Who can open up the inside of a seating die?

[happy7]

I have an RCBS 500 S&W seating die. It is too tight and will not allow me to bell the brass enough to keep from shaving lead. I need to get it opened up on the inside. Who does this? The lee dies are a little bigger and work a lot better, but I would like to get this RCBS one to where I can use it as well.

[osteodoc08]

Call RCBS and ask them. Perhaps there is somethign wrong with the die.

[bearcove]

lap it out with some emory cloth on a split dowel

[Artful]

Call RCBS and ask them. Perhaps there is somethign wrong with the die.

+1 - they have in the past had Excellent Customer Service

[blackbike]

I don't thing you bell the brass with a seating die.
I would look at the expander.
I think you need to adjust an out side dim. not an in side dim.
Just my thoughts.
BB

[happy7]

I will call RCBS tomorrow.

Blackbike. I see where you confusion is coming from. Let me try to explain. The problem is not actually belling the brass, but the problem is no matter how much I bell, it doesn't matter because the seating die will size it down again as it enters the seating die so much that as the bullet is seated, it shaves lead. It works fine for jacketed, but as most here know, you need to bell more for lead.

[dtknowles]

Where on the seating upstroke does the offending action occur? Are trying to seat and crimp in one action. Try this, run the seating stem all the way in, I mean all the way, take the nut off if you have too, back the die out, way out. Raise the ram to top dead center, run the die down until it touches the bullet. Lower the ram and check, is the bell all gone and the case is cutting into the bullet. If it is send the die back for a fix. If some bell is left, even just a little try running the die down a little at a time to see if you can get the bullet seated without shaving any lead. If that works, lock the die in and seat the bullets in this batch of cases. Now, back the seating stem way out or even remove it. Adjust the die to crimp and crimp this batch of ammo. This is often referred to as seating and crimping in two steps.

Tim

[happy7]

Tim - Insightful idea. I had already tried this though and I use a separate crimp die. The bell is almost gone when the case first enters the die. I think it was designed with jacketed bullets in mind. It is just too tight for cast bullets I guess.

[oldfart1956]

Happy get a wheel cylinder hone...1/2 inch. This is for honing out the slave cylinders on brakes...old school. Napa/AutoZone/Advance Auto...they all sell them though probably not in stock. Brownells also sells the same thing, they call it a barrel hone. It comes in a box marked...wheel cylinder hone. Just hone the die out until it works. They're cheap (under $20) and you can find a lot of uses for them. Hone out a Lee sizeing die, open up a (non-carbide) size/deprime die if you have fat chambers. (read Ruger) Once the stones wear a bit they'll fit things a lot smaller than 1/2 inch by the way. ;) Audie...the Oldfart..

[Springfield]

That's what RCBS Cowboy dies are for, they make some dimensions larger to allow for lead bullets.

[ffries61]

You might try and contact Lathesmith on this forum, he makes sizing dies to sell, so this should be no biggie for him, if he doesn't want to do it give me a PM, I had to do the same thing to one of my .45 ACP seating dies.

Fred

[PbHurler]

lap it out with some emory cloth on a split dowel

I just recently did this on a Redding Competition Seating die for .357 Mag for the same reasons in the OP. It works beautifully now.

[gunoil]

Dont u have local machine shop,? thats where i go to get stuff honed out. Hell, they took a blank noe mold from al and made me a custom great 380 mold on cnc. I know what ya want. Dillons are wide inside too. But you want a seat die only. Shop makes my own if needed.

[nhrifle]

Get, borrow, or beg a Dremel tool and pointed stone. Take your time and use the stone to put a nice, gentle tapering slope on the bottom of the seating die. If the angle machined by RCBS is too abrupt it can collapse the mouth of the case as it is run into the die leading to shaving of the boolit. If that is not the problem, then they bored the die too small and should replace with an in-spec die. Their customer service is about the best I have ever seen, so it should be no problem.

[hendere]

I have an old set of RCBS 44 mag dies that are the same way. I wondered how people used them. Great info here.