Do Expanders Wear out?

[pcrc11]

Have been reloading for a couple of years now and have never run into this problem before. I am trying to reload some 6.5x55 Swedish and bought a used set of RCBS FL dies. I have decapped and sized about 50 cases so far and am trying to trim them to spec. However they will not go onto the correct pilot #26 on my Forster trimmer. I then took a bullet and tried to see if it would set into the case mouth. It will not. My question is do the expanders on the dies need replacing every so often, do they wear out. Or am I missing something else I have not noticed.

Edited August 29, 2012 by pcrc11

[Raoul]

If they are worn out, RCBS will most probably replace them. Good folks.

[pcrc11]

If they are worn out, RCBS will most probably replace them. Good folks.

Have you ever seen one wear out or heard of them being out of spec. How do you know if they are out of spec, I've got a caliper but am not sure if it is accurate enough to check something like the ID of a case mouth. I always figured if the bullet would just start into the mouth you were in good shape.

[pcrc11]

I did some measuring and here is what I am coming up with. The case mouth is coming out at .257-.258. The pilot measures .259. The bullets measure .265-.266. According to my manual it is specing the case mouth at .264 and the bullets at .266.

[Dolomite_supafly]

What has probably happened is someone filed it down to a smaller size. I know I do it with a few calibers to increase case neck tension. Should be able to measure the mandrel to see what it comes up as.

Dolomite

[Clod Stomper]

Sounds like you have a .257 caliber neck sizer. I don't think your 6.5 die should even size the neck down that much. That much discrepancy can't simply be wear. Did you buy your dies used? Never mind, you said they were used. I've gotten the wrong dies before when I've bought them used.

Give RCBS a call. They'll help you straighten things out.

Will

BTW, I've never worn out a neck expander, even after thousands of rounds.

[dlm37015]

me neither but rcbs sometimes has problems getting the right expander ball in the right die

[gregintenn]

Is the die marked 6.5x55? Sounds like you may have a 257 Roberts or similar die instead.

[pcrc11]

It is marked 6.5x55. Going to assume expander is wrong. Just wanted to check that they dont normally wear. Buying used is always an adventure. I dont mind as I have always found fixing a problem always leads to a learning expirience

[Jonnin]

apart from filing it down, some folks put the wrong one in on purpose to create "close enough" ammo for obsolete calibers. I *could* poke a 303 expander in my 308 dies and make "7.65" ammo sorta -- but I prefer to do it right.

Edited August 30, 2012 by Jonnin

[1gewehr]

It HAS to be the wrong expander. Steel expander die, rubbing against brass cartridge case = Brass wear, not Steel wear. I have never heard of an expander die wearing out. The only reason steel dies wear out is because of grit and other hard impurities that may get on the brass. With a bit of care to make sure that your brass is clean, your dies will outlast you. I've got a set of 9mm dies I've been using since 1982. I have no idea how many thousand of rounds they've resized! Easily over 60,000! Inside, they still mike like new.

[Jonnin]

well it could still have been polished down a bit by the last user. But I agree, brass on steel is not going to do much to the steel for a long, long time.

[pcrc11]

Just got off the phone with RCBS and expander should measure .262. Mine measures .258. They are sending me new decapper/expander.

I told them I bought the dies used and tried to give them a credit card number and they refused to take any payment. Now that is great Customer Service.

[Raoul]

Just got off the phone with RCBS and expander should measure .262. Mine measures .258. They are sending me new decapper/expander.

I told them I bought the dies used and tried to give them a credit card number and they refused to take any payment. Now that is great Customer Service.

Told ya. I've had nothing but good results any time I've dealt with the. Glad they got you covered.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Someone has filed the expander down for more case neck tension. I have found that crimping is not necessary when doing this. I generally file mine down .003" smaller. I also think it helps accuracy because almost any amount of crimp is going to deform the bullet some. It also eliminates the crimping step. And you have a lot more tension holding the bullet. Rather than having a 1/16" wide crimp to hold the bullet you get the full width of the neck.

I learned that early on as a way to increase accuracy and reduce the umber of steps needed for accurate handloads.

Dolomite

[gregintenn]

I'm too lazy to try it myself, so I'll ask. If you take the expander ball/ decapping pin out of the die and size a round of brass, how much will it undersize the neck?

[Dolomite_supafly]

Depends on the die but it generally sizes it down quite a bit farther than the expander ball. I have never measured it but you can see where the bullet stops in the neck. I tried some 223 that way and it worked but not sure if it helped accuracy or not.

Dolomite