Popped the cap on my Lee collet sizing die

G

g-manz35

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
18   0   0
Location
NE Sask
Bought my first Lee die set today. Read the instructions, watched a tutorial on U tube and went to my reloading room all excited to try it out. I pulled the die apart to make sure there was no debris inside of it and made sure there was some lube on it. I did not thread the die in as much as I should have as I have a cam over press, but rather left it rather loose thinking that I would slowly work it in and test the tension untill it was where I wanted it. I ended up popping the cap off before getting any real results. I can still force the bullet into the case by hand yet there ws enough pressure to pop the cap off. What should I do now? I bought it at Wholesale Sports so should I bring it back there or send it to Lee?

Thanks. George
 
g-manz35 said:
Bought my first Lee die set today. Read the instructions, watched a tutorial on U tube and went to my reloading room all excited to try it out. I pulled the die apart to make sure there was no debris inside of it and made sure there was some lube on it. I did not thread the die in as much as I should have as I have a cam over press, but rather left it rather loose thinking that I would slowly work it in and test the tension untill it was where I wanted it. I ended up popping the cap off before getting any real results. I can still force the bullet into the case by hand yet there ws enough pressure to pop the cap off. What should I do now? I bought it at Wholesale Sports so should I bring it back there or send it to Lee?

Thanks. George
Click to expand...

I don't get it. "Decap" refers to spent primer removal. So sounds to me the die is doing its job. Second, if you can push a bullet into the neck by hand, no neck sizing has occurred. So basically, you removed the primer, with no neck sizing. Screw your die in (after raising the ram with shellholder) until it just touches the bottom of the die case. Then turn it in at least 1 full turn. You can increase or decrease slightly from 1 full turn to increase or decrease neck tension respectively.

If you are referring to the threaded "cap" on the die, it can't 'pop' off if it is secured (e.g threaded). If it did, you left it loose and didn't reassemble the die properly. Your die is fine, take it apart, observe the collet and ensure it is placed back with the arms towards the "cap". There is no way to ruin a Lee die.

Hope this helps.
 
I blew the cheap aluminum cap off of the first and only LEE collet sizing die I bought. When I called LEE the first thing the girl asked me was what press I was using. When I told her it was a Rockchucker she said that there was no warranty as my press was "too strong" for their die. :rolleyes:
 
blauber said:
I don't get it. "Decap" refers to spent primer removal. So sounds to me the die is doing its job. Second, if you can push a bullet into the neck by hand, no neck sizing has occurred. So basically, you removed the primer, with no neck sizing. Screw your die in (after raising the ram with shellholder) until it just touches the bottom of the die case. Then turn it in at least 1 full turn. You can increase or decrease slightly from 1 full turn to increase or decrease neck tension respectively.

If you are referring to the threaded "cap" on the die, it can't 'pop' off if it is secured (e.g threaded). If it did, you left it loose and didn't reassemble the die properly. Your die is fine, take it apart, observe the collet and ensure it is placed back with the arms towards the "cap". There is no way to ruin a Lee die.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

I am talking about the threaded cap on top. The problem is that I did not thread the die in far enough to prevent the press from camming over. I thought it would be best to just slowly keep turning it in untill the collet had sized it to a point where I could seat bullets using the press and get proper neck tension without over sizing the necks. It would have been fine if the die would have slid in as it is supposed to. I think it got hung up and because I was at the point where the press was camming over I was able to put enough pressure on it to pop the top cap off. The collet sizer seems kind of rough and if I replace the cap and body I figure it still won't size properly. Don't know for sure as I've never bought one before.

Frustrated!!! G
 
'Boo said:
I blew the cheap aluminum cap off of the first and only LEE collet sizing die I bought. When I called LEE the first thing the girl asked me was what press I was using. When I told her it was a Rockchucker she said that there was no warranty as my press was "too strong" for their die. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Exactly. When my Rockchucker is at the point where it is camming over I can put a lot of pressure on the die with very little force. If the die had been doing it's job instead of binding up I would have been fine. It also looks like the threads on the die body are kind of flat. I don't know if this is normal.
 
I load for over 12 rifles with Lee stuff and have never had an issue with their quality. The only way I can see the cap poping off is if it wasn't screwed in right or they threads were buggered some how, but again, I have never witnessed it.
 
g-manz35 said:
Bought my first Lee die set today. Read the instructions, watched a tutorial on U tube and went to my reloading room all excited to try it out. I pulled the die apart to make sure there was no debris inside of it and made sure there was some lube on it. I did not thread the die in as much as I should have as I have a cam over press, but rather left it rather loose thinking that I would slowly work it in and test the tension untill it was where I wanted it. I ended up popping the cap off before getting any real results. I can still force the bullet into the case by hand yet there ws enough pressure to pop the cap off. What should I do now? I bought it at Wholesale Sports so should I bring it back there or send it to Lee?

Thanks. George
Click to expand...
Collet dies should be free of any lubricants which can attract dirt.
I clean all of my dies with brake cleaner and blow them dry.
If I want a die to have any type of lube I use Hornady One Shot gun cleaner and dry lube.
 
'Boo said:
I blew the cheap aluminum cap off of the first and only LEE collet sizing die I bought. When I called LEE the first thing the girl asked me was what press I was using. When I told her it was a Rockchucker she said that there was no warranty as my press was "too strong" for their die. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I had the same thing happen and posted it in a recent thread regarding Lee Dies. They are cheap, price and quality wise in my opinion. I will not waste money on Lee junk, they are cheap for a reason. To blauber who says there is no way to ruin a Lee die, I call bullsh!t on that one. Mind you it was ruined before it left the factory.
 
The "problem" with LEE is that they engineer to what they consider an acceptable failure rate. For the majority of low-pressure users who only reload a couple hundred cartridges a year - and don't care if their reloading is interrupted by waiting for warranty replacement - they are probably just fine.

Cheaper materials means both lower selling prices and higher profit margins. A good example of this philosophy is #### Lee's ranting in his reloading manual where he runs down other manufacturers for making products that are too strong. :rolleyes: In my opinion LEE equipment is the reloading equivalent of a 1980's Lada automobile. ;)
 
'Boo said:
The "problem" with LEE is that they engineer to what they consider an acceptable failure rate. For the majority of low-pressure users who only reload a couple hundred cartridges a year - and don't care if their reloading is interrupted by waiting for warranty replacement - they are probably just fine.

Cheaper materials means both lower selling prices and higher profit margins. A good example of this philosophy is #### Lee's ranting in his reloading manual where he runs down other manufacturers for making products that are too strong. :rolleyes: In my opinion LEE equipment is the reloading equivalent of a 1980's Lada automobile. ;)
Click to expand...

Good evaluation. I've 'tried' a couple sets of their dies and at best, I'd say they are bottem entry level.

Oh, I was just up on a speed trip close to your area to visit young son in Horsefly. If I would've had a bit more time available I would've given you a shout.
 
Agreed, LEE works for many, but doesn't fit the bill for everyone. It definitely is lower quality for a lower price. I myself however prefer top quality equipment in my room as that is part of what makes reloading fun and interesting for me.

The only two brands you will NOT find in my room is LEE and Lyman.
 
Leverage is a b_tch.
I've always considered the cap as a fuse.
Buy a few extra's
Plus set your die/press so you can't excert to much leverage.
or make a steel cap and see what lets go...
 
RUPZUK said:
Leverage is a b_tch.
I've always considered the cap as a fuse.
Buy a few extra's
Plus set your die/press so you can't excert to much leverage.
or make a steel cap and see what lets go...
Click to expand...

Why should you have to buy a few extras or "make" a steel cap. You are better off paying a bit more and getting half decent equipment.
 
Adjust your press right and it doesn't happen.
Make a steel cap and my guess is the design will fail in a more exciting way...
If your starting from ground zero, then perhaps another product would be better.
But if you own the LEE and popped a cap, just get a few caps and know their limitations. At this point its still the cheapest way out IMO.
 
RUPZUK said:
Adjust your press right and it doesn't happen.
Make a steel cap and my guess is the design will fail in a more exciting way...
If your starting from ground zero, then perhaps another product would be better.
But if you own the LEE and popped a cap, just get a few caps and know their limitations. At this point its still the cheapest way out IMO.
Click to expand...

The only problem I have is if I buy a new cap my die still doesn't seem to size properly. The collet doesn't seem to want to slide into the collet sleeve. It gets hung up. After popping the cap off with too high of pressure I can still force a bullet into the brass by hand???? I would think that something isn't right. I may just call it a lesson learned and use the full lengh sizer it came with and stay away from lee dies in the future. Just seems like a finicky POS to me at this point. What thread are the caps anyway. I want to make a steele one and try it again. I may just try buffing the collet and sleeve and see if I can get it to work.

G
 
LEE clams that if you are getting insufficient neck tension you should take the re-sizing mandrel out of the die and chuck it in a drill. With a piece of sandpaper reduce the diameter of the mandrel while it is spinning in the drill. While this may work on the soft steel mandrel it makes one question how concentric and uniform the diameter will be afterwards.
 
'Boo said:
LEE clams that if you are getting insufficient neck tension you should take the re-sizing mandrel out of the die and chuck it in a drill. With a piece of sandpaper reduce the diameter of the mandrel while it is spinning in the drill. While this may work on the soft steel mandrel it makes one question how concentric and uniform the diameter will be afterwards.
Click to expand...

OR. You take more of your hard earned dollars and buy a set of redding dies and be happy. I'm not really knocking Lee dies here. Had I been a bit smarter about it I could have prevented all of this. I'm not sure that Lee dies are for me. I don't need to learn how to use and maintain and tweek my dies so they work well. I need simple and straight forward. I just don't have the time right now. And only a week to go before deer season.

G
 
'Boo said:
LEE clams that if you are getting insufficient neck tension you should take the re-sizing mandrel out of the die and chuck it in a drill. With a piece of sandpaper reduce the diameter of the mandrel while it is spinning in the drill. While this may work on the soft steel mandrel it makes one question how concentric and uniform the diameter will be afterwards.
Click to expand...

I had to do this to my Lee collet die in .270 I reduced the final diameter to .274 with brass spring back .001 it leaves the brass ID at .275 and gives me the .002 neck tension I like.

The ammo that comes out seating with a RCBS competition die is totally concentric and shoots really well.

Without reducing the mandrel size you will banging you head against the wall:bangHead:
 
I've bought 3 Lee Collet dies two of them crushed on first attempt third is adjusted as per instruction and is not resizing tight enough.
I think that filing mandrel as recommended is a joke.
POS x 3.

I have RCBS dies for those calibers but I thought that collet dies makes sense and you don't use lube. Ive just popped aluminum thread as well.
Will call Lee and see. New caps and factory smaller mandrels. I will try again
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom