Odd expander die

S

sherwoods12

Inactive
I bought a used RCBS 45 ACP carbide die set at my local gun shop a couple weeks ago. It was a good deal for $20. As I was cleaning them up I at noticed the expander die was odd. The "head stamp" on the top of the die says RCBS 45 ACP, S. EXP.
I realized the die would in no way work for normal 45 ACP shells.
I contacted RCBS and sent them pictures, they told me it was a special made die for an unknown purpose. They sent me a new expander die, free of charge (gotta love that).
Now I am looking at the "odd" die and wondering what it may have been used for. Attached are some photos.
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I made one of those [from 7/8-14 threaded rod on the lathe] in 2011 for some unknown reason.

There are a million reasons for doing anything, but people list the ones that reflect best upon themselves. Give me a minute with my publicist.
 

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RCBS marked dies with an X or S. Then there is the rational? or reason for the expander that is too long for a 45 ACP. There are many WCF type chambers that shoot 45 type bullets. Some reloaders/shooters shoot lead. When lead is used the neck must be expanded.

Then there were universal dies meaning the die body was universal. a reloader could purchase one die body with different expanders. Some manufacturers use the same thread in their sizing die and seating die.

And then? RCBS made dies before they had a progressive press. As we all know today the number one position on the tool head is for sizing, punching primers and installing. Problem, the first dies RCBS made had the primer punch in the expander die. I have no ideal how long it took reloaders to figure out what was wrong. I have a few die bodies that are aluminum from RCBS. After all, how tough does a die body have to be to expand the neck of a case?

Any how, there was an abundance of expanders with primer punches around with no purpose until a few friends started chucking them up in lathes and grinding them to fit. The first thing to go was the primer punch.

F. Guffey
 
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I made one of those [from 7/8-14 threaded rod on the lathe] in 2011 for some unknown reason.

That looks similar to Lee's universal expander for lead bullets in rifle calibers.
 
I will have to create a drawing with profile measurements. That might help to identify the mysterious expander die. I looks like it can be used to bell the mouth of longer cases, like the .45 long colt or .45-70 gov't. The expander shank is too small for the 45 as it appears to be closer to 9mm.
 
The "head stamp" on the die is the older RCBS logo. The set this came with has a carbide sizer made by Pacific Durachrome and round nose seater made by RCBS. The sizer works excellent as does the seater.
Thanks to RCBS support, I now have a set that should last me many years.
 
Here's another thought, in the days before "lowered"ports a lot of .45ACP cases got badly dented case mouths.

The undersize expander might have been made to open back up badly dented case mouths, so that the "normal" expander would work and not crush them.

It appears to have been made from an expander for a longer case.

I have used .357 expanders to "recover" badly dented .45 brass, it seems reasonable to me..
 
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