lee universal decapping die, custom pin?

S

Shadow9mm

New member
Hey, did a little looking on google. Could not find what I was looing for.

I have a lee universal deprime/decapping die. The pin in it has a sharp shoulder above the actual decapping portion.

I am depriming a 5gal buckets worth of 5.56 that has a fair bit with smashed case mouths. The squared off shoulder is smashing the case necks rather than opening them up a little as the die comes down

Currently I am using a screw driver to un-dent the case necks prior to depriming, but its a little tedious to say the least.

does anyone know of a custom pin for the lee die, or a depriming die that has a tapered pin?
 
If it were me, i would get out my die grinder, small sander, whatever, and taper the square shoulder so it would not do that, I mean, what the heck, it is just punching primers out,,but also, be careful you don't run it down so far that it sticks in the primer hole, if you go to far.
 
Lee made me a custom case mouth expander for .32 S&W Long. I needed twice the depth and .002 larger for .314 wad cutter bullets. If memory serves me, it was $25. I would guess they would make you a custom decap pin. Worth giving them a call.
 
Lee lists it as compatible with the universal decapping die. Also I do have some room the thread the die down farther if needed. I do have a spare standard pin, but figured the right tool for the job might be better than filing down my spare....
 
Here's the before and after me grinding my pins down

4Xa8jY.jpg
 
Metal god said:
Here's the before and after me grinding my pins down

4Xa8jY.jpg
Click to expand...
those look good. Got my pin. It is not as good of a profile as I had hoped. No grinder, only files, but I got some work done on it the other day, still needs a bit of fine tuning, but it is already a big improvement.
 
One advantage of the "before" shape is it can open and flatten bad flash hole burrs if that's any consideration.

I use a Sinclair Expander Die body and the undersized neck turning Mandrel for this purpose. However, it is a two-step process.

A less fancy tool is a 30d (30-penny or 5 gauge; 4.5") plain steel carpenter's nail has a nominally 0.220" shank diameter. Tolerances on nails are not high, though, so you'd want to take a caliper with you to the hardware when you go. You will need to do a little filing on the edges of their points to keep them from being over diameter, but at least that steel is soft and easy to file quickly. If you also pick up a 7/8-14 bolt, you can screw it in place of a die in your press, then just hold the head of the nail against it as you bring a case in the shell holder up to it. Otherwise, the nail and hammer with a plastic-faced head to tap the nail in should work fine.
 
"...smashed case mouths..." That has nothing to do with a 'sharp' shoulder. Isn't the decapper pin that opens the case mouth a tick either. It's the expander button.
Try sanding(no grinding or filing. That'll change the diameter and cause another issue.), the expander button smoother.
"...Tolerances on nails are not high..." Nope, but nails are handy things and are made of higher grade steel than one would think. You can make a lot of tools with 'em aside from punches. Been using a filed sharp 2" common nail to punch holes in leather for years. Kind of unbelievable of long a cheap nail holds an edge.
 
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