Strange Lee Die

[mdi]

You do have to keep in mind that reloaders originally get into the activity because they do not like the cost of purchased ammo. They already have the personal characteristics of being cheap. Being cheap does not equate with buying the best quality. Being cheap does not even equate with buying the best value. It usually just equates with buying the item from the "lowest price bidder".

Not so! And a pretty arrogant statement to boot. Of the few reloaders I know, many start out wanting to get more involved in their shooting, wanting "custom ammo", and some (like me) out of plain curiosity. None are known for being cheap (just wondering, are you qualified to analyze personalities?). And this reply sounds like a "tool snob" I worked with that only makes purchases by price, "if it cost the most, it's gotta be the best, right?"

I'm a lifelong machinist/mechanic and perhaps this is why I very rarely have any Lee problems, certainly no more than most other reloading tool/equipment manufacturers, and being a heavy equipment electrician/mechanic for the last 25 years of my career I know to use shop/repair manuals and I know how to read instructions. And I'm just a plain old Chevy PU guy that has no need to impress anyone with my tool/equipment choices so I don't mind if some see all the Lee tools/equipment I use...

[gpidaho]

The Lee collet neck sizing dies are the bet product in the Lee line in my opinion. Gp

[44magLeo]

I think a lot of the Lee haters hate them just because they are inexpensive. They think if they sell at that price they must be junk.
I doubt a lot of them have tried Lee tools.
There are a few that bought Lee and were not satisfied and call all Lee tools junk.
I like Lee. I have found some of their products need a bit of tuning to get right. Mostly keep them clean and the collets lubed.
Leo

[onelight]

I think a lot of the Lee haters hate them just because they are inexpensive. They think if they sell at that price they must be junk.
I doubt a lot of them have tried Lee tools.
There are a few that bought Lee and were not satisfied and call all Lee tools junk.
I like Lee. I have found some of their products need a bit of tuning to get right. Mostly keep them clean and the collets lubed.
Leo

I agree .
the handgun 4 die factory crimp sets are a good example a lot of members that I have a huge amount of respect for post inaccurate information on them . What they say about the dies for auto pistols is accurate the carbide crimp die will make that cartridge match factory dimensions .
That is the point of it , that is what it is designed to do and it works . All the ammo I load with it works in all my autos and the guns of family and friends that shoot it.
The revolver. 4 die sets do not size the bullet in the carbide crimp die a fired unsized case will drop through to the rim as will my loaded cast .
I like the fact that the revolver dies have a taper crimp in the bullet seating die and a roll crimp in the carbide crimp die. I also like the way the seating and crimp adjustments do not have lock rings. They also come with a neck expander that works with Lees press mount measures .
I prefer the Lee 4 die sets to the other brands I have , unless I have a special purpose.
I don't knock other brands because they function differently , I likeum all just depends on what I want to do.....

[MT Chambers]

It's a Lee neck sizer that can be used for any cartridge, any caliber, it depends on how much downward force you want to put on it.

[ukrifleman]

When Lee came out with a $9.99 boolit mould that included the handles I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread . Finally someone made moulds I could afford . When you are in high school and only get $3.50 for mowing a lawn...you don't have much of a budget to buy the Lyman moulds and they cost extra if you wanted a handle .
Lee got me started in this hobby by making affordable stuff and I will always remember that .
Not all of us have unlimited spending capabilities .
Gary

This side of the pond, I can buy a perfectly serviceable 2 cavity Lee mould for change out of £24 including handles. A RCBS 140gn 2 cavity was £89 without handles, What would you do?
ukrifleman

[EDG]

Those are usually called defects.
I have Lee and many other brands. Lower quality is a part of the price you pay with the lower priced product.

I think a lot of the Lee haters hate them just because they are inexpensive. They think if they sell at that price they must be junk.
I doubt a lot of them have tried Lee tools.
There are a few that bought Lee and were not satisfied and call all Lee tools junk.
I like Lee. I have found some of their products need a bit of tuning to get right. Mostly keep them clean and the collets lubed.
Leo

[Jniedbalski]

To me it looks part lee speed die for pistol.

[onelight]

Those are usually called defects.
I have Lee and many other brands. Lower quality is a part of the price you pay with the lower priced product.

Are you making a joke ? name one brand of equipment any one uses on this forum that is not modified and upgraded by the members here . They are amazing in the ingenuity they show in improving modifying and adapting tools to work the way they want .
The posts about instruction , mods and improvements to Dillon or Hornady or any other brand does not mean THEY are junk or not worth what they cost.

[BigEyeBob]

Lees collet neck sizing dies are great value ,I have a few of them ,and some Ive modified for Australian Wildcat cartridges like the 303/270 .Where and Australian made Simplex neck sizing die for the above cartridge is 117.00AUD ,for the one die .I have Lee die sets , bullet moulds , lead hardness tester , boolit sizing dies etc , I find them functional ,well made and great value .I have several other brands of loading dies from major manufacturers ,and some custom made for cartridges not in the lists of any manufacturers ,they all work and do the job .

[EDG]

No joking man. Perhaps you do not work in engineering and manufacturing where zero defects are the standard. Current quality practice in many parts of industry is 6 sigma. If you don't know the statistics 6 sigma will insure that you will have 3.4 defects or less per 1 million opportunities. By those standards Lee is a cottage industry.

Name one brand other than Lee that has it own sticky thread for reworking new molds before they are ever used.
You may be impressed by their ingenuity but I am not. I worked around ingenious people all my life.
Those same people were modifying loading tools long before Lee came along. Since Lee is a late comer you would think they could copy the right design features to avoid a lot of reworking of their tools but that is not how it turned out. Instead Lee tools get reworked due to both design and manufacturing shortcomings.

Are you making a joke ? name one brand of equipment any one uses on this forum that is not modified and upgraded by the members here . They are amazing in the ingenuity they show in improving modifying and adapting tools to work the way they want .
The posts about instruction , mods and improvements to Dillon or Hornady or any other brand does not mean THEY are junk or not worth what they cost.

[onelight]

EDG
You are very knowledgeable about equipment , and there is are no doubt that there are better built tools than Lee I have two Lee presses that I use nearly every week that have 0 modifications they work as designed do I think a Dillon is better it should be if it's not it's a rip off for what it costs.
I don't need it , if I decide I do I will get one .I have equipment that works for me and thousands of other people load and shoot and enjoy reloading and casting with Lee tools , you measure quality any way you want but if the products were as bad as many say Lee would have been gone a long time ago. Lee makes some really entry level stuff that could get a guy on a tight budget started loading that will not satisfy more mature loaders but they also make tools that are used by loaders with many years of experience. The bottom line for me and the most important measurement for me is does it do the task I want it to do if it does I would be foolish to spend a dime more for another product that does the same thing.... unless I just like nice equipment more than the end product.
We will just have to each buy what we like and we will both be right.

[EDG]

You may have mistaken me for a Dillon fan which I am not.
No one started reloading on a tighter budget than I did. Fifty years later I have a lot of reloading equipment of almost every brand. Some of it was bought just because I was curious.
If Lee was as great as a lot of its fans claim all the other higher priced brands would have disappeared.
It takes more than owning and using only one brand to understand what is the best equipment for value and for function.

EDG
You are very knowledgeable about equipment , and there is are no doubt that there are better built tools than Lee I have two Lee presses that I use nearly every week that have 0 modifications they work as designed do I think a Dillon is better it should be if it's not it's a rip off for what it costs.
I don't need it , if I decide I do I will get one .I have equipment that works for me and thousands of other people load and shoot and enjoy reloading and casting with Lee tools , you measure quality any way you want but if the products were as bad as many say Lee would have been gone a long time ago. Lee makes some really entry level stuff that could get a guy on a tight budget started loading that will not satisfy more mature loaders but they also make tools that are used by loaders with many years of experience. The bottom line for me and the most important measurement for me is does it do the task I want it to do if it does I would be foolish to spend a dime more for another product that does the same thing.... unless I just like nice equipment more than the end product.
We will just have to each buy what we like and we will both be right.

[1hole]

The Lee collet neck sizing dies are the bet product in the Lee line in my opinion. Gp

GP, IF it is used correctly, Lee's is the best designed neck die available today, period. The problems most haters encounter lies in failing to recognise it's NOT like common "push the case in, pull the case out dies".

There is one moving part in the die and the user has to understand what it does and learn how to properly adjust and use it. Seems a lot of disgruntled Lee neck die users having problems are pointing at the die rather than the loose nut working the press.

[megasupermagnum]

GP, IF it is used correctly, Lee's is the best designed neck die available today, period. The problems most haters encounter lies in failing to recognise it's NOT like common "push the case in, pull the case out dies".

There is one moving part in the die and the user has to understand what it does and learn how to properly adjust and use it. Seems a lot of disgruntled Lee neck die users having problems are pointing at the die rather than the loose nut working the press.

Once they understand how the die works, there is no way they could hate it. The neck sizing die is pure genius. The fact that some people manage to set it up wrong is a strong point. If you even read a single sentence of the instructions, you realize there is almost no way to do it wrong unless you try. The die squeezes the neck around a mandrel, nothing more, nothing less. If the neck tension is too light, you need a smaller mandrel. Simple as that.

I see posts were guys say to adjust it farther in, or other goofy stuff. Having the press cam over like with a FL sizer can damage the collet die, but does work, although I do not do it. Other than that you are supposed to screw the die in so the ram pushes on the die, it does not matter how far, user preference, and pull the handle. It doesn't take a lot of force. It sounds too simple to be true, but that's all there is to it. For those of us who do not turn our necks, it is the best neck sizing die on the market, much more accurate than any bushing die due to varying neck thicknesses. We are not talking competition level accuracy here, but a consistent ID of the neck is what matters, the OD does not. A bushing die sizes the outside of the neck, and the ID is determined by the brass thickness (which can vary in thickness from one side to the other, and case to case), the Lee collet neck sizer sizes the ID to a consistent size no matter the brass.

The Lee neck sizing die is not the end all, be all, but most of us shooting cast bullets in bottle neck cartridges are shooting mild to moderate loads that don't cause the brass to become tight in the chamber for many firings. It cuts my reloading time at least by 2/3rds as I don't need to lube cases, cleaning is optional (it is not if I use lube), I choose a mandrel that does not need neck expanding, so all I do is run them very quickly through a basic lee expanding die which just barely flares the mouth. It also cuts down on brass trimming, and extends brass life for those of us who don't anneal or like setting a FL sizer just so to barely bump the shoulder.

[onelight]

You may have mistaken me for a Dillon fan which I am not.
No one started reloading on a tighter budget than I did. Fifty years later I have a lot of reloading equipment of almost every brand. Some of it was bought just because I was curious.
If Lee was as great as a lot of its fans claim all the other higher priced brands would have disappeared.
It takes more than owning and using only one brand to understand what is the best equipment for value and for function.

I started with a Lee loader used it a few years and did not buy any more Lee for probably 10 years.
I to have many brands of equipment and have had others I gave away or sold I am not so much a Lee fan as I am a fan of equipment that does what I want , I Would rather spend my money on guns and components than on equipment with capabilities I don't need we all get to make that choice , and almost all the equipment out there will do a reasonable job for basic reloading.
If I did a lot of case forming or making bullets on the press or shot competition my choices would be different I shoot for fun and to stay in practice with my carry guns and a little hunting ammo .
I am not new to loading either I started in 1969 or 1970 and have never looked back. I am not rich now by any means but I could buy most any non commercial reloading gear I want at this point in my life . I like loading on the equipment I have , but that could change tomorrow .
Shooting and reloading is fun and interesting to do , to talk about and learn about . I learn something new almost every time I look at this forum.

[JimB..]

Just tonight I came across one of these in .223, it was in an old box of parts. I decided that it must be a gimmick, and tossed it in the recycle bin. Guess I’ll go pull it out in the morning and take it for a spin.

[DiverJay]

I'm about as Dillon blue as they come. However, I don't know a single reloader, and I know many, who doesn't own at least on Lee tool. Like them or not, Lee's business model has always been to make reloading tools that work at a price everyone can afford. Judging by the number of patents Richard Lee has filed, there is no denying his genius. Simply put, our craft would not be the same if not for him and his products. May he rest in eternal peace in reloader heaven.