Getting work done on the stem of a bullet seating die

Nam_viking32

Nam_viking32

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Good day all! I'm in desperate need of help! I'm looking at getting my lee .308 bullet seating die stem modified to accept VLD projectiles(more specifically warner tool co. Projectiles) and I'm trying to find someone reputable to do this for me(I can't do it myself as I dont have too many tools to do it). I'm in Manitoba and have tried contacting Wolverine supplies and Prairie Gun Works but to no avail. Can anyone recommend me a gunsmith who's good with working on reloading equipment? Within Canada preferred. Thanks!
 
You'll have to pardon my blunt cynicism... but the cost of work to be done to the die (a Lee die of all things) will likely exceed the cost of a quality die such as a Redding die that you can purchase an optional seating stem designed specifically for VLD contour bullets.

I don't see the point of spending a few hundred dollars tweeking a Lee Die... when you can likely spend less on something way better.

Like putting a crystal chandelier in a back woods outhouse.
 
I can't see how a gunsmith would modify a seating stem on the cheap (say $50) when they could rather spend their time on a chambering job that is going to pay him $350 plus.

A guy could pick a Redding Competition Seater Die (pn # 55155) for $185 and and VLD stem (pn# 55730) for $29..... say $250 delivered to door.

So for an investment of $250 you could a die that has a well established track record for performance that doesn't require tweeking and waiting to find a gunsmith that has time to do the work.

As an added plus a Redding competition die has micrometer... I might be wrong, but I don't recall ever seeing a micrometer on any Lee die ever.
 
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Lee's website shows that they make Custom Bullet Seating Plugs for their seater dies at the grand cost of $8.00US. plus a sample bullet.
Their lead time is shown as 4 weeks, but with covid and the current explosion of interest in re-loading it's likely much longer now.
It would be worth checking in to.
 
I've been looking at Lee's website, seems like a good option. I was trying to stick local to Canada but it looks like I'll have to ship it off to the states for work. As for getting a new die, I've been looking around and most websites around are sold out of comp dies with the VLD stem. At lease for any dies that fit my Lee press(yea I know, say what you will about lee presses but I don't have the funds to buy a whole new precision reloading setup right now)
 
Munkey1973 said:
You'll have to pardon my blunt cynicism... but the cost of work to be done to the die (a Lee die of all things) will likely exceed the cost of a quality die such as a Redding die that you can purchase an optional seating stem designed specifically for VLD contour bullets.

I don't see the point of spending a few hundred dollars tweeking a Lee Die... when you can likely spend less on something way better.

Like putting a crystal chandelier in a back woods outhouse.
Click to expand...

It’s about 10 bucks plus the cost of the ride to the Lee factory. No where near hundreds of dollars.
 
Nam_viking32 said:
I've been looking at Lee's website, seems like a good option. I was trying to stick local to Canada but it looks like I'll have to ship it off to the states for work. As for getting a new die, I've been looking around and most websites around are sold out of comp dies with the VLD stem. At lease for any dies that fit my Lee press(yea I know, say what you will about lee presses but I don't have the funds to buy a whole new precision reloading setup right now)
Click to expand...

Don't worry about it. I loaded many thousands of good accurate ammo on a Lee press for over 40 years. They work fine. - dan
 
drilled the stem out, filled with hot melt glue and pressed a generously lubricated bullet into the glue. once it hardened I pulled the bullet out. I've loaded a hundred+ and still working fine.
 
brewmech said:
drilled the stem out, filled with hot melt glue and pressed a generously lubricated bullet into the glue. once it hardened I pulled the bullet out. I've loaded a hundred+ and still working fine.
Click to expand...

I've done the same with epoxy. Just remember release agent.
 
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