Lee's unbreakable decapper; what if you break it?

[Patrick L]

OK so today I somehow broke the decapping pin on a set of Lee .30-06 dies I've had forever. Don't really know how, I was resizing brass, felt no undue resistance of anything, just suddenly the pin was gone, snapped off right where it goes into the expanding ball. Plus, I've used these dies for years and totally understand how the decapping pin is supposed to "ride up" if there's an obstruction or you miss a Berdan case, etc.

My question is, what do I do now? There appears to be no way to replace the pin. Other brands have a threaded holder of some sort, but it looks like the Lee is just a press fit. I couldn't budge the stump of the old pin with pliers or anything. Do I return the stem to Lee? Buy a new decapping stem?

Its not a huge deal, these are not my only or even primary .30-06 dies, but I would like to keep them in service.

[oteroman]

You take a photo and email Lee as proof.
They send you one replacement pin.
Not worth the hassle IMO.

[psweigle]

Yup. Take a picture and email them. They sent me a 3-pack free when I broke mine on a berdan primer.

[Conditor22]

I use thew Lee Decapping die exclusively, I usually only break the pin when I miss a Berdan primer. I save the broken UNIV DECAP PINs until I have a few (and any other broken Lee item) then mail them to Lee and they send me new ones for free

[Patrick L]

OK thanks, will do! I assume they replace the entire stem, as like I said there appears to be no way to remove just the pin.

Probably need to wait till Monday anyhow, ramping up for the Easter Bunny!

[David2011]

FWIW, the double nut at the top of the decapping die should be tight enough that the stem will slip if it hits an obstruction but tight enough to punch out primers. I guess with Berdan primers it may be flexing enough to get caught in an off-center hole. I've broken a couple but it was because there was a rock stuck in the cases which deflected the stem badly. Probably .40 S&W range pickups.

[Patrick L]

I knew that David. As I said in the OP there was absolutely no felt resistance of any kind. The pin was there one minute, gone the next. Probably 20 or so years of work just fractured it.

[elmacgyver0]

No such thing as unbreakable.
I do like Lee dies though.

[sigep1764]

I just received a new decapping stem from Lee the other day due to missing a berdan primed case. I just registered on their website and ordered a new stem. Showed 0 dollars in my cart, just paid shipping which was a little expensive. 2 days later it was at my doorstep. Also ordered a new stem from SquirrelDaddy on Amazon, supposedly hardened to survive these instances.

[mdi]

I've been using Lee sizing/decapping dies since about '80, never broke any. One time I bent one on a piece of hard tumbling media inside the case that I had overlooked. IIRC, I purchased new stems. Decapping stems are mass produced on automatic machines and a weak spot in the material is very possible. Nothing s really unbreakable, but Lee comes really close with their decapping stems...

[trebor44]

Yup. Take a picture and email them. They sent me a 3-pack free when I broke mine on a berdan primer.

Contact Lee, they will take care of it. I broke one years ago and they sent replacement(s) after the original got 'berdaned' on a brass case (beware of range pickups). The Lee decapper has been used on loads of odd ball or misformed cases.

[Bayou52]

IIRC, Lee sent me 3 pins at no charge but for $6 shipping.

[hollywood63]

Two Words Squirrel Daddy
https://www.squirreldaddy.com/category-s/336.htm

[robg]

The new shape expander decapping pin puts less stress on case and needs less effort to size and decap .got one for my 1984 308 die does a great job.easy expander I think its called.

[Patrick L]

Thanks guys, worked exactly as you said. Part was free, I paid shipping. Ordered a .38 special seating die too. Showing shipped the same day I ordered, should be here any day.

[lightman]

I broke the pin in my Lee universal depriming die recently. When I contacted Lee they did not mention Emailing a picture. They wanted the old one sent in and postage on the replacement. I ordered 3 replacements from Midway for a little more than postage both ways to Lee would have been. I did not know about Squirrel Daddy at the time. I like the die and don't feel like it was Lee's fault. There was a small piece of pea gravel in the case and the pin hit it was was was pushed off center where it broke.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

I've never broken a decapping pin from Lee. They've always functioned as designed for me. The collet that holds 'em in place just lets go and the pin slides up if it hit an obstruction.

I've heard many folks complain about plastic parts from Lee wearing out. I've learned that Lee will usually sell them for a reasonable price (I hate it when replacement parts cost more than the entire item brand new). So I make it a habit of keeping those "consumable" parts on hand to replace at my convenience.

Decapping pins are not one of those items, for me. If you break them with some frequency and they're cheap, keep an extra on hand. Then you don't have to wait for Fed Ex to resume reloading.

[onelight]

I've never broken a decapping pin from Lee. They've always functioned as designed for me. The collet that holds 'em in place just lets go and the pin slides up if it hit an obstruction.

I've heard many folks complain about plastic parts from Lee wearing out. I've learned that Lee will usually sell them for a reasonable price (I hate it when replacement parts cost more than the entire item brand new). So I make it a habit of keeping those "consumable" parts on hand to replace at my convenience.

Decapping pins are not one of those items, for me. If you break them with some frequency and they're cheap, keep an extra on hand. Then you don't have to wait for Fed Ex to resume reloading.

Yup that’s the way it works for me to.
When I ordered my ABLP I went to the Lee Press parts section to order some “just in case parts”
In every case the first of each item added to my cart was free. Haven’t needed any of them yet.

[TNsailorman]

My experience with Lee has been a little different. I have broken 3 de-capping pins using the Lee de-capping cup and de-capping tool. All while de-capping military .223 and .30-06 brass. Each time I called Lee to get replacement pins, I explained to the lady who answered just how I had broken them. Each time I was asked how old the units were and when I honestly told them they were over 2 years old, I was told that Lee only warrantied the for 2 years and that I would have to purchase replacements. I can understand that and did not have a real problem with it. The only thing that bugged me a little was on one piece of equipment, a die, I was told I would have to return the die and provide the original sales slip to show when it was purchased. That was Collet sizer die and it was only 6 months old. I declined her "kind offer" as I don't trust anyone who doesn't trust me. I may have just caught her on a bad day but they almost cost themselves a customer for life. I though about it for a week or two and called back and got a very nice man who told me how to correct my problem with a file and sandpaper and I had it fixed in about 5 minutes from start to finish. Restored my faith in Lee too. my experience anyway, james

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

In every case the first of each item added to my cart was free. Haven’t needed any of them yet.

Well heck! Why did I pay for the press then? I could have just parted it out.