Popped the cap on my Lee collet sizing die

[Don gk]

Bought my first Lee die set today. Read the instructions, watched a tutorial on U tube and went to my reloading room all excited to try it out. I pulled the die apart to make sure there was no debris inside of it and made sure there was some lube on it. I did not thread the die in as much as I should have as I have a cam over press, but rather left it rather loose thinking that I would slowly work it in and test the tension untill it was where I wanted it. I ended up popping the cap off before getting any real results. I can still force the bullet into the case by hand yet there ws enough pressure to pop the cap off. What should I do now? I bought it at Wholesale Sports so should I bring it back there or send it to Lee?

Thanks. George

I have used Lee Collet neck sizer dies in 223, 270,& 3006, with a Rock Chucker press with total satisfaction. I have found when I get a new collet die the taper on the collet often has burrs, and the die taper could be smoother. I deburr the collet, and lightly polish the inside of the die, then lightly lube the taper with a good anti friction grease. Once everything is moving smoothly I set the die as per the instructions. Other then occasionally cleaning and re-lubing I can neck size without lube of any kind on the case and have never had a die fail to work properly or had the cap pop out.
Yes Lee should do the final finish at the factory, but they don't, and no one else makes a no lube neck sizer that I am aware of. Besides I have to at least clean any new die set regardless of the brand before use. Lee collet dies just requires cleaning with emery cloth before use

 

[shooter64]

I busted my first Lee collet sizer the first time I used it as well! Make sure that when the die touches the shell holder, you turn it another 1.5 to 2 turns. The cam mechanism on a Rock Chucker is extremely powerful right at the bottom of the stroke. I wouldn't make a steel cap, because if you get it wrong again, you will bust more than the cheap aluminum replacement! I ordered 2 new caps over the phone from Lee, no problem. I have Lee collet dies in 3 calibres at the moment, and have never had another problem.

 

[EC]

no one else makes a no lube neck sizer that I am aware of.

The fact that so many people have had problems or have to modify the die once they get it to work speaks volumes. If getting the cheapest is the main priority, fill your boots. I hand load to shoot, not the other way around. I have a Redding Type S Match Neck Sizing die, the bushing is Titanium Nitride and the expander ball is removed and I don't use lube. I have had outstanding results as well so there are other options. I would rather buy once and cry once rather that have to piss around with a cheap piece of equipment hoping it may work.

 

[g-manz35]

I have used Lee Collet neck sizer dies in 223, 270,& 3006, with a Rock Chucker press with total satisfaction. I have found when I get a new collet die the taper on the collet often has burrs, and the die taper could be smoother. I deburr the collet, and lightly polish the inside of the die, then lightly lube the taper with a good anti friction grease. Once everything is moving smoothly I set the die as per the instructions. Other then occasionally cleaning and re-lubing I can neck size without lube of any kind on the case and have never had a die fail to work properly or had the cap pop out.
Yes Lee should do the final finish at the factory, but they don't, and no one else makes a no lube neck sizer that I am aware of. Besides I have to at least clean any new die set regardless of the brand before use. Lee collet dies just requires cleaning with emery cloth before use

I am in the proccess of getting it fixed up so that it works properly. Everything you have mentioned has come to my attention when inspecting the die. I really didn't think it would need that much work. I simply thought I could make sure it was free of debris and lubed up and go ahead and use it. I'm heading to Can tire today and I will try and find a bolt to replace the cap and I will be super careful the next time not to install the die in a way that the press will be camming over at any point.

One last thing. I measured the mandrel. It's .306. Isn't that kind of big considering it's only 2 thou smaller than the bullet? I assume after you neck size the brass it bounces back a bit.

Thanks. G

 

[g-manz35]

OK. So I got the die working, but only with a little work. I polished up the collet and the collet sleeve, went out and bought a 2" x 3/4" fine thread bolt to replace the cap. I put the die back together and sized a few cases. As before the necks are not sized small enough to properly seat a bullet. I can push them in by hand. So I took the decapping mandrel out and put it in my drill and took it down from .306 to .304. I only worked away the portion of the mandrel where the sizing occures. Now when I put a case in it sizes the neck down and when I retract the case there is tention over the bottom portion of the mandrel as it slide out. This would indicate that I have sized it to about 3 or 4 thou under the .308. I may have over done it, but I don't really care. it will work fine for what I need it. It was a bit of a hassle, but I'll know better next time. Funny thing is I kind of like the die now that I have it working. I wish it had been machined a bit better from the get go.

G

 

[Don gk]

OK. So I got the die working, but only with a little work. I polished up the collet and the collet sleeve, went out and bought a 2" x 3/4" fine thread bolt to replace the cap. I put the die back together and sized a few cases. As before the necks are not sized small enough to properly seat a bullet. I can push them in by hand. So I took the decapping mandrel out and put it in my drill and took it down from .306 to .304. I only worked away the portion of the mandrel where the sizing occures. Now when I put a case in it sizes the neck down and when I retract the case there is tention over the bottom portion of the mandrel as it slide out. This would indicate that I have sized it to about 3 or 4 thou under the .308. I may have over done it, but I don't really care. it will work fine for what I need it. It was a bit of a hassle, but I'll know better next time. Funny thing is I kind of like the die now that I have it working. I wish it had been machined a bit better from the get go.

G

Sound like you got things sorted out. My 270 Win collet sizer has a .275 inch mandrel, .002" less then bullet dia. and I run the case in to the die turn it 1/4 turn and run it in agian. That works for me.
I did turn the mandrel down .001 for a 223 I had though. What ever works.
For me expermenting is at least half the fun. If it wasn't I'd just buy factory.
Regards, Don

 

[desporterizer]

I like the lee collet dies cause it sizes to the inside diameter regardless of brass thickness. 2000 sizings & no problems thus far. Mind you, I don't use 600lbs of force trying to size smaller than the mandrel. I have made different size mandrels in my lathe in 1thou increments, most useful. It also seems that whatever bushing I need for my redding is always out of stock & has to be ordered. I hate that.

 

[g-manz35]

I don't use 600lbs of force trying to size smaller than the mandrel. I have made different size mandrels in my lathe in 1thou increments, most useful.

Yes keep the force down in the <600 lb range. One has to wonder. If you need a lathe or as in my case use a piece of sand cloth and a drill and work it down like a farmer would is the collet die really that handy? Mine was useless the way it came. I don't know if it has something to do with the brass I was using, but reguardless of how I tried I could not get a bullet to seat tight. That just doesn't seem right. As it turns out the neck sized brass doesn't chamber well at all so it was all for nothing. Oh well the FL sizer seems to work OK.

G

 

[blauber]

I had the same thing happen and posted it in a recent thread regarding Lee Dies. They are cheap, price and quality wise in my opinion. I will not waste money on Lee junk, they are cheap for a reason. To blauber who says there is no way to ruin a Lee die, I call bullsh!t on that one. Mind you it was ruined before it left the factory.

Well well, there's a comment. For the record, I use an old RCBS Rock Chucker II and Lee Collets. I also use Forrster and Redding dies. I have settled on Lee for all neck sizing operations. Concentricity is top-notch and I avoid overworking brass. When the case stretches to the point where chambering is difficult, the Redding comes in handy to bump the shoulder back to where I want it.

Lee dies are perfect for the purpose. I only use the bullet seater on a .270 as I'm more comfortable with the precision adjustments on the Forrster seating die for long range varmits. I also don't use any die (including Lee for that matter) for FL sizing.

So to you EC, your post is junk as more people than not will use Lee. And if they don't, they may be like you who judge before actually taking a single concentricity measurement or shooting 3" groups at 500 yds using their products. Son-of-a....

 

[desporterizer]

Yes keep the force down in the <600 lb range. One has to wonder. If you need a lathe or as in my case use a piece of sand cloth and a drill and work it down like a farmer would is the collet die really that handy? Mine was useless the way it came. I don't know if it has something to do with the brass I was using, but reguardless of how I tried I could not get a bullet to seat tight. That just doesn't seem right. As it turns out the neck sized brass doesn't chamber well at all so it was all for nothing. Oh well the FL sizer seems to work OK.

G

Actually, I made them bigger than factory to seat cast bullets. Seemed kind of silly to size to .308 & then seat a .314 bullet.

 

[lyman54]

I recently broke the decapping pin on my full sizing die. E-mailed Lee and was told to send a photo of it, they sent me a new pin no problem. They never asked me what press I have, it's a Pacific. Not that it's any of their business anyways. That's why threads are basically all the same.