Lee Collet Die and RCBS Press. Compatibility Issue Solved.

StoneHorse

StoneHorse

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I replaced my Lee single stage press with a RCBS Rock Chucker. Yesterday I screwed in a Lee Collet .223 Rem die as per instructions for other presses and ran a case through. The case neck did not resize at all, almost. I could push a bullet into the neck of the case with just a little tiny bit of resistance at the very base of the neck. That was it.

I adjusted the die depth somewhat but that didn't help at all. :confused: I dug out a Lee hand press that has not seen the light of day in quite some time. Screwed in the collet die, adjusted as per instructions and bingo. A nicely neck only resized case. I could use the hand press (gives me a workout) but I would like the use the RCBS press instead. So what is the deal with the RCBS press? Cam-over design the problem?
 
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I have a Lyman and a RCBS Rock Chucker jr. I have 3 sets of Lee dies that all work well. Back off the die lock washer a lot. Lower the press handle down till it is sticking out about 100 degrees. Screw in the die till it touches the shell holder. The only little quirk I had to adjust with the Rock Chucker: if you screw the die in too far, the slot to allow the spent primer to fall into the tray doesn't rise above the hole in the press. Then the primer falls out the bottom onto the floor when you raise the handle.
 
Never had much luck with the Lee collet die, found the loads chambered hard, so I went back to the standard RCBS nso dies.
 
Are you putting good firm pressure on the press handle. You are trying to squeeze the neck against that mandrel with the collet. I press down firmly, raise, rotate shell 1/8 turn, squeeze again. My annealed Lapua brass needs less pressure and has less neck tension.
PS: I am using a Rock Chucker and Lee collect neck sizing on .223 and 6.5 Creedmoor.
 
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The Collet die depends on downstroke pressure on the press handle to drive the petals against the central spindle, with the brass of the neck being pressed between these parts.

Apply around 20 lbs of downforce on the handle.

As the poster directly above stated, I also do one stroke, then rotate the case 1/8 turn, then do another stroke.

Check the neck with an inside neck size gauge if you have one - or try a case, then add powder and seat the bullet. You should feel some seating force. Next case, resize with a bit more downforce and you'll feel the difference a bit when you seat the bullet. At some point, there is little to no difference - then you're there!
 
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bibatoad said:
Never had much luck with the Lee collet die, found the loads chambered hard, so I went back to the standard RCBS nso dies.
Click to expand...

Hard chambering is a function of bumping the shoulder back - the Lee collet die does not touch the shoulder - have to bump the shoulder with a body die, then resize the neck with the collet die.
 
Maybe I am not articulating my issue well enough. I know how the the collet die works. I've used it many, many times neck resizing 308 Win and 223 Rem using a Lee single stage press. When I screw the collet die into the RCBS press and adjust according to the printed instructions, no matter how much downward pressure I use, the case neck is not being squeezed against the mandrel. Installing the collet die in a hand press proved to me the die is okay and functioning as designed. I cannot get the same result when using the RCBS press.
 
The only way you wouldn't get the same result is if you have reached the end of the travel of the press. I had a little problem with mine once. I had a rough spot inside the collet that I polished to get smooth squeeze of the collet. But prob not worth mentioning as you say it works in another squeezing device.

Humour us. Screw the die in four turns and try again.
 
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StoneHorse said:
Maybe I not articulating my issue well enough. I know how the the collet die works. I've used it many, many times neck resizing 308 Win and 223 Rem using a Lee single stage press. When I screw the collet die into the RCBS press and adjust according to the printed instructions, no matter how much downward pressure I use, the case neck is not being squeezed against the mandrel. Installing the collet die in a hand press proved to me the die is okay and functioning as designed. I cannot get the same result when using the RCBS press.
Click to expand...

OK - and you've disassembled and cleaned the die? The collet sometimes gets gunked up.

If so, try adjusting the die height so the press handle is not bottoming out. I adjusted mine so my RCBS press handle was about 3/4 of the way into the downstroke, allowing me to exert the 20 lbs downforce with the handle not bottoming out...
 
I had previously disassembled the die to make sure it was clean and no issues. So I know that was not the problem. Confirming by using the die in a hand press. Installing the die in the RCBS press, screwing down to firm contact with the shell holder then an additional two full rotations inward, then locked in place.

It appears it's the angle of the press handle that was the problem for me. I had to apply a lot more downward pressure on the handle to resize the case neck. I guess I had become accustom to the Lee press that required less downward force on the handle to accomplish the task.:redface:
 
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You can get that press handle at a better angle to apply pressure by screwing the die in and out.
If the handle is down low, screw the die in more to get the handle at 90 degrees where it is easier to lean and put some pressure on.
 
I use the Lee collet and Rockchucker. Works great. Just set it to cam over, but only enough to where the case neck ID does not get smaller, or when you get to that stage, you can back out the die until the case ID is too big, and turn the die in slightly and measure again. If you do not neck turn, try a few different cases to make sure you are sizing enough on average.
With mine, when it's set right, I can size, lift ram a bit turn case 180 and put through the die again. I can then remove the mandrel and while holding my finger over the primer hole, insert the mandrel and feel the air compress inside the case, when I let go the mandrel will spring up. You can also see faint vertical line marks from the die on the neck, mine is set close when I can just start to see them.
 
I gave up trying to get the correct amount of bullet grip with my Lee Collet Die and RCBS press.

Every time I tried to get the right amount of torque the tape would rip and the string would break.

I guess the directions from the Red Green Show used newer tape. My tape was from season one and a little brittle and dry. :evil:

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I can't see adjusting the die in/out (more/less squeeze from more/less pressure) be consistent. Too many ways for it to go wrong. More or less pressure on the handle. Thicker or thinner brass walls. Where the die shines is completely squeezing the ID of the neck against the mandrel. Then the ID will be the same every time regardless of the wall thickness. The only variable from there in regards to neck tension is the hardness of the brass. With my 6.5 Lapua brass that is annealed, the neck tension is very mild, but the same for every round. If I wanted more neck tension, I would need to polish the mandrel down a thou, or purchase the proper undersized mandrel and squeeze the ID against that. This is why Lee sells the undersized mandrels and even custom grinds mandrels to your spec.
 
Your right it won’t. Once you get the squish on the mandrel, the only variable is the case neck spring back. Different sized mandrels is the only way.
 
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