6br Lee custom neck collet

[Tesoro]

Finally got my custom sized Lee collett after a month wait. Kinda spendy at $150 but they have the patent so be it. No doughnuts, minimal neck working and the straightest ammo I can load.
BUT their finish work can sure be hit and miss. Here is a pic of the forcing cone with hose barb style cutting marks. There was enough ridging to make it bind with the rough inside collet bevel on extraction. One hour with a dremel and diamond paste fixed it + the one for my 223. Just seems like I shouldn't have to fix a custom made die but like I said, they have the patent! I wish they would sell it to L.E. Wilson!

 

[Hoot]

I've had to clean that exact issue up on every Lee Neck die and Factory Crimp die I've ever bought. No surprise given their normal price point. That said, I'd expect them to do better on a custom die, for that kind of money.

Hoot

 

[22BRGUY]

Nice Job!
I made my own custom decapping rod with 600 grit sandpaper and my dial caliper

 

[Bill Norris]

Nice work cleaning up the mess Lee made.

 

[Rat Rifle]

I have 2 that I had made pre covid. The workmanship is beautiful. During covid, they stopped doing the custom work for quite a while, apparently because they lost a lot of their skilled workmen. Now that they have started custom work again, they may be struggling a bit to get back.

 

[Murray Brook]

Did you go with the old style collet or their "new and improved" collet.

 

[Tesoro]

Did you go with the old style collet or their "new and improved" collet.

I have only used them for the last 5 years on and off. I asked their tech guy lasy week and he said they have never changed design that he knew off. There is a small bevel cut in the end of cone to not compress the last bit of case neck for better bullet seating.
I just got a harrels c press and pre-cleanup I had to exert waaay too much pressure to get the compression on 6br lapua. Not sure what that was all about. Havent tried it since I did the polish job. Will do in a fee days.

 

[Murray Brook]

@Tesoro The bevel is what I was refering to. I believe I would prefer the old style as I shoot 64 gr bullets in my 6br and want all the neck I can get. I would think that trimming and neck turning with the new style might be tricky. Right now I am using a 6ppc LCD to do the necks of my 6br. Works good using a proper shim/washer. I have 4 different LCD ( old style) and I like them.

 

[46and2]

Folks, that new design was un asked for, unwanted, unnecessary, anti productive and completely useless!!

I had to call FS reloading and get an old style collet for the last set I bought.

 

[Tesoro]

@Tesoro The bevel is what I was refering to. I believe I would prefer the old style as I shoot 64 gr bullets in my 6br and want all the neck I can get. I would think that trimming and neck turning with the new style might be tricky. Right now I am using a 6ppc LCD to do the necks of my 6br. Works good using a proper shim/washer. I have 4 different LCD ( old style) and I like them.

Oh I get ya. hmm I hadnt even thought about shooting small bullets - yet. No that wont work!! I am in email contact right now with one of their guys so i will ask him if can get non-bevelled cones. Its not really custom work but just omission of a step.

 

[Murray Brook]

Oh I get ya. hmm I hadnt even thought about shooting small bullets - yet. No that wont work!! I am in email contact right now with one of their guys so i will ask him if can get non-bevelled cones. Its not really custom work but just omission of a step.

Let us know what the tech says. TKS

 

[Tesoro]

Let us know what the tech says. TKS

this!

Hey Chris,

for the modified die, it would not be available as an off the shell option due to some dimensions and angles being set either by the tooling and reamers used, or cnc machining setup depending on the part. I just looked into the possibility of it and even as a custom, it isn't something we really do.

 

[Murray Brook]

Thank you @Tesoro for the news. Looks like my LCD days are over. I suppose one could use a shim/washer and get the job done (sizing the entire neck). Leave it to Lee. Every once and a while they stumble onto something real good but true to form it only takes time before they F... it up. JMO

 

[46and2]

Thank you @Tesoro for the news. Looks like my LCD days are over. I suppose one could use a shim/washer and get the job done (sizing the entire neck). Leave it to Lee. Every once and a while they stumble onto something real good but true to form it only takes time before they F... it up. JMO

If you shim the die to make it size the top part of the mouth it will effectively leave an unsized part by the shoulder.

You'll need an old style colet.

Lee Collet Die FYI

The new Lee collet dies no longer size the case mouth, so don't go nuts trying to fix it. 308 neck sizing https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/308-neck-sizing.241600/ From the Lee website "If you’re a long-time user of Lee Collet Neck Sizing Die you may notice we have modified the Collet...

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[WSnyder]

If you shim the die to make it size the top part of the mouth it will effectively leave an unsized part by the shoulder.

You can size it all. Size it with the washer and hit it again without the washer to size the bottom of the neck or do the opposite. Or just size it with the washer and leave a small amount un-sized next to the neck. Lots of bushing dies leave un-sized portions at the neck and many do it on purpose.

The whole reason that bevel at the top came about was some people were using the Lee case flaring tool to very slightly flare the top of the case for easier and more consistent seating. Someone got the bright idea to modify the die to do it (get the collet die to leave a flare) without the flaring die step and Lee incorporated it. I too wish they would have left it alone and if someone wanted a flare they could use the flaring die.

 

[Murray Brook]

Hitting it twice is what I meant. This is how I do my 6br cases with a 6ppc LCD

 

[Tesoro]

A pita to do double but until someone else breaks the patent thats the only thing to do. Unfortunately Lee should get their shite together and get with the times. They are missing out on a significant market and associated promotion by pros by not bending on an easy deamnd. I will give them hell tomorrow and try to wake up the boss man.

 

[Dgd6mm]

I have a fairly new to me Lee 6br collet die I bought off of here some years back. It was made for Charles Boward. He told me he had sized about 30 cases with it and he didn't have any use for it seeing how he was moving on form the 6br. I took it apart last night to take a look at it. It has been quite some time since I had received it, took it apart, cleaned and lubed it then set it up for sizing. Mine is the older style collet. Lee should have left things well enough alone.

 

[Murray Brook]

At the very least they should offer both versions. I once suggested to them in an email that they should incorporate a body die with the LCD or make some sort of a package with a body die included. I went on to suggest that for every 5 LCD's sold Redding probably sells 2 body dies as a direct result. Their answer was if I wanted them to make me a body they would under their custom program. You know the old saying of you can take a horse to water................

 

[Tesoro]

I have been talking to the tech guy, the same one I always get passed to, so I assume they have only one. I was surprised to learn that he has only used Lee equipment. I had sent him a pic of a problem and he made a comment about how beefy my Harrels C press looked in the background. He had not heard of Harrels. I guess everybody runs his company as he sees fit. I wouldn't expect to see anything 'new and innovative' coming out of Lee reloading !

Oh and one final bitch....So I ordered a custom collet and was forced to have to pay for a matching seating die, which I have no use for.