Decapping rod modification
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Just as most things these days, it seems that no matter how much you spend or who you spend it with, you need to modify the product you receive in order for it to work properly. There are no doubt companies out there that make sure things are right, but they are so few that it's nearly impossible to find them.
My .223AI die refused to drop primers correctly. It would knock the primer out and the primer anvil gets stuck on the decapping pin, then the primer pin drags the primer back up into the pocket wedging it in there just enough to make it not drop out.
So I had to profile the end of the pin.
The expander mandrel had a large flat spot on the bottom of it which would crash into the top of the case mouth if it were not completely and totally centered. So I had to profile that as well. I need to take it down just a bit farther than the picture shows as it still bumps the mouth at times.
It's so very disappointing that a die would be delivered in this non-functioning configuration.
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I have to do both of those things to every Lee decapping pin that I use for bulk 223 processing. It doesn't have an expander ball, but just above the small pin is a square shoulder that ruins about 1:5 brass when I am running quickly. I grind the square shoulder down to a taper to eliminate this problem.
I round off the tip to keep it from pulling primers back into the pockets. Otherwise the swage rod on the 1050 will seat the old primer flush with the bottom of the pocket ruining the brass and sometimes bending the swage rod.
Simple solutions...but would be nice if the factory would take care of them before sending them out. Problem is that most people making dies are not reloading on any scale.
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Just chuck them up in a drill and lightly file?
I am about to make some dust so I will add that chore.
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A file or emery paper will work fine for the tip. It will take a while on the shoulder though. I use a bench grinder for that.
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@orkan
Is that a custom whidden set? I wasn't really impressed with their whole expander rod and setup in general
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@ragnarnar Yes. In the future I'm going to order a Forster decapping rod to replace the entire assembly each time I order a whidden set. I very much prefer forsters decapping rod which places the expander ball up high. I've run into runout issues several times with whiddens setup.
I'm going to have to try and find a no-compromise custom die maker. I'm actually pretty tired of fixing my dies. My custom 22 creedmoor die has nasty sharp edge on the neck/shoulder junction which leaves terrible vertical scars on my brass. Going to have to get that in a lathe and go at it with some pretty aggressive abrasive to get it straightened out.
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@orkan
You read my mind about the Forster expanders. I was going to ask if that was a possible solution.The shitty quality of the whidden one is what pushed me to start expanding in a separate operation. I guess I'm gonna have to order a few Forster ones also.
Primal rights custom dies.... has some ring to it.
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@ragnarnar said:
You read my mind about the Forster expanders. I was going to ask if that was a possible solution.
Yup, the forster decapping rod threads right into the whidden custom tops. As long as you have the one that has the threaded hole all the way through the top. If the top die insert is solid on top, then it won't work. I just recently swapped a 6BR forster decapper into a whidden 6 dasher die. Worked like a charm and solved the runout problem on the dasher die.
I wonder if forster has a patent there that gets in the way of whidden doing it... because it is obviously superior.
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Looks like brownells has almost all available in stock.
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Forgive my ignorance, but does expander-stem-cartridge-make matter that much, or should I just be looking for one close to the same length as my cartridge?
Wouldn't a 7mm Rem mag, 7mm Ultra Mag and a .284 Win expander all accomplish the same thing in my 7LRM, if they're adjusted correctly, or do I need one type specifically?
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I would think that if it's close to the same length it should work fine.
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@orkan said:
@ragnarnar Yes. In the future I'm going to order a Forster decapping rod to replace the entire assembly each time I order a whidden set. I very much prefer forsters decapping rod which places the expander ball up high. I've run into runout issues several times with whiddens setup.
Well, I just somehow broke my whidden custom 7LRM decap/expander rod. Not sure how. I had sized 3, and it didn't seem like my dies was adjusted right. And sure enough, the rod is bent up in the body, and my necks are crooked. For a $300 set, I'm not terribly impressed.
I'll have to take a look at Forster decapping rods..
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I guess I sized 6 cases. It must have broke on number 4. Because the first 3 are good, and 5 and 6 have bent necks.
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@curt1521 said:
Well, I just somehow broke my whidden custom 7LRM decap/expander rod. Not sure how. I had sized 3, and it didn't seem like my dies was adjusted right. And sure enough, the rod is bent up in the body, and my necks are crooked. For a $300 set, I'm not terribly impressed.
I'll have to take a look at Forster decapping rods..
Having the dies adjusted improperly can and will damage them.
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@orkan said:
@curt1521 said:
Well, I just somehow broke my whidden custom 7LRM decap/expander rod. Not sure how. I had sized 3, and it didn't seem like my dies was adjusted right. And sure enough, the rod is bent up in the body, and my necks are crooked. For a $300 set, I'm not terribly impressed.
I'll have to take a look at Forster decapping rods..
Having the dies adjusted improperly can and will damage them.
They were probably adjusted wrong. I did follow their YouTube video on how to set them up, but who knows. I already ordered a Forster stem, so that should be here next week.
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Having the decaping rod adjusted to far down causes this. It bottoms out on the bottom of the case and causes it to bend. With the amount of leverage a press gives you it's likely you never realized it bottomed out. I had a forester FL sizer do that to me. It couldn't get it to bump he shoulder back and wasn't paying attention as I adjusted the die further down I didn't adjust the decaping rod up. Never was able to get that forester die to bump the shoulder either
