Somehow this statement begs the question....how is a brass case breaking a carbide ring? Don’t buy it. There are other reasons why Lee no longer recommends using the Makarov FCD with the bulge buster kit, but I don’t think cracked carbide rings is only them. I’ve forced 9mm cases up through a 9mm FCD (wasn’t easy, wasn’t pretty), with no affect on the 9mm die. They pass through the Makarov FCD smooth as you please. Someone’s smacking steel if they’ve cracked the carbide sizing ring. Brass sure won’t do it.
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9mm problem
- Thread starter jjcbuck
- Start date
It depends on how well the perimeter of the ring is supported. I cracked one on a Lyman 45 Auto sizing die decades ago. Carbide is very hard, but also very brittle. If a little grit went through with a case and scored the binding metal around the carbide particles, it can crack. I've also had the carbide ring fall out of a die one time, so good support is not guaranteed.
If a little grit went through with a case and scored the binding metal around the carbide particles,...
Tungsten Carbide objects are the result of powdering the metals, mixiing with wax, forming the desired shape in compression dies, baking the wax out, sintering in an oven. It was my impression when I visited (a trip that was part of my pursuit of my master's degree) a carbide producer, sintering heat fuses the carbide particles together...no "binding metal around the carbide particles"). However, that was a long time ago and I may not be remembering correctly.
You are correct in principle. I was remembering Kennametal carbide used for snowplow blade edges. There, nickel is used as the binder precisely because of the brittleness issue which prevents sintered carbide from working in that application. But there is more to it than that, as you can buy carbide cutting tools in different carbide grades for cutting different materials. I don't know what grade is used in the inserts for sizing dies. It might not be the same today as it was when I cracked the one I had. I do know a common complaint is nickel flakes from plated cases can wedge a small piece into a carbide die and then find the same a vertical scratch along the side of every case you resize in it. Nickel sticking to nickel under pressure is what made me think of the Kennametal formulation.