expander/powder charge die?

[ginnz]

hi,

I have a question regarding dies.... I bought a Lee 50th anniversary kit yesterday, and the shell holder. last week, i got a deal from a guy getting rid of his stuff. I got 125+ primed .223 brass, 1000 primers, bullets, and a Lee .223 die set. The die set came in a green box, and there are 2 dies in it, one for de-priming, and the other is the bullet seating die.

I just watched a video on setting it up on You Tube and the guy's also using a third die, a expander/powder charge die. my question is, do i also need to go out and get this die as well? or will the stuff i have already work?

thanks for any help!

ginnz!

 

[Therion]

Since you are reloading on a single stage, you will add powder to the primed, resized case when it is sitting in a case block. Furthermore, for .223, you should not need to flare the case mouth to seat a bullet.
Flaring a case mouth is more common when seating lead, flat-based bullets (to prevent shaving lead off them). The powder-through die is needed when you are dropping powder into the case when it is on the press.

Do lots of reading, be safe, have fun.
Therion

hi,

I have a question regarding dies.... I bought a Lee 50th anniversary kit yesterday, and the shell holder. last week, i got a deal from a guy getting rid of his stuff. I got 125+ primed .223 brass, 1000 primers, bullets, and a Lee .223 die set. The die set came in a green box, and there are 2 dies in it, one for de-priming, and the other is the bullet seating die.

I just watched a video on setting it up on You Tube and the guy's also using a third die, a expander/powder charge die. my question is, do i also need to go out and get this die as well? or will the stuff i have already work?

thanks for any help!

ginnz!

 

[ginnz]

awesome! thanks for the quick reply! looks like i got what i need to get started then! the only thing i should have got was a case block (i can make my own, and a bullet puller, oh, and another quick change die holder!" All in all, i'm ready to start though! and my total cost so far is just over 200.00! thats reloading on a budget.....

 

[brybenn]

I've got the same press but also have a neck sizer die. Works great. A bullet puller is a must. You will F*ck up. I have bout a dozen quick change bushings and never use them. I just spin out the die and spin the new one in

 

[paperslayer]

there are gizmos like the Lee Auto Disk sytem that use a powder die on a single stage press. Stay away from them. Keep the die in case you ever buy a progressive.

 

[hk33ka1]

Bottleneck cases like .223/.308 are loaded with 2 dies. One sizes and deprimes. The other seats and can crimp the bullet.

Straight walled cases like .38 Spl/.45/70 use three die sets. The first sizes and primes. The second expands the case mouth. The third seats and can cimp the bullet.

Bottleneck cases size the case neck small while the expander on the depriming rod is lower in the case and when it pulls back out it sets the case neck a couple thousandths of an inch smaller than the bullet for a tight fit.

Straight wall cases can't fit an expander in the case at the same time as sizing so it is done in a separate step with an extra die.

Some types of reloading use seperate flaring or expanding dies for different reasons too.