newbie question: lee press RCBS dies yes/no?

OK, I'm no expert reloader, by any means, but I'll give advice if/when I think it will help. And sometimes that advice is for the experts on high that get frustrated reading over some of our 'noobish' questions.

To the OP: It stands to reason that if the threads on the dies are the same, it will work in the press. Just make sure there's none of the proprietary junk like the new lock-n-load gizmos that Hornady and even Lee now seem to have. Just make sure to follow the instructions that come with that particular die.

To the grumps (I say that because I'm one too, but am used to looking at both sides of the coin): A lot of the confusion for people new to reloading comes from the VAST amount of information available to reloaders. The problem is, there's too much info without any explanation of what to do with that info. It seems to be out there with the expectation that even though a 8-year old kid can find it, anyone will know what to do with it. We can't all find someone willing to teach new people- that's a problem with the whole shooting sports movement, not just reloaders. I've had no one I could talk to in person about reloading- I'm self-learning. I say learning because I can't call myself taught. I've reloaded a couple hundred rounds for my -06 and not blown myself up. I've been very careful. I've made mistakes and learned from them. Now I'm looking at reloading for .45-70 and casting bullets. If I come in here and ask questions because my usual avenues of getting instructional material don't pan out, will I get stomped on? I hope not, because overall, I like this forum and the people in it.

My 2 cents.
 
With the Lee die in 9mm I have the most issues, a case that is not standing straight up can exert enough force to snap the decapping pin and I recently had the thin decapping pin pulled right out of the shaft by a case. The remaining shaft does make a nice punch though….

I also polished the inside of my die which helped with sticking and it needs cleaning from time to time. I understand that the Horndy resizing die works really well and I my try replacing the sizing die alone if I can. 9mm is sticky thanks to the tapered case and it cause more issues than .40cal
 
The industry standard for dies is 7/8-14 thread.
That is 7/8 inch diameter, and 14 threads per inch.

(for really big cartridges like 50BMG there are larger dies, but the vast majority of "standard" rounds use 7/8-14 )

I wonder what the qualifications are to work behind the counter at a big box store?
 
I think everyone that has used Lee dies has had to deal with a loose decapping pin. Follow the suggestions above, and ensure the pin is located properly (heightwise) within the die. If you're having chronic problems, you're likely not lubing the inside of the case neck enough.
 
I often think the modern manuals are much too detailed. The manuals try to cover every detail a reloader may encounter, and this has turned the reloaders into robots that just follw all the directions.
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Newbies SHOULD be following the rules and not making stuff up for themselves. They don't have the experience to understand what might be safe and what might end in a trip to the emergency room.

Maybe I didn't get this across very well and people will trash me for it. Most of the questions the newbies ask can be answered by common sense. Many times I feel like answering by telling them to just figure it out and do it.
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What might be common sense to you will seem like rocket science to a newby. How is a newby supposed to understand what to do when they have never done this kind of thing before? Your comment is kind of silly.

Look how many questions are asked about cartridge overall length. We see newbies all in a dither because for some reason they can't come up with the length, right down to a couple thousands, of what the book states. Why couldn't the manuals simply state the length of the cartridge should be so the bullet is seated deep enough in the neck to hold it and the cartridge will work through the magazine and the bolt will close on it.
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That would leave a lot of room for interpretation. Seating a bullet way too deep would fit your requirements but could result in dangerous pressures and would certainly result in terrble accuracy. Seating a bullet too long would also fit within your requirements but when you tried to eject the live round it could pull the bullet out of the case neck, which I am sure would really screw with a newby's head. There are sizes and lengths specified in loading manuals for a reason.

Or, it could be like the loading charts were when Ganderite and I started loading. They said nothing about COAL. Nor did they say anything about what primer to use. Or, what bullet, other than bullet weight. The charts I had showed only one weight of powder, per load. It was referred to as "charge," and some manuals said to start lower, to see if it was OK in your rifle.
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I call BS. I have an old series of loading articles that probably date back to the 60's and they specify primer type and bullet type.
 
Chizzy said:
Well said Taylor.

As for the original poster's question it seems legitimate enough to me (although admittedly I am a fairly new reloader myself); I don't recall reading anywhere in my Lee reloading manual or the instructions that came with any of my Lee dies anything about being able to use the Lee press with dies from another company. It seems like a fair question to ascertain that the other company's dies do not use some kind of proprietary threading that is designed to fit in their own press.

Regards,

Chizzy
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Buy the ABC's of Reloading. It is probably the best book for newbie reloaders, and the versions I have (admittedly mine are quite old now) explain the die thread size, which in turn will tell you where it can be threaded into. In terms of fit, it is just a big bolt, after all. I'm kind of with Ben on this one though, I read some things from folks that have managed to do things that are frightening with their loading equipment. I have a friend, hell of a nice guy, but you can't let him near machinery (no matter what kind). He manages to screw up any and every machine he touches. Some folks just shouldn't reload, period. Having said that, there probably aren't many of them, and I think an afternoon with an experienced reloader will help immensely, I'm sure. - dan
 
it takes an AWFUL LOT of resizing to "wear out" a die- i've got one set that goes back to the 70's and still work- they're rcbs- the only thing that ever went wrong was the decapping pin bent = just unscrew it from the follar and put in a new one- that came with my jr press, circa 1970-
 
LuckyLuc82 said:
The deprimer/headspacing pin came out stuck inside the shell, I got it out, rescrewed it back into the die and a few shells later same thing... After a while I decided it wasn't going to stay in. I know there is warranty but I want to load some rounds for the weekend that's why I want to buy new ones.

Are hornady ones worth the extra cash?
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you need 2 wrenches to tighten that collet properly, one for the die body, the other for the nut- 3/4 for the body, 1/2 for the nut- the REASON pin/shft is coming out is that the NUT isn't tight enough to HOLD THE SHAFT STEADY while the casing is being drawn back over the button-- the die needs to be tight in the press, and the nut needs to be tightened with WRENCHES - then you need to lube the inside of the neck- and lee dies are JUST AS GOOD as everyone else-
i've had more than my fair share of stuck casings, rims pulled off, and a bunch of other stuff - i've been at this game since 1970, and i started with a jr press and used 308 rcbs-the guy i got them from went to a 300 mag
 
Suputin, I can go along with your questioning what I wrote. No problem. But, when you made this statement,--"I call BS. I have an old series of loading articles that probably date back to the 60's and they specify primer type and bullet type." --you went away over the line of being critical. I very, very much resent anyone telling me I wrote BS, or what you really meant, I am full of BS.
Here is a copy of a Hodgdons loading chart that I used in my earlier days of reloading.
You look at this and you tell me where it states anything about the primer to be used. Or, anything about the bullet, other than weight.
Or, anything about the other things I told of, nothing about cartridge length or anything about a starting load.
This is copied from page 44B of the 1964-65 Ellwood Epps catalogue.
I will be watching for your reply.
chart.jpg
 
I'm kinda waitin' myself as H4831 is a pretty knowledgeable old timer, he remembers the early days as do I, and I know he wouldn't lead a newby astray. Sorry for calling you an oldtimer Bruce, but that's what I consider myself!!
 
H4831 and ben hunchak: You guys think you are old? Look at my avatar!! :p

Calm down everybody. If we keep up hurling insults, we can maybe get rid of three categories of reloader/gunnutz here - the newbie who dares not ask any questions; the old guy (like me and a couple of others I can think of offhand) who had better not state his opinion; and... well, everybody else.

Years ago, I drove a semi sort of part-time. I had a coffee in a truck stop with another young fellow about my age. I asked what kind of a motor and transmission he had in the truck he was driving. He replied, " Geez, I really don't know. All I know is that it is a six cylinder diesel." I almost fell off my chair. I thought, mistakenly, that all young guys knew everything, just like me. I was spouting this off to an older guy that I drove with. He put me gently in my place, something like, "Well, maybe the poor bugger was on his first trip and just didn't have somebody tell him much about the specifics of the power train." Something like that.....:redface:
 
The strange part here is I had/have nothing against newbies asking questions. I have helped many on these threads and there are many more who I have helped that other people know nothing about, because I did it through PM messages. They have all been apppreciative of it.
In my post here on this, I thought I plainly stated that it was the new loading manuals who got them off on a bad track that I found fault with.
I stated in my original post that I may not have got this across very well and would likely get trashed for it.
However, I do not like to be called a BSer.
As far as being called an old timer, I think it is a badge of honor.
 
LuckyLuc82 said:
I have a lee challenger press, I bought it used, I also got used .223 dies, well the sizing die broke, my fault not enough lube on the case, got stuck, I got it out but broke the die. My local store is out of .223 die sets but they have plenty of RCBS sets, this might be a dumb question but can I biy them and use them in my lee press?
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Well I am in agreeance with you on disliking big box outfitting stores like Bass pro, le Barrons etc.
I'm also aware that SOME older lee presses don't have the modern 7/8x14 thread the new presses and dies use. Is your press one of these oddballs? I'm not certain enough to say whether it is or not but err a caution to check with a mic or caliper and thread pitch gauge just to be sure.
 
my problem was solved i bought a new set of dies RCBS and they fit like a glove!!! I already deprimed 200 cases and feel pretty good about this purchase. I also bought Lymans spray lube, a new loading manual, primer pocket tool, measuring cups, and a digital caliper. Oh and picked up a new swiel desk lamp for that extra bit of light when inspecting shells :)
 
LuckyLuc82 said:
my problem was solved i bought a new set of dies RCBS and they fit like a glove!!! I already deprimed 200 cases and feel pretty good about this purchase. I also bought Lymans spray lube, a new loading manual, primer pocket tool, measuring cups, and a digital caliper. Oh and picked up a new swiel desk lamp for that extra bit of light when inspecting shells :)
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Happy ending! Now keep your eyes open for a LEE Collet resizing die for your .223. No lube, longer case life, happier ending.
 
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