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Author Topic: nickel plated brass problem  (Read 829 times)

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Offline rbergum95

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nickel plated brass problem
« on: June 17, 2007, 06:00:39 AM »
i recently bought 500 new remington nickel plated .38 spl cases. the nickel plating is peeling and flecking on the first firing. my question is, should i reload these a second time or scrap them? is it safe and will it scratch my reloading dies? any help will be greatly appreciated.
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Offline rickyp

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Re: nickel plated brass problem
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2007, 10:23:18 AM »
The flaking nickle will must defiantly scratch the inside of our die I had a 375 jdj get scratched that way
I would call Remington and see what they can do for you. I have seen the flaking but after several reloads
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Offline Old Syko

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Re: nickel plated brass problem
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2007, 12:05:06 PM »
I quit using plated brass a long time ago after damaging not 1 but 2 sizing dies right after I started loading.  Learn from my mistakes.  Rickyp is right.  Let them know they have a problem.  They may just help you out.
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Offline calvon

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Re: nickel plated brass problem
« Reply #3 on: June 17, 2007, 12:48:18 PM »
It is pretty well understood that the addition of nickel to cartridge brass serves one function only: it makes it pretty (to some people). Otherwise it serves no useful purpose. My advice would be to sell it to the scrap dealer and stick with straight brass from now on.

I asked the people at Starline one time if there was any advantage to nickel plated brass. They forthrightly told me it improves nothing and will damage your dies when it starts peeling.
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Offline Evil Dog

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Re: nickel plated brass problem
« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2007, 02:25:05 PM »
Seems to me that I recall reading a long, long time ago that one of the main reasons for plating the brass was to resist corrosion.  Unplated cases left in a leather dump box or in leather cartridge loops for a long time have a tendency to turn green.  Have no use for the plated ones myself.
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Evil Dog

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Offline rickyp

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Re: nickel plated brass problem
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2007, 02:56:36 PM »
Evil Dog  is correct that is why they came out with it.
I still use it but very selectively mostly for hunting rounds only. they will not corrode easy to find in the under brush,
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Offline BCB

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Re: nickel plated brass problem
« Reply #6 on: June 18, 2007, 06:14:30 AM »
I have heard of dies being ruined with nickel-plated brass.  But, if rbergum95 is using carbide dies, I would be surprised if the nickel is harder than the carbide steel and it would ruin the carbide ring.  What I have found is the fact that the nickel will flake in very small particles and then they will scratch the next cases being sized.
I have sized thousands and thousands of 38, 357, 44 cases that are nickel and I have been using the same RCBS carbide dies for nearly 40 year.  These same dies are used to size brass cases also and they show no signs of scratches yet—Gotta clean the carbide ring from time to time…BCB
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Offline Old Syko

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Re: nickel plated brass problem
« Reply #7 on: June 18, 2007, 08:32:27 AM »
Even carbide is not indestructable.  The 2 sizers I ruined were carbide.  By all means clean dies on a regular basis and if loading by the thousands a little case lube is still in order even for carbide.
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Offline BCB

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Re: nickel plated brass problem
« Reply #8 on: June 18, 2007, 09:02:37 AM »
Old Sako,

I agree there is nothing that is indestructible in the Universe (I think), but unless nickel is harder than carbide steel, I don't know how it could damage it or even scratch it?...BCB
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Offline rickyp

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Re: nickel plated brass problem
« Reply #9 on: June 18, 2007, 10:05:23 AM »
Even if the carbide is not damaged the flakes can become inbeded in the die maybe just above the ring and still scratch the cases.
You are dealing with a lot of pressure and strange things can happen
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Offline Old Syko

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Re: nickel plated brass problem
« Reply #10 on: June 18, 2007, 11:00:50 AM »
BCB, All I can tell ya is that I run a milling machine that uses 176 carbide teeth on a drum to grind up a lot of different materials none of which come close to the rockwell numbers of carbide yet about 16 hrs. is about all the teeth will last without wearing away and having to be replaced.  I don't know the metaleurgy unvolved.  I ain't that smart and won't pretend to be.  I just know it will happen. 
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Offline BCB

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Re: nickel plated brass problem
« Reply #11 on: June 18, 2007, 12:08:40 PM »
Old Syko,

I agree that things definitely wear out!  Many years ago, I drilled on mining operations using a diamond bit (diamonds embedded into the steel core tip) and they would wear, but mostly they got lost because the metal in the core tip got hot and released the diamonds.
I don’t doubt you need to replace your carbide teeth on your grinding drum after some use.  BUT, how many times are these teeth in contact with material they are grinding before they need replaced?  OR, I wonder how many cases must be inserted into a carbide die to be equivalent to the wear and tear your carbide teeth get in 16 hours?  How many revolutions does the drum make in that amount of time?  Betcha that’s lots and lots of cases run into a carbide die equivalent?  I still think it would take much abuse to ruin a carbide sizing die, or to scratch it, or to wear it to the point where it doesn’t size cases.  Just my thoughts…BCB
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