Making a collet?

[Fuj]

No one dissing the Collet Neck Die?
You guys aren't really using these are you

I had misgivings early on and some time way back, but at the time
I was not doing a lot of annealing. The people that are not annealing
will be having a problem with a collet die. And generally be the ones
giving bad opinions. Also there are people that just here the word Lee
and do some bad mouthing.....Either way; Do a good anneal, squeeze,
give the case a quarter turn, and squeeze again. I have no problem
having my ammo shoot in the 2's and these are my wild cat's. It's not
for everyone, but I don't plan on stopping using them anytime soon.

 

[Tesoro]

No one dissing the Collet Neck Die?
You guys aren't really using these are you

Been hashed out here 100 times over they years. I would say the only time you shouldn't use a collet neck die is if you have a tight custom neck chamber that requires neck turning to fit using very light bullet tension. Otherwise collet dies, unlike bushings, wont move neck brass or over work it just to get to seating size and they make the most concentric ammo using non turned necks. The results with turned necks are incredible.

Downside is they are not a simple die to set up properly to get a consistent 'squeeze' but there are tricks to do this if you use the right press. They also don't come in all chamberings so modifications might have to be made. Plus there is an issue with the new design collet that needs to be addressed. And finally, the new generation of these dies are pieces of shite for final finish so they need to be disassembled, turned and polished to get them up to spec. The positive is the entire die costs the same as a decent neck bushing.

For me they are worth the hassle to get set up correctly. Of course you will only get great results using uniformed and properly annealed cases, just like with bushing neck sizing. Sounds like you need to buy one and play with it!!

 

[WSnyder]

I don’t anneal and the Lee collet die works fine for me. I also squeeze twice with a turn. I buy the smaller mandrels and if needed I’ll buy an extra full size and reduce the size further.

 

[Tesoro]

I don’t anneal and the Lee collet die works fine for me. I also squeeze twice with a turn. I buy the smaller mandrels and if needed I’ll buy an extra full size and reduce the size further.

I guess it depends on the cartridge. When you shoot something like a small rifle primer 308 or BR based premium case you can see 30 firings per case, but only if you anneal! I guess chamber size also comes into play.

 

[Rocketvapor]

Teroso,
you sort of have to work backwards.
Bullet diameter, neck thickness and chamber neck diameter (turn or no turn).
LCD mandrel diameter to fit bullet plus tension.
Pin your neck before and after sizing to know what you get.


I will comment on this being about the longest thread about the LCD without a bunch of naysayers coming in claiming bushings are the only way to go

 

[WSnyder]

I guess it depends on the cartridge. When you shoot something like a small rifle primer 308 or BR based premium case you can see 30 firings per case, but only if you anneal! I guess chamber size also comes into play.

I have a 6.5 CM using that “crap” Hornady brass that’s up to 12-13 firings. I’m not annealing it. Skimmed necks. I full size with a bushing die without a bushing and sizing neck with the Lee. I’m curious to see how far this brass can go. It’s not what I’d say is a light load. RL-16, 130 VLD @2930 ish fps, obviously no pressure signs.

 

[Tesoro]

Teroso,
you sort of have to work backwards.
Bullet diameter, neck thickness and chamber neck diameter (turn or no turn).
LCD mandrel diameter to fit bullet plus tension.
Pin your neck before and after sizing to know what you get.


I will comment on this being about the longest thread about the LCD without a bunch of naysayers coming in claiming bushings are the only way to go

Of course. All I try to do is get consistent neck tension by working the neck as little as possible during the process. The LCD works for this. I like to use a mandrel a thou under std for my 6mms as my necks are skimmed down to be even and my belief is a bit more tension will make tension more consistent than vv.
Measuring neck OD before and after seating for 'neck tension' dosen't mean anything to me other than confirming the obvious math. My little short handle arbor seater lets me feel the actual tension so i can cull any weird ones. Always happens no matter how well I try!
The shortcut around all of this is to just jam your bullets and then neck tension becomes somewhat mute!

 

[Rocketvapor]

Don't take my posts as argumentative.
I like the LCD. They are cheap, and so far I can modify existing ones for anything they don't offer without paying for a custom die. Their machining is a little on the 'Hit or Miss' side though and some smoothing of the collet cone surface and breaking internal edges on the upper section helps.
I think going by feel helps.

 

[Tesoro]

I have a 6.5 CM using that “crap” Hornady brass that’s up to 12-13 firings. I’m not annealing it. Skimmed necks. I full size with a bushing die without a bushing and sizing neck with the Lee. I’m curious to see how far this brass can go. It’s not what I’d say is a light load. RL-16, 130 VLD @2930 ish fps, obviously no pressure signs.

You probably got some 'good stuff'. I dont think Hornady makes its own brass and maybe got some bad contractors in the past. Who knows. I had a CM 12 yrs ago and Hornady brass was very inconsistent in primer pockets. Annealing isnt always necessary just like alot of the processes, but it is cheap and simple to do so I do it. If I can get 30 shots a case instead of 15 then that pays for half of each primer over not annealing!

 

[Tesoro]

Don't take my posts as argumentative.
I like the LCD. They are cheap, and so far I can modify existing ones for anything they don't offer without paying for a custom die. Their machining is a little on the 'Hit or Miss' side though and some smoothing of the collet cone surface and breaking internal edges on the upper section helps.
I think going by feel helps.

Got ya! I am going to send a batch of collets and collars to have nitrided after I clean them up. I wanst so fond of the LCD when using heavy presses with strong cam overs as I felt like I was never exerting even pressure and couldn't set the camover evenly. But about 15 yrs ago I got my first Co-Ax and this is the teats for the LCD IMO. The cam over is gentle and one can adjust die for a gentle consistent crush. When I inspect the case necks with a 10x loupe the ridges are all very even from case to case, but not excessive.

 

[Fuj]

Got ya! I am going to send a batch of collets and collars to have nitrided after I clean them up. I wanst so fond of the LCD when using heavy presses with strong cam overs as I felt like I was never exerting even pressure and couldn't set the camover evenly.

You "DO NOT" use any kind of cam over on a Lee collet die. It's not
the way they are designed to work. The proper way is to raise the ram
all the way, then screw in the die until it just touches the shell holder.
Then lower the ram and screw the die in further, two full turns and
lock it down.

 

[WSnyder]

I use my collet dies with a positive stop press. I carefully and finely adjust the die until I get the squeeze I want by feel (verified by measuring neck sizing results) with the press at full stop. I like to think of them as a finesse type tool, not something you can manhandle.

 

[Rocketvapor]

touchy feely is the way to go.

Not enough force is not enough,
enough force is enough,
a tiny bit too much force is OK,
Too much force is Too Much.


Try not to go 90/180/270 degrees for the second touch.
that lines up the itty bitty collet marks on the outside of the neck.

 

[Tesoro]

You "DO NOT" use any kind of cam over on a Lee collet die. It's not
the way they are designed to work. The proper way is to raise the ram
all the way, then screw in the die until it just touches the shell holder.
Then lower the ram and screw the die in further, two full turns and
lock it down.

I DO as do many others and get perfect results. All depends how you set up your die and what kind of cam over you have.The instructions say diff because of the average joe reloader.