended further down the case than normal, and not completely round. The shaving was causing this mark.
I checked that the fit of the die was snug (it was) and checked the decapping rod assembly to make sure it wasn't bent (it wasn't.)
I finished the job off with a Redding body die, which required normal effort and shaved no brass, and then neck sized with the same size bushing in a neck die, which went as normal as well. This leads me to believe something is wrong with my FL die, as conceptually the redding body die should have the same dimensions as the redding FL die.
A few things of note- I have resized thousands of pieces of brass with this die, including brass from this lot. This is the first time FL sizing brass from this rifle- my new to me DTA SRS. The virgin brass I only ran through an expander ball then chamfered/deburred as normal. After the first firing, I only cleaned, neck sized, and cleaned the primer pockets.
Another item of note- I noticed that the die was getting caked with lube, so I cleaned it out with a paper towel with lighter fluid on it. I did spray some lube in it before using, however.
Finally- the brass shavings didn't amount to much mass. I couldn't get a reading on my Chargemaster, even when putting two shavings from two pieces of brass in, and the resolution of the scale is to the hundredth of a gram. The shaved brass doesn't appear to be deformed or missing anything, leading me to believe that the shaving is very thin.
Any ideas? Hone the "feed edge" of the die maybe?
I know I should test some other brass fired from another rifle, that is the next step.
Thanks,
-Bob
