Damaged Carbide Die Ruins New Brass.

[chuckdog]

I was going through my .45 Colt brass yesterday and noticed scratched/rubbed areas on previously loaded brass.

I removed my sizing die from the box and noticed a small bit of brass stuck quite well to the dies mouth. These dies haven't been used in almost 5 years.

I thought problem solved.

After cleaning the rest of the die set, I installed the sizer and sized a darker more seasoned piece so any damage should be easier to see. Good news, no scratched case. Bad news! A CUT in the brass just above the rim?

The worse news, the cut had been there the entire time. I simply wasn't looking for it and missed it.

I deburr and size all new brass before use. I had sized all 200 plus pieces of new brass back when I got them several years ago. None of the new one's show scratches, but every stinking one of them have the cut.

I have a .454 Casull sizing die that'll work fine for the .45 Colt. I must have really had my head somewhere else (being kind) not to have noticed the cut before.









The cut is present here on this fired and resized piece. It's more visible around the brass a bit farther.




These mistakes were made years ago. Even the nickled ones I carried in my western rig are cut. Don't know if the die is cut at an angle or if I damaged it. The cut is on every piece I have found that I know have been through this particular die. I can't explain why I didn't catch it at the time. Expensive loss of concentration!

 

[Jester896]

are you talking about this line?

 

[chuckdog]

Yes Sir, the line you can feel and catch with your nail. It’s deeper than the pic reveals.

I sized some with the Casull die, no issue, not a mark. I sized one from the same batch with the Colt die same cut as others.

May never be a problem, but I’m not willing to run them through the Colt single action.

 

[BriarPatch99]

That is because there is no radius going into the carbide section .... Your brass is also swelled out in that area of the case ... the gun may have generous chambers ...

Are you shooting extra heavy loads? What brand dies?

 

[BriarPatch99]

Many dies have a radius in the carbide insert .... saves that line from forming ....

Other than diamond ...not sure what you could put a radius on it with ....

Maybe one the machinest on here could enlighten about that...

It is flooding here or I would go take some photos to show you what I am saying ...

 

[BriarPatch99]

The die on the left has zero or almost zero radius going into the carbide insert ....the die on the right has a good radius going into the insert .....
The die on the left will cause the "cutting" you described....especially if brass is over size...
The die on the right will allow the brass to enter with out cutting the brass...

 

[chuckdog]

I’ll post pics of the die ASAP. Most of the ruined brass was unfired.

I’m thinking I only bought this set for convenience. I had loaded 45 with my Casull dies before. I didn’t like having to change the die settings when changing caliber. I have two sets of .38 special dies. One is marked 38 the other 357.

Don’t even ask how many different.308 dies I own. I don’t know!

 

[Jester896]

that looks like to me what Briar is saying. The die can't go any farther down than that because it runs into the shell holder. What I don't understand is why it is at an angle. Your new cases may even be out of spec a little. Did you measure the case? Do they chamber? Some days .003 is a lot .

a .45C is .480 and a .454 Casull is .4775. It seems like the Casull die would be the one that leaves a deeper ring if it is in spec

 

[BriarPatch99]

Chuckdog ....have you measured the size of the die opening difference between the two dies?.... One (the one that is cutting) has the sharp edge ...otherwise it also may be sizing smaller than the other ....that is something I see often ...

I have four sets of carbide .44 mag dies ....they all produce different sizing .... one is quite small but has a radius that keeps the cutting down ...

 

[chuckdog]

I think the die has been bad from the get go and I just missed it. I likely only used them when I had the 7.5" Vaquero that didn't shoot anywhere close to point of aim. In my hands it shot ridiculously high. Needless to say I didn't keep it very long.

My thoughts have been that maybe the die wasn't milled/drilled square with the body? I've been gone all day, and haven't looked at anything. The pic is one I failed to upload with the rest in my first post.

With the naked eye it looked normal to me. In all my years of loading I've never had an issue with a carbide die. In fact the only issue I ever had was many years ago and one I know I created with a .243 Win sizing die.





I sized some brass this morning with a .45 ACP die. Everything worked fine.

 

[BriarPatch99]

They look normal .... Did you happen to measure the opening?

That inter edge is pretty sharp looking ...if it is slightly under size .....it would make it cut ...

A slightly rounded edge would stop the cut ....

 

[rosewood]

What brand die is it? Maybe contact the manufacturer and see what they will do about it if they are still in business. If not, take a light piece of sand paper and turn it around the sharp edge to round it off a bit. Maybe 1000 grit and see if it will do it, more aggressive if needed.

Rosewood

 

[Jester896]

chuck it in something and 320 grit emory and some oil...maybe a file handle as a backer might take the sharp edge off if that it what it is or return it to the die mfg with the case so they can see what it is doing...emailing them pictures may be enough to get a replacement.