Friday, January 25, 2008

I got the stuck case out!

Here's what finally ended up working.

First of all I unscrewed the center rod with the decapping pin and expander on it and pulled it out as far as I could. I then drilled out the primer hole and with the aid of some oil and a power screwdriver I drilled a hard, self tapping screw into the primer hole until I couldn't get it in any longer. I placed the die bottom up into the vice with some scrap wood between the jaws and the threads and tightened it down. The next step was to take my pry bar and inserted the head end of the screw into the tear drop shaped nail hole near the straight end. A small piece of wood under the bar gave me the leverage I needed and with a small sledge I tapped the end of the pry bar three or four times and suddenly the case flew out of the die.

I tried a few other methods including channel locks (never could find my pair of lock jaws) and using my reloading press with a shell holder. All this did is chew up the end of the shell and almost pull the bolts on the press through the plywood. That reminds me, I'm going to have to fix that now...

I am so relieved! These dies aren't cheap! I can see now the need for a stuck shell remover kit. It's been added to my "to buy" list come payday.