Alternate Uses of the Lee Factory Crimp Die

[Ricochet]

A few days ago remshooter asked if he could use a 30-06 Factory Crimp Die for 30-30. Fishhawk and I told him he could use it by holding the cartridge upside down in the top of the FCD. Today I did a very similar thing. I'm loading for an 1889 Swiss rifle with 7.5X55 mm brass cut back to 53.5mm, and avoiding overworking the necks by avoiding sizing and using paper patched bullets that fit into the expanded necks. I initially used .314" boolits in the Prvi Partizan cases to fireform them. I found that they required a bit of extra effort to chamber them, and after firing the case mouths were pinched down to .312". I had to cut them all the way back to 53.5mm to eliminate the pinch in my chamber. Sure, the Swiss GP90/23 was 54.5mm long, but it used a .308" FMJ bullet which would come out of that .312" opening without interference. After trimming and chamfering, the I.D. of my necks was .321", a nice snug fit for the .316" NuJudge boolits I'd patched up to .323". Anyway, after all this long background, the point is that the fat necks mean that these cases have problems with Lee 7.55X55mm dies. Can't use them with either the full length or collet neck sizing dies, they have to be decapped with the generic Lee decapping die. They just barely will go into the seating die, for which I'm grateful as I didn't have an alternative. I had to put a little flare on the cases with the generic Lee flaring die to seat the bullets without tearing the patches, but that left the problem of taking the flare out. (Actually, a good firm forward shove of the operating handle would chamber the cartridges and removed the flare perfectly, but I prefer them to go in easily.) No way would those necks go into the 7.5X55mm FCD. I thought they might work in an 8mm Mauser FCD, but the 8mm case body is much smaller than the 7.5, so it was no go. But I could turn the cartridges upside down, insert the case mouths into the jaws of the 8mm FCD collet, and adjust the die so that it just took the flare out when the press ram was raised. The results were perfect.

The other nonstandard use I make of the FCDs is to crimp on gas checks. Sometimes you need a fatter checked boolit than you have a sizing die for. You may want to use the unsized, as cast diameter of the boolit, but that check's got to get crimped. Well, push the gas check on the shank of the boolit, hold the boolit with the check just into the top of the FCD collet, and adjust the die so it just crimps the check to the boolit diameter when the ram is raised. Perfect solution.

Sometimes you don't have a purpose made tool around, and you've got to improvise with what you've got.

[Quiettime]

Do you have to rotate the checked boolit and crimp it again?

[Dryball]

Very interesting...I may be thick headed but how does the collet close without the case?

[Mk42gunner]

In Lee's rifle crimp dies the collet is actuated by the shell holder pushing it up into the die body.

Robert

[runfiverun]

the shell holder pushes on it.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

...snip...
No way would those necks go into the 7.5X55mm FCD. I thought they might work in an 8mm Mauser FCD, but the 8mm case body is much smaller than the 7.5, so it was no go. But I could turn the cartridges upside down, insert the case mouths into the jaws of the 8mm FCD collet, and adjust the die so that it just took the flare out when the press ram was raised. The results were perfect.

The other nonstandard use I make of the FCDs is to crimp on gas checks. Sometimes you need a fatter checked boolit than you have a sizing die for. You may want to use the unsized, as cast diameter of the boolit, but that check's got to get crimped. Well, push the gas check on the shank of the boolit, hold the boolit with the check just into the top of the FCD collet, and adjust the die so it just crimps the check to the boolit diameter when the ram is raised. Perfect solution.

Sometimes you don't have a purpose made tool around, and you've got to improvise with what you've got.

I think I just read what I will re-post in a future thread that might be titled, "what new hint, tip, or trick did you learn in 2014"

[Ricochet]

Rotating the check a little and repeating the crimp is probably good practice, but not necessary. Same with neck sizing and crimping cases.

[mdi]

The Lee FCD for handgun ammo can made a fairly decent fishing weight...

[texassako]

I do the same thing to get a crimp on heeled bullets. .30-06 FCD for .32 Colt and a .405 Win FCD for 10.4x52r Italian. I cut posts that look like the rams for Lee's sizing dies to consistently hold the cartridge up where I want the crimp to go.

[ReloaderEd]

Very informative thanks. Be safe.

[Johnny_V]

Although not Cast bullets and not the Lee brand, I use my Dillon 40 S&W crimp die as a neck sizer for my 45 ACP shotshell cases. As they say "Necessity is the mother of invention". Besides, RCBS wants over $300.00 for a set of case forming dies for this caliber...
118413

[montana_charlie]

I use the 45/70 FCD with my 45/90 brass.
The .3" difference in case length means I need a .3" thick bushing riding the case as the ram is raised, so that the bushing (not the shell holder) activates the crimping collet.

I run the case up into the FCD and insert a .460" expander slug in the case mouth as it nears the top.
As the ram is raised to full extension, the FCD lightly presses the end of the casemouth against the expander slug, to 'iron out' any amount of inward 'curl' that may exist.

That 'wire edge' (when present) makes it tough to thumb seat groove diameter paper patched bullets.

CM

[Messy bear]

The Lee FCD for handgun ammo can made a fairly decent fishing weight...
I just knew this was coming

[jmort]

Yes indeed, old predictable broken record.

[mdi]

I just knew this was coming
Not a Lee Hater/Basher, just my opinion on a specific product, in a joking manner...

[Bullshop]

I use Lee FCD to put a body crimp on cases to limit how far a boolit will go into a case. Body crimps were at one time very common on straight wall cases in factory ammo. The location of the crimp is adjusted with a spacer that slides over the case being crimped one end contacting the rim of the case and the other end contacting the top of the crimp die when the case and spacer assembly is inserted from the top of the die.
I especially like this method for single shot rifles when target shooting where a tight neck fit is not wanted or needed with very soft alloy. I just prime the cases, put in the body crimp, charge the case and drop in the boolit.

[lbaize3]

I think I have just figured out a way to use the 223 factory crimp die on my 22 TCM. Been pondering the topic for a while now. Thanks!

[mac60]

I just knew this was coming

Yea, me too. I wondered how many posts I'd have to read before I saw it.

[rsrocket1]

I knew I should have bought blue.
Buy once, cry once.
:groner:

[RMc]

Although not Cast bullets and not the Lee brand, I use my Dillon 40 S&W crimp die as a neck sizer for my 45 ACP shotshell cases. As they say "Necessity is the mother of invention". Besides, RCBS wants over $300.00 for a set of case forming dies for this caliber...
118413

Great "out of the box" thinking!