Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 12 yr old boy destroys first piece of reloading equipment

With no school today I got the kid set up to re-size some '06 cases for Garand fodder. He's into it, and has helped me numerous times before. Idiotically, I figure "What could go wrong sizing cases?" This resulted in (I assume not enough lube) a case stuck in the die, with the rim ripped off. Or as he put it "I even broke off that part at the end the extractor grabs ahold of!" Naturally, being his father's son this wasn't reported until various efforts had been tried to remedy without parental knowledge. On the bench I found: a hammer, a bent awl, and a pair of pliers. The stem had been removed and with the protruding bit of case reduced to a shapeless yellow lump.

Attempts to remove with the stuck case remover were not successful. In the midst of a fatherly rage the die was chucked into the trash. Upon reflection I am much more amused than grumpy as he sized a bunch of cases and it beats the heck out of a day spent on video games or youtube. Like new $22 RCBS set is on the way from ebay. The M1 will sing yet.

What have your kids complicated for you?

Think you're pretty blessed, and hope you weren't too hard on him. He went to great lengths to solve the matter, and he'll never make that mistake again.

But you're not alone. Got to the deer stand one AM and noticed he'd (age 13) plugged the .243 bore with snow. Trudged back, quietly cursing, did a rod pass, then tape, then we trudged back out. Pretty sure the hunt was over, late as we were. 10 minutes later he shot his first deer.

Yes, it's always easier to do something yourself. But if you don't invest the extra time, they might not develop an interest.

Good deal, you only learn by doing.

Buy the boy some imperial sizing wax.

We all learned, some of us the hard way.

I have stuck case tools, but don’t remember exactly how they work as it’s been so long since I needed to unstick a case. But I’m sure I’d remember if the need arose. I think the OP could have saved that die with the right tools.

DF

In that age group, early adolescents are still wrestling with A LOT of physical and mental changes. I grew up in an era that knew nothing about this, partly due to the necessity to achieve living through the employment of the household labor force, and partly because the generational 'view' of children didn't have room for child psychology metrics. To the point; for this teachable moment he transitioned to what is likely a state of panicked fix it now or die (behavior driven by negative parental consequence).
A functional adult might transition to a state of intent to repair since that's the next logical step (not always driven by negative consequence).

Your parental approach can have a significant effect on his levels of confidence moving forward in this shared father / son endeavor. There is nothing less than GREAT POWER in returning to the discussion of this issue with your son, and telling him, "Son, I think I over reacted on this issue. I've made mistakes before too, and I'm proud of you for the attempts you made to correct your mistake. But before you move forward with trying to correct these kinds of mistakes in the future, come see me, and maybe we can find a way to tackle the problem...together".

If you are wondering why there is great power in this approach it's simple; you not only get to teach the mechanical approach to fixing that issue, but you also get the opportunity to demonstrate a healthy male parental response, and, both of you get yet another bonding experience. He might remember it and choose to act in a similar manner when faced with a teachable moment that is bound to be present in his not so distant future.

I’d happily sacrifice several dies if it meant my kid showed an interest in reloading.

I failed to clarify things. I wasn't grumpy at the time, having stuck a couple cases myself. I told him I'd take care of it and to go write the letters to family he'd put off in order to size cases. After he went to bed I tried the RCBS stuck case remover and it didn't work. Tool failure tends to have a negative effect on my personality. Tannhauser pretty much nails it with his post. When I became a father I accepted right off that a bunch of stuff was going to be broken-lost-abused if things were going to go right so to speak. The kid is a much better man than I was at his age, I suspect that trend will continue.

He is now a true handloader! If you haven't stuck at least one case........you are one of the uninitiated. It's been a few years, but i keep a stuck case remover in my reloading room, just in case it happens again. I've found the most vulnerable time is after you've thoroughly cleaned a sizing die. I now lube a newly cleaned die with a cue tip and a tiny bit of sizing wax prior to sizing the first case, and pay attention to the press handle and the pressure it requires.

Another way is to keep around a retired piece of brass already sized in that die. When you need to prelube the die just use that case with a tiny bit of lube on it.

He is yours.

He tried to repair or fix his mistake with his limited knowledge of what will work or not work..........like an adult would have done.

I learned to reload on my own at 16 by reading gun magazines and then the instructions that came with the kit which I got for Christmas. I built my work/reloading bench myself (I still use it). I stuck the VERY FIRST case I tried to resize, probably because the Speer manual cautioned about using too much lube Dammit! 😮.

I had read about stuck case removal tools so I took it to the shop where my father had bought the kit. The owner, Mt Burke, that owned the shop (a classic little hole in the wall shop, chock full of neat stuff, bullets, etc.) brought out a stuck case removal tool, showed me how to work it and in no time put me back in business. He sold me the tool for a discount which he would do for years, on future purchases when I visited his shop. 😊

Some years later I was buying some bullets and 22 Mag ammo and as I checked out, he said, “try some of these” and he dropped them into my bag. It was a pack of CCI 22 Mag shotshells. At no charge😀

This made me smile!!!

Mathman, I will try that!

Good on you for getting him started. My kids like to seat bullets when I load and my boy could break an anvil with a rubber mallet.

Good story. Good conversation.

As a kid, my dad had an extensive garage work shop. He rebuilt old cars, reloaded, worked metal, cut wood, and built and repaired many a myriad thing. He was very strict in the "use the right tool for the job" philosophy, and, consequently, he had acquired an extensive collection of good tools over the years. By the age of 12, I was pretty good with a welding torch, and quite adept at all types of cuts with a table saw.

I was allowed full unsupervised access to anything and everything in the shop, with only two rules: 1) use the tools safely/properly, 2) clean up after yourself. I sure went to town on my own building and repairing and tinkering and experimenting on all sorts of crazy and fun projects. Lots of things were broken in the process, but, as long as I wasn't abusing something, it was cool and just a part of the learning process. Good times and an important part of my growing up.

This is known as a high-class problem. Congrats to dad and son.

Son stroke???

Ever tried the freezer trick?
Used for setting bearings.
I don't know the relative specific heat capacities of steel and brass off hand . But the thin brass might shrink faster than the steel and drop out in the freezer...

My kid, nothing at all. My **mother** is a different story ...

Tom

Great story. And good on you for being understanding.

I had one of those stuck cases like you described that a friend brought to me. He had worked on it until nothing was left for the tap to bite into. I cut the end of the case and used an ez-out. By then my buddy considered the die lost so any damage caused by the ez-out was acceptable. It worked!