A Tale of two dies

[Rockydog]

I have two dies that need repair.

One is a Hornady 6mm TCU sizing die. I was lubing case necks using a small container of #8 shot into which I had dumped a teaspoon of graphite. Unfortunately one of the shot failed to come out of the case. The errant shot landed centered in the flashhole and the decapping pin hit squarely on the shot and snapped. I bought the die USED! I e-mailed Hornady, Explained the situation exactly as I described it here, including the used part, and asked how I could obtain one and if they took credit cards etc.

The second is a Lee Push through bullet sizing die in .243. I bought the die new from an online dealer. It came in unopened factory packaging. The pin that pushes the bullet through the die is not round at the tip. It looks like someone at the factory touched the side of the tip with a grinder to remove a burr etc. at the very tip leaving a flat spot along the side. When I attempt to seat gas checks they smear downward into the flat spot and leave a 3/32" copper tail extending backward from the bullet. I e-mailed Lee and enquired about warranty service.

Both e-mails were sent last Sunday evening. What kind of replies do you think I got?





At 8:30 AM Monday I got an e-mail from Hornady. No personal reply but a copy of a shipping receipt for a new die spindle and a new sizer button at no charge and a Thank You for my warranty order.



I got my reply from Lee Precision at 10:44 on Wednesday. Here is a direct copy of the Lee reply.

"I would suggest you return the die to the person you purchased it from.

Tech Service"

Guess I know where I will and won't be spending my equipment purchasing dollars from now on. RD

[liljohnnie]

I have heard varying stories about service from varying equipment suppliers and from what i can gather most will fix any problem you have regardless of what that problem might be.For example,I was chipping golf balls in my basement on an old piece of carpet that i had covering the concrete when i bladed one and sent it ricocheting around my basement like it was shot from a gun. As luck would have it i had left my Lyman 500 balance beam scale out on the bench and the ball made a bead for it like i had aimed it there,knocking the scale off bench and breaking one of the agate bearings that the beam balances on,bending the beam and emptying the shot from the aluminum piece that the pan sits on. I sent it off Lyman expecting some sort of repair bill. Lyman fixed it,calibrated it and sent it back to me no charge.
I can't believe some one at Lee would send you an e-mail like that and actually have the stones to call themselves "Tech Service". More like "Pass The Buck Service". [smilie=b:

[seanhagerty]

I have dealt with Lee Customer Service before and have never been treated like that. It dissapoints me to think they would not stand behind one of their products.

I would call them and discuss the prob and see what happens.

Sean

[dragonrider]

I think maybe your inquiry to Lee went to the wrong person, dept. Not the kind of service I have heard of from them. Give them a call and I think you will do better.

[buyobuyo]

I've only had one dealing with Lee's CS dept. The person I spoke with on the phone was fine, but the quality of the service/parts used to fix my press was lacking. The press now sits unused and has been replaced by a Hornady LNL Classic.

My two dealings with RCBS though have been top shelf. Great CS reps and no questions asked about parts I needed replaced. Just took my address and what parts I needed and they were to my door in a week or two.

[1hole]

Given the difference in profit mark-up between RCBS/Hornady vs. Lee it's understandable there might be a difference in supporting second-hand things out of warrantee. "Free parts" aren't - can't possibly be - free; it's part of the purchase price and if you don't damage or loose stuff you will only be paying for those who do.

I have no personal problems with Lee's support.

[ZombieHitman]

In all my years of reloading, I've interacted with RCBS, Lee, Hornady, and Midway USA.
Granted, it's rare that I have anything negative to say about anyone, as Karma always comes back around, but there's one example that demands mention.
RCBS, Hornady, and Midway ALWAYS make it right as fast as humanly possible. In my experience, they bend over backwards to serve us, their clients.
Lee, not so much.
I recognize that Lee is a well known name in the reloading industry, and they cater to the lower end price points on the majority of their stuff.
I bought a set of Lee dies for my 223REM at a show from one of their dealers about a year ago, and to date have put less than 1000 cases through these dies. More like 700, if memory serves me.
In the past 2 weeks, I've had 2 stuck cases in the FL sizer.
In comparison, I use Hornady for my 300WSM, and Redding for my 308WIN, have about the same number of cases through the Hornady, but the Reddings still have that new car smell with less than 50.
I called Lee to ask about a replacement (Which I would gladly pay for), and the lady I spoke with went all sorts of high and right citing warranty, responsibilities, and other whatnot.
I felt as though they really didn't give two hoots whether I was a loyal customer or not, but solely protecting their own interests.
I thanked the lady, said "have a wonderful day", and hung up.
As it stands now, the Lee dies are in the "circular file", and a new set of Reddings are on the way, since I found out that Redding is right up the road from my brother's house (Kinda neat), and their reputation for standing behind their products is on par with the other manufacturers I choose to buy from.
I'm sure that Lee has lots of products that are top notch for their price points, and admittedly I use many of them.
However, that being said, I'll be gradually weeding out all of my Lee stuff as I can replace it.
Hopefully, Lee will change their 'tude, and see the impact of their manners.
I do wish them all the best too.

[troyboy]

Lee customer service for me has been good. I ordered two posts for a press conversion. They sent the wrong ones and I called to let them know. The lady sent me the proper parts and told me to keep the ones I had or send back for a credit my choice. Rcbs cs is UNBELIEVABLE. I bought a ammomaster progressive and they sent me everything needed to get it running and then sent me everything to convert it back to a ss. All this on a used press purchased from someone else.

[1hole]

A stuck case doesn't mean the die is defective, it's just a failure to properly lube the case. Change die brands as you wish but it won't stop that.

There is no valid reason to toss a die with a stuck case, it happens and we have several brands of stuck case removers to correct it. Mine is RCBS. ??

[Rockydog]

1hole, Please reread my post. The Lee sizer was NEW! In the factory package none the less.

I had no expectation of getting the Hornady parts for free as it was a used die and I explained that it was my fault that it broke.

OTOH. The Lee being new I had every expectation that they would handle it under warranty.

Hence my post. RD

[mooman76]

Maybe they or he misunderstood. I've broke a few small parts and just mail them in with a quick note and I have the new part mailed back usually in less than a week, free of charge.

[1hole]

"1hole, Please reread my post. The Lee sizer was NEW! In the factory package none the less."

Re-read mine; I make no reference to how new/old the die may be. The age of a die is irrelivant to getting a stuck case, it's simply a lack of proper lubing. Lee nor any other die maker of die can prevent that.

[liljohnnie]

"1hole, Please reread my post. The Lee sizer was NEW! In the factory package none the less."

Re-read mine; I make no reference to how new/old the die may be. The age of a die is irrelivant to getting a stuck case, it's simply a lack of proper lubing. Lee nor any other die maker of die can prevent that.

I have read Rockydog's original post very carefully,several times and i still can not find any reference made to a stuck case.[smilie=1:

[jimkim]

I have heard varying stories about service from varying equipment suppliers and from what i can gather most will fix any problem you have regardless of what that problem might be.For example,I was chipping golf balls in my basement on an old piece of carpet that i had covering the concrete when i bladed one and sent it ricocheting around my basement like it was shot from a gun. As luck would have it i had left my Lyman 500 balance beam scale out on the bench and the ball made a bead for it like i had aimed it there,knocking the scale off bench and breaking one of the agate bearings that the beam balances on,bending the beam and emptying the shot from the aluminum piece that the pan sits on. I sent it off Lyman expecting some sort of repair bill. Lyman fixed it,calibrated it and sent it back to me no charge.
I can't believe some one at Lee would send you an e-mail like that and actually have the stones to call themselves "Tech Service". More like "Pass The Buck Service". [smilie=b:
WHAT!!! I am going to scream! I had a similar incident, but the only thing ruined was the pan and tray. I ended up having to buy another scale! :killingpc They even refused to sell me the new parts. Maybe things have changed at Lyman since 1998.

[azcruiser]

Guy remember your dealing with a person sometime that person could be having a bad day .Tech support is one call after another and no one is calling or few are calling to say what a good job
your doing. People on this site know about reloading but most of the calls tech get are from people who have one - no clue -drunk-pissed off-have to return something because their wife said they couldn't have it -used the wrong part #- Little example had a guy call once said his cases were splitting in half 44mag ? I ask what type of powder are you using he says pistol powder ? I ask what is the name of the powder ? He say's bulleye's because he shoot for accuracy? I ask how many grain is he loading the say 7gr from his think it was a Lyman powder measure been a while .I say lets double check it tell him to dump a case into his scale
to check the weight ???? He say I don't have a scale ???? He says I just turned it to the number 7 or
counted down 7 lines or something like that- again been a while . I say you need to buy a scale !!! Guy goes nuts how reloading is BS all people do is sell him more and more stuff .Told him he could return anything he bought from us back for a refund .Don't know if he did but ??
could write a book