Bullet stuck in sizing die.

[Cloudwraith]

So I've recently been powder coating my boolits and have had good success with my 9mm. I've run them through a Lee .356 sizing die AFTER they were powder coated and never had a problem. I recently purchased a Lee .357 sizing die to try a larger diameter boolit in my .355 barrel and the first PC boolit I ran up it stuck. When I say stuck, I mean stuck. The base of the boolit flattened out and filled the bottom of the sizing die.

I'm not sure if the die was sized wrong (it is labeled correctly) or what but now I have a sizing die filled with lead and I can't remove the boolit.

i tried pushing back from the top but the nose started to deform and I stopped. I could put the base in the melt of my casting pot and try to melt it out, not sure what that would do to the die. I could try and drill it out I suppose....

Thoughts?

Solved: See post #25 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?240263-Bullet-stuck-in-sizing-die&p=2764721&viewfull=1#post2764721)

[rockshooter]

propane torch.

[Fyodor]

If drill parts of it out, and melt the rest.

[gtgeorge]

next casting session dip it in the pot. Or put it on a hotplate turned up on something to catch the liquid lead or a propane torch as was mentioned.

[Beagle333]

You might could just start heating a cool die with the torch and then push the boolit out from the top as long as you tried it a few times immediately as the die is warming up but the boolit hasn't started heating and expanding with it yet. You might not have to go all the way to a melted state then.

[HATCH]

just beat it out with a punch and a hammer. try not to damage the die.
it will come out.

[Idz]

Be careful with a torch or you may anneal the steel. I would call up Lee and explain the problem and they may just send you a new die.

[starmac]

Bigger hammer, just don't break the press.

[enfieldphile]

Arbor press it out w/ a brass or aluminum bar as a push rod.

After it's out, clean the die and check it's inside size.

[Mk42gunner]

Then lube the first boolit you put through the die.

[oldfart1956]

ARRRGHHH! That seems to be going around Cloudwraith! :) I did the same basic thing yesterday sizing and seating gas checks. Now mind ya I wouldn't do this on some presses but mine was in a Lyman Spartan (quite stout) and I snatched up the brass rod with tape every few inches that I use to slug bores....then the 32oz Estwing framing hammer. Hit it like ya mean it son. It'll come out of there. Audie...the Oldfart..

[bangerjim]

Brass rod and a heavy hammer. Set the die on a piece of hardwood and whack the rod.

Brass and lead are MUCH softer than the steel in the die and you will not hurt it. Once out, clean it well and DO check the size with (if you have it) micrometer feeler gauge. Or try another boolit.....GENTLY!!!!

Any heating could warp or change the die sizing. Those push-thru's are not super hard, but you could mess it up. Then if you do, they only cost about $20! No big loss.

banger

[Tar Heel]

Funny you should ask. I sized some 340gr bullets for the 411-JDJ and they got stuck. What was going on was the large bearing surface of the hard cast and heat treated bullet was galling in the size die. Look at the attached video and pause it at the 13 second point. See that large sized bearing surface? What has eliminated the bullets from seizing in the sizing die is a little bit of bullet lube applied with the finger tips at that bearing surface before running them down into the die.

Please don't really blow torch your sizer. Disassemble the sizing die and base enough to remove the die with the stuck bullet. Invert the die on a bench vise with the jaws open enough to hold the die on top of it, allowing the bullet to slip through the jaws. Tap the base of the die where the piston extends out with a hammer and drive the bullet out carefully.

Again. apply bullet lube with your fingers on the bullet before sizing them to lubricate the darn thing in the die. This has only happened to me when sizing very hard cast bullets.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFeksUlpliM

[MT Chambers]

The sizes marked on lee dies are just a general guideline, plus or minus .005"

[lup]

Another technique I've used is to cut a small piece of lead, cover with a light oil and push it against the existing piece to force lube around it. That sometimes helps get it moving.

If you have a lathe or a drill press, drill a hole directly through the center of the lead all the way through. That way you're not pushing the lead against the sides and fighting that bulging action with even more friction.

When you get the thing out, clean thoroughly.

[Beagle333]

From my understanding of it.... it is a LEE push thru die. Tapping it at the base is only gonna push the boolit in there further.

[Moonman]

I'd drill most of it out with a hand drill, then push the rest out,
or put some penetrating oil in and on another slug and try to push through.

[Janoosh]

Freeze it...freezing works for stuck brass..why not for stuck lead?

[Cmm_3940]

The sizes marked on lee dies are just a general guideline, plus or minus .005"

Then I must be lucky so far. I've got 4 of them and they're all dead on...

Spray-on case lube works on boolits too.

If it was my die, I'd just rest it loosely in the jaws of my bench vice like the previous poster said and whack it out. Lead soft; steel hard. Might need to de-lead the die afterwards.

[Handloader109]

The sizes marked on lee dies are just a general guideline, plus or minus .005"

Uh, maybe +-.0005? Tolerance should be pretty much industry standard, half a thousand, not five thousand. If 5 thousandths, they would have long been out of business.........

[MT Chambers]

No I meant .005" and I agree with your statement, they should be long out of business.

[noylj]

Did you lube the bullet first? Lee says to lube prior to sizing and after sizing.
I have heard of some using spray case lube on their cast bullets prior to sizing in a Lee sizing die.
I don't size ANY lead bullets-all are lubed as-cast.
Of course, my first though reading the title was why was there a bullet in the case when it was sized, then I read that it was a bullet sizing die. Need a different name for those dies...

[w5pv]

Heating and beating Gunsmith/AKA bubbasmiths,Just joshing, a lot of good ideals,I think I would drill it and then take a scratch awl or ice pick and try to get the rest out,lead should be easy enough to fold to the inside.

[dudel]

Heating and beating Gunsmith/AKA bubbasmiths,Just joshing, a lot of good ideals,I think I would drill it and then take a scratch awl or ice pick and try to get the rest out,lead should be easy enough to fold to the inside.

Careful with the ice pick. I'd push the boolit BACK, not through. Think of the push through sizer as a forcing cone. Go back where the opening is larger.

I have a bunch of Lee push through sizer, and they all work fine.

Once I needed a push through and Lee's custom shop wasn't taking new orders. I got the die from a member here. Buckshot. It's an amazing piece of machining that puts my Lee sizers to shame. The bore is much smoother (could say polished), and boolits move through much easier. He also sends a sized boolit with the sizer so you KNOW the dimensions exactly. His price was very comparable to Lee; but his delivery time was MUCH faster. Highly recommended.

[Cloudwraith]

First, thank you to everyone who gave some great ideas. Here is what I ended up doing:

Here is a pic of the before with stuck boolit.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1264960/pics/cb/sizing_die_stuck_1.jpg

First, I drilled a hole in the middle of the lead from the bottom of the die

Next, I used a screw and screwed it into the hole made from the drill bit. I secured the screw in enough to hold but out enough so that I could slide a wrench under the screw head.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1264960/pics/cb/sizing_die_stuck_2.jpg

After that I put the wrench under the screw head and secured the die in a vice. Leaning on the back of the wrench I used leverage to pry the boolit out of the bottom of the die.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1264960/pics/cb/sizing_die_stuck_3.jpg

Here is the removed boolit
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1264960/pics/cb/sizing_die_stuck_4.jpg

And finally the clean die. There was no lead stuck to the sides at all. I polished it up with some cotton swabs and some CLP.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1264960/pics/cb/sizing_die_stuck_5.jpg

It really didn't take a lot of force to remove the boolit, just steady leverage pressure and it popped right out. You can see the deformity in the nose where I tried to punch it back out the bottom from the top. Since cleaning the die, I measured it and it showed .357 on the nose. I lubed a few of my 9mm with some imperial sizing wax that I use for my rifle cases and haven't had a problem since. I have hit a few that must have dropped extra big because they are really tight but most just pop right through as they should.

Thanks again everyone for the suggestions.