Die bottoming out

[spife7980]

I'm going to sand the shell holder and the die now and keep going until something changes I'm at the point where I couldn't care less whether i stuff my die or shellholder

If your shell holder isn't touching it while sizing now sanding it further won't get it any further in.

I would buy a box of shells, shoot them in your chamber for 100% certainty. If that doesn't shine any light then return the body die and get a full length of another flavor since you're not wanting to invest a whole lot yet. If that doesn't work return the whole thing.

 

[LHSmith]

After watching a few vids on You Tube on this press, I believe with the presses poor mounting base set-up coupled with a less than sturdy bench and a lube that is not optimal, yes, the force require to squeeze the base diameter back to spec will seem like the press will be ripped off the bench to complete the sizing operation. What exasperates the problem is the brass was allowed to work harden and is much more resistant to body sizing than if it had just been FL sized everytime from the gitgo. It's an aluminum cast press with lots of stamped linkage......poor design for CF rifle cartridge sizing. Compounding the problem is the die is unproven to the best of the OP's knowledge and may be a poor fit for his chamber. A custom sized Whidden die would make life much easier and the cost could be largely offset by selling the NS and body die.

 

[T-shooter]

After watching a few vids on You Tube on this press, I believe with the presses poor mounting base set-up coupled with a less than sturdy bench and a lube that is not optimal, yes, the force require to squeeze the base diameter back to spec will seem like the press will be ripped off the bench to complete the sizing operation. What exasperates the problem is the brass was allowed to work harden and is much more resistant to body sizing than if it had just been FL sized everytime from the gitgo. It's an aluminum cast press with lots of stamped linkage......poor design for CF rifle cartridge sizing. Compounding the problem is the die is unproven to the best of the OP's knowledge and may be a poor fit for his chamber. A custom sized Whidden die would make life much easier and the cost could be largely offset by selling the NS and body die.

The aluminum press isn't that strong. I had one for a while and I noticed the ram getting very loose in the frame, even though it was well lubed from day one. It also will flex quite a bit being aluminum. I replaced it with the cast iron Lee breech lock single-stage press that has a 1-1/4" diameter ram. Much stronger and the bore for the ram is still as tight as new after a few years of use.

 

[Pigdog]

Hey guys I just wanna say thanks again to you all for all your input in helping out a complete stranger this forum would have to be the most helpful I've come across.

Well guess what I'm the worlds stupidest redneck. After reading those last couple of comments about how it will feel like you are ripping the press out of the bench I decided to go try just that and see if I could rip the press of the bench. And guess what !!!! It sized it alright all the way down to 1.378!!!! All that sanding stuffing my dies and shell holder what an idiot hopefully someone can learn from my stupidity. sorry for wasting you time and thanks again

 

[Pigdog]

So I have gone through and sized all my cases that wouldn't chamber I have managed to find a bump back of about 2.5 thou. Now because I have sanded the die and shellholder so much I cannot have them come together cos it oversizes it down to 1.378. So I am sizing it without shell holder and die touching and it still works fine the only thing is it's leaving a slight ring at the head of the case that is slightly thicker than the rest of the case because the very end of the case doesn't go into the die. Is this ok??

 

[LHSmith]

So I have gone through and sized all my cases that wouldn't chamber I have managed to find a bump back of about 2.5 thou. Now because I have sanded the die and shellholder so much I cannot have them come together cos it oversizes it down to 1.378. So I am sizing it without shell holder and die touching and it still works fine the only thing is it's leaving a slight ring at the head of the case that is slightly thicker than the rest of the case because the very end of the case doesn't go into the die. Is this ok??

If it chambers OK-it is good to go. Normally there is always a 3/16 portion of the case head that is left unsized.

 

[LHSmith]

Thanks for the brain-twister. I also learned a lot from that exercise.
I am sure the members here appreciate the feedback you provided all the way through. Many times the OP with a problem never posts the final outcome and leaves us hanging.

 

[Homerange]

After reading those last couple of comments about how it will feel like you are ripping the press out of the bench I decided to go try just that and see if I could rip the press of the bench. And guess what !!!! It sized it alright all the way down to 1.378!!!! All that sanding stuffing my dies and shell holder what an idiot hopefully someone can learn from my stupidity. sorry for wasting you time and thanks again

Which makes me think you started this journey with the dies wound too far in as to not have had the advantage of the additional leverage near the end of the sizing stroke.
Or doesn't this press cam over ?
Better or more lube might be called for.

I used to struggle with FL sizing with a little alloy O-ring Lee press and got a Rockchucker for the bigger calibres but then went to Lee collet dies to reduce the need to FL size brass anyway.

 

[JRS]

Which makes me think you started this journey with the dies wound too far in as to not have had the advantage of the additional leverage near the end of the sizing stroke.
Or doesn't this press cam over ?
Better or more lube might be called for.

I used to struggle with FL sizing with a little alloy O-ring Lee press and got a Rockchucker for the bigger calibres but then went to Lee collet dies to reduce the need to FL size brass anyway.

AFAIK, LEE presses do not "cam over". It's nothing more than a feel good feature anyway.