Lee Collet Die Issue?

[quicksylver]

Found an extra twenty minutes in my day today.

So I chose to spend them in my reloading shack depriming and sizing some cases with my Lee Collet die.

Every once and a while I like to check the inside dimension of the necks,so I did, everything OK so far, then I measured the outside.

...not so good there was about a .oo3-.oo4
difference between the top of the neck below the flair to the base of the neck.

The base being larger, so my necks are smaller at the top, larger at the bottom.

Anyone run into this?

Put some through the full length sizer and they measure the same top and bottom.

Thinking I might like to try a different NS die.

Also had to go to a .310 spud to get a .308 IS dia.

Hopefully giving me .003 neck tension on my .311 bullets.

 

[Lost Dog]

Odd that you're using that system. I used the one I have for '06 this morning. And something didn't look right. The neck just looked off on most. So I took that die out and put it away. Then I oiled up the necks and ran them through the 310 tool and things looked right. A quick gauging confirmed the collet was off. Don't think I'm gonna use that collet rig anymore. I'll stick to the 310.

 

[Josh]

Lee has 2 neck sizers, one is the collet and the second is the standard sizer. I have used the standard neck sizer and the inside looks like a factory crimp die, almost infinitely adjustable for tension. You may want to pull the collet and measure the top and bottom of the insert to see if that is the culprit or if it is an easier answer.

 

[Ian]

I haven't run into that particular problem with the Lee collet dies, the problems I had were the necks getting crooked in the shell holder, particularly with military brass that had the flash holes broached way off center.

You might find out if the collet is the issue by pulling out the rod, squeezing the collet down with the press like you were going to size a case, and measure the collet fingers for parallel with a ball gauge if you have one, or grind down a 16d nail head to .337" or so and check it by feel.

 

[Lost Dog]

Yeah, it was a fluke yesterday that I got out the Lee collet dies for the '06. Must'a been auto-suggestion from reading about their use on another thread. Don't know nuthin bout em but when they didn't function right I put them up and simply returned to my 310 since I know and trust it. Come to think about it, I believe the Lee collet dies had messed up before, and that's why they were on the bottom of "the die box pile". Must'a forgot.

And I don't know a spud from a potato chip or those other terms used. To be brutally honest, I'm not a big Lee fan. I have 3 sets of their dies. I got them to replace some that were stolen from me. In hindsight, I wish I had replaced them with Lyman or RCBS. The Lee dies just feel too flimsy to me.

 

[quicksylver]

or grind down a 16d nail head to .337" or so and check it by feel.

Ian you are right on!...That is what my neck measured at the top, then flared out from there.

I will turn down the head of a nail or screw and check it , thanks for the tip.

Before I bought the die I read a lot of reviews concerning some of the problems people were having with it.

Mostly Operator error, they were screwing it down so far that they were blowing the top off and pushing the guts out.

Keeping that in mind I adjusted mine so it would size the case just enough to allow me to expand it and get the tension I wanted on the bullet.

Maybe I even pushed it too far using this method, I went out and unscrewed the die from the press and tried to check the internals but could not get them out.

I have a second newer one for the 30-30 so I compared that one to the well used 30-06 one.

What I found was a flair on the bottom of the collet that is pushed up by the press ram ( see pictures)

Now I admit this could be operator error , but it could also be soft metal.

The die has had about 6,000 + cases through it.

Has anyone checked to see if they can still remove their collet from the die?

 

[JWFilips]

Dan,
Whenever I get a Lee collet die I always take it apart Clean it in solvent then polish the areas were the slit sleeve and cap make contact together. Then I aply a coat of Brownell's action magic Moly grease in those areas and wipe off the excess. Since I have started doing this My collets never bind up. BTW I also have had Lee make me custom size mandril rods for my cast bullet sizes .002" under my bullet dia.

Looking at your die photo I would say it is a problem! I haven't run 6000 case thru any of mine yet maybe that is just normal wear (?) I hope not
Jim

 

[Ian]

I've never run that many cases through my collet dies either, but never had a hint of that sort of metal movement. The only one that bound up was one I failed to clean and lube FIRST per exactly what Jim recommended, and it had all kinds of grit and metal particles in it.

The collet may be over-stressed at the top and be actually bent to a permanent taper. Could be that it missed heat treatment (like someone found it on the lathe shop floor and threw it in with the finished ones) or maybe they don't even heat treat them. I'd write it off as a loss and if you size that much stuff, invest in a quality Redding or RCBS bushing die.

 

[JWFilips]

Dan,
What kind of press are you using that die on? Lee made those for a Lee type press "without cam over" feature. I know it took me awhile to set it up on my RCBS press to disable the cam over.
If the pressure on the ram were too high I would imaging this area you show would be the first part of the die to show wear….ie: peening; especially if it weren't hardened properly
Jim

 

[quicksylver]

Jim ..all adjustments were made at top dead center to avoid over stressing.

The presses I use are two lyman turret presses.

I resembled the die ,readjusted so the necks are only brought down to about .307 IS , I measured the OS and the variation from top to bottom was on about .001.

After expanding the necks they were about dead on top to shoulder.

Kind of a round about way of doing things,but better.

Think I will invest in a better die.

Probably one with multiple inserts as I do not want to work the cases that much.

6000 rnds maybe alot but that's what happens when you are more or less a one caliber guy.

Remember the old saying, " beware of the one gun guy"

 

[Ian]

Yes indeed, respect the one gun guy, particularly so if his piece is a well-tuned flinter or single-shot cartridge rifle.

 

[Brad]

How can a guy who reloads have one gun? And a caster too? Something is wrong here.

 

[quicksylver]

Well Brad...let's see, since i have about 20 .30 cal. Molds i suppose IF I HAD TO.... I MIGHT ,UNDERLINE MIGHT,BE ABLE TO LIVE WITH
ONE GUN , CAST AND RELOAD FOR THOSE BULLETS......this is where I wake up right !

 

[Brad]

It still just leaves me cold.
A guy casting for a single gun. Or a single bore diameter. Yikes

 

[quicksylver]

It's OK Brad just a bad dream.....like running out of anmo.

 

[Brad]

Dude, stop. I can't shoot or cast right now with my broken hand and you talk like this? I may need thousands of rounds of therapy to be right again.

 

[quicksylver]

Sorry I forgot...I know it doesn't help but I know what you are going through, I broke all four fingers on one hand.

Trying to get sleep was next to impossible.

 

[Brad]

I don't have any pain. I am just bored out of my gourd. No lathe, no casting, no loading, no shooting. Pretty much anything I enjoy is out of the question.

With luck it all changes in a couple weeks.

 

[quicksylver]

Ya we all wish for some time off, but getting it this way really sucks.
Doesn't keep you from going to LGS,or maybe some far away gun show though...

Just trying to look on the bright side..

 

[RBHarter]

Let's see just 30 cal , so .309-314.
32 ACP , 30 Luger, 32 short/long/H&R/Fed ,30 carb , BO ,x39, 300/303 Savage, 30 WCF, 308, 30x57,7.7,7.65,7.35, 06', 30-40, x54,303 B, 300WSM ,300WM, 300/30 378 Weatherby, 300 RUM . Looks like a fine collection to me , even if I missed a few. Bolts ,levers , slides ,autos ,revolvers, singles ,doubles and drillings. All with special needs.