Lyman Deluxe Carbide Expander/Decap Die Rod

Years ago Lyman Products decided to take a fresh look at the whole sizing / decapping business. Reasoning that the tungsten carbide inserts used in some straight-walled handgun die sets are so hard and slick that cases need not be lubricated before sizing, a tungsten carbide expander button would certainly facilitate pulling it through the case neck after the initial sizing. The result would be less potential case stretching and an overall smoother operation.

- R.H. Vandenburg, Jr.

From a manufacturing prospective, allowing the expander button to free-float on the die rod would facilitate manufacture as well as allowing the button to self-center itself in the case neck as it is being drawn from the die.

From a business point of view, costs could be contained by making the die rod assembly caliber specific rather than cartridge specific. Lyman did this, too, and the Deluxe Carbide Expander/ Decap Die Rod is available in .20, .22, .243, 6.5mm, .270, 7mm, .30 and .338 calibers. To accommodate various case lengths found within a given caliber, the die rod comes with a sleeve that serves to position the expander button up or down on the rod as needed. Typically the expander button is placed above the sleeve, but in shorter cases it may be necessary to position it lower, under the sleeve, to preclude the case neck entering the die body before the expander button has passed through the neck.