It'll be easy they said. . .

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

I don't particularly like the Lee FCD's sizing ring for my 9mm dies. I read here that the carbide ring can be easily tapped out.

So I drove on it a bit with a light hammer and it didn't budge. Next I sandwiched the die between blocks of wood in the table vise and hit it with a heavier hammer. Still didn't budge. Moved up to a 2 lb maul and proceeded to bend the 3/8" driving rod.

Anyone else deal with a stubborn carbide ring?

For $14 it is looking easier to just get a Lee Taper Crimp Die. I see the taper crimp die is set by adjusting the entire die body whereas the factory crimp die uses the little knurled knob on the top to adjust crimp - is this any great advantage?

[TCFAN]

I agree I have never been able to knock one of those carbide ring out of my Lee carbide factory crimp dies.The lee taper crimp die work for me as well as the factory crimp die that they make for the 357 and 44 mag. That die has no carbide ring.

[onelight]

I don't particularly like the Lee FCD's sizing ring for my 9mm dies. I read here that the carbide ring can be easily tapped out.

So I drove on it a bit with a light hammer and it didn't budge. Next I sandwiched the die between blocks of wood in the table vise and hit it with a heavier hammer. Still didn't budge. Moved up to a 2 lb maul and proceeded to bend the 3/8" driving rod.

Anyone else deal with a stubborn carbide ring?

For $14 it is looking easier to just get a Lee Taper Crimp Die. I see the taper crimp die is set by adjusting the entire die body whereas the factory crimp die uses the little knurled knob on the top to adjust crimp - is this any great advantage?

The crimp adjustment on the factory crimp die Is convenient but that is the only advantage.
I would get a taper crimp die and keep the factory crimp for special occasions.
I had a few thousand rounds I had worked up for 2 of my nines that shot and functioned well.
The next nine I bought had a tight chamber and would not go into battery , a pass through the factory crimp and they shot and functioned great. The purpose of the factory crimp is to make loaded round dimensions close to the specs of factory loads .

[cwlongshot]

BJJ,
what are you attempting to achieve?

CW

[mdi]

Maybe because of my background (life long machinist/mechanic) I had no trouble knocking the ring out of the FCD I had. I clamped the lock ring in my vise with the bottom, or mouth of the die down. With the innards removed I was able to use a regular steel punch and punch the ring out from the top. The exposed part of the ring is small so a sharp corner on the punch is needed to get a good "bite" on the ring. I don't think brass or a "dull" punch with rounded face will work...

[farmerjim]

I did mine exactly the way mdi did his.

[onelight]

I agree I have never been able to knock one of those carbide ring out of my Lee carbide factory crimp dies.The lee taper crimp die work for me as well as the factory crimp die that they make for the 357 and 44 mag. That die has no carbide ring.

They must have changed the revolver FCD the set I just received has a carbide sizer ring but unlike the auto sets it seems to be more of a bulge buster I can push an unsized case into it by hand so it does nothing unless you have a bulge that would not chamber.

[TCFAN]

They must have changed the revolver FCD the set I just received has a carbide sizer ring but unlike the auto sets it seems to be more of a bulge buster I can push an unsized case into it by hand so it does nothing unless you have a bulge that would not chamber.

This is the die for the 357 that I am talking about. They also make it for other handgun rounds.

https://leeprecision.com/357-magnum-...crimp-die.html

[gpidaho]

The Lee collet style crimp dies are my favorite. They work great for just removing the flare all the way up to a very firm crimp for heavy revolver loads. A much better choice than the standard Lee factory crimp die in my opinion. Gp

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

BJJ,
what are you attempting to achieve?

CW

Having gone to a progressive press, I don't like the feel of the re-sizing action when everything else is going on. I also don't like that it makes the brass dirty (a pride in workmanship thing I guess).

I don't really get much leading problem. And a pulled bullet is still .356 which is what I size 'em to. So the problems aren't really serious. I just thought that if popping out the carbide ring is as easy as I've been reading, I'd give it a try.

[mdi]

Once again someone just says "FCD" without stating which FCD they are talking about (IIRC Lee has 3 crimp dies they call FCD; an FCD for straight sided handgun rounds, a post crimping sizing die. A collet crimp die for bottle necked cartridges, and and FCD, collet style for straight sided hand gun cartridges)

[1hole]

As Mr. Onelight says (#3), the purpose of Lee's post seating sizer ring is to make sure the loaded ammo will reliably feed and chamber in any factory standard chamber; that's a good thing ... I think.

IF the shooter's gun has a large chamber and a minimum FL sizer die AND doesn't use excessively large diameter bullets or thick brass he may not benefit from the post sizer function at all. Thus, using that die and post sizer ring potentially can/may/will degrade accuracy a tad.

There is a potential downside to reloading defense ammo, especially for autoloaders. If the chamber is tight, or if the FL sizer is on the loose side, or if the brass is thick, or if the bullets are cast/sized a bit too large for the chamber (not uncommon) an autoloader can get a really tight jam and clearing it in a gunfight is a very bad thing to experience.

My hand guns' primary function is to arm me in a gunfight. Then I won't be worried about 3" groups at 50 yd vs. 2" groups. My goal is 100% reliable feeding in my defense weapons and I'm quite willing to accept a (possible) slight loss in accuracy at the range for total reliability in the field. Lee's handgun FCD and it's post seating sizer ring assures me I have useable ammo the moment it comes out of the seater; I like that. Obviously, there is no way I'm going to remove that sizer ring from my Lee carbide seaters but some others have different goals.

[kmw1954]

Once again someone just says "FCD" without stating which FCD they are talking about (IIRC Lee has 3 crimp dies they call FCD; an FCD for straight sided handgun rounds, a post crimping sizing die. A collet crimp die for bottle necked cartridges, and and FCD, collet style for straight sided hand gun cartridges)

Confusing!

As I recall there is the Taper Crimp die, Carbide Factory Crimp die, Collet Crimp die and the combination Seating Crimp die. Which is the Post Crimping Die?

[Winger Ed.]

"It'll be easy...……" I avoid those conversations as much as the ones that start out with, "All ya gotta do".

[Drydock]

I suspect no one was there to hold your beer and watch . . .

[Ozark mike]

Drydock haha
As far as fcd I've only used the standard dies they've been sufficient for me thought about getting one but until then hope mine keep holding

[mdi]

Confusing!

As I recall there is the Taper Crimp die, Carbide Factory Crimp die, Collet Crimp die and the combination Seating Crimp die. Which is the Post Crimping Die?

Post crimping sizing die. The die sizes the cartridge after the crimp. (post = after)
Few posters mention "carbide" in Carbide Factory Crimp Die, adding confusion. Nearly every seating die, by all die manufacturers, will also crimp thus "combination seating crimping die". Taper crimp die and collet crimp die, self explanatory...

[megasupermagnum]

To remove the ring form a carbide FCD can be easy. I messed up my first die, same as you. I realized a few things my first try, and the rest (10-15) have been 60 second easy peasy jobs. One, you need a way to hold the die. I found a 7/8" steel nut, they can also be purchased, and this is the best way to hold a die. You can really crank it into the vice, and it wont move easily. Two, the sizing ring sits inside the die against a lip. I pounded away on the first one not realizing my punch was actually too big. I found an old pushrod from an engine, and that turned out to be ideal for smaller ones. Something with a rounded end works well, but a regular punch can work as long as it's the right size. Three, use heat. You can get them out without it, but it seems Lee puts the rings in with epoxy. With just a quick hit from the torch, the rings come out in just 2-3 hits. Don't bother with small hammers. I believe the hammer I use is a good size framing hammer.


I don't know about the taper crimp FCD, but I do know that for revolver, if you can get the collet FCD, that is the cats meow. For everything I can't get the collet crimp die, I use a carbide FCD, and knock the sizing ring out. Once you get it, the rest are super easy to knock out.

[onelight]

Lee causes the confusion the factory crimp RIFLE die is a collet die .
The factory crimp PISTOL dies are post sizing dies with a carbide sizing ring and a carbide crimp ring. And to add another bit the AUTO pistol dies size each round you can feel it bump over the bullet.
The REVOLVER factory crimp die has the carbide sizing ring but it does not size unless there a major bulge case or bullet.
And lee offers the collet die TCFAN has. even though lee calls it a factory crimp die in rifles for pistols it is just a collet die. The large variety of crimp dies is great to have available but the names are confusing.

[megasupermagnum]

Lee causes the confusion the factory crimp RIFLE die is a collet die .
The factory crimp PISTOL dies are post sizing dies with a carbide sizing ring and a carbide crimp ring. And to add another bit the AUTO pistol dies size each round you can feel it bump over the bullet.
The REVOLVER factory crimp die has the carbide sizing ring but it does not size unless there a major bulge case or bullet.
And lee offers the collet die TCFAN has. even though lee calls it a factory crimp die in rifles for pistols it is just a collet die. The large variety of crimp dies is great to have available but the names are confusing.

I agree completely, although I only separate them into two groups. The carbide FCD, and the collet FCD. Mechanically, collet crimp dies are identical whether it is handgun or rifle. carbide FCD's are also the same for both revolver (roll crimp) and pistol (taper crimp), both have a sizing ring. It would do us all justice if Lee would call the carbide crimp die something else, and drop the "factory" nomenclature of both. Both styles could theoretically be made in any caliber, although the carbide FCD I believe is exclusively a handgun crimp die for now. The collet FCD is best known (although rarely applied) in rifles, but is available in a number of revolver cartridges; a job it does phenomenally well.

Lee also makes a die called a "taper crimp die", but I just pretend it doesn't exist. As far as I can tell, it's nothing but a seating die without a seating plug.