PSA: NOE Powder-Thru Expanders

[Tom Myers]

I ordered plugs for four calibers yesterday but screwed up by not catching the size selector feature. I ordered for my .41mag, .357mag, .38sp, and 9mm. The .41 and 9mm sizes as listed are fine, but the .38/.357 are going to be too small at .353 I’m afraid. I tried to catch it and change the order but they were so efficient it had been shipped almost immediately. But at this price point I’ll just reorder which brings me to my question. I didn’t add in the spacer and am curious whether I need them or not? IE what’s their actual function? If I need them I’d just add them on to this order.

The over-travel ring is not strictly necessary but, if you are using either of the Lee, case-activated, powder measures, it will prevent over travel adjustmet from harming the Lee Auto-Drum(which Lee cautions against) and possible incomplete powder drop from the Lee Auto-Disk measure.

With the Over-Travel ring in place, adjusting the measure down too far will only cause excessive flare to the case neck, possibly ruining the case. Without the Over-Travel Ring in place, excessive downward adjustment will force the drop tube too far into the measure which, Lee states, can cause damage.

Better to ruin a case with over-travel adjustment than an expensive powder measure.

Due to the interior space in the Lee Powder-Thru-Expander dies and the geometry necessary to provide adjustment for a wide range of case lengths. the length of the spacers and of the expander dictated the use of a 2mm thick ring to allow precise adjustment for 153 of the SAAMI caliber case length specifications from 0.605 inches to 2.700 inches.

Even if one were to not use a case activated measure and either dip through a funnel or mount a hand operated measure to the die, without the ring, some case lengths would not have enough adjustment to completely expand and step the case neck.

Hope this helps.

I am encloseing an updated Openscad image of the setup combination for your 357 Magnum operation. The cutaway images illustrate the necessary use of the Over-Travle ring.

[JuliettDeltaGolf]

The over-travel ring is not strictly necessary but, if you are using either of the Lee, case-activated, powder measures, it will prevent over travel adjustmet from harming the Lee Auto-Drum(which Lee cautions against) and possible incomplete powder drop from the Lee Auto-Disk measure.

With the Over-Travel ring in place, adjusting the measure down too far will only cause excessive flare to the case neck, possibly ruining the case. Without the Over-Travel Ring in place, excessive downward adjustment will force the drop tube too far into the measure which, Lee states, can cause damage.

Better to ruin a case with over-travel adjustment than an expensive powder measure.

Due to the interior space in the Lee Powder-Thru-Expander dies and the geometry necessary to provide adjustment for a wide range of case lengths. the length of the spacers and of the expander dictated the use of a 2mm thick ring to allow precise adjustment for 153 of the SAAMI caliber case length specifications from 0.605 inches to 2.700 inches.

Even if one were to not use a case activated measure and either dip through a funnel or mount a hand operated measure to the die, without the ring, some case lengths would not have enough adjustment to completely expand and step the case neck.

Hope this helps.

I am encloseing an updated Openscad image of the setup combination for your 357 Magnum operation. The cutaway images illustrate the necessary use of the Over-Travle ring.

Tom, this info is PERFECT! Thank you! I went ahead and got the kit with all three pieces when I ordered my .44WCF plug, but could not find any info anywhere on NOE's site as to when the spacer and overtravel ring were to be used and how. Wish your information was added at the top of their website page for the expanders.

[Tom Myers]

Tom, this info is PERFECT! Thank you! I went ahead and got the kit with all three pieces when I ordered my .44WCF plug, but could not find any info anywhere on NOE's site as to when the spacer and overtravel ring were to be used and how. Wish your information was added at the top of their website page for the expanders.

The drawing is there on the page where you open the caliber you have selected showing the items you can order for that particular caliber. it is just a small thumbnail size image that you click on and then click the small magnifying glass icon to expand the image to a readable size:

NOE 44-40 PTE
Die

Hope this helps.

[JuliettDeltaGolf]

Ha! Well I guess I was so excited about ordering the expander I didn't look at all the pictures! Many thanks for your time and everything you do, Tom. Could be nice to add a note in the item description as to why a fella might need the spacer and ring.

[megasupermagnum]

I'm glad they are offering powder through versions now, but I don't understand why NOE will not cut a relief so they aren't so hard to use. I've ripped rims off of cases using NOE plugs there is just too much surface area. I wouldn't want all that banging when using a powder measure. They can be fixed easily with a lathe, but it sure would be nice if NOE would just fix these so I wouldn't have to do it.

[jetinteriorguy]

The over-travel ring is not strictly necessary but, if you are using either of the Lee, case-activated, powder measures, it will prevent over travel adjustmet from harming the Lee Auto-Drum(which Lee cautions against) and possible incomplete powder drop from the Lee Auto-Disk measure.

With the Over-Travel ring in place, adjusting the measure down too far will only cause excessive flare to the case neck, possibly ruining the case. Without the Over-Travel Ring in place, excessive downward adjustment will force the drop tube too far into the measure which, Lee states, can cause damage.

Better to ruin a case with over-travel adjustment than an expensive powder measure.

Due to the interior space in the Lee Powder-Thru-Expander dies and the geometry necessary to provide adjustment for a wide range of case lengths. the length of the spacers and of the expander dictated the use of a 2mm thick ring to allow precise adjustment for 153 of the SAAMI caliber case length specifications from 0.605 inches to 2.700 inches.

Even if one were to not use a case activated measure and either dip through a funnel or mount a hand operated measure to the die, without the ring, some case lengths would not have enough adjustment to completely expand and step the case neck.

Hope this helps.

I am encloseing an updated Openscad image of the setup combination for your 357 Magnum operation. The cutaway images illustrate the necessary use of the Over-Travle ring.

Thank you for this. I’ll just add these to my next order then.

[jetinteriorguy]

I received my first order today and some very nice quality workmanship. I had to order more stuff due to me making a blunder on my first order, and now after receiving my first order it looks like I’m going to need a third order. Not trying to bag on NOE, but a simple explanation on the website would have saved me substantial money and time. So I’m going to supply this simple explanation here. If you’re ordering these expanders to work in die bodies you already have, just order the full kit for each caliber. You’ll need the spacers as specified and the optional spacer is good to have as well. The expanders as made are not direct replacements for the plug in your existing die. Once you have the spacers then you can just order extra expanders as needed by themselves. Granted, maybe I’m not so bright but a simple explanation would go a long way to help along with just a diagram.

[jetinteriorguy]

I set up my Dillon 550 with the new expanders and a Lee Auto Drum yesterday. I set it up according to the instructions in the diagram and wow does this work good. But I started noticing some small brass shavings in about 25% of the cases. It seems the step for the flare is a little sharp and scrapes off a bit of brass in some cases. I emailed NOE about it, and they called me back a couple hours later. The gentleman I talked to was super helpful, they’ve had this happen a couple other times and he told me how I could fix it or they’d gladly replace it. I’m just going to give it a slight polish with some Flitz on a cloth wheel with my Dremel which he said should work fine. If this doesn’t fix it he said they’d gladly take care of it. All in all not a big deal to me and easily taken care of, but I’m very very impressed by their service and ease of dealing with. The interesting part is my original flub in ordering means I have two more expanders in this size so I can pretty easily make at least one of them work.

[megasupermagnum]

I set up my Dillon 550 with the new expanders and a Lee Auto Drum yesterday. I set it up according to the instructions in the diagram and wow does this work good. But I started noticing some small brass shavings in about 25% of the cases. It seems the step for the flare is a little sharp and scrapes off a bit of brass in some cases. I emailed NOE about it, and they called me back a couple hours later. The gentleman I talked to was super helpful, they’ve had this happen a couple other times and he told me how I could fix it or they’d gladly replace it. I’m just going to give it a slight polish with some Flitz on a cloth wheel with my Dremel which he said should work fine. If this doesn’t fix it he said they’d gladly take care of it. All in all not a big deal to me and easily taken care of, but I’m very very impressed by their service and ease of dealing with. The interesting part is my original flub in ordering means I have two more expanders in this size so I can pretty easily make at least one of them work.

Every NOE plug I ever bought was the same way. They come rough as a cob. What works really good for me is to chuck it in a drill and polish it by hand with 400 grit sandpaper first, then you can follow with something like steel wool for a little polish. I've done this to all my plugs and it helps a ton. If you are using dirty brass they work pretty good, else a little lube is really needed for clean brass or you will always have some shaving/scratching, and as that brass builds up on the plug you will start to have them really stick on there.

[jetinteriorguy]

Every NOE plug I ever bought was the same way. They come rough as a cob. What works really good for me is to chuck it in a drill and polish it by hand with 400 grit sandpaper first, then you can follow with something like steel wool for a little polish. I've done this to all my plugs and it helps a ton. If you are using dirty brass they work pretty good, else a little lube is really needed for clean brass or you will always have some shaving/scratching, and as that brass builds up on the plug you will start to have them really stick on there.

I polished all of my plugs and sprayed them with graphite inside and out. In the process I discovered I’d inadvertently grabbed the plug for .357/.38 and had been using it in my 9mm. Luckily the Lee FCD straightened everything out and they worked fine. So far the proper 9mm plug has been working perfectly for the next hundred I loaded up. Compared to how the original Lee expander sticks the NOE plugs are super smooth. As far as the finish, mine are definitely not rough but very smooth and well finished. I just polished where the flaring step started to eliminate a sharp edge that had been scraping a slight sliver of brass off some of the cases. The polish fixed that easily.

[Big Wes]

Wow guys. �� Next time I won’t abbreviate it: Public Service Announcement. ��

I checked out you web page http://www.axe-n-anvil.com/ I really enjoyed the videos. Great stuff and Great craftsmanship.

[JuliettDeltaGolf]

I checked out you web page http://www.axe-n-anvil.com/ I really enjoyed the videos. Great stuff and Great craftsmanship.

Well thank you Wes! I genuinely enjoy my work. Hope to get back to making some more youtube videos this year.

[jetinteriorguy]

Well thank you Wes! I genuinely enjoy my work. Hope to get back to making some more youtube videos this year.

My grandfather was an old school blacksmith. He specialized in making tools for veterinarians back in the 20’s-40’s in North Dakota when these tools were hard to come by. I still have some of them and use them to this day, although I’m not a veterinarian I have alternative uses for them.