Lyman Stuck Case Remover

A quick review of the Lyman Stuck Case Remover Kit. Seems to work, and a decent value. Every reloader should probably have a good way to deal with stuck cases, as they can be a real pain if you're not prepared to deal with them. I've got a 223 case stuck in a Lee sizing die to test this tool on. RCBS makes a kit that really only works on their dies, but my dies are mostly Lee and Redding, so I've got to go a different route.
===Timestamps===
00:00 Introduction
00:30 The Lyman Kit
02:00 What's in it?
05:10 Drilling the pilot hole
05:41 Tapping the hole (issues)
08:05 Extracting the case
09:20 Overall thoughts

[@E.L.RipleyAtNostromo]

Thanks for the review; I’ve never seen that particular RCBS kit, that’s kind of a primitive way to drive out the stuck brass. Instead I have the RCBS 09340 kit, which is almost identical to the Lyman kit you’re showing there, except the Lyman is fancier in that the extractor body is larger and threaded to fit over the 7/8x14 die threads, while the RCBS body is just a smaller diameter unthreaded unit that fits over the case head. The RCBS instructions say to put the die in a vise to help. By the way, the reason that tap doesn’t fit easily through the body/cap is it isn’t designed to go through the cap, or rather the cap isn’t designed to accommodate the tap, it doesn’t need to; drill the primer out and tap it freehand while it’s mounted in a vise, you only need the body cap threaded on when you’re using the extractor-through bolt with the Allen wrench. I think if the instructions show the tap going through the cap they’re either incorrect or whoever wrote them assumed the body through hole would be larger. Since that tap only needs to tap soft brass it will essentially last forever, so you’re right, you really don’t need thread cutting oil, but I always add a couple drops to the tip of the tap anyway. I also just bought that new Frankford Arsenal clamp style stuck case remover, but haven’t had a chance to try it yet. Thanks for showcasing the Lyman kit. I think if I hadn’t just gone with the RCBS kit recommended to me I would have opted for this one, as that thread-on larger diameter body cap is a nice upgrade. 👍

[@wemcal]

Great video and great information

[@tonykulik2964]

I can never get the expander pin out, alway have to cut the brass after removing it. I am interested on how you were able to get the pin out while the brass was still stuck in the die?

[@TechDregs]

Yeah, that's a big problem. With this type of extractor system, if I were using a Lee die, I'd take out the expander collet and let the pin drop to the top of the die (should be loose until the expander ball hits the neck, so there's some room), and then I'd try to be careful with the drill to not go any deeper than necessary so you don't hit the decapping pin. Once the brass is extracted, the easiest thing to do is just get a slightly bigger drill bit and make the hole in the bottom larger, then the decapping pin should just drop out the bottom. As for how I got the pin out for this video... I didn't. I removed it prior to the demonstration just so I wouldn't have it in the way (because it really is such a pain in the ass).

[@kyley808]

Did you try lanolin lube? When you tread the brass remove the black housing first then put it back on the die with the black housing then screw to remove the stuck case

[@TechDregs]

I have used Lee sizing lube, Imperial, and Hornady One Shot. The Lee lube is actually quite good, and I'd put it right there with Imperial. One Shot is ok, but I wouldn't use it unless I was doing bulk stuff (as a time saver). As for the case remover, the instructions show the tap going through the housing. That's apparently what it was designed for, but it's just not sized correctly for that.

[@Martin42944]

Someone told me to use Imperial Case Sizing Wax and an RCBS case lube pad. Haven’t had a stuck case since I made the switch.

[@TechDregs]

Yeah, I gave Imperial a shot. It stuck the third case I tried, so, I don't think the lube was the issue. I have learned (during making this video) that the root cause was the shell holder fitting a bit loose on the case rims. Got a new one, and haven't had a stuck case with it yet.

[@whateman12408]

​@@TechDregs"I'm cheap" Grab bottom of case head with locking pliers. Stack open end wrench on plier. Now turn down your lock ring against wrench until case is pushed free. Hope i explained myself clearly.

[@whateman12408]

"I'm cheap" Grab bottom of case head with locking pliers. Stack open end wrench on plier. Now turn down your lock ring against wrench until case is pushed free. Hope i explained myself clearly.

[@TechDregs]

I've tried that route before. It works sometimes, but 223 is troublesome because it's so small. It can be hard to get a good grip on the case head, and it sometimes tears off... and then you're really in a world of hurt.

[@andrewjohnson410]

Buy yourself a nice vise.

[@ericschnittker6775]

THUMBS DOWN. First of all, thank you for not bothering to tell me what it cost. Second, I could not find this product anywhere on Lyman's website. That's either my fault (don't think so) or theirs. But you repeatedly mentioned NOT using a vise, duh, you think maybe that's why it was so difficult? AND you did it this way because you thought most people would do it this way? The "Bubba" way? This is insulting your audience overall, and to anyone named Bubba. Your whole operation was clumsy and sloppy. Bye!

[@TechDregs]

Well, sorry, I didn't want to insult my audience by assuming they couldn't look up the price for themselves. Second, the link on Lyman's website is the first result on Google for "Lyman stuck case remover". Here you go: www.lymanproducts.com/stuck-case-remover. And no, not using a vise had nothing to do with any difficulty using this system. The problem was that the hole in the steel cap was smaller than the tap, so I had to partially tap that hole even though the screw isn't supposed to engage that part. There's no reason for that hole not to be drilled slightly larger to avoid this. Using a vise wouldn't change that. I wish you the best on your internet journey. Good luck out there. :-D