.45 ACP expander issue

[Steve]

I actually already have one of those and used it to troubleshoot this problem.
I was going to use it like you suggest but I really wanted to figure this out since it SHOULD work.
I had it in the second turret hole where it primes the shell. I'm out of projectiles now but next time I load 45's I'll play around with it as a permanent solution.
But I REALLY would like to know why this doesn't work for me.
I think I'll go over to my friends house and look at his to see how it's different than mine.

Thanks.

You can't screw the die body into the turret any farther?

[6Gears1Speed]

No. Trust me I've been at this for two days. Die is in all the way and thumb nut torqued all the way down. It can't go down any more than it already is. The guy at Lee had me remove the expanding plug and I measured it with my calipers. It's the correct plug and the correct length. I also have a second of the same die and that is exactly the same. That's why this is so maddening. I'm gonna quit for a while and come back to it another time. Sometimes that fixes things and it's usually something simple. Thanks for the help.

[62chevy]

Could the body of the powder through die be to long?


EDIT: replaced is with be.

[Fyodor]

I got the same problem. It barely expands the case at all, the bell is so tiny you can't see it with bare eyes. It actually does work for me, but only because I use boolits one thousands smaller than usual (.451). At cowboy action a squib can be devastating, because you're shooting so fast that you might miss it. The smaller bullet will clear the barrel with the primer only. "Full size" lead bullets don't work well with this die set. Quite a few guy I talked to experience the same with lead bullets. With jacketed it doesn't seem to be that of a problem, and I guess the site is made for jacketed only, and the low expansion keeps the torture on the case mouth low. I wished it would expand a little more, too.

[6Gears1Speed]

I think I know what the problem is. Like I said walking away usually helps clear the mind .

Three weeks ago I disassembled my dies to clean them but haven't used them until now. I put each set into individual containers and soaked them in solvent and oil. I mentally noted which parts went into which dies but the crimp die and powder though/expanding die look exactly the same on the outside. They are different on the inside and at the base. The other two dies are unique so they can't be confused.

As a test, I found out that the expanding plug and crimp sleeve fit into either die body. With the expanding plug in the other die that I thought was the crimp die body it takes up the slack. There still is no or a tiny bit of a bell but as far as I can tell no slack. I think this is the problem but haven't tested completely yet.

I had been wondering what the number codes stamped into the dies mean. It shows the caliber and the something like D3 or B3 etc... Two of the same dies can have different two letter codes. Does anybody know what the codes mean and how do I tell which is the crimp die and which is the expanding die? Are they revision codes?

Also, is there a parts explosion diagram of the entire Loadmaster press? Not just a parts list. I need the parts explosion so I know what order parts go in.

[6Gears1Speed]

Ya that's the problem. Doh! It was both a waste of time and a learning experience. I still have to put one washer in there to create enough of a bell that allows the bullet to not topple over but it's working now. Maybe because they are Berry's plated bullets they require more of a bell to sit properly.

Oh well. Hopefully this helps another knucklehead in the future .

[akuser47]

Thanks for keeping us posted. It is now on the net in case others do the same thing.

[Fyodor]

I had been wondering what the number codes stamped into the dies mean. It shows the caliber and the something like D3 or B3 etc... Two of the same dies can have different two letter codes. Does anybody know what the codes mean and how do I tell which is the crimp die and which is the expanding die? Are they revision codes?

As far as I know they're date codes for manufacturing. But I'm not absolutely sure.

[Ranch Dog]

As far as I know they're date codes for manufacturing. But I'm not absolutely sure.

I think Lee has an FAQ about the letters and they are as Fyodor indicated.

[6Gears1Speed]

Thanks I'll take a look.

And, nothing at all is fixed. Not sure why it worked when I posted that it was solved but it's back to not working. I had the die plugs in the correct bodies to begin with so that wasn't the problem. At this point I'm too frustrated to continue so I'm moving on to 9mm. 9mm is expanding correctly. I'll get back to this problem next time I do 45's and will post up if/when I find a real answer.