Lee precision - some issues...

[Tim N]

Hi All
Not sure if this has been discussed here but Lee have changed the design of their collet die.
I ordered some custom dies and when they arrived I noticed that they didn’t size the whole neck, leaving a noticeable bell at the end of the case.
Upon enquiry they said it the new design????
I requested replacement dies to size the full neck which they agreed to.
I could use the short die by sizing twice with a packer-not fun.
As I needed to size cases they said I could hold the old dies, pay for replacements then they would refund the money when they received the originals back-which I did.
Only issue now is they are refusing to refund the money!
They have given me a gift voucher but that wasn’t what was promised.
One of the owners contacted me and refused to honour the promised refund.
Obviously Trumps attempt to make America great again hasn’t reached the Lee company.

 

[Big Mc]

Hi All
Not sure if this has been discussed here but Lee have changed the design of their collet die.
I ordered some custom dies and when they arrived I noticed that they didn’t size the whole neck, leaving a noticeable bell at the end of the case.
Upon enquiry they said it the new design????
I requested replacement dies to size the full neck which they agreed to.
I could use the short die by sizing twice with a packer-not fun.
As I needed to size cases they said I could hold the old dies, pay for replacements then they would refund the money when they received the originals back-which I did.
Only issue now is they are refusing to refund the money!
They have given me a gift voucher but that wasn’t what was promised.
One of the owners contacted me and refused to honour the promised refund.
Obviously Trumps attempt to make America great again hasn’t reached the Lee company.

Lee and precision don,t belong in the same sentence. Just my two cents Tommy Mc.

 

[Martin52]

Hi All
.....Lee have changed the design of their collet die.
I ordered some custom dies and when they arrived I noticed that they didn’t size the whole neck, leaving a noticeable bell at the end of the case.
Upon enquiry they said it the new design???.

I use a LCD for one of my rifles (FTR) in conjunction with a body die with good results.

But you're right about it being a new design.

I just checked their website, it says:

.....we have modified the Collet so a small portion of the neck protrudes through the end of the Collet-Sizing portion. This often-requested modification was implemented in 2019.

This change allows the portion of the neck that protrudes above the Collet to remain in its fire formed condition. This provides a natural flare to the case neck allowing easy and concentric seating of bullets. This is especially important when seating cast bullets or low drag coated bullets.

Noted author and cartridge designer M. L. McPherson has suggested this modification for years for its ease of use, better function and improved accuracy.

 

[Riesel]

So this is Trump's fault??

 

[Adam in WI]

So this Trump's fault??

Everything is, duh

 

[Dgd6mm]

(It does sound like an improvement). I could have lived with the original design.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Edit: I take this statement back, obviously I'm wrong.

 

[ToddKS]

This "improvement" would seem to force the user to run the finished round through a taper crimp die to resolve that unsized case mouth. With the exception of 223 for AR use, that is not something I would normally do. Just adds an extra step that I some users probably don't need.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

There was a few topics here a little while back maybe a search for lcd would turn up something. I cant believe they still sell those things

 

[Fuj]

I cant believe they still sell those things

Well they work !! I was skeptical a long time ago but, I get
good straight ammo and good even neck tension. This SA284
I'm playing with happened to be close enough to use the 7/08
collet sizer. It's the old style. Have not used the new style. Set up
like anything is key to it's working. Neck size and mandrel need
to be close and brass on a good annealing schedule. Some guy's
try to squeeze down undersize brass, with hardness all over the
map, get bad results, then bad mouth or bitch about something
on Al Gores Internet. Be patient, pay attention to detail, and life
is good.....My targets are important to me. If these dies did not
deliver, I'd pitch em' in a heart beat.

 

[Pawnee Bill]

Lee and precision don,t belong in the same sentence. Just my two cents Tommy Mc.

+1

 

[boltman13]

Hopefully Lee will realize many prefer the old style Collet Die and start offering them again. Lee has a history of taking a good design and making it worse, like their current POS Auto Prime, much worse than the original.

 

[Dgd6mm]

So this Trump's fault??

I say President TRUMP is making America Great again and Lee is screwing up their LCD.

 

[SSL]

Lee can be a little spotty on customer service. I generally have had good luck with their people, but twice I tried to deal with a particularly snotty lady. Once was for info on the newer LoadMaster priming parts and she acted far too busy to assist me. The second time was to order a custom cast bullet sizer. I ask to speak to someone else on the sizer, since she couldn't seem to understand what I was saying and was told "I'm all you get." I hung up and called again the next day. This time the rep was knowledgeable and couldn't have been more helpful.
I use the original design collets on several calibers and am happy with them. I would have to think long and hard about the new generation.

 

[beemanjohn]

The way I see it is Lee makes dies for the average guy who is loading average ammo for his average hunting rifle. I think they do a pretty good job for what they are. And what they are (are) a low cost set of loading dies. If you want or need the kind of perfection you get out of something like a Wilson or (insert your favorite here) bushing die, then you need to buy a Wilson bushing die. In this case you get what you pay for.

 

[Murray Brook]

Lee does make some questionable stuff, but having said that the Lee Classic Cast press and their Collet dies(old ones anaway) are not part of the bad stuff. JMO

 

[Dgd6mm]

Lee does make some questionable stuff, but having said that the Lee Classic Cast press and their Collet dies(old ones anaway) are not part of the bad stuff. JMO

Dang, I would have thought I wrote that. My sentiments exactly.

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

You get what you pay for. Most other manufactures would have refunded your money, no questions asked. Not Lee. their warranty sucks also. Call them for a replacement part, and have your credit card next to the phone. Most of their products carry a one year warranty while others like RCBS sill replace any part for anything they sell forever even to second and third owners.

 

[Tim N]

The collet design is sound and will work even if the machining isn’t 1st class.
I was mainly annoyed that I was promised a refund then given a gift voucher for nothing I want.
The person who refused a refund was one of the owners so I pity any employees if this is how they treat their not so valued customers.
Hoping to get onto some government agency to see what can be done.
Being lied to and stolen from doesn’t sit well with me.
Trying to sort this from Australia won’t be easy.

 

[Twicepop]

Hopefully Lee will realize many prefer the old style Collet Die and start offering them again. Lee has a history of taking a good design and making it worse, like their current POS Auto Prime, much worse than the original.

At another forum I used to frequent, one of the other particpants posted a truism about LEE. He said they very often have many innovative ideas, unfortunately they execute them with inferior materials.

 

[Iowa Fox]

I like the collet die. and have several. Used in conjunction with a Redding body die I get the straightest cases with easy to adjust neck tension. I think one thing I really like about them is if you turn the case a few times it kind of mops out the high spots on neck thickness and I'm lazy enough now I hate neck skimming. Plus I've spent a fortune on bushings fiddling with neck tension

Last holiday season I ordered a 6 creedmoor collet die because I had a new barrel coming and when it showed up I put it in the drawer with 6 creed junk. Then I started ordering brass from a few places to compare it. One day I took a few minutes to take the die apart clean and lube it and screw it in the press. I knew something was hoaky by the way the brass was pulling off the mandrel. yep! I found what they did then read a lengthy thread on here about it. So much for a good design thanks to good ole M.L.

I have been emailing Lee about a collet to size 100 percent of the neck which I will gladly pay for and throw cast bullet collet in the scrap iron bin not wanting anything out of it but they will not reply to me.

Tim I'm going to send you a PM to see who you talked to to get the full length collet. Best of luck to you resolving your dilemma.