Broken pin ?

[2muchstuf]

Hi to all,
Can a broken decapping pin be replaced on a Lee die?
My son called earlier and said that he broke one and wondered if I had any.
Well I don't.
So I took one apart to see if a Lyman would interchange. These I have.
Looks like it's a press fit.
Well I took the "bubba" tool to it ( my perfectly good .35 Rem die )and got nowhere.
NO I didn't bubba it up!
So can these be replaced or must you go through Lee for the whole stem , ball and pin?

Thanks
2

[mooman76]

They are pressed in and you have to go through Lee. I broke a couple and sent it to them and they replaced it free of charge. I had it back in 6 days. I have their universal decapper and it comes in handy when this happens.

[2muchstuf]

Thanks mooman,
That's about what I expected to hear.
2

[cajun shooter]

It is much easier to just purchase a few extra to have on hand as the Lees are different from all others. I'm sure that Richard planned it this way.

[DukeInFlorida]

The collet that holds the pin rod in place should be just tight enough for easy depriming. However, it should also be loose enough that if you bump into a .22 LR case inside what you're sizing, the collet should allow the pin rod to slide up, out of the way. That's the way they are designed to work. If you crank on the collet nut too much, you defeat the collet purpose, and will break the pins.

Lee will replace broken pin rods for free.

I've had some tight lapua flash holes grab onto the pins, and yank them out. Lee replaced those, but didn't have a solution. I switched to RCBS for that caliber (357 Sig), and RCBS was happy to provide smaller diameter (.040) "lapua pins" instead of the normal .00 pins that were getting stuck.

So, have your son get his replacement (you'll need to send in the broken one), and loosen the grip a bit on the collet.

[mroliver77]

The handgun caliber dies have a universal type decapping rod with no expander built in. I use these in a lot of rifle calibers because I use the Lyman M die to expand necks anyhow. I dont like the idea of pulling on the neck in the first place.

The newer Lee expander rods are much more streamlined to help open up crushed case mouths and ease sizing neck when pulling back through.

Duke is spot on with the collet advice!
J

[Shooter6br]

Broke mine in 6.5 Jap . E mailed Lee They are sending new Expander/ de capper no change. No questions

[2muchstuf]

Thanks for all the responses.
It was a .270 die.
He told me tonight that he stuck a case and broke the pin with the drill bit.
I asked him if he didn't know about lube,,,,,,,,,,,, he told me the same thing that I said when I stuck a .222 :cry:
I DID LUBE ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:violin:
Merry Christmas
2

[obssd1958]

I know it's too late, but...
Lee prints the following on it's rifle reloading die instructions:

Stuck Case
If a case is not lubricated, the rim will be pulled off and the case remains stuck
in the die. If this happens — loosen, but do not remove — the decapper clamp. Use a drift punch and
large hammer (1-lb. or larger) to tap lightly on the decapper rod and drive the stuck case free. Lee
Precision will remove a stuck case for $4.00.

For what it's worth...

Don

[mroliver77]

I know it's too late, but...
Lee prints the following on it's rifle reloading die instructions:

Stuck Case
If a case is not lubricated, the rim will be pulled off and the case remains stuck
in the die. If this happens — loosen, but do not remove — the decapper clamp. Use a drift punch and
large hammer (1-lb. or larger) to tap lightly on the decapper rod and drive the stuck case free. Lee
Precision will remove a stuck case for $4.00.

For what it's worth...

Don
This does work!! Been there, done that.
J