Lee dies messing up?
 

I have the Lee hand press and a set of Lee dies for loading 22-250. (BTW, I don't know the proper terminology on some of this stuff so bear with me) When I was using the sizing die the "pin" that de-primes the shell got stuck in the neck of the case and pulled out of the die. Ruined the case and got it out, cleaned the little extra lube out of the die and off the pin. (Wasn't alot, but I figured 'while I'm here') Next shell...same thing!!! 2 ruined cases!! Sooo...I put the pin back in the die, clamp everything down good and try a third case. The down stroke went fine, like usual, and then on the upstroke the pin stuck in the case again and pulled out of die with hardly any effort.


I just set it down and walked away.[:@] Is the die ruined from repeately pulling the pin out? What in the world caused to to do this now? I've loaded 30 cases before without problem.

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

When you say pin, you mean pin+expander ball? I thought the lees expander ball was screwed on the treaded stem? I would like to hear more about it.

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

First off,you must really tighten the nut that holds the pin,as you call it.I mean real tight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Next,you must put alittle lube on the inside of the case neck!
Man,you won't belive how tight you must make that pin nut?Use two wrenches to do it,not the press.
Been there and done it!!!!!!!

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

Yep, I've had the same problem, only with my 7mm-08. I've tightened the H E double L out of the nut on top and still have had it pull out! I leave enough of the shaft above the die body, then clamp a pair of needle nose vicegrips on the shaft. That worked.

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

I'd have thought a two 12" crescents would be enough. I'll try again and maybe use a the vise-grip idea. Glad I'm not alone, but wish the thing would just work right to begin with.

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

Do you lube your inside necks? On really tough jobs, look at imperial sizing wax. Very slick stuff.

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

Clean the decapping pin with some type of degreaser. Get all traces of oil off of it, then sldie it back into the collet. I put the die body in a vise, and the use a box end wrench to tighten the collet to hold the pin. The pin is designed to slide up thru the collet if it hits something. Sometimes they do pull out if they are not tight. Put a bit of case lube on the case mouth, that will help as well.

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

Soilarch:

The very same thing happened to me with my only set of Lee dies. I tightened the collet so much I stripped it. I sent the dies back to Lee and they replaced them. I suggest you send them back with a note explaining your dilemma. I never purchased another set of Lee dies. [:@][:@]Good luck.

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

If I read right, somewhere, the whole "floating decapping pin" design was to keep you breaking them. In which case the pin would only need to travel 'up' away from the case...why didn't Lee put a lip on the top of the pin to keep it from pulling 'down' and out through the die? Oh well, if I can't get things to work out I guess I'll send it in. There carbine pistol dies were/are doing great. I'll pick up some different lube too, been using the Lee lube that came with the hand press.

Thanks guys

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

been there too except the expander ball/decapper rod was pushed the other way (up) trying to decap some pmc 223 brass after that happened i realized pmc crimps their primers into the case.... Oooops!! after resetting the expander ball/decapper rod I didnt get it tight enough and it pushed up again just decapping some federal match 223 brass......... When we say tight you have really tighten it somewhere in the ballpark of about 75 to 85 inch pounds.

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

that lee lube is ok not really all that good, Id get some rcbs case lube or better yet get some One Shot case lube.

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

I'm a little lost as to what is happening with your dies. Is your decapping pin pulling out or is your expander stem whats coming out? I have 4 sets of lee dies and love them, never a problem of any kind.Are you having trouble with just one brand of brass, If so could the flash holes in your brass be undersize. As for case lube I like Dillon's in the pump spray bottle. I don't lube anything I can size with Lee's collet size dies, one mess I don't have to deal with. I've replaced my RCBS press with a Lee 4 hole turret,and I have a Lee hand press,and I'm very satisfied with both of them.I've got a set of RCBS dies in 30-06 and the decapping pin was so out of center I had to insert a screwdriver into the die body and bend the stem to center it up ,so I dont like them very much!

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

Okay, I think I got the issue under control but here is exactly what is happening:

I feed the case up into the die. The pin that de-primes the case fits into the neck and flash hole just fine. However, when I try to take case out of the die the bulge in the "pin" as I'm calling it (the bulge that makes sure the inside neck diameter is acceptable) gets stuck...so much so that it yanks the pin (the 'bulge' and pin are same piece of metal) right out of the die. I'm left with a case with pin stuck in it that has to be wiggled out of the neck.

A little clearer?[&:]

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

Of the 8 or 10 sets of lee dies I've used I had one that would slip. I used some 100 grit sand paper and scuffed the top of the "pin". That fixed it right up.

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

thats a good idea I might try that sometime

RE: Lee dies messing up?
 

Sounds to me like you have a dirty set of dies & it is making the neck to small
Have you tried cleaning them???????????
Case lube will build up in a die then dry after some time & lee lube is noted for it.