When I stuck my first case I watched a lot of videos on how to remove it. I saw the tap and die, heat and cool methods all which I think would work. Then before I tried any of these methods I checked my instructions that came with my Lee dies. There it was. “How to remove stuck case”. It basically said exactly what you did on your video. “Punch the brass out with the decapping rod.” Just remove the adjusting nut and use a mallet to drive it out. Your video was easy to understand and didn’t take a lot of time or tools. Thanks for making this video. Very, very,very useful.
Same here. The hardest part of this process was finding this video...youtube is always sending me in the wrong direction! Once I found it...DONE! Thank you Sir!
Been reloading for about 10 years, today was the first time I got a .223 stuck in the resizing die! Everything worked out fine, thank you for the video.
As stated by others, after removing the pin and case from the die, I found a small pipe cutting tool works great for cutting the stuck casing off the pin without scoring or damaging pin.
CONGRATULATONS! If you don't proper lube the case that will happen for sure. I have already faced it twice. The problem is that you realize too late whether the case is or not well lubed... uniform procedures (that's important). Thanks for recording the worst case scenario.
Watched multiple other videos and this was the best one of them all. Got it all done in about 5 minutes. The 3 minutes it takes to cut the brass (with a hand saw) is a lot easier than other videos ideas of tapping the flash hole and such. Great video and an excellent way to solve a stick case. I also put a little shot of aerosol case lube on the bottom, not sure if it helped or not.
Just had this happen to me the other day. brought the die to work and pushed it through with a 50 ton press. Yes it was overkill but didn't ruin anything other than my pride and had the press handy.
If you loosen the collet nut on to and take a drift punch and drive the case out . Then get a tubing cutter and cut the case to remove the Decapping rod you will lessen the chances of damage to your rod and pin
Had this happen today....I just put a piece of electrical take at the end of the case to keep the pin from sticking down through the primer pocket hole then mounted the pin with case back in the die and in the shell plate (had to have the shell plate loose for this step) of my lee loadmaster. The electrical tape keeps the pin up a bit higher and now you can retighten the pin in place.Screwed it back in the turret, dropped the ram and all came out no problem. Case is good, lubed and resized correctly now.
Lee instructions say to loosen clamp but don't remove it. Then use a punch& hammer to drive decapper down and that pushes shell out. Lee instructions worked for me...30sec job.
It's amazing what can be accomplished if people actually read the Manufacturers literature lol. The Lee decapping die makes a stuck case a non issue. But mine took me 31 sec. hahaha.
The decapping / depriming pin collet only needs to be tight enough as to hold the pin in place when pushing out the spent primer. If the collet is too tight the pin can't slip up through the collet should something be miss-aligned resulting in a broken pin or damaged press. Removing the collet by hand should therefore be possible with using wrenches and the use of a drill or impact wrench not necessary. Apart from that, thanks for the video, good to know what to do when things don't go to plan!
Hmmm. Mine arrived as tight as those in the video as well. I assumed they weren't supposed to be touched for whatever reason (I'm very new to reloading).
@@bjornefellhanded9708 The best way to learn with reloading is to get your hands dirty messing around with all the adjustments, don't rely on everything being setup for you straight out of the box. Follow the setup procedure that comes with the dies and you'll be fine. When I setup my depriming die, I loosened off the collet and fitted a spent case in the holder. I pulled down on the lever and watched the pin rise up as it tries to push out the spent primer. I'd repeat the process several times, loosening the collet, pushing down the pin so it's flush with the top of the collet and then tighten the collet a little more than last time. I reached a point where I could push out primers without the pin rising. Happy reloading!
@@PaulyDownUnder, set the bottom of your collet/ primer pin only 5mm below the bottom of the die. The primer will be removed without you moving you collet up. Having the top of the collet flush with the top of the die (how my die arrived) will cause what you said. Bring it up mate. Problem sorted👍
I have a block of 2x4 with a hole the size of the case to tap the pin and case out of the die. I then use a pipe cutter to cut the brass in half to remove from decapping pin.
Just out of curiosity do you think this would work? Once you have the stuck case out, would it be possible to re-lube it and re assemble the die and relocate the shell holder on a good area of the case groove and use the press to pull the case off of the de-capping rod? Once I re-read this post, cutting does seem easier. I have small copper tubing cutters that would easily cut the case in half without any chance of damaging the rod.
I thought I lubed my 30-06 die enough, but I didn’t. I have pounded and pounded to try and get mine out like you did, but that casing isn’t budging out of the die. I even kinda mushroomed the top of the de-capping pin, which that’s a easy fix. What were you going to do if the casing didn’t come out like it did when you hammered it? Hell, I’ve even thought about letting it soak over night in oil. I mean, I can get it out, but at this rate I’ll destroy my die.
When you say cut it, do you mean cut the bottom off the casing, take the deprimer out, and cut the inside wall of the casing? I thought about putting all of it in a press and pressing the de-primer down against the shell casing to push it out. Hell, idk, I just done wanna mess up my resizing/de- priming die.
Thank you so much. This helped a lot. I was going through all the cases to make sure they were all deprimed and i missed one and i put it in then it got stuck. So i pulled down and the rim got ripped off. And i tried lubing it. But it was still stuck. I tried this trick and now everything is good.
Yup, makes the reloading session suck. Just had a similar problem with my RCBS 223 die. The expander rod was stuck inside the case and couldn’t be it to release. RCBS does have a Stuck Case Remover and Stuck Case Remover 2. The Stuck Case Remover-- Has you drill out the primer pocket and then retap the hole with threads, then a metal cover with a screw which goes into the new threats you tapped will pull the casing out of the die. Now they do supply a wrench to use with the screw, however I found at some point it was really tie and I had to get another hex tool with longer length to get some better torque. The RCBS tool worked and the brass case backed out of the die. Stuck Case Remover 2- This will assist in removing the expander rod out of the top of the die and from your stuck brass. There are a few video using this tool, however it appears fairly straightforward and will pull that expander rod out. I don’t see this two items sold as one kit, so you will need to purchase separately. Best to all,
This vid helped me out of a jam. Just got a case stuck in my Lee 223 die. Same jam. The rod wouldn't come out. I dremeled the brass case to get it out.
I had same issue. Found other videos though needed this one as it was specific to same die I have. Anyhow, I followed all directions and what had frustrated me for ~20 minutes prior was resolved in ~3. Although now I am having trouble getting the collet back on the pin for re installation into body. Perhaps need to sand down the top of pin a little? I may have got a little over zealous with the hammer :(
The easy way to do this with a lee die is leave the die in the press, remove the collet, take hammer tap the stem, when it breaks loose, with the stem still in place, replace the collet, tighten, lower the ram and remove the case.
if you can still engage the case head with a single stage shell holder then slip the shell holder out of your single stage press; insert your stuck die into the single stage press, thread it in about normal; raise the ram, and with the opening of the shell holder facing toward the stuck case head slip the shoe onto the single stage ram while engaging the stuck shell head at the same time.... lower the ram. this usually get 'em
Sanded down end of pin that goes in collet with very fine sandpaper and got it to fit again, finished batch of cases I was sizing and all checked out good in the headspace gauge after. If I have to go thru this again I'll probably use a deadblow hammer instead of a framing hammer when removing pin from body.
Leave the die in the press. Loosen the collar. Tap the case out using a hammer. Raise the ram until the spindle comes through the collar. Tighten the collar. Lower the ram. Pull the shellholder off. Raise the ram and slide the shellholder in the slot and on the rim. Pull the case out of the die. Note:Do not raise the ram high enough to push the case back in the sizing die.
Just had this happen yesterday. I left the die in the press. I loosened the top clamp nut. Took a drift pin and punched the rod and stuck case out of die. The rod was still stuck to the case, so I put it all back together. Attached a needle nose vise grip to casing and hit the extended jaws a couple of time and the case fell off. Now just have to adjust the rod to the correct length.
Carbide rifle still need lube Carbide pistol do not (Although if you wet tumble its highly suggested if you want to enjoy your reloading time. Super clean brass sticks and jerks press. Just unnecessary friction and resistance) walnut and cob tumbling maybe with a little nufinish wax ...like butter. But I don't like the mess, dust, and dirt from dry tumbling anymore
The reason is bottle neck rifles have an expander that.goes inside the case to reform the mouth as it comes back out. That gets stuck and is what rips your case head out the shell plate most the time
I'd put a wood block over the pin before you hammer or, you might mushroom your pin and have to file it back down. Your decapping pin nut shouldn't be too tight, you want it to release your pin before it breaks. Just my two cents.
Haha just setting mine up and for some dumbass reason I ran a case through then screamed noooo!! Had to take the top of pro 1000 off to get die out. Your video helped tho. I used a gas copper tube cutter to get the brass off. Worked like a charm. Definitely won't do that again...... Hopefully lol
Hook the drill up to the sizer and and let friction heat up the brass until you can pull them apart. Put some tension as the brass is heating up. Should take like two mins. it works I did it today. 6.13.17
here is a trick stick the die in the oven at 150 to 200 for 20 minutes then hit the case with wart freeze or canned air held upside down the hot die is expanded then the freeze will cause brass to contract.
Ghost Shadow You can also put it on a stove burner till it heats the die up enough to make the brass soft.then tske a pair of pliers and it will pull right out the bottom.be sure to let the die cool slowly over a few hours.
Just leave the die in press, loosen the col-let and de-priming pin and case fall out bottom. Channel locks on case and vice-grips on pin will separate them. Re-assemble. Do NOT assume you can continue by properly LUBING future cases! A film of BRASS builds up in die wall and must be removed! I learned this the hard way. Also turning the shell holder to grab whats left only takes the rest of the case rim off so don't bother-LOL.
Message to ALL: when resizing brass especially .223 but including all other calibers, do NOT use liquid based “brass lube”!!!! Use the thicker and wax like products and you’ll almost never have stuck brass. I even use muzzle loader anti seize lubricant when I’m running low and never get stuck cases anymore. I’m pretty sure the liquid stuff not only sucks, but causes a vacuum like effect, and doesn’t provide adequate lubrication, etc!
My stuck case is worse then that, did the hammering, no luck, need to try something else! BTW on other tight cases before this happened, if the die and case were 'squeaking' even with enough lube, I'd add a thin smear of bearing grease and the case would resize with ease! (processing 7.62 Tok for 30 Mauser loads) On .223 I never thought to try grease until I was too late!
So you used a pair of side cutters or a dremel tool to get the case off of the pin....well my stupidness has led me to this point as well. When you get to this stage where you have a piece of brass in your hand that also has a decapping pin still stuck in it.....STOP THERE AND READ THIS CAREFULLY! Hold the brass with a pair of pliers use that piece of hardwood (the one you keep under the bench for using with your kinetic hammer) hold the brass tight and hammer the side of the pliers on said wood. The kinetic force will spit out the pin. I hope this makes sense to you readers, and for all I know CGA has already figured it out himself? If you have the need to see it in action 'like' this comment and I'll intentionally get one stuck and upload a video as to how it's done.
When I stuck my first case I watched a lot of videos on how to remove it. I saw the tap and die, heat and cool methods all which I think would work. Then before I tried any of these methods I checked my instructions that came with my Lee dies. There it was. “How to remove stuck case”. It basically said exactly what you did on your video. “Punch the brass out with the decapping rod.” Just remove the adjusting nut and use a mallet to drive it out. Your video was easy to understand and didn’t take a lot of time or tools. Thanks for making this video. Very, very,very useful.
Thank you for your demonstration. I had the "worst case" scenario as well and I was able to resolve my issue with your guidance.
Same here. The hardest part of this process was finding this video...youtube is always sending me in the wrong direction! Once I found it...DONE! Thank you Sir!
Been reloading for about 10 years, today was the first time I got a .223 stuck in the resizing die! Everything worked out fine, thank you for the video.
As stated by others, after removing the pin and case from the die, I found a small pipe cutting tool works great for cutting the stuck casing off the pin without scoring or damaging pin.
slotcarfan that‘s genius, and a good way to recycle my copper pipe cutter, since I installed pex in the house!
This video was very helpful. As I don't have an impact wrench, I used a 1/2" socket wrench instead and it worked really well. Thanks.
Just had a .223 stuck in a Lee die, I'm so thankful I found this before I destroyed my dies! Thank you sir!
Newfoundland Exploration Team you're very welcome. Glad I could help
CONGRATULATONS! If you don't proper lube the case that will happen for sure. I have already faced it twice. The problem is that you realize too late whether the case is or not well lubed... uniform procedures (that's important).
Thanks for recording the worst case scenario.
Great video!! Direct and straight to the point. Thank You!!
Watched multiple other videos and this was the best one of them all. Got it all done in about 5 minutes. The 3 minutes it takes to cut the brass (with a hand saw) is a lot easier than other videos ideas of tapping the flash hole and such. Great video and an excellent way to solve a stick case. I also put a little shot of aerosol case lube on the bottom, not sure if it helped or not.
joerules3345 thx a lot I appreciate it
Thank you. I did the same thing today and your video saved me from a lot of messing around.
Good video. I just ordered a rock chucker kit to start reloading. Now I know how to handle a stuck case if I need too.
You saved my bacon. I just did my negligence bit and you showed me the way. Thanks.
thank you brother!!! your video helped a lot !!! I was warming my head about how to take the case !!!!!
Np im glad it helped
💪💪💪🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷
Just had this happen to me the other day. brought the die to work and pushed it through with a 50 ton press. Yes it was overkill but didn't ruin anything other than my pride and had the press handy.
If you loosen the collet nut on to and take a drift punch and drive the case out . Then get a tubing cutter and cut the case to remove the Decapping rod you will lessen the chances of damage to your rod and pin
You are and were my saviour thank you for the help
Had this happen today....I just put a piece of electrical take at the end of the case to keep the pin from sticking down through the primer pocket hole then mounted the pin with case back in the die and in the shell plate (had to have the shell plate loose for this step) of my lee loadmaster. The electrical tape keeps the pin up a bit higher and now you can retighten the pin in place.Screwed it back in the turret, dropped the ram and all came out no problem. Case is good, lubed and resized correctly now.
I was wondering what the lube was for that came with the die.........Now I'm in this boat!!! Thanks for the upload
we all live and learn. I bet you wont do that again lol
Lee instructions say to loosen clamp but don't remove it. Then use a punch& hammer to drive decapper down and that pushes shell out.
Lee instructions worked for me...30sec job.
Takes longer to readjust the bloody thing afterwards...
It's amazing what can be accomplished if people actually read the Manufacturers literature lol. The Lee decapping die makes a stuck case a non issue. But mine took me 31 sec. hahaha.
The decapping / depriming pin collet only needs to be tight enough as to hold the pin in place when pushing out the spent primer. If the collet is too tight the pin can't slip up through the collet should something be miss-aligned resulting in a broken pin or damaged press. Removing the collet by hand should therefore be possible with using wrenches and the use of a drill or impact wrench not necessary. Apart from that, thanks for the video, good to know what to do when things don't go to plan!
100% right !!
Hmmm. Mine arrived as tight as those in the video as well. I assumed they weren't supposed to be touched for whatever reason (I'm very new to reloading).
@@bjornefellhanded9708 The best way to learn with reloading is to get your hands dirty messing around with all the adjustments, don't rely on everything being setup for you straight out of the box. Follow the setup procedure that comes with the dies and you'll be fine. When I setup my depriming die, I loosened off the collet and fitted a spent case in the holder. I pulled down on the lever and watched the pin rise up as it tries to push out the spent primer. I'd repeat the process several times, loosening the collet, pushing down the pin so it's flush with the top of the collet and then tighten the collet a little more than last time. I reached a point where I could push out primers without the pin rising. Happy reloading!
@@PaulyDownUnder, set the bottom of your collet/ primer pin only 5mm below the bottom of the die. The primer will be removed without you moving you collet up. Having the top of the collet flush with the top of the die (how my die arrived) will cause what you said. Bring it up mate. Problem sorted👍
I have a block of 2x4 with a hole the size of the case to tap the pin and case out of the die. I then use a pipe cutter to cut the brass in half to remove from decapping pin.
Just out of curiosity do you think this would work?
Once you have the stuck case out, would it be possible to re-lube it and re assemble the die and relocate the shell holder on a good area of the case groove and use the press to pull the case off of the de-capping rod?
Once I re-read this post, cutting does seem easier. I have small copper tubing cutters that would easily cut the case in half without any chance of damaging the rod.
yes that might would. i have ne of those 2
That's exactly what I just did and it worked.... After a couple tries
Saved my ass😂 lubed the case good but damn that sucker just slipped out holder and that bad boy was stuck thanks man!
“Guys Lube your brass”
I thought I lubed my 30-06 die enough, but I didn’t. I have pounded and pounded to try and get mine out like you did, but that casing isn’t budging out of the die. I even kinda mushroomed the top of the de-capping pin, which that’s a easy fix. What were you going to do if the casing didn’t come out like it did when you hammered it? Hell, I’ve even thought about letting it soak over night in oil. I mean, I can get it out, but at this rate I’ll destroy my die.
I was going to cut it
When you say cut it, do you mean cut the bottom off the casing, take the deprimer out, and cut the inside wall of the casing? I thought about putting all of it in a press and pressing the de-primer down against the shell casing to push it out. Hell, idk, I just done wanna mess up my resizing/de- priming die.
Good job and good video. Lube is slick, ha!
Worked perfectly thanks
Thank you so much. This helped a lot. I was going through all the cases to make sure they were all deprimed and i missed one and i put it in then it got stuck. So i pulled down and the rim got ripped off. And i tried lubing it. But it was still stuck. I tried this trick and now everything is good.
Is the biggest issue causing stuck cases not enough lube, or get stuck on the sizing bell (Lee die)
Yup, makes the reloading session suck. Just had a similar problem with my RCBS 223 die. The expander rod was stuck inside the case and couldn’t be it to release. RCBS does have a Stuck Case Remover and Stuck Case Remover 2.
The Stuck Case Remover-- Has you drill out the primer pocket and then retap the hole with threads, then a metal cover with a screw which goes into the new threats you tapped will pull the casing out of the die. Now they do supply a wrench to use with the screw, however I found at some point it was really tie and I had to get another hex tool with longer length to get some better torque. The RCBS tool worked and the brass case backed out of the die.
Stuck Case Remover 2- This will assist in removing the expander rod out of the top of the die and from your stuck brass. There are a few video using this tool, however it appears fairly straightforward and will pull that expander rod out.
I don’t see this two items sold as one kit, so you will need to purchase separately.
Best to all,
This vid helped me out of a jam. Just got a case stuck in my Lee 223 die. Same jam. The rod wouldn't come out. I dremeled the brass case to get it out.
Hey thanks a lot for the kind words. This is the main reason why I do youtube. Im glad I can help anyway I can
I had same issue. Found other videos though needed this one as it was specific to same die I have. Anyhow, I followed all directions and what had frustrated me for ~20 minutes prior was resolved in ~3. Although now I am having trouble getting the collet back on the pin for re installation into body. Perhaps need to sand down the top of pin a little? I may have got a little over zealous with the hammer :(
I leave the die in the press when doing this . It is much easier . A tubing cutter cuts the brass easily .
Good idea. Thanks
The easy way to do this with a lee die is leave the die in the press, remove the collet, take hammer tap the stem, when it breaks loose, with the stem still in place, replace the collet, tighten, lower the ram and remove the case.
if you can still engage the case head with a single stage shell holder then slip the shell holder out of your single stage press; insert your stuck die into the single stage press, thread it in about normal; raise the ram, and with the opening of the shell holder facing toward the stuck case head slip the shoe onto the single stage ram while engaging the stuck shell head at the same time.... lower the ram. this usually get 'em
Sanded down end of pin that goes in collet with very fine sandpaper and got it to fit again, finished batch of cases I was sizing and all checked out good in the headspace gauge after.
If I have to go thru this again I'll probably use a deadblow hammer instead of a framing hammer when removing pin from body.
good idea! glad i could help
Thank you very much ! It`s working !
Leave the die in the press. Loosen the collar. Tap the case out using a hammer. Raise the ram until the spindle comes through the collar. Tighten the collar. Lower the ram. Pull the shellholder off. Raise the ram and slide the shellholder in the slot and on the rim. Pull the case out of the die.
Note:Do not raise the ram high enough to push the case back in the sizing die.
Just had this happen yesterday. I left the die in the press. I loosened the top clamp nut. Took a drift pin and punched the rod and stuck case out of die. The rod was still stuck to the case, so I put it all back together. Attached a needle nose vise grip to casing and hit the extended jaws a couple of time and the case fell off. Now just have to adjust the rod to the correct length.
i guess thats another way of doing it. Good job
No cases to remove in Canada anymore.
Was this a carbide die? Those clam to not need lube
No it was not. Not enough lube!
Carbide rifle still need lube
Carbide pistol do not
(Although if you wet tumble its highly suggested if you want to enjoy your reloading time. Super clean brass sticks and jerks press. Just unnecessary friction and resistance) walnut and cob tumbling maybe with a little nufinish wax ...like butter. But I don't like the mess, dust, and dirt from dry tumbling anymore
The reason is bottle neck rifles have an expander that.goes inside the case to reform the mouth as it comes back out. That gets stuck and is what rips your case head out the shell plate most the time
I'd put a wood block over the pin before you hammer or, you might mushroom your pin and have to file it back down. Your decapping pin nut shouldn't be too tight, you want it to release your pin before it breaks. Just my two cents.
Haha just setting mine up and for some dumbass reason I ran a case through then screamed noooo!! Had to take the top of pro 1000 off to get die out. Your video helped tho. I used a gas copper tube cutter to get the brass off. Worked like a charm. Definitely won't do that again...... Hopefully lol
Hook the drill up to the sizer and and let friction heat up the brass until you can pull them apart. Put some tension as the brass is heating up. Should take like two mins. it works I did it today. 6.13.17
cool. thanks
here is a trick stick the die in the oven at 150 to 200 for 20 minutes then hit the case with wart freeze or canned air held upside down the hot die is expanded then the freeze will cause brass to contract.
that could work i guess. but i found this way to be easier. Thanks
Sometimes tapping on the screw for the expander/decapper will not move the case.
Ghost Shadow You can also put it on a stove burner till it heats the die up enough to make the brass soft.then tske a pair of pliers and it will pull right out the bottom.be sure to let the die cool slowly over a few hours.
Oh, had to cut shell in half with tubing cutter to remove shell from decapper.
Gracias, así solucionare el problema, dado lee 243. Tamaulipas México.
Just leave the die in press, loosen the col-let and de-priming pin and case fall out bottom. Channel locks on case and vice-grips on pin will separate them. Re-assemble. Do NOT assume you can continue by properly LUBING future cases! A film of BRASS builds up in die wall and must be removed! I learned this the hard way. Also turning the shell holder to grab whats left only takes the rest of the case rim off so don't bother-LOL.
yes that will work too
Message to ALL: when resizing brass especially .223 but including all other calibers, do NOT use liquid based “brass lube”!!!! Use the thicker and wax like products and you’ll almost never have stuck brass. I even use muzzle loader anti seize lubricant when I’m running low and never get stuck cases anymore. I’m pretty sure the liquid stuff not only sucks, but causes a vacuum like effect, and doesn’t provide adequate lubrication, etc!
THX. helped a lot !
my pleasure. Thanks for watching
your not the only one.
My stuck case is worse then that, did the hammering, no luck, need to try something else! BTW on other tight cases before this happened, if the die and case were 'squeaking' even with enough lube, I'd add a thin smear of bearing grease and the case would resize with ease! (processing 7.62 Tok for 30 Mauser loads) On .223 I never thought to try grease until I was too late!
I tried with my 30/06. Screwed my die and bent the pin and broke my decapping pin off
Damn that sucks.
Canadian Gear Addict on the upside i got to shop for a new one! Lol
Haha perfect.
Going thru this at the moment its happend once before but this time its stuck im going to use the freezer trick
Ever read directions.
Happened to me, never had it happen to other calibers ive loaded. 3006. 4 cases in. All cases lubed. Never happened to you?
Holy jeez, I did the exact same thing but with 300 Blkout, here goes nothing.
we have all done the same thing.
So you used a pair of side cutters or a dremel tool to get the case off of the pin....well my stupidness has led me to this point as well. When you get to this stage where you have a piece of brass in your hand that also has a decapping pin still stuck in it.....STOP THERE AND READ THIS CAREFULLY! Hold the brass with a pair of pliers use that piece of hardwood (the one you keep under the bench for using with your kinetic hammer) hold the brass tight and hammer the side of the pliers on said wood. The kinetic force will spit out the pin. I hope this makes sense to you readers, and for all I know CGA has already figured it out himself? If you have the need to see it in action 'like' this comment and I'll intentionally get one stuck and upload a video as to how it's done.
klntym that makes sense. Ty
Im new, i didnt lube. damnit
Arbor press
Yup you gotta at least spit on it 😏 lol
I just use a drill
+DALA BEAST That could work too