222 Remington resizing problems

[country gent]

You might try roughening the surface where the nut grabs with some coarse sandpaper to get a better "bite" Dont try to remove material just roughen the surface

[1hole]

Makes sense until you try it. Which I did. Tack welding is the only permanent solution.

Put your welder away. Welding will certainly stop rod slip but that's a drastic way to "fix" a nonexistent problem. Nothing works right is it's not used right, Lee's collet decapper system is great IF it's used right.

Lee's unique tapered clamping collet nut center's the decap rod better than any other method and the fact that it CAN push up (if necessary) reduces the chance of a pebble or other obstruction in the case damaging the most fragile part of the die - the decap pin. Lee's decap/expander rod works fine for thousands of users and their message to the world is that it will work fine for others if they use it properly.

Those who can't bring themselves to degrease the collet nut and rod surfaces properly and then actually tighten them enough to hold still don't need a "spot welder" to prevent the rod from pulling out; simply thread 1/4 inch of the rod's top #8-32 and put a nut on it! (Welding the rod will make it impossible to remove and clean inside the die. That inability alone would really bother those of us who strive to keep our reloading tools clean!)

Bottom line, the O.P.'s jammed case necks problem is his decap/expander rod is set much too high, it's NOT because the rod is dragging out. To stop rod slip we don't need to weld it; just clean it, set it right and tighten the collet nut until the slipping stops.

[uscra112]

Oh, I've put it away, all right. Have given all the Lee dies I might still use the treatment, and won't buy Lee again if I can help it. (In these days of dearth one can never say never again.)

I've been in metalworking all my life, been an active reloader for almost 30 years, and at 77 I can honestly say that I've never seen such a misbegotten scheme in a reloading tool.

BTW the more usual failure mode is not that the rod gets pushed up, but that it gets pulled out, along with the case, on the retraction stroke, leaving you with the annoying chore of getting it out. You don't need to ask me how I know. Nor do you need to ask whether any other brand of dies can do this trick.

Yes, you can sometimes stop it slipping by heaving on a pair of foot-long wrenches until your eyes bug out. Not my cuppa tea. I like to clean my dies before each use, which means the decapping rod should be easily removable without brutality, and return to its' correct setting without major tools. (A complaint I also level at RCBS dies.)

The one advantage I can see is that, when Bubba sticks a case in the die for lack of lube, he can perhaps drive it out with a big hammer applied to the protruding rod.

[/rant]

[1hole]

BTW the more usual failure mode is not that the rod gets pushed up, but that it gets pulled out, along with the case, on the retraction stroke, ....

First, I must confess that I haven't bought a new RCBS die set in 30+ years so I don't know how they are put together now. (I find green dies to be as good as any other common brand but no better and their price is more than I'm willing to pay for no statistical gain.)

Pull out is part of what I addressed but I believe the OP's problem rises from his decap rod/expander being so high he's trapping sized case necks between the die body and expander and pulling rims or necks off when trying to get them out.

There's no BTW about it, the problem of pulling the expander out of the die is the most common failure but that's NOT what Mr. Hays is being troubled with.

If you're a machinist, I'm surprised that you prefer to weld the rods in place rather than simply threading the rod stem and putting a simple "anti-pullout nut" on top of the rod.


PS -

You say you like to clean your dies. I wonder, how you do that with the center rod welded in?

[Rapier]

Make a canister with a lid for your bench with #6 shot and powdered graphite. Stick the neck down a couple- four tines. Neck lubed. Throw that Lee stuff in the trash, go Redding carbide, come on now.
The little cases can grow in length or neck thickness, but they will grow eventually. You might try outside neck turning until you have a hair line of unturned brass left full length of the neck, then turn every case neck to the shoulder with the same setting. Fired case. A Sinclair hand turner comes in handy for a 222 case neck.

[Milky Duck]

you fellas feel free to post me all you unwanted LEE reloading gear......I actually PREFER it over redding or hornady..... or lyman

the only single product that LEE makes that I detest with a passion is the crappy toothpast like case jamming white past sold as lube!!!!!!!! if that was what lube was supposed to be like no children would ever get concieved!!!!
just about every single time I hear of someone getting cases stuck,ripping off rims,pulling dies out of press (yes that is correct) its when using that horrid stuff...and YES I will conceed if you do it 100% correctly it works...but a little vasoline on fingers to lube body of case and a quick dip of neck in powdered graphite works oh so much easier and better.