Educate me on decapping pins

[blixen]

My rag-tag collection of dies includes a CA, Pacific, Lyman, Hornady and Herters that have broken decapper pins. Where do I get replacements?

I found various pins on the E-auction site, but I don't know if they are interchangeable. Will a RCBS, for instance, work in my mid-century CA?

Any guidance appreciated.

Until then, I'm making do with the extra step of a Lee Universal Decapper.

[blixen]

Maybe I solved my own problem. I replaced the pins with bits of drill shank and a bit of old rod I dug out of my "doomsday" can and cut to fit with the ol' Dremel.

I don't know if the DIY pins will be too brittle or too soft until i use them for awhile.

Still open to other solutions.

[mold maker]

In a pinch, I've even used a very small finish nail cut to length. Even the LEE universal can be repaired when it's several days for a replacement.
I've collected extras now, to avoid the delay involved. Most are the same OD and can be cut to length. The headed RCBS being the exception.

When using the LEE universal to be-prime 223 Rem, tapering the shaft at the pin makes for more joy, and fewer lost cases due to damage.

[ReloaderFred]

Use a caliper to measure the diameter of the old pins and that will give you a starting point. For the RCBS, you just have to call them and they'll send you some new ones.

Some hardware stores sell various diameters of piano wire in 3' lengths. I keep several different sizes in stock for making temporary, or permanent pins and small tools, for when I need them. A short piece of piano wire epoxied into a wooden file handle makes a handy little tool for clearing tumbling media from flash holes.

Anyway, for everything you mentioned, with the exception of the CA, Pacific and Herters, the replacement pins are available from the companies who made the dies.

Whenever possible, I replace straight decapping pins with headed pins, too. Sometimes I have to modify the decapping stem to do it, but it makes life easier afterwards.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[farmerjim]

One of the other brands pins will work in the Herters, but I don't remember which one. Midway has all of the major brands.

[country gent]

On striaght pins I use drill blanks purchased from a tool supply shop here. They are the correct size and hardened already. I cut them to length ( sometimes a little long and stone a full radious on one end in the drill press polishing it with 800 grit paper, this helps to keep it from sticking and also keeps spent primers from sticking to the end and being pulled back into primer pocket. I have hand decappers I use for alot of calibers. Decapping off the press and before cleaning the brass this keeps the primer crud out of the equipment.

[lightman]

The drill rod is a good idea if you have a place to get it. I've used the pins from pop rivets before too. I really don't know which pins will interchange.

[blixen]

Second problem, I broke a Herter's pin and bent the rod both when I was sizing some military 30-06 brass. One of the cases had an off-center hole.

What's the best way to straighten the rod. Or is it time to break down and get a new die?

[ReloaderFred]

I've tried straightening them, but unless you're really good, or have the proper equipment, they're hard to get perfectly straight. Sometimes it works to leave the spindle a little loose so it can find it's own way into the flash hole.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[salpal48]

I found Most of the times The Lyman Or the RCBS Headed pins will act just fine. Drop them in the expander ball and Tighten

[ryokox3]

On amazon there is a guy that sells hardened lee pins. I think they are in a 3 pack. Don't know what other dies they will fit, but sounds like a good upgrade to the universal decapping die. I plan to go that route when I go through my extras from titan I had been stocking up on. Beveling the tip of the pins works wonders for 223.

[Mk42gunner]

I once replaced a bad u-joint that had small diameter needle bearings that worked as decapping pins. I cannot remember what it came out of, and I haven't replaced a u-joint in years, but it might be worth a look if you have any old ones laying around.

Now that I said something, I will have to replace seventeen of them in the next month....

Robert

[David2011]

Hobby shops usually carry K&S music wire. It comes in lots of finely spaced diameters and is already spring tempered. Easy to cut with a Dremel cutoff disc, inexpensive and comes in 36" lengths. Also available on Amazon if you don't have a local hobby shop.

David

[HangFireW8]

When I buy a new type/brand die, I'll bookmark the matching decapping pins, and buy them when they are on sale. A few months ago I ordered two spare stems/pins for the Universal decapper, just a few bucks and I hate downtime due to some little part.

I decap first with a universal decapper die and then tumble, so a missing decapping pin is not a big problem. I still like to have a pin in my resizer, just to clear any debris that might be there, or find an undersized or malformed flash hold. Same reason I like to keep an undersized sizing ball on the stem, even though I use neck bushing dies, sometimes it points out a problem to me. Last week it found a problem, it was another sizing ball in the bottom of the case. That had me scratching my head for a while.

[blixen]

... it was another sizing ball in the bottom of the case. That had me scratching my head for a while.

The pins I'm replacing are the victims of something similar. One was taken out by a stray Berdan case and the other failure to fire load in which the boolit fell back in the case.

No huge loss because I also use a universal decapper. Unfortunately, the sizing rods got bent a bit and I can't easily find replacements for CM and Herter's dies.

Straightening out a decapping rod really straight is tough--I don't suppose anyone has a trick for doing that? (with hand tools!)

[HangFireW8]

Find 2 different size nuts (to protect the threads), put the big nuts on the ends and bang on the small nuts in the middle.

(Did I just say that?)

[Pardini]

Go to the bicycle shop and get spokes. They come in several diameters.

[runfiverun]

holy cow just buy some pins.

if you bent the jezus out of your de-capping stem and you don't see an obvious replacement you probably toasted that die.
you can generally buy just a sizing doe and run with it.

but since your doing that you might as well buy a universal de-capping die and some replacement parts.
they were made to de-cap stuff and if you break the pin or stem you still have the sizing die to work with.
I think a new replacement decapping stem for the LEE universal die is like 3 bucks, probably a much chaper option in the long run then replacing a bunch of pins here and there.

[GONRA]

Consider making yer own decapping pins from drill rod.
Its available in all diameters that could POSSIBLY be of interest for decapping pins.
For example , GONRA's replacement CH4D .50 BMG die decapping pins
are made from 1/8 inch oil hardening drill rod, 1.638 inch long.
Found no need to harden and temper, but that may be necessary for other applications.

[blixen]

holy cow just buy some pins.

if you bent the jezus out of your de-capping stem and you don't see an obvious replacement you probably toasted that die.
y.
actually, between my Lee universal decapper and the pin-less sizing dies, I'm in hog heaven. But I'd rather--if possible--mend, rather than end, equipment. So I've enjoyed discussing creative work arounds. Thanks for the ideas, folks!

[Blanket]

U joints pins come in different diameters as well, they also make nice pin punches.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I have on several occasions made decapping pins for my RCBS dies using 4D finishing nails. Cut them so as to keep the head, touched them to a grinding wheel to square them and then hardened them by heating red and quenching in water. They worked well. With Lee pins they are I believe actually roller bearings and not pins....its tough to break them to start with...I never have so have not had to deal with the problem. LLS

[JM7.7x58]

I broke two pins this morning trying to deprime a bunch of once fired 30-06. Turns out a few of them were Berdan primed. Wasn’t expecting that. It was military crimped so I just assumed that the first pin broke because of the crimp. So I took a pin from another RCBS die I had and then promptly broke that one too.

Bike spokes it is. I would never go and buy them for this purpose, but I did have a few laying around from the last time I did some wheel truing and broken spoke repair. Both the RCBS and the bike spoke came in at .070”, the bike spoke is tough stuff but still softer than the real RCBS pins(you can tell when you file it). I made them as short as possible.

It got me through the rest of the NON-BERDAN primed brass.

JM

[country gent]

Decapping rods can be straightened but it is a painstaking job that can be a slow process. a cee block is needed preferably 2 vee blocks. A good flat surface and small press. In the vee block find the highest centered point of the bend and straighten by pushing this into the vee block down. keep working this way until your close then work between 2 blocks slightly over bending to account for spring back of the rod. A lathe makes this easier to do sometimes. you have to find the highest center point of the bend or you make an s shape instead of straightening. If you only have one vee block use shim stock to raise ends and press in middle, this actually works pretty good since it give a controlled over bend. On most decapping rods I have found .010-.020 over bend takes care of spring back

[Winger Ed.]

For the ones that are commonly available, I just buy a bunch.

For a couple bucks, it isn't worth driving anywhere, or digging around to chop off drill bits, jewelers screwdrivers, etc.
Especially to replace one of the new generation ones with the head on them.

One time I replaced a 'U' joint on the truck, and the old needle bearings were perfect for one brand of die,
so I cleaned them all and threw them in the reloading cabinet.

[JM7.7x58]

Country Gent,

Can’t straighten something that is broken in two pieces. Truth be told I bent, then straightened, then broke in half, then broke another in half.

As far as straightening goes. A hammer (used for jewelry work) with a polished face and an oak block (end grain pointed up) will give you similar results. Tap until a straight edge held to the pin shows no light.

JM

[JM7.7x58]

Ed,

All my dies are older RCBS. I’ve got a 50 pack on order.

JM

[Winger Ed.]

Ed,

All my dies are older RCBS. I’ve got a 50 pack on order.JM

Wow. If I had that many, I would have no fear of the occasional Berdan primer.

[GhostHawk]

I've only broken one pin, it was a Lee. So I bought like 5 replacements and the Lee universal decapping die.

Never had to touch one since. I do keep one in a 2x2 block that I ran a step drill into each end. Makes a handy tool when I just need to do one. Or on the couple of occasions when I managed to squeeze a sm rifle primer in sideways. One tap and they always go off, I just hold the pin with a pair of pliers and nothing gets damaged or hurt.

Nowadays I do most of my de priming with a FA hand unit. Can't get enough force on it to break that pin on a berdan primer. Pull it out, look, see the 2 holes, throw it in my scrap brass bucket and get back to it.

[44magLeo]

In Lee's book Richard Lee stated that they spent some time trying to build pins for there rods. It cost way to much. With a bit of research they found that Universal joint needle bearings were better than any they could make and suppliers make billions of those buggers every day, so they could be bought cheap.
So they use universal joint needle bearings as pins.
I think if you asked around at a few repair shops that work on rear wheel drive vehicles you might get a few old universal joints just for the asking. They just throw them out.
Leo

[jem102]

Hobby shops usually carry K&S music wire. It comes in lots of finely spaced diameters and is already spring tempered. Easy to cut with a Dremel cutoff disc, inexpensive and comes in 36" lengths. Also available on Amazon if you don't have a local hobby shop.

David

This stuff works great and is carried by hardware stores as well. I find a lot of other uses for it as well and always keep several diameters in the loading room.

[rbuck351]

Recently I tried a Lee universal decapper in a Bonanza coax and because the coax uses the die to center the case in the shell holder it didn't center and broke the pin. Not thinking about why it broke, I stuck my second Lee decapper in the press and promptly broke it as well. Looked through my junk I found some military cleaning rods for the M16 which mic the same as the Lee decapper rod and a few old u joints one with.070 pins. I had looked on the Lee web site and found I could get a new rod free for $5 shipping. Second one was $3. So $8 for two. After building one from an M16 cleaning rod, I took the two with broken pins and installed pins in the other end. I have an HF mini lathe on my loading bench just for projects like this. Took about ten minutes to have three new rod/pins for the decapper.
Stop buy an auto repair shop and see if they will save you some of their wore out u joints. If not for primer punches they make good small pin punches for removing pins from guns.