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Got a round stuck in my crimp die, now what?

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 5:47 pm
by age_ranger
How do I get this thing out!!!??? Not sure how it happened, but the round is almost totally seated in the crimp die and stuck there. I don't want to tap it out from the top and especially don't want to tap the bottom. How do I get it outta there?


lol....luckily I had a backup die but this is kinda embarassing. :oops:

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 6:07 pm
by mrbug
I would try unscrewing the top of the crimp die to see if I can dislodge it that direction. If that didn't work I would try to get a small screwdriver in around the base of the shell and see if I could pry it out.

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 6:26 pm
by MoJo
What mrbug said except spray WD40 all over the stuck shell especially the primer and let it soak for a day or two to kill the powder and primer. The WD40 will also help with getting the stuck shell out.

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 7:30 pm
by Houston1944
Call the company that made the die and ask them what you should do. They may simply have you send it to them. I would bet you are not the first one to have this problem.

Don't depend on anything rendering the primer harmless.

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:00 pm
by Wildscar
Guess thats going to put a crimp on ammo productions. :smilelol5:

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:44 pm
by TX Rancher
age_ranger:

If you don't mind me asking, how did you get the round stuck?

It's something I haven't done before, and it sounds like something I want to avoid.

On using WD-40 to inert the primers. It will work...eventually, but it can take awhile.

I once ran a test by spraying some 38 spl with WD. It got through to the primers on most of them pretty quick, but some still fired days later. Use that approach with care, and don't be in a hurry.

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 9:01 pm
by RKirby
If you are using Lee dies, Lee Precision has some self-help videos on their web site. One of them deals with stuck case removal.

Check this one out and see if it applies to your problem:

http://www.leeprecision.com/html/HelpVi ... case-1.wmv

Being a reloading newbie, I have no idea weather this will work with other manufacturers dies so proceed with caution.:???:

Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:10 pm
by stroo
There are three or four companies that make tools to get the shell out of the die. Midway and Graf's both have them. Mine works pretty well. I would be careful about trying to pry it out. You could ruin the die.

Just went out to Midway's site. The tool is called a "stuck case remover". You can see some of them here: http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.exe/br ... 702***9339***

Re: Got a round stuck in my crimp die, now what?

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:34 am
by KD5NRH
age_ranger wrote:How do I get this thing out!!!??? Not sure how it happened, but the round is almost totally seated in the crimp die and stuck there. I don't want to tap it out from the top and especially don't want to tap the bottom. How do I get it outta there?
Is the rim completely shot? If not, you might be able to take the shellholder out, raise the ram up to the base of the shell, and slip the holder onto the rim and into the ram at the same time, then try to pull it out that way.

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:58 pm
by age_ranger
Ok, got it out but it took some ooommph. Not sure how it happened. I'm speculating but I think the case might have popped out and onto the top of the shell holder. Rim was shot....The case was stuck in the die almost completely. I used a hack saw and slowly cut around the base and bent the base back to shake out the powder. WOrking it back and forth weakened the brass and I broke the base off with the primer attached. The anvil in the primer fell out when I picked up the base.....cut it right out. So, after dumping powder, I removed the rest with a punch. The case had tore around the top. Weak case? Improper set die?

Luckily, I had a backup set of dies at my disposal and was able to swap out the crimp die and continue. Odd thing, though. I took some pics and will see if I can get those up sometime soon.

Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2007 7:56 am
by sskimber
please post pics of the removed case. Just so the rest of us can learn.