Lee 45 Auto Powder Through Expander Die

[Horty]

I have a set of Lee dies for reloading 45 Auto. One of them is the Powder Through Expander Die. This die is supposed to flare the neck of the case while, at the same time, allowing you to charge your case. The die has a moving flare piece in the middle and when I flare my brass with this die I have to pull down really hard, almost slam the handle of the press down, to get the interior moving flare to release the case, is this normal? I have tried to lube the inside neck of a practice round to see if that helps and it really doesn't. Is this just how the die is supposed to work or am I doing something wrong? Thanks

 

[oneof79]

How much are you flaring the case? A pic would be helpful. I seem to remember mine having resistance when pulling the case out of the expander die.

 

[Horty]

I'm not flaring that much, just enought to set the bullet on top of the case without it hanging over the edges. I have tried to flare less and the die is still tough to get out. I will post a picture later.

 

[Blitzfike]

I have several different die sets with that die. The insert appears to be a casting that wasn't polished to a fine finish. Mine work fine in the Dillon, I use it so the plated bullets will seat better without distortion in 45 mainly. Blitzfike

 

[458 SOCOM]

Ate these steel dies or carbide dies?

 

[gaseous maximus]

I've got 9mm & 38/357 lee powder thru dies, and both of them sorta act that way.

 

[NikatKimber]

I've got several sets of Lee dies with that die, and some are worse than others. Especially on taller cases, (read: .38/.357 and .44) I make sure to put a finger next to the case to keep it from jumping out of the shell holder when pulling out of the powder die. That said, the Lee dies are some of my favorite pistol dies, short of spending double on Dillon.

 

[Blitzfike]

The expander insert looks to be some kind of casting or maybe a compressed powdered metal formulation. They are gray in color and not exceptionally smooth. I haven't tried to polish any of them yet, I probably will or maybe machine a new insert out of harder steel. I had to use the lee powder thru die for loading plated bullets in 45acp. The expander in the Dillon powder measure doesn't expand the case quite enough for the soft plated bullets and they deform too much without the added expander step with the lee powder thru die. I liek the way they shoot, but they were a real pita to use until I added the other expander to the mix. I guess I could just machine another powder funnel for the dillon, but this was a quick fix. Blitzfike

 

[kd5rjz]

They're supposed to be snappy on extraction, to help shake any loose powder into the casing. However, most of them I've seen were a bit too grabby.