I thought these were indestructible? third round depriming and the pin pushed up into the rod. anyone had this issue before? I assume it is ruined and I need to get a new one. Bought the damn thing today so going to call Lee monday.

Did you take it apart and look at it. Can't remember if the lee has replaceable pins or not. Could be a 2 minute fix

De capping like De priming? My Lee De primer is adjustable. You tube "remove stuck case from depriming die."

If I'm off and completely wrong please ignore.

i did. the pin is pushed up into the rod, so there is no pin anymore.

I'm guessing the decapping pin wasn't correctly centered.

I hope Lee's customer service is as good as RCBS's.

Is the pin protruding from the top of the die? It's built to pop out the top if it requires too much pressure to deprime.

Lee calls it a decapping die. Not depriming.

If you're talking about the Lee Universal Decapping that looks like the pic below, look and see if the pin is sticking out of the top. If it is, it just slipped like it is supposed to when it encounters too much resistance. If so just loosen that nut on the top, move the pin back down where it is supposed to be and tighten very firmly.


If you get the pin out and it is broken here's a link to buy a new one for $2.49. I think they have two different styles of pins, changed designs a couple of years back so make sure it's the right one. I've only ever broken one and that was because I hit a rock that was stuck inside a case. Many other rocks it's smashed through without issue.
New Pin $2.49

What were you depriming?

Here is a pic of the rod....




and the round I was depriming....

I may see what the issue is, however I can't tell due to fuzzy picture. Is that 7.62x39?

Are you sure it's boxer primed?

Dp.

[This message has been edited by phideaux_2003 (edited 5/12/2013 6:21p).]

The actual depriming pin is separate from the main rod (it is a 2 piece system).

If the small pin is actually pushed into the large pin, you have faulty equipment. If the pin is simply missing, take a light and look into the case you were depriming. I bet the small pin is stuck inside the primer.

I had several issues with that happening to me on Lee universal decapping dies. I had to JB weld the small pin to the large pin to keep it from constantly pulling out.

its 223 rem

here is another one that I deprimed before it broke, next to another brand.....

sorry, phone pics are all a tad blurry.

i think they are cheap monarch stuff.

That looks like steel cased ammo which people generally don't reload. Also there looks to be a lot of displaced metal around the flashhole. Either it was Berdan primed and you pushed a hole through or the flash hole was way off center to start with. Get another case with the same head stamp and look inside with a flashlight to see if you have one or two holes. Also throw all the rest of those steel cases in the trash.

thats it. they are berdan primed. I am new to reloading. so did I bust a hole through that one that worked? or is there just a smaller center hole that won't work?

Looks like your pin pushed through one of the two smaller holes on the berdan primed case which is why it is off center. Probably broke doing that on the second one as it's not designed to do that. You need special equipment that hardly anyone has to reload berdan cases, also hardly anyone reloads steel cased ammo. From now on any cases you find that are coated with a dark brown lacquer like that just throw them in the trash.

You busted a hole thru the primer pocket. Throw away steel cases. You can't reload them.

You should be able to call Lee or go on any of the web stores and get a new decapping rod to replace the one you broke.

Even now there is plenty of brass at ranges to where you can pick up a pretty good supply in just a few trips. For plinking you won't really need to sort them, but if you want to shoot tight groups, sort your brass by headstamp, size, trim length to spec, chamfer the mouth, deburr the flash hole and clean the primer pocket on each loading.

It would serve you best to sit down and watch someone who has done this a lot so you can learn the process.

Wooooo. Yeah throw that steel crap away pronto.

Yeah that was my guess. Steel cases are commonly Berdan primed, though not always. Either way, steel cases, even when boxer primed, are a biotch to reload. They don't size or crimp right with most "at home" loaders.

Stick to brass homey.

Thanks guys!

Get you a magnet - easiest way to sort out the steel cases ammo.

I imagine it took some force to punch through those first few steel cases. With the possible exception of sizing, reloading shouldn't take much exertion. If it's hard to pull the lever, back up and check the set up. Saves much money and equipment that way.

it was surprisingly easy. i think that is what threw me off. But i have always been bad about snapping heads of bolts and other things. So it doesn't surprise me. Lesson learned. Lee is replacing it for free, even though it was my fault. I sent them an email before I really knew what I had done. I also ordered another one since they are so cheap. But great customer service on Lee's part.