Lee collet die leaving marks

west250

west250

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Hello all,

I've purchased a Lee collet die and tried using it for the first time on a few cases. It appears to leave small burrs where the collet crimper contacts the case neck (outside). Is this a normal occurrence? The directions didn't mention lubing anywhere, but I did run a nylon brush through the inside of the necks to clean them a little bit...

Are the marks normal?
 
Have seen those before in a few different calibers.
No worries, they do not seam to affect anything. I see them in a 7-08 that I reload for and there are at least 12 loads on the brass.

Thunder
 
I had the same issue, sent them back got new ones that dont leave the marks, guess it depends on how anal you want to be about your brass but I dont like burs on my brass.
 
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This can also happen if you attempt to push your cases too far into the die. Try backing off your die a half turn, and trimming your cases to the same length.

What you want is a small bit of pressure to gently push the case neck in toward the center shaft. If you have to put a lot of pressure on your press to force the case into the die, you will put marks and burrs on the case necks. All you need is enough pressure to hold the bullet in the case securely.
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The Lee collet can sometimes be a little rough around the slits cut in the collet and may require some light sanding and polishing to remove the burs.

If you are leaving longitudinal marks on the case necks at the slit cut locations of the collet you are using too much pressure/force in the press. You only need light pressure to squeeze the neck to the proper inside diameter to hold your bullets in place. Because there are so many different type reloading presses the setup instructions are rather generic and a modified approach works much better .

Read the post below by John Valentine, this is the way I adjust my collet dies by letting the press go over center and reaching a mechanical stop with the press handle. You keep adjusting the die downward until the neck is sized to the proper inside diameter.

Lee Collet Die Adjustment
http://benchrest.com/showthread.php?49899-Lee-Collet-Die-Adjustment

By using this method above there is no guess work on how hard to push on the handle and over squeezing the case necks and then leaving marks on the case necks. By going over center and hitting a mechanical stop all your necks will have the same tension and you won't need to have your arm calibrated in inch pounds every six months.

The real problem with the Lee Collet dies are caused by weight lifters who use steroids. Laugh2
 
Last edited:
bigedp51 said:
The Lee collet can sometimes be a little rough around the slits cut in the collet and may require some light sanding and polishing to remove the burs.

If you are leaving longitudinal marks on the case necks at the slit cut locations of the collet you are using too much pressure/force in the press. You only need light pressure to squeeze the neck to the proper inside diameter to hold your bullets in place. Because there are so many different type reloading presses the setup instructions are rather generic and a modified approach works much better .

Read the post below by John Valentine, this is the way I adjust my collet dies by letting the press go over center and reaching a mechanical stop with the press handle. You keep adjusting the die downward until the neck is sized to the proper inside diameter.

Lee Collet Die Adjustment
http://benchrest.com/showthread.php?49899-Lee-Collet-Die-Adjustment

By using this method above there is no guess work on how hard to push on the handle and over squeezing the case necks and then leaving marks on the case necks. By going over center and hitting a mechanical stop all your necks will have the same tension and you won't need to have your arm calibrated in inch pounds every six months.

The real problem with the Lee Collet dies are caused by weight lifters who use steroids. Laugh2
Click to expand...

Thanks all for the info. I decided to full length size them this time around. I think I was using too much pressure and will try the different approach noted above on the next reload cycle. I also found a good video on youtube which demonstrates the same thing with an RCBS press which is what I have. If I find that it's still leaving marks by the collet slits after achieving the desired neck tension I'll consider doing some slight buffing.
 
bigedp51 said:
The Lee collet can sometimes be a little rough around the slits cut in the collet and may require some light sanding and polishing to remove the burs.

If you are leaving longitudinal marks on the case necks at the slit cut locations of the collet you are using too much pressure/force in the press. You only need light pressure to squeeze the neck to the proper inside diameter to hold your bullets in place. Because there are so many different type reloading presses the setup instructions are rather generic and a modified approach works much better .

Read the post below by John Valentine, this is the way I adjust my collet dies by letting the press go over center and reaching a mechanical stop with the press handle. You keep adjusting the die downward until the neck is sized to the proper inside diameter.

Lee Collet Die Adjustment
http://benchrest.com/showthread.php?49899-Lee-Collet-Die-Adjustment

By using this method above there is no guess work on how hard to push on the handle and over squeezing the case necks and then leaving marks on the case necks. By going over center and hitting a mechanical stop all your necks will have the same tension and you won't need to have your arm calibrated in inch pounds every six months.

The real problem with the Lee Collet dies are caused by weight lifters who use steroids. Laugh2
Click to expand...


Another issue is the manual says 25lbs force, but people don't realize the RCBS (and probably others) have a multiplier arm.

I get slight longitudinal lines on mine. I might reduce the force I use too. It's on my to-do list.
 
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