Lee collet die set up?

[Jay Christopherson]

Why would that only happen on some cases, on only the second loading?

Good question. I've been using the collet dies for my Dasher and my .260AI and through 3 firing/reloading cycles on the brass, I haven't observed this sort of issue. If I were to venture a guess, maybe the amount of contact you have with the collet fingers is on the light side. It's working for new brass because at that point, it's pretty malleable, compared to a fired case. Maybe you just need to increase the contact a bit? You don't want finger marks on the neck, but there should be a bit of window in there to work with.

 

[jb27]

You will need to bend them slightly inward to allow the collet to move up and down and not bind.

That's good to know. I too just got my .223 collet die and the collet would not come out without some decent force. I took it out and cleaned it well and lubed it. It still is a bit sticky so perhaps i'll try bending them in slightly to relieve the tension. Thanks.

 

[bigedp51]

You will need to bend them slightly inward to allow the collet to move up and down and not bind.

That's good to know. I too just got my .223 collet die and the collet would not come out without some decent force. I took it out and cleaned it well and lubed it. It still is a bit sticky so perhaps i'll try bending them in slightly to relieve the tension. Thanks.

If you measure the collet when you get it out you will see for some reason the collet is larger in diameter at the top than it is below the slits. Some collets act like they are trying bud and bloom. ;D

 

[LongRanger]

I wrote elsewhere on the forum some months ago that the LCD works perfectly without the mandrel. And, without it, you can make small, or large, changes to your neck diameter without the need for changing mandrel size. Spend an evening setting it up without the mandrel and you can, case by case, adjust the necks on those odd-ball pieces of brass that don't want to conform to your norm. BTW....even with Lapua brass I have had new, out of the box, pieces that defied any changes to the necks even after annealing them before the first firing. They were, of course, female.

Frank B.

 

[kelbro]

I wrote elsewhere on the forum some months ago that the LCD works perfectly without the mandrel. And, without it, you can make small, or large, changes to your neck diameter without the need for changing mandrel size. Spend an evening setting it up without the mandrel and you can, case by case, adjust the necks on those odd-ball pieces of brass that don't want to conform to your norm. BTW....even with Lapua brass I have had new, out of the box, pieces that defied any changes to the necks even after annealing them before the first firing. They were, of course, female.

Frank B.

Interesting. That would make it act more like a bushing die. Uniforming the OD of the neck.

I like the mandrel with the ID being uniformed. I suppose that it wouldn't matter as much with neck-turned brass.

 

[Tozguy]

Why would that only happen on some cases, on only the second loading?

What press are you using and how do you set up the die, per Lee instructions or otherwise?

 

[Tozguy]

I wrote elsewhere on the forum some months ago that the LCD works perfectly without the mandrel. And, without it, you can make small, or large, changes to your neck diameter without the need for changing mandrel size. Spend an evening setting it up without the mandrel and you can, case by case, adjust the necks on those odd-ball pieces of brass that don't want to conform to your norm. BTW....even with Lapua brass I have had new, out of the box, pieces that defied any changes to the necks even after annealing them before the first firing. They were, of course, female.

Frank B.

Were you following Lee instructions for set up or otherwise?

 

[memilanuk]

Why would that only happen on some cases, on only the second loading?

What press are you using and how do you set up the die, per Lee instructions or otherwise?

Forster Co-Ax press, with the die screwed down to touch then screwed down some more to obtain the needed neck tension (usually) without over-squeezing the neck. For that matter, this particular die hasn't been adjusted for quite a while... same setting as has worked in the past for similar brass... Lapua .308 Win, neck-turned to 0.014".

 

[broncman]

Just out if curiousity, can you check the headspace length of the pieces of brass in question with the others? not sure if you full length size and bump each time or not. I could see where a LCD set up for a longer head space vs saami spec might give you an issue.

The LCD uses th shoulder to push on the collet. If you have die set shallow for light neck sizing, maybe a case with a shorter headspace from to big of a bump will not fully compress the collet?

Only thing I can think of ??

 

[ReedG]

The Lee Collet Die uses the shellholder to "push" the collet. It couldn't care less where the shoulder is. I use the same LCD for .223 and .223 AI and also 6 PPC and 6 BR and now .22 Hornet and .22 K-Hornet.

 

[broncman]

Yes, it cares where the shoulder is!!! Reread and think about it.

If the press is set at toggle for a light crimp, the ram can not go up any further, it has allready toggled over.....add a shorter case and it does not push up as far in the collet.

Set the press to get the work done BEFORE toggle and no, it does not care beacause you still have travel left.

 

[Tozguy]

Broncman,

ReedG is perfectly right. The LCD is NOT designed to touch the shoulder during sizing. If the shoulder is touching there is something wrong somewhere.

Why would that only happen on some cases, on only the second loading?

What press are you using and how do you set up the die, per Lee instructions or otherwise?

Forster Co-Ax press, with the die screwed down to touch then screwed down some more to obtain the needed neck tension (usually) without over-squeezing the neck. For that matter, this particular die hasn't been adjusted for quite a while... same setting as has worked in the past for similar brass... Lapua .308 Win, neck-turned to 0.014".

If you are trying to control neck tension by screwing the die up or down it won't always work. It also would explain your erratic results. That's not how to control neck tension with a LCD.

 

[memilanuk]

If you are trying to control neck tension by screwing the die up or down it won't always work. It also would explain your erratic results. That's not how to control neck tension with a LCD.

Where in there did you get the idea that I was screwing the die up and down trying to control neck tension? You asked how I set it initially, and that is what I told you. This time around I simply put the die in, untouched, at the same setting it's always been at, and sized the cases. Only difference is a different *batch* of brass - in this case, once-fired - and most come out 'okay', but some come out with several thou *less* neck tension than the ones immediately before or after.

 

[broncman]

Reedg and Tozguy, my apologies....you are right, the collet sleeve extends all the way to the shellholder...

 

[bigedp51]

memilanuk

The LCD doesn't have a set screw to keep the lock ring from moving, is there a chance the lock ring could have been bumped and moved?

 

[memilanuk]

Ed,

In order to make it fit more readily in a Forster Co-Ax press, I long ago removed the OEM die ring w/ rubber o-ring and replaced it with a Forster split-ring/cross-bolt arrangement.

The die 'feels' the same on the ones that don't end up with enough neck tension as on the ones that do...

Monte

 

[Tozguy]

Why would that only happen on some cases, on only the second loading?

What press are you using and how do you set up the die, per Lee instructions or otherwise?

the die screwed down to touch then screwed down some more to obtain the needed neck tension (usually) without over-squeezing the neck.

From here

 

[memilanuk]

Yes... screwed it down to touch, then screwed it down some more because in my experience there is a certain minimum amount of compression necessary to get it to do its job effectively/consistently. Balancing that against squeezing the brass between the collet fingers is what I was getting at.

 

[jb27]

The collet is wider at the top near the slit cuts and is binding/rubbing on the body of the die. You will need to bend them slightly inward to allow the collet to move up and down and not bind.

Bent mine in slightly last night. Problem solved. Thanks for the tip!

 

[1holeaddict]

If measuring the outside diameter of the necks before and after sizing what are the expected differences in the outside diameter. Im getting .005 difference and wondering if this is the norm.