Lee Collet Die FYI

[bozo699]

Wayne there is nothing wrong with repetitive subliminal suggestions and soon it will be imprinted in everyone's mind.

Did I tell you I really like Forster dies.

You didn’t have to my friend perfectly well aware do to repetitive subliminal suggestions
Wayne

 

[Bluetip]

My torque wrench photo was a joke and first posted here when someone said they attached a torque wrench to their press to get uniform pressure on the collet and case neck. The joke was my torque wrench was attached in my photo with duct tape and string.

This makes me think you have very poor vision or you don't have a sense of humor.

P.S. I copied John Valentine's method years ago, but I found it easier to just not use the cheaply made Lee collet dies. I prefer using Forster full length dies.

I must admit, I did see that for the first time on my phone, and may have thought it to be at face value, as to someone' setup. They work for me, but maybe not for everyone. No poor vision or lack of humor.

 

[SSL]

Good point, probably, but if the base of a bullet, seated for optimum performance, was above the un-sized portion of the neck it would be of no consequence; having uniform neck tension along the entire bullet/neck contact would be best.



I would agree with the finish part - some of the surfaces inside that collet look sort of rough. Got to give Lee credit for making inventive stuff. Sticking collets make for buckled shoulders and that contact surface is not as well finished as it could be - polish with 400 grit, clean periodically & lightly lubricate the surface(s) that compress the collet. I can't remember reading any Lee advisory about sticking collets other than "closing the press without a case in the die and/or the die adjusted too deeply". This sticking may occur during normal satisfactory use.

Don't recall if I got it from Lee or from a post here, but the collet flanges should be given a light coat of anti-seize periodically. I have done this from the start (along with a good polish where needed) with all of my collet dies and have never had one stick.

 

[46and2]

Don't recall if I got it from Lee or from a post here, but the collet flanges should be given a light coat of anti-seize periodically. I have done this from the start (along with a good polish where needed) with all of my collet dies and have never had one stick.

Yep, neversneeze works very well on the outside of the collet.

 

[fyrewall]

Don't recall if I got it from Lee or from a post here, but the collet flanges should be given a light coat of anti-seize periodically. I have done this from the start (along with a good polish where needed) with all of my collet dies and have never had one stick.

I use 400 grit to remove burrs (rough edges protruding out from collet fingers) & a tiny jet of Hornady One Shot

 

[Iowa Fox]

A few days ago I sent Lee a 4 paragraph email in which the last paragraph asked how much would it cost to make a old style collet for me. No reply yet but I know they are busy again with production. One thing I hate skim neck turning. With the original collet you could squeeze and turn the case a few times, it did a real nice job of mopping out the high spots mostly eliminating neck turning. Not 100 percent but close enough to skip turning.

 

[Fast14riot]

Just got a new collet die, forgetting about this change and sure enough, it's the new style. Here are some pics of what exactly changed, they machine a large chamfer into the end of the collet.

These are two different calibers, 260rem and 222rem, which is why the different lengths.

 

[RegionRat]

I still can't understand why they tied the flare to the sizing. Not all of us want those steps tied together, and I am in the camp that needs the case mouth sized unless I decide to flare it later.

It messes with the trimming and chamfering tools since those depend on sized diameter, and since I use boat tails in these calibers, I don't benefit at all. So for me, that is several negatives and no positives.

I have to hang on to my old ones and doctor them if I wear them as a result of these changes. To add any new calibers, I'll now have to suffer more than the out-of-stock issues of the times and wait forever for custom.

It would be better for Lee if they changed back in my opinion. You can always flare when you are ready to seat but the conflicts this creates means few new shooters will be adopting the LCD since it just creates the need to add additional process steps to use it properly.

It is a big disappointment to those of us who have been using these for over 35 years. I guess the same can be said for their hand priming tool changes. I really baby my old ones and the new ones collect dust.

One must have long term planning and infinite patients in this arena or you won't survive it.

 

[46and2]

I still can't understand why they tied the flare to the sizing. Not all of us want those steps tied together, and I am in the camp that needs the case mouth sized unless I decide to flare it later.

It messes with the trimming and chamfering tools since those depend on sized diameter, and since I use boat tails in these calibers, I don't benefit at all. So for me, that is several negatives and no positives.

I have to hang on to my old ones and doctor them if I wear them as a result of these changes. To add any new calibers, I'll now have to suffer more than the out-of-stock issues of the times and wait forever for custom.

It would be better for Lee if they changed back in my opinion. You can always flare when you are ready to seat but the conflicts this creates means few new shooters will be adopting the LCD since it just creates the need to add additional process steps to use it properly.

It is a big disappointment to those of us who have been using these for over 35 years. I guess the same can be said for their hand priming tool changes. I really baby my old ones and the new ones collect dust.

One must have long term planning and infinite patients in this arena or you won't survive it.

Everyone hates it except for whom the hell suggested it to Lee.

Were preaching to the choir, I called and emailed Lee telling them exactly what I think. I encourage everyone to at least email them.

 

[Murray Brook]

@46and2 Lee is hard to figure out. As mentioned first they changed their priming tool in a negative way, then their collet die. About 2 yrs ago I emailed them asking them if they were aware that for about every 5 collet dies they sell Redding sells about 2- 3 body dies because of this .I asked them why they wouldn't offer a body die in their collet die set or as a separate die. Might be a good seller. Their answer was that if I wanted a body die they could custom make me one but had no intention of offering one as a standard part. So be it.

 

[Iowa Fox]

@46and2 Lee is hard to figure out. As mentioned first they changed their priming tool in a negative way, then their collet die. About 2 yrs ago I emailed them asking them if they were aware that for about every 5 collet dies they sell Redding sells about 2- 3 body dies because of this .I asked them why they wouldn't offer a body die in their collet die set or as a separate die. Might be a good seller. Their answer was that if I wanted a body die they could custom make me one but had no intention of offering one as a standard part. So be it.

Lee is hard to figure out. I can kind of understand the priming tool in today's litigious society but the collet neck sizer leaves me scratching my head. Everyone that I know of loved the die and was perfectly happy with it. If reinvent the wheel Mic and his buddies wanted a shorter collet for a flare Lee should have told them to go to their garage and grind 50 thousanths off the end of the collet or go buy a Lyman M die. But no they make everyone else suffer.

Fast14riot posted some good pics of the old and new collet. My 6.5 creedmoor is the old style, the last one I received is 6mm Creedmoor and I've held the collets side by side just like that. Look at the width of the cuts between the fingers on the new collet vs the old. Looks like they put them in using a raw material cut off wheel. New brass is 1.00 to 1.25 per piece. The first thing I do is round out the necks so I can go to work on it and the old style die worked beautiful for that. The thing just plain worked good for everything.

I'm wondering if Lee didn't also want to shorten the collet more so than their buddy Mic. Some how I have a feeling a lot of users were pushing the aluminum cap that holds everything together out of the back of the die body from excess pressure. The shorter collet helped end that. To many guys failing to read the well written instructions sent with the sizing die.

I hate to be to critical of any one but I'm starting to think the old man was the brains of the company.

 

[danny]

If you shim it wouldn't that mean that the compression starts higher, leaving an un sized portion on the lower part of the neck????

Probably..

Danny

 

[danny]

I just emailed Lee, complaining about this change. I have one Collet Die, but won't buy more because of this change. I bought the Collet Die right after seeing a Video here about Neck Sizing. I got REALLY interested in neck sizing after that. Also, in general, it kind of disturbs me to see that the Lee product line is endlessly changing its products, bringing out new models of products that they already have. It makes me feel like they don't have confidence in what they have brought to the market, and that they have to come up with a new solution. I don't know if I want to buy a stop gap solution from them, to only have to buy yet another. It does not make me really confident in buying their new products, especially the seemingly endless parade of hand held priming tools. I am still using my two original Auto Prime hand held tools, and if need be, will search out another used one.

Danny

 

[danny]

Everyone hates it except for whom the hell suggested it to Lee.

Were preaching to the choir, I called and emailed Lee telling them exactly what I think. I encourage everyone to at least email them.

I did email them.

Danny

 

[Iowa Fox]

If anyone receives a reply from Lee I hope they will please share it with us.

 

[danny]

If anyone receives a reply from Lee I hope they will please share it with us.

I got an email reply from Lee on this today. The response was quite brief:

Thanks for your feedback Dan.

Thank You,

*Name withheld*
Customer Service

Lee Precision, Inc.
4275 County Road U
Hartford, WI 53027
Phone (262) 673-3075

Business Hours: Monday thru Friday 7:30am to 3:45pm CST

 

[Iowa Fox]

Thanks for letting us know Dan. At least its a reply. No reply for me and I was polite and complimentary but I did ask them to make me a original collet which I am more than happy to pay for.

 

[paulT]

Currently Necksizing with the latest model Lcd die along with bumping the shoulders with a redding body die runnout on once fired sized brass is between half to one thousands i then seat bullets using a wilson inline seater with a arbor press neck tension is very uniform and loaded round runnout is excellent ranging between 3/4 to 1 thousands
I actually believe the small unsized section of the neck with the new LCD aids the start of bullet seating helping to reduce runnout when bullet seating.

 

[Uncle Ed]

The Lyman type "M" expander does the same thing, you just bump the case mouth onto the second step of the expander. After brass spring back the case mouth is approximately .001 larger than bullet diameter. This does aid in straight inline seating and reducing bullet runout.

I still prefer the Forster full length dies and seating dies over any other type die. I see no sense in sizing the case twice with a body die and the Lee collet die. Sizing the case once with the Forster die will give you the same results.

 

[Rocketvapor]

I have one for my 22 Nosler that I modified from a.223 die.
Lee wanted over a hundred bucks for a custom 22 Nosler Die.
The neck length of the 22N is longer than a 223 but the case length is the same.
With the old style I ground off some of the Collet to neck size very close to the Neck/Shoulder junction.
Been working fine. Every so often I do have to polish the collet to remove scratches where the cones meet but works great.
Now the New Improved die with the shorter collet, changed by Lee on purpose to allow some of the 223 case to stick up above the collet would be way short if I modified it for the 22N.

Left is old die collet as modified with a 1.760" 22N case, right is new unmodified collet with 1.760" 22N case. The new unmodified collet doesn't size far enough down the neck and would be way short if I ground down the collect.