Help! Dillon sizing die came apart

[Rob D]

The outer sizing ring on my 9mm carbide sizing die just came out with a piece of brass. Is there a good way to put it back in or is the die just busted? I was in the middle of loading ammo for a club match tomorrow, and if I can't fix this die I can't shoot it. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

It looks like this

Edited August 8, 2010 by Rob D

[Rob D]

Shameless bump to get this thread to show up on the front page. I'm insanely desperate right now.

[BritinUSA]

If it will go back into the die, then perhaps some JB Weld or something will hold it in long enough to load some ammo for the match (You'd need to let it harden for at least a couple of hours. In my opinion you will need to get a new one but the temporary fix may work.

[Jeff686]

My 38 super Dillon die did the same thing last week! Already got a RMA from Dillon!

[mlmiller1]

If you can get it stuck back in, be sure you lube your brass well before you try to use it. Maybe you can nurse it through enough for the match. Do you have any friends whose loader you can use? Or borrow a die?

MLM

[Rob D]

Thanks to everyone for the info. I managed to come up with 120 more rounds that were in my "crap" box because they wouldn't chamber check in my LWD barrel but they checked just fine in my stock barrel. I should be good to go for the match tomorrow. I'll call Dillon on monday. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something common that required a simple fix. Thanks again!

Robbie

[noylj]

Never have just one set of dies if you loading for a match within a couple of days. Plan ahead.

Never heard of the carbide ring coming out, but it happens.

I assume that you will call Dillon and they will take care of it.

If both surfaces aren't scrupulously clean and properly prepared, you will have adhesive failure.

What was failure mode? Was adhesive left on both bond surfaces (the carbide and the steel)? If so, the failure was cohesive and part preparation was as good as possible and Dillon needs to look for a different adhesive. One assumes that neither the carbide or the steel surfaces failed. If so, then there was a problem with that part that needs to be addressed. If the failure was adhesive (all the adhesive stuck to one surface and there isn't adhesive on the opposite bond surfaces at any given bond point, then the failure was due to lack of cleanliness or other surface preparation treatment was not done correctly.

(Can you tell I was an aerospace engineer who worked with adhesives?)