compression die trouble

[ehsa]

when i put my compression die ch4d in my rcbs expander die and raise a case up into it sometimes it will go in and other times it will bump the bottom of the compression stem.it just doesnt line up perfectly.sometimes by moving the case in the shell holder it will go in and sometimes not.am i missing something.john

[Bent Ramrod]

That's not atypical behavior for a compression die. If the stem had the kind of taper that would allow it to run into the case mouth with ease, even if slightly misaligned, then it would tend to "dish" the wad as it's pushed against the powder charge, or the edges of the powder charge itself. What is wanted, of course, is a nice flat surface to set the boolit against.

I have to take care when raising my cases into the compression die, and have to "feel" them into the case mouth. I sometimes have to do the same when full-length resizing cylindrical cases, too.

[country gent]

I have the same having to feel the cases onto the compression stem somewhat. I did cut a slight 45* chamfer on the edge of a couple of mine 45* X .015 it helped some but if the case over hangs the chamfer it grabs

[ehsa]

thanks guys good to know i am not alone.john

[noylj]

Is this for compressing Black Powder? I have never heard of a compression die before.
I would say, that either you need to set the die/stem with a case/wad in it for alignment, or ease it up by hand.

[Dan Cash]

Bell the case mouth before charging. A bevel on the compression stem does not seem to hurt anything either. I have used the expansion/ flareing plug as a commpression tool with no evident ill effect.

[mdi]

Sorry for the rookie question, but what is a "compression die"? I looked at the website for CH4D and saw no reference to "compression die"...

[country gent]

Buffalo Arms Company ( Baco) will show the compression stems they make for existing dies. The compression die does compress the powder and wad stack to desired depth and compaction in the case ( usually between .050-.200 compression depending on powder type, granulation, and case. By compressing the powder to the correct amount the load becomes more consistant and fouling tends to go down.