Has anyone had any problems with them? I just had the Part where the knob screws in, bust through the threads and strip itself out.....Kind of pissed, sending it back obviously, don't know if I should just get my money back and go the RCBS Neck Sizer.
Lee Collet Dies
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jwrowland77
Member
Odd. I've never had any issues with several I have. I use them a bunch too.
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Grumulkin
Member
I've never broken a Lee Collet Die.
I thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread because no lube was needed in resizing. Then the problems:
1. Eventually you'll have to bump the shoulder back because it only neck sizes.
2. Sometimes the neck isn't sized enough so bullets seated are quite loose.
4. Cases sized with them can give worse accuracy than ones full length sized.
I no longer use them. I'd go with something from RCBS.
I thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread because no lube was needed in resizing. Then the problems:
1. Eventually you'll have to bump the shoulder back because it only neck sizes.
2. Sometimes the neck isn't sized enough so bullets seated are quite loose.
4. Cases sized with them can give worse accuracy than ones full length sized.
I no longer use them. I'd go with something from RCBS.
Well I'm no Kool-Aid drinking fan-boy collet-religion snake-handler, but the one for my Weatherby 300 works. It's the only one I have, so I can't answer for others.
Eventually you have to bump the shoulder back with any dedicated neck sizer. (Dedicated means no body sizing.) True of any dedicated neck sizer.
The Lee Collet will fail to size down the neck if you don't put enough force on the handle, or you have the knob adjusted wrong. 20 pounds of force does it, less than that and you won't size your neck down enough.
Cases properly neck sized that have correct headspace generally lend to accuracy, unless you use them improperly. Nothing will be accurate if the tools aren't used properly.
Bad news that the adjusting knob stripped, gab909. If it worked well before that, get a replacement. If not, don't mess with it, just get your money back.
Just one thought... If you have the knob tightened too far (which normally crushes the case) but the case doesn't crush, maybe that's what stripped the threads.
Eventually you have to bump the shoulder back with any dedicated neck sizer. (Dedicated means no body sizing.) True of any dedicated neck sizer.
The Lee Collet will fail to size down the neck if you don't put enough force on the handle, or you have the knob adjusted wrong. 20 pounds of force does it, less than that and you won't size your neck down enough.
Cases properly neck sized that have correct headspace generally lend to accuracy, unless you use them improperly. Nothing will be accurate if the tools aren't used properly.
Bad news that the adjusting knob stripped, gab909. If it worked well before that, get a replacement. If not, don't mess with it, just get your money back.
Just one thought... If you have the knob tightened too far (which normally crushes the case) but the case doesn't crush, maybe that's what stripped the threads.
splattergun
Member
I use one for 30-06 and one for .243. Never any issues with either. Once I learned how to use them I;ve always gotten good neck tension. I full length size about every 5th reload to bump back the shoulders.
Lee's CS ought to take good care of you.
Lee's CS ought to take good care of you.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
I have also used several including on 30-06 cases and never had a problem.
Exactly what happened and how did it happen? I'm very curious as to how it broke.
Exactly what happened and how did it happen? I'm very curious as to how it broke.
morcey2
Member
I think the "cap" is made from aluminum so that it will strip out if something goes wrong instead of either irreparably jamming up or damaging the rest of the die. I've never had issues with the ones that I use. If you're having problems with it not sizing the necks enough, the necks might need to be annealed. That's what I've found with my 257 Roberts brass.
Here's some replacement caps:
http://www.titanreloading.com/lee-ns2579-collet-die-cap
Matt.
Here's some replacement caps:
http://www.titanreloading.com/lee-ns2579-collet-die-cap
Matt.
Grumulkin
Member
You may find it hard to believe, but I know how much pressure to put on the handle.
ericuda said:
What is really the problem is that Lee at times makes the mandrel a little too large. You can fix it by sanding off a few thousandths but really, Lee should get it right before they sell it.
If best accuracy is your objective and you're using bottleneck cases, I suggest getting a standard full length sizing die. They've produced best accuracy for decades. It helps if a bushing die's used with its bushing diameter .002" smaller than that of a loaded round; no expander ball's needed.
Set the die in the press to bump fired case shoulders back about .002".
Set the die in the press to bump fired case shoulders back about .002".
I just finished testing my fall hunting loads with 30-06, 6.5x55 and 22-250 all using the lee collet neck sizing die. I have settled on loads for each rifle that shoot under 1" at 100 yards. My smallest size groups are 1/2" for a load in the 06 and 22-250. FL may be more accurate but for me and my hunting loads i am happy with the lee collet die.
ktmracer358
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The cap is made to strip so that you don't hurt the collet die with over pressure
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I think the largest group a load shoots indicates its accuracy.
If the smallest ones really do indicate accuracy, then all my rifles are 1/10th MOA ones. They all've done that for 3 shots; at least once. At all ranges through 1000 yards.
If the smallest ones really do indicate accuracy, then all my rifles are 1/10th MOA ones. They all've done that for 3 shots; at least once. At all ranges through 1000 yards.
FLIGHT762
Member
O/P , have you ever used a Lee Collet Die before? If not you are likely not using it correctly. Once you follow the instructions on how to set the die in your press it is an easy die to use, but it is DIFFERENT than other dies. The collet squeezes the neck of the brass around the die mandrel. It only takes about 20 Ft. # of pressure to do this. It takes a distinctive feel to size the neck, like learning to shoot a Rifle with an 8 oz. trigger.
Take an unsized case and see that bullet slides in and out out of the neck freely. Now put the case in the shell holder and raise the ram up to where it stops. Then put about 20#'s of pressure on the ram. You will be able to FEEL ram move up slightly when it deprimes and then you will feel collet squeeze around the mandrel, it's a very short travel, a 1/16th of an inch or so . Lower the ram and see if your bullet still slides freely in /out of the neck. If the die is doing it's job, it will be properly sized. That's all it takes. I usually size the neck twice, after the first stroke sizing, lower the ram slightly and spin the case 180º and size again.
It's a good idea to take the die apart and put a little grease on the outside of the collet fingers. It will help not letting the fingers of the collet to stick.
I use the Collet die with a Redding Body Die when the cases need a F/L shoulder bump. The combination makes very accurate ammunition. I have two mandrels, one under size for thin brass and standard size for thicker brass.
Take an unsized case and see that bullet slides in and out out of the neck freely. Now put the case in the shell holder and raise the ram up to where it stops. Then put about 20#'s of pressure on the ram. You will be able to FEEL ram move up slightly when it deprimes and then you will feel collet squeeze around the mandrel, it's a very short travel, a 1/16th of an inch or so . Lower the ram and see if your bullet still slides freely in /out of the neck. If the die is doing it's job, it will be properly sized. That's all it takes. I usually size the neck twice, after the first stroke sizing, lower the ram slightly and spin the case 180º and size again.
It's a good idea to take the die apart and put a little grease on the outside of the collet fingers. It will help not letting the fingers of the collet to stick.
I use the Collet die with a Redding Body Die when the cases need a F/L shoulder bump. The combination makes very accurate ammunition. I have two mandrels, one under size for thin brass and standard size for thicker brass.
snuffy
Member
The first Lee collet die I bought was for my son's Browning A-Bolt in 7-08. I set it up according to Lee's poor destructions, but the bullets could easily be pushed further into the case. The seating force was very minimal. I turned the die further into the threads, lowering the whole die to increase the force on the ram. CABLEWEY went the aluminum top cap!
IIRC the threads were 5/8X 24, but my memory is always suspect. I was taking a machining course at the local tech college, so in doing a personal project, I made a cap out of steel. Threading on a lathe is fun, and not too hard to do. it works quite well.
BUT that is not the problem! No matter how much force is put on the collet, it cannot size the neck enough if the mandrel is too big. Lee makes them too big! They even admit it by offering a smaller mandrel for sale as a solution to not enough bullet/neck tension.
OR you can reduce the diameter of the mandrel as said above. Simply chuck it in a drill motor, use some fine Emory paper, (I used 600 grit), reduce the diameter about .002. Polish with some 1000 grit, try a case to see if it increases the bullet pull enough.
Single shot and bolt guns don't need a lot of neck tension to hold bullets. BUT some slower powders need maximum bullet pull to retard initial movement of the bullet for better powder burning. I would certainly try for max neck tensions on the big belted magnums. That long column of slow burning powder might spit the bullet out of the neck at first pressure build up.
IIRC the threads were 5/8X 24, but my memory is always suspect. I was taking a machining course at the local tech college, so in doing a personal project, I made a cap out of steel. Threading on a lathe is fun, and not too hard to do. it works quite well.
BUT that is not the problem! No matter how much force is put on the collet, it cannot size the neck enough if the mandrel is too big. Lee makes them too big! They even admit it by offering a smaller mandrel for sale as a solution to not enough bullet/neck tension.
OR you can reduce the diameter of the mandrel as said above. Simply chuck it in a drill motor, use some fine Emory paper, (I used 600 grit), reduce the diameter about .002. Polish with some 1000 grit, try a case to see if it increases the bullet pull enough.
Single shot and bolt guns don't need a lot of neck tension to hold bullets. BUT some slower powders need maximum bullet pull to retard initial movement of the bullet for better powder burning. I would certainly try for max neck tensions on the big belted magnums. That long column of slow burning powder might spit the bullet out of the neck at first pressure build up.
RecoilRob
Member
Lee has no way of knowing how thick your case necks are going to be, and I'd rather have to polish down a mandrel to get the tension I want rather than having things too tight right off the bat. The Lee Collet dies work great for many calibers and are priced low enough that I don't mind needing to tune them to do what I want. And agree it shouldn't take much effort on the handle at all to size the neck...likely the mandrel is too big and you can't push hard enough to size a neck to an oversize mandrel. On mine you can easily feel the collet fingers contact the neck and then when they contact the mandrel at the end of the sizing stroke. Very easy!
Elkins45
Member
If the mandrel is too big just remove it. Then you'll get maximum neck squeeze. You'll just have to decal separately.
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