Lee 'u' dies and sized .45 cases with that little ring near the rim

[1-12 INF (M)]

When I use 'regular' Lee dies, my sized .45 ACP cases are left with a little area that looks un-resized, about 1/16" wide just above the case rims. My Lee 'U' dies don't leave that little mark, but my finished cases look a little bulged with a .451 projectile seated. In both cases, all the loaded cartridges function fine - this is a 'looks' question.

Is there a die on the market that won't leave that little 'line' towards the bottom, yet won't have a bulged appearance around the projectile?

 

[243winxb]

Redding makes a Duel Ring carbide sizing die . https://www.redding-reloading.com/on...g-carbide-dies

Only $115.

 

[Walkalong]

Is there a die on the market that won't leave that little 'line' towards the bottom, yet won't have a bulged appearance around the projectile?

Yes, and every maker makes them. If yours is doing putting a ridge down low, have them replace it. If all you are seeing is a visual cue where the die stops, don't worry about it. A little bit of "bulge" look at the bottom of the bullet is a good thing.

It's all a matter of manufacturing tolerances, and the variances in case wall thickness. Sometimes it comes out perfect and the is no bulge below the bullet yet neck tension is good, and no ugly down low either. If it leaves a ridge you can feel with your fingernail down low the die is bad. If it leaves a bulged look down low you have t adjusted too low or it is just real tight and adjusting it up a hair may help.

Got pics?

 

[1-12 INF (M)]

I noticed this esp. when I saw the MidwayUSA write-up on the U dies that says - "The solid carbide insert is ground to a special contour that doesn't leave a belt mark on the case..." I'll see what I can do about pics.

 

[Walkalong]

The solid carbide insert is ground to a special contour that doesn't leave a belt mark on the case

All sizers should do this, if they do not they have been improperly machined with too sharp of and edge at the entrance of the carbide ring. I had a Lee U die that left a horrible ridge near the base of the brass. I tossed it. Not pointing fingers at Lee, I had a Redding .45 ACP sizer that did this. Redding told me I had the die too far down, BS, adjusting it up did no good. It was a replacement for a Redding .45 sizer that the carbide ring came out of. Every maker has mistakes. I threw it away and bought another brand sizer, and it works like a charm with it adjusted just as far down as I had the Redding before it and the RCBS before that, which also did not leave a ridge. I have two RCBS .45 sizers. Neither leaves a ridge, but one is too loose for Remington brass and the other is tighter than Dick's hat band. I bought a Redding to replace them and it was perfect, until the ring came out. Redding replaced it with the defective die, but would not do anything about the bad die. I threw it away and bought a Lyman sizer, works great. I haven't bought another Redding product since, and I have a lot of them.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Redding makes a Duel Ring carbide sizing die . https://www.redding-reloading.com/on...g-carbide-dies

Only $115.

Well, you could wait for them to go on sale...I got mine (.38Spl) for $70

 

[forrest r]

You're dealing with 2 separate issues.

The lee u-die fixed the "un-resized 1/16" above the rim. That's issue #1

Issue #2/wasp waist or bullet bulge:
This happens when the expander ball in the expander die is too short/too small. Your cases are getting sized smaller than normal and the lee expanders leave a lot to be desired. A lyman m-die that has the "step" at the top of the expander ball along with a long body that expands the case where it counts the most. At the base of the bullet.

A factory lee expander next to a lyman m-die expander. The lyman is designed to expand the case my going all the way to the top of the step (see picture above). The lee has a wear ring on it left there from the 45acp cases being expanded. As you can see the lee expander only goes 1/2 as deep into the case as the m-die. When seating bullets in cases that were expanded with the lee expander die. The bullets themselves are expanding the case as they are seated. The end result is the bullets can be swaged down, seat angled, have huge differences in neck tension which destroys accuracy.


I've used lyman m-die expanders for decades, now rcbs and others have their own version of a m-die. That or I'll make my own expander ball to use in the lee expander die. A custom expander ball I made to use on 9mm's.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

On my rifle calibers I use the NOE expander plugs that fit into the Lee expander body. I stopped screwing around with this expander stuff and went straight to NOE. I'd be tempted to ask what brand of brass comes out with the belt?

Addendum: I will be glad to pay shipping on those dies you guys are trashing.

 

[1-12 INF (M)]

Okay - based on this I think I'll get a Lyman m expander, and sizer die.

 

[1-12 INF (M)]

I think I'll replace the Lee dies on my Dillon 550 with Lyman ones.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

No problem with my antique Lyman dies. I use Winchester brass. You have a .125th. of an inch that not being sized plus the bevel from the dies. Save the Redding two ring, carbide dies size the case into a cylinder....right? If this ring or bulge showed up in several brands of brass and several brands of sizing die could it be possible that the handgun may be part of the problem? Seating that M too deep is going to make another set of problems. Dillon has improved their expander and is forsale separately. Could that belt be over specs?

 

[Walkalong]

For similar money I would buy RCBS over Lyman.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

If I were dealing with situations that pointed to the dies RCBS would be choice #1. Their response to reloading problems is legendary. What's next if the RCBS dies are returned as within specs while the "belt" persist?

Would the U may be the wrong Lee die to be using in the first. It's described as being made smaller than standard Lee dies for reliability. Looks like that may be part of this belt problem. If it's a "looks" problem. Start simple. Try another brand of brass.