Problem with RCBS swaging tool, unable to swage brass that has already been re-sized
A while back, I meticulously re-sized and trimmed 1,500 pieces of once fired crimped 5.56mm Lake City brass. I knew that before I could prime the brass I would need to remove with the primer crimp, but I never got around to attempting to swage this brass until today. I bought the RCBS Primer Pocket Swager combo die today and just tried it out a minute ago. My first attempt at swaging did not go well. It seems that the re-sized case necks are too small to properly fit over the swager rod (I confirmed that the small rod is correctly installed). I actually slightly bent the swager rod after swaging 10 pieces of re-sized brass. The tool seemed to work without problem on brass that had the primer removed, but had not yet been re-sized. The re-sized neck tension seems too tight/restrictive to allow the swager rod to freely pass.
I’m a little frustrated in the fact that I have all of this brass that has been prep’d, but still needs the crimp removed. I hate to go out and spend $100 on the Dillon Super Swager, but if the Dillon will swage the re-sized and trimmed brass without any other added steps, I’m willing to buy one. Please advise if I’m overlooking something or doing something wrong with the RCBS tool. I’ve reloaded a lot in the past, but I’ve never messed with crimped primer pockets until now. Any advice would be great. Thanks in advance!
I also recently purchased the RCBS swaging die and had no issues. I resized and deprimed with a Hornady die and then swaged with the RCBS with no issues.
Maybe the die is outta spec?
The little stub that presses the crimp out is bigger on mine than others. I've seen pics where you push the casing all the way down on it but I can only push the case about half way or the pocket becomes to big.
Good luck,
Paul
Are you sliding the brass onto the stem then raising the ram? Mine's not extremely loose but it is smaller than my sized case necks. Measure your small stem diameter, mine's .218", I'd say if yours is over .219" contact RCBS. If its .219 or smaller then your sizing die is sizing too much and/or not suffeciently expanding the neck.
Make sure the rod isn't bent at the threads. If the rod isn't locked down straight with the case mine will be tight in the necks. I loosen the rod lock nut and raise the ram with a case inserted and then lock the lock nut. Mine has to be adjusted or the rod is tight in the necks. And if your rod is bent then the rod will be tight in the necks as there is very little clearance between the rod and neck. I've swaged several thousand rounds of .223 and 30-06 cases with my RCBS swager. I have had to straighten the small rod once. It was slightly bent in the thread area. Has swaged a lot of cases after being straightened.
I've had no issues with the RCBS primer swager. I resize and deprime my cases at the same time, and any crimped cases are then taken care of with the swager. No issues with the rod not fitting into the case.
I do slide my brass on the stem before I raise the ram though....too tight of a fit to ever get it lined up perfectly the other way...FWIW
funny i just ried mine out yesterday for the first time too. i hated it at first cuz i was putting the cases on the spud and trying to raise the case up into the die........sucked bad.
once i figured out to put the case in first it was breeze.
Thanks or all the replies. I'll try sliding the brass over the rod first. However, my rod is slightly bent, so that will need to be straightened/replaced first. I'll also measure the rod diameter and check with the spec's above.
I'm wondering if I'd be better off just ordering a Dillon Super Swager? I'm not sold on RCBS, but I'll give it another shot.
