Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles lee neck sizer not working.

I just bought a lee challenger press with .223 deluxe set of dies. the very first case I sized came out too large as a bullet would slide right through. when running it through a caliper, the expander pin measures 222.5" so it must be the inside. i set this up as per the directions and used some lube on a case in good condition. one other thing is that the full length sizer only seems to neck size. i have not tried the seater as i don't have powder or primers yet. most likely it's me but i nee a second opinion. someone please help.

No lube needed on the Lee collet die

Take die apart...clean well...put a drop or two of light

oil on collet fingers...reassemble and set die per instructions

I had the problem. Just qietly put all the stuff back in the case and got my Forster die set back out and went to work.
gary

My friend and I both had the same problem on the Lee collet dies we bought recently - the expander was too large. Measure the entire length of the expander - ours were larger at spots, not the entire length. We have been Lee users for years - their QC has really gone downhill the last couple years. Our .22-250 dies were at .225. They sent us a new expanding pin after we contacted them, but it is a pain to go through this.

Set the die down about a half turn more and give it a try.

thanks, i'll try all of the above.

been there turned the expander down to where i wanted it but that finished me with lee collet dies. won't ever buy one again

If it doesn't work out with the above contact Lee, they will make it right! Excellent customer service.

thanks, i checked the expander over the full length and it is to specs. must be the collet. i'll be calling lee in the morning to make it right. by the way, how hard should it be to push a case through the full length sizer? i'm on the threshold of my one-arm strength and shell still won't go more than a quarter inch from all the way into the die. plus, it rips the nickle off my cases. i use plain brass with the same problem.

Put the dies back in the box, go get a set of RCBS or Redding dies which is my preference, and problems will disappear.

Swifty

Sounds like the die is bad, send it back to LEE.

"... i checked the expander over the full length and it is to specs. must be the collet."

Oh? What are the "specs"?

That collet neck die is totally unique. There is no 'expander', it's a neck forming mandral and it should be about 3-4 thou under bullet diameter. Sanding the mandral down more than that is harmful to accuracy. After the sized necks spring back, the inside should be 1-2 thou smaller than the bullet diameter.

Most collet die sizing failures are because you need to turn the die down further and/or push the lever harder. Read and follow the directions to the letter, noting the approximate 20# of lever pressure required to fully form the necks. Pushing too hard will result in stripping out the die's alum. top cap, it's made to do that to keep agressive users from destroying either the die or press.

Anyone having problems pushing a case into a standard FL sizer has a lube problem, it's no more complex than that. Either you aren't applying your case lube well enough or not lubing the lower, thicker part of the case well enough. Or are misusing One-Shot.

I have never seen an Lee mandrel/ decapping pin that was the wrong size. I have incorrectly adjusted a Lee collet neck die. I have even broken an RCBS Rockchucker with a Lee Collet neck die incorrectly adjusted. [They beefed up the casting design after I sent my broken rockchucker back.]

The Lee Collet neck die is a marvelous piece of engineering, crudely made, but always works perfectly when adjusted correctly.

They leave Redding "S" dies in the dirt, when it comes to producing concentric ammo.

But the Reddings leave the Lee in the dirt with aesthetics.
So I now polish the Collet neck dies when I get them, so they will feel smother at the press handle.
Here is how I bond with my babies when I get them:

I am now polishing the Lee collet dies in the lathe [see above before and after pics]:
a) collet
b) collar
c) mandrel/ decapping pin

+1

The LCD produces the most concentric cartridges I've ever used.

You just voided the Lee Precision warranty...just kidding.

Good job.

Once I got the hang of die set up I took back all the bad things I called Lee...

Lee's collet neck die is a tool with a moving part, the collet itself, so no simple by-the-numbers setup is possible. That means like reloading itself, the die has a learning curve; it's not a simplistic 'push the case in, pull the case out' thing like conventional neck dies. Those who learn to use it - correctly - usually love it. Those who can't, or won't, learn to use it correctly usually hate it.

Polishing the cone surfaces improves the feel, and I do it for that, but polishing rarely makes the die work any better.

lee neck sizers definalty need a LOT of pressure on the press arm.

And some lube on the inside of the neck - at least on my 6.5x55 die. otherwise it sticks solid.

Lee recommeneds about 25# of pressure on the press IIRC. It takes enough to compress the metal against the mandrel but too much and you`ll blow the top off the die. There is a fairly fine line between enough and too much in my experiance. You can only compress the neck so much and any more pressure is useless

FWIW, once you run the case up into the die and feel the primer pop out, I then lean on the press handle and you can feel it size the neck, you can definitely feel the neck "squish" and then it stops. Depending on how generous your chamber neck is cut this can be more or less, on my custom chambers it is definitely less, but it's still there.

As you note, once you feel it size down there is no use putting more pressure on it. I do turn the case 180 deg. and size again, trying to give the same amount of pressure as the first pass but I've never felt it size the case more on the second squeeze.

I do love these Lee collet dies, there are literally about four or five hundred dollars worth of Redding competition S dies sitting in a drawer here unused, all retired and replaced by Lee collets. It would be great if we could get Lee designs manufactured with Redding quality - that would be the best of both worlds.

I'm sure somebody would squeal about the cost increase.