45LC Lyman All American Dies Way Too Tight

[jonp]

I just got a set of All American Dies from someone on this site (Thanks, Jason) but am running into a problem with the Full Length Re-sizing Die. The brass is way too big to fit into it or another way to say it is that the brass is so tight that I'm afraid to run it all the way in because the rim might rip off. I can only get a less than 1/2 in into it before I can't really move the handle much anymore. I used the One Shot lube and then sprayed them with Balistol but no dice. I Thoroughly cleaned the dies with Balistol and a brass brush and they look fine. The brass is various headstamp including Federal, Winchester and some new Hornady Self Defense Nickel that I just bought last week.
Any ideas on what is going on? I have never had brass like this.

[littlejack]

jonp:
There are number of things that may be the problem.
Did you shoot the fired cases in you firearm? If so, were the loads factory or your reloads? If your reloads, were they heavy loads (hot)? Have you mic'd the cases to see if they are wayyyyyyyy oversize? If so, are the cylinders in your handgun big, too big?
Have you mic'd the sizing die, to see if it is undersize? Is the die carbide or not? If not, did you use lube?
Check these things, and get back to us.
Jack

[jonp]

What I did was mic the cases and they didn't seem too far off. I did, however, read another thread on cleaning dies and tried some 0000 steelwool wrapped around a brush and sprayed with Balistol and scrubbed away. I was able to size the brass but it was still a far tighter fit than I have seen with other including 44Mag. The brass I just bought and is range brass.
I hope they are not this much effort every time.

[MtGun44]

Is it possible that the die is not for .45 LC, maybe a .44 mag die got mixed
into the set accidentally. Also, try a better lube. IMO, the waxes like Imperial
Sizing Lube is the best for difficult sizing.

Bill

[runfiverun]

it is quite possible the brass has a bulge in it too.
the 45 colt is pretty famous for many of it's chambers being cut with a pregnant spot down near the base.

[cbrick]

Pregnant brass, we won't need to buy any more only raise the younguns. :mrgreen:

Rick

[Green Frog]

On a serious note, I have found Lyman dies of that vintage to trend toward the small end of the dimensional range, and if the chamber of your gun is at the large end, the "tolerance stacking" you are experiencing is not surprising. If they are still tight after firing in your own gun, you can either lap out the die slightly or go with a different manufacturer. This is not a poke @ Lyman, that's just the way they chose to build them, tight so they would enter any chamber. I wish I had my old Lyman 32-40 dies of that vintage back to use with my tight chambered high-wall!

Froggie

[Harter66]

Now we know where auto-rim came from!

[Harter66]

My RCBS carb. dies coke bottle my brass too. Its why I took to "neck" sizing them.

[44man]

Too much variation in chambers and a tight die. Use a better lube.
I have trouble with the tough .500 brass even with tight chambers using one lube so I had to go to pure lanolin. Then I found Hornady Unique lube works.
Imperial will work but I don't have any.
Spray lube just won't buy it. Ballistol will not help.
The .45 Colt is famous for having dimensions all over the place so pick up brass could have been fired from a sewer pipe.

[Harter66]

I know there are slicker lubes but RCBS case lube works in most cases and served well before I used carbide dies.

I know this is a silly question but is the brass clean ? Even in carbide dies a little oxydation will make lots of friction.

[runfiverun]

the lanolin does make things size easier.
I home make my own case lube with 2 parts lanolin and one part castor oil.
it is also my swaging lube.

pregnant was the only description I could come up with to describe the case shape.

[jonp]

Pregnant brass, we won't need to buy any more only raise the younguns. :mrgreen:

Rick
As hard as brass is to find I hope some of mine is pregnant! Now, if I could just have some expecting primers...
Ok, the brass did not seem to have bulges. I do have some hornady wax and will try it. I just found the one shot.really good for what im doing. The first thing I did when running into this was check the stamp on the die.
Is the 45lc harder to size due to increased wall thickness and is extra effort due to that normal?

[jonp]

I know there are slicker lubes but RCBS case lube works in most cases and served well before I used carbide dies.

I know this is a silly question but is the brass clean ? Even in carbide dies a little oxydation will make lots of friction.
Yes, I cleaned them and then used 0000 steel wool for a quick polish.