Stuck cases in 308 sizing die

[pprochnow]

I have a 308 match die from hornady that has stuck two cases. Never had a stuck case before this die and it was really pissing me off. When I took apart the die I noticed shallow concentric rings in the full length sizing portion.
I reassembled the die, found an old case and wiped it down with JB bore paste. Slowly worked the case in and out gradually getting it in the full depth. Repeated the process a few times with new JB compound.
The result is a much smoother sizing stroke, with much less effort.
I thought I would share I case anyone else has this problem.

 

[milo 2.0]

With the way companies are puking out dies these days, I'd quality control has somewhat diminished. Cool alternative way to polish a die, did the paste reveal that you were removing material?

 

[pprochnow]

Stuck cases in 308 sizing die

Yeah, it turned the compound black, both the brass and die steel were a part of the slurry. The die surface wasn't a mirror polish, more of a smooth satin look. It definitely made a difference. The die had about 300 reps on it before I decided to do this. Now it works like it should.

 

[918v]

Did you rotate the case while lapping the die?

 

[pprochnow]

Not while it was in the die, but i turned it a bit before sending it back in each time

 

[Victor N TN]

Did you know that if you had called Hornady (before you started "working" on it) they would probably have shipped you a new die for nothing. It might still be worth a call on their "HELP" line.

 

[pprochnow]

Thanks, good to know!

 

[Ring]

i use JB on a patch, wrapped around a 410 shotgun swab chucked into a cordless drill... i also do then when i have a die that starts scratch the brass from a build up of small brass "chips" that embed in the die...