neck sizing

[kevin82]

I was just neck sizing some .223 case ( which i've done many time's before ) and the aluminum threaded cap on my lee collet die just stripped. Only sizing down to 222.5, any thoughts on why this happened? Cap on to tight? have adjusted the die since it was set up

 

[Pr589]

The die was likely screwed down too far and too much pressure was applied. One trick is to adjust the die so that TDC on the press occurs just as enough pressure is applied to neck-size. I used to do this but now just apply very little pressure to the press arm, just a little more than the weight of the arm itself (saves time from moving the press arm too far).

Experiment a little and measure the neck diameter. I think you'll be surprised at how little pressure is needed.

 

[kevin82]

The die was likely screwed down too far and too much pressure was applied. One trick is to adjust the die so that TDC on the press occurs just as enough pressure is applied to neck-size. I used to do this but now just apply very little pressure to the press arm, just a little more than the weight of the arm itself (saves time from moving the press arm too far).

Experiment a little and measure the neck diameter. I think you'll be surprised at how little pressure is needed.

Thanks Ill try your method, any idea why this never happened 200 rounds ago? Seems weird to me why all of a sudden this happened.
do you know if I can just buy the aluminum threaded cap again or am I stuck buying a new collet die?

 

[kevin82]

And I meant to say have not adjusted the die since setup

 

[Pr589]

Thanks Ill try your method, any idea why this never happened 200 rounds ago? Seems weird to me why all of a sudden this happened.
do you know if I can just buy the aluminum threaded cap again or am I stuck buying a new collet die?

Can't say why it didn't fail earlier, perhaps the damage to the threads of the top cap was cumulative and you finally got to the failure point. Regarding a replacement cap, try giving Lee a call directly. Most suppliers have good to great customer service. My bet is that they'll ask you to send them a pic of the busted cap and send you off a replacement.

 

[supernova]

You can attach a pic when contacting their customer service by email, they always just send me a new part for free if something buggers up. Higginsons, Titan Reloading or FS Reloading might have the part instock if you want to do a little shopping.

 

[Smokezm]

I ordered some from Higginsons a while back.

 

[bigedp51]

Thanks Ill try your method, any idea why this never happened 200 rounds ago? Seems weird to me why all of a sudden this happened.
do you know if I can just buy the aluminum threaded cap again or am I stuck buying a new collet die?

Two possible ideas why it happened.

1. You ate Wheaties for breakfast.
2. You misread the amount of your Anabolic steroid injection.

I let the press cam over and reach a mechanical stop with just enough force to squeeze the case neck against the mandrel.

Lee Collet Die Adjustment (read the post by J. Valentine below)

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

When you adjust the die using the directions you are relying on "feel" and a guess on how much force you are applying. When you guess wrong and apply too much force you can strip the threads on the dies cap.

At accurateshooter.com one of the members posted that he attached a "click" adjustable torque wrench to his press to get the exact same pressure each time with his Lee collet die.

I posted below I did what he suggested but couldn't get the doohickey thingamabob to click and asked what I was doing wrong.

 

[stubblejumper]

Threaded aluminum is a poor choice of materials for the application.

 

[Neilm]

you may be using brass with thicker necks.

 

[PitBull1973]

Type S die. End of story