The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

If you are using the sizing die then you will be resizing the case surely?

Also the die will have an abomination of an expander ball on it which will explain why it is hard to open the hand press, throw away the expander/decapping pin and replace it with a plain decapping rod.

If you want to learn about anything then you tube is not the place to do it.

dromia wrote:If you are using the sizing die then you will be resizing the case surely?

Also the die will have an abomination of an expander ball on it which will explain why it is hard to open the hand press, throw away the expander/decapping pin and replace it with a plain decapping rod.

If you want to learn about anything then you tube is not the place to do it.

actually youtube is a far better resource than some of the hearsay that occasionally gets passed around clubs for example ! you just need to filter it a bit,
as to the expander ball, I tried without it years ago and found it didn't work (possibly because the bit people always forget to mention is that unless you adjust the die you will over size the neck as there is no expander ball to bring the neck out to the correct size )
a little lube every 4 or 5 cases on the ball will make things work easier.
I tend to neck size for my target rounds, with the exception of the 7.5x55 which always get full length sized

kennyc wrote: you just need to filter it a bit,
as to the expander ball, I tried without it years ago and found it didn't work (possibly because the bit people always forget to mention is that unless you adjust the die you will over size the neck as there is no expander ball to bring the neck out to the correct size )

To filter the odd thing of value from the mass of the sh!te requires knowledge of the subject in the first place.

I have never had a an issue of undersized necks with condom bullets, cast bullets need proper neck expanding as a matter of course even if an abomination neck expander ball has been used.

So to start off I need one of these instead of the combined die?

If you only want to remove the primers Yes you need a decapping die not a full length sizing die. If you are going to full length size the hand press will make hard work of it. Get rid of the expander ball in the full length sizer die. I have never managed to oversize the neck.

dromia wrote:

kennyc wrote: you just need to filter it a bit,
as to the expander ball, I tried without it years ago and found it didn't work (possibly because the bit people always forget to mention is that unless you adjust the die you will over size the neck as there is no expander ball to bring the neck out to the correct size )

To filter the odd thing of value from the mass of the sh!te requires knowledge of the subject in the first place.

I have never had a an issue of undersized necks with condom bullets, cast bullets need proper neck expanding as a matter of course even if an abomination neck expander ball has been used.

then I refer you to my previous answer, you need to set the die differently to the manufacturers instructions, as if removing the ball expander doesn't alter the neck tension, then it isn't doing anything ergo theres no need to remove it ? please could you supply a guide to setting the die without the expander ball ?

kennyc wrote:

dromia wrote:If you are using the sizing die then you will be resizing the case surely?

Also the die will have an abomination of an expander ball on it which will explain why it is hard to open the hand press, throw away the expander/decapping pin and replace it with a plain decapping rod.

If you want to learn about anything then you tube is not the place to do it.

actually youtube is a far better resource than some of the hearsay that occasionally gets passed around clubs for example ! you just need to filter it a bit,
as to the expander ball, I tried without it years ago and found it didn't work (possibly because the bit people always forget to mention is that unless you adjust the die you will over size the neck as there is no expander ball to bring the neck out to the correct size )
a little lube every 4 or 5 cases on the ball will make things work easier.
I tend to neck size for my target rounds, with the exception of the 7.5x55 which always get full length sized

If you neck size for your target rounds whats the difference to not using an expander ball. I neck size using bushing dies they dont have an expander at all. The expander ball is not necessary in a full lentgh die and setting the die up is no different from setting it up with the expander in place. I have been hand loading as opposed to re loading for over 30 years and have never managed to over size a case neck due to not using an expander ball.
What you need to do is find some one in your club who actually knows what he is talking about and learn from them.

kennyc wrote:then I refer you to my previous answer, you need to set the die differently to the manufacturers instructions, as if removing the ball expander doesn't alter the neck tension, then it isn't doing anything ergo theres no need to remove it ? please could you supply a guide to setting the die without the expander ball ?

What removing the expander ball does is increase case life as it is very hard on case necks, as I said I have never had an issue with condom bullets seating without the expander ball. Setting up the die without the expander is just the same as per the instructions. If you are having issues then we will need more information on your procedures to help you solve it

A depriming pin wont half get hold if it's over sized.

Simply I'd reckon the cases, bought "once fired" may have been fired in a chamber that's very slack. The Lee hand press is a great tool when used for such operations as expanding, seating or crimping. Sizing cases that are large or way out of spec, can be very difficult. I use the hand press all the time for the operations I've described, I've even resized .300 Win Mag cases with it, but I don't resize out of choice with a hand press and I'm not what you'd call a little bloke neither!

Using a universal decaying die is still going to require a sizing operation...