9mm stuck cases

Jimfix44 · #1 01-07-2012, 08:44 PM

I had a problem to day I haven't had before and hope you boys have some insight for me.
I was loading 9mm and I had about a dozen cases (out of 400) stick as I was resizing them I have never had this problem before. I have been loading for a little over 2 years.
I use Lee dies, a Huerters 3A press and it was mostly Win Brass. Some of the sticks were WIN and some were no name - Military I assume (fc on head).
After #2 stuck case I took the die apart and cleaned it and reset the depriming pin.
Any ideas why this started to happen all of a sudden?

foxtail · #2 01-07-2012, 08:48 PM

Have you cleaned the dies lately? I had a problem with a dirty set of 38 dies. Just a thought.

Aussie D · #3 01-07-2012, 08:54 PM

A couple of quick ones:
* are the dies Carbide dies, if so no lube required, if not Carbide, lube is required

* are your cases clean? Clean cases, good, dirty, tarnished cases can add to friction

Cheers,

Aussie D

Dragon88 · #4 01-07-2012, 08:56 PM

Though we often treat 9mm as a straight walled pistol cartridge, the case does in fact have a slight taper to it. This make it a little more difficult to resize than other pistol cases. Was the brass clean, i.e. tumbled for at least one hour? Your issue was likely caused by dirty dies, thick or hard cases, and possibly grime on the cases.

Has this happened again after you cleaned the dies?

Jimfix44 · #5 01-07-2012, 09:16 PM

Thanks for the quick repies.
- The brass was tumbled in walnut media for an adequate time. Brass is clean and I don't think has grit on it - at least Major grit
- I cleaned the die after the second stick with Brake Clean and then ran patch through it. I did not lube the die or cases.

As I was progressing through the batch I was searching my brain looking for the cause - remembering a lot of things I have read here. The taper wall on 9mm came to mind since I have never had this issue with 40SW. But.. I have loaded several thousand rounds of 9mm without this problem before I have to assume something has changed on me.

jepp2 · #6 01-07-2012, 10:51 PM

A few things to keep in mind.

For handgun carbide dies, lube is not required, but if you use some lube it will substantially reduce the sizing effort.

As mentioned the 9mm is a more difficult case to size than straight wall cases. To me it is borderline to use in carbide without lube. I find that tumbling the cases in media with NuFinish added makes sizing much easier than tumbling in just plain media. It leaves enough of a finish on the outside of the brass to assist with sizing.

When you say the cases stuck, do you mean like a stuck rifle case where the shellholder pulls the rim off? When my Lee 9mm carbide die starts causing problems (and it might be just marking the brass) I polish the carbide ring with Flitz (dowel rod with paper towel and Flitz on my cordless drill). Flitz will not do anything to the carbide except clean it really well. I find I get some brass burnish on the carbide after sizing enough brass (I start seeing the sides of the sized brass has some marks that it didn't previously have). After the Flitz polish, all is well.

thedane · #7 01-07-2012, 11:52 PM

I had the same problem. It was caused by Winchester NATO cases. You can tell they're NATO by the NATO symbol (circle with cross hairs) on the rear of the case. You can get around the problem by partially sizing the case then raising the die and twisting the case and then finally you can size the case. I think the brass is slightly thicker. In addition, the primer pockets need to be reamed. It's just not worth the effort. In my opinion, if they're NATO cases throw them away.

Grayraven · #8 01-08-2012, 02:38 PM

Difficulty Resizing 9mm Cases
Posted by Stephanie Lee on 14 December 2011 01:54 PM
The 9mm is one of the most difficult cases to size. The
reason for this is that the case is tapered and as a result more of the
case is in contact with the carbide ring increasing the friction. A
couple of tricks can make the resizing job easier.

Do not clean you cases before sizing. Clean shiny brass is the most
difficult to size. Clean brass tends to be sticky and can gall your die.
The oxides and graphite that build up on fired cases make them slippery
and easier to size. If you do clean your cases before sizing us a spray
lube or even a light spray of aerosol furniture polish. Another trick is
to put your cleaned cases in a lightly oiled cloth and massage them
between your hands like a bag of marbles to give them a light coating of
oil. Doing any of these things will make the resizing job a lot easier
and eliminate stuck cases.

If you have sized a lot of cleaned cases without lubing them you may
have some brass buildup (galling) on the carbide ring. You can remove
this by wrapping 180 grain emery paper around a dowel and sanding the
carbide ring. The emery paper will not scratch the carbide.

Jimfix44 · #9 01-08-2012, 04:27 PM

Thanks everyone for your responses.
* Jepp2 - I had never heard of Flitz before but looked it up and gonna get some..Paste or Liquid? I will use it to polish this 9mm sizing die. I have ran probably 6000 rounds through it so it may have some buildup in there. Can you use Flitz on a glass stove top?
* I didn't see any NATO markings on the stuck cases. There were some cases marked "fc" which I think is Lake City(?).
* The replies about the tapered wall and the help that a very light lube gives 9mm were great. I have a friend who uses Nu-Finish in his walnut media and says he doesn't need to lube rifle cases after they are tumbled as there is enough slick left on the case to size with (YMMV). I may add some NuFinish to my media. I have resisted that so far.

Now for the interesting part. I sized about a hundred cases this afternoon with no sticks. The only 2 things different than yesterday are the die has dried overnight after I cleaned it with BrakeKleen yesterday and it is about 5 degrees F warmer today here at the bench.Probably getting into the low 50's.

Thanks for all your help and happy loading & shooting!

Dragon88 · #10 01-08-2012, 04:39 PM

NuFinish is a good additive for media in my experience. Your cases will shine up quicker, and it helps to settle any remaining dust in a new batch of media. You can also add some to well used media to "re-activate" and get more use out of it before changing.

jepp2 · #11 01-08-2012, 05:59 PM

I use the Flitz paste.

I make the flannel or paper towel a tight fit in the die and spin it at 1100 rpm. Then I spin untreated flannel or paper towel. I do the same for rifle dies and it does reduce the sizing effort.

Not sure about using it on a stove top. It does have some abrasive in it. Read the carton and try a test spot.

fredj338 · #12 01-08-2012, 07:02 PM

I think it's impossible to get a case stuck in a carbide die. Make sure your die is carbide, if not YOU MUST use case lube to prevent stuck cases. You may get away w/ it for some, but eventually you'll stick one.

fredj338 · #13 01-08-2012, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grayraven

Do not clean you cases before sizing. Clean shiny brass is the most
difficult to size. Clean brass tends to be sticky and can gall your die.
The oxides and graphite that build up on fired cases make them slippery
and easier to size. If you do clean your cases before sizing us a spray
lube or even a light spray of aerosol furniture polish. Another trick is
to put your cleaned cases in a lightly oiled cloth and massage them
between your hands like a bag of marbles to give them a light coating of
oil. Doing any of these things will make the resizing job a lot easier
and eliminate stuck cases.
.

THis is nonsense, figures Lee would post something like that. I tumblw w/ a bit of Nufinish or Dillon polish, the cases are actually a bit slicker than when dirty. Sure, oil on your cases is a great idea??? My tumbled cases size much easier than the dirty ones.