Any advantage (or disadvantage) to using Lee Collet die on neck turned brass?

[hkfan45]

Is anyone using a Lee Collet die on neck turned brass? I've had decent success with the collet die before on non-turned brass, which I believe many use it for. For turned brass (w/ 0.0002-0.0003 avg thickness variance), would the Collet die produce better results than a standard FL bushing or custom honed FL die (no expander ball)?

Given that the neck thickness of my turned brass isn't absolutely the same (I'm still working on bringing the variance down to 0.0001), would the Collet die be the better choice since the the die will ensure the ID is the same?

 

[jlow]

As you said, it ensures that the ID is consistent even if there is some inconsistency in the neck thickness. The other thing that I like about using a LCD on neck turn brass is that it prevents neck donuts from building up which is important if you are not seating long.

 

[hkfan45]

So, does using a bushing die (without expander ball) only make sense if neck thickness variance is <0.0001"?

 

[bigedp51]

I have several Lee collet dies and even after lightly polishing the collet it will leave marks on your case necks. And I will not let the Lee collet die near any of my cases with turned necks.

Below you can see the faint lines of the case neck from the Lee collet die.

The way the collet grips the brass of the case neck as it reduces the neck diameter it also crimps the brass that effects the inner surface of the neck.

Bottom line, if Lee would produce a more polished collet with less burs and sharp edges in the collet slots and inner surface it might be a better product.

And I stopped using my Lee collet dies because I have brass OCD and do not like the way it marks up the case necks. Especially when other methods work just as well and do not chew up my case necks.

And before some Commie Pinko Pervert tells me I don't have the die set up properly get a jewelers eye loop magnifier and look closely at your own necks.

 

[clowdis]

So, does using a bushing die (without expander ball) only make sense if neck thickness variance is <0.0001"?

Been in the machining industry for over 45 years and I can tell you that it takes some very sophisticated machinery to cut and maintain tolerances of .0001! So if you're close to that congratulations you're close enough to use either the collet die or a bushing die with equal effectiveness. I'd just leave the expander button out of the bushing die and use the bushings to get the correct neck size.