Fun with the GRX die !

[Justinsaneok]

Well I'm in the shed now because the little ones are roaming free around the house so I built a couple benches in the shed and bolted up my presses. It was long over due because of the move to a new house and being banished to the shed with my explosive products. I haven't loaded any or shot in three weeks. First on the agenda was to try my new $72 dollar GRX push thru die. Screw it into the old Lee and what? what? what? The carbide sizing ring is cracked and leaving a big scratch on the effortlessly sized Winchester brass. Midway said they would take care of it if Redding didn't. So I emailed Redding an hour ago than called Midway to tell them what was up. That's when they told me they would take care of it if Redding didn't. What should I expect done about this? Anyone have any experiences similar to mine?:groner:

[swheeler]

I would be very surprised if Redding didn't replace it for you, excellent customer service on par with RCBS.

[Hip's Ax]

I use to be a big Redding fan until I wanted a die that was made wrong replaced. I only buy RCBS now. In all fairness this was 8 or so years ago, perhaps they learned their lesson.

[Justinsaneok]

They said send it back. So I did and that cost me $7.75

[W.R.Buchanan]

I got one of their GRX dies , for $35 and almost soiled myself when I found out it didn't have the carbide ring, and when the guy told me that die was $72 I came unglued. The knurling was attrocious, the die had sharp un-deburred edges and was,,, from a machinists standpoint, pretty damn shoddy in the workmanship department.

Redding is "supposed to be " the best die maker in the world (to hear them say) and yet they are just the highest priced dies in the world, and in MY NOT SO HUMBLE OPINION, IN THIS CASE, Not even close to ANY of their competetors in fit and finsh. And for the money they ask, I feel they are being very presumptous! They really need to spend some of the money they make off suckers who believe their Cadillac spiel, on some newer machinery that would produce a better product. Maybe they just need some better people runnning what they've got.

What they are producing is not worth the money, and as far as I'm concerned RCBS makes far better tools.

You can't say you're the best, if the cheapest product on the market is of better quality than what you produce! When they say Lee dies are "entry level" I just want to shove that GRX die up their rears!

Do yourself a favor and send the die back and demand your money back and buy a Lee Deluxe Factory Crimp die with the carbide ring for .40S&W for $10! I have shoved 5,000 cases thru mine and it works perfectly. You can get their "Bulge Buster kit" for another $20 and have everything you need to push thru size your $40 S&W brass prior to reloading.

It is a far better product !!!! And believe me for $10 you won't be disappointed!

Randy

[Justinsaneok]

They said send it back. So I did and that cost me $7.75

Still not here ????????

[Justinsaneok]

Well they sent me a new one and it broke on the second case I run through it. Sweet huh?

[mdi]

I guess you just got the only two bad G-Rx dies [smilie=l: 'Cause I just googled "GRX die" and saw that The Shooting Industry Acadamy has awarded it, the G-Rx die, their Award of Excellence![smilie=p:

[Justinsaneok]

:not listening: they sure were surprised
I guess you just got the only two bad G-Rx dies [smilie=l: 'Cause I just googled "GRX die" and saw that The Shooting Industry Acadamy has awarded it, the G-Rx die, their Award of Excellence![smilie=p:

[W.R.Buchanan]

Justin:: go to www.titanreloading.com . This guys is a factory distributor for Lee, and he is a good guy to deal with anyway.

He can sell you just the Bulgebuster kit and the Deluxe Factory Crimp Die. The die is about $10. Make sure to specify the "DELUXE die" as it is the one with the carbide insert.

This operation has been being done by many people for a few years now and works great.

Also here's a little hint to make it go faster. Spray some aerosol case lube or Dillon case lube on your cases before you size. They go thru the die much easier. I tumble after that and then run them thru the Dillon Square Deal.

This process makes nice ammo! BUt as long as you do all the steps you could load on a single stage press and get the same results. The little progressive is just a faster way.

On another note: maybe the Shooting INdustry Acadamy is not that informed as to what is really happening in the industry after all.

Randy

[MikeS]

I've never heard of a Lee Deluxe Factory Crimp Die. I've heard of their Carbide Factory Crimp Die, which comes in various pistol calibers, and their Factory Crimp Die which is collet based, and is for rifle calibers. When did they come out with a Deluxe Factory Crimp Die? And what Factory Crimp Die in pistol calibers doesn't have the carbide sizer?

[W.R.Buchanan]

MIke; The deluxe die is the Carbide one. They have a regular crimp die for straitwalled pistol cases that does not have the carbide insert. It came in the cheaper 4 die pistol sets.

The first .40 S&W FCD I ordered from Midway individually came without the carbide ring and I sent it back and got the carbide one. The regular die is just a taper crimp die it doesn't have the sizing function.

The Deluxe 4 die set has the carbide FCD.

The collet dies are something completely different

Redding makes both the plain GRX die $36 and the Carbide GRX $72, but this die is specifically for push thru sizing of cases, nothing else.

The Lee die is just a cheaper way of doing the same thing the Redding die does.

Randy

[Justinsaneok]

A week and a half or so after the die got there they sent me a new one along with a hat, sticker and 2 yes 2 catalogs. I got one case through it and the ring cracked! So now they told me to send it back AGAIN along with some brass. I guess they are thinking the brass is out of spec! lol. They seem to think there is no way the carbide rings are to small or the die that holds it is to big. So we will find out more next month.:roll: This sucks.

[Justinsaneok]

A week and a half or so after the die got there they sent me a new one along with a hat, sticker and 2 yes 2 catalogs. I got one case through it and the ring cracked! So now they told me to send it back AGAIN along with some brass. I guess they are thinking the brass is out of spec! lol. They seem to think there is no way the carbide rings are to small or the die that holds it is to big. So we will find out more next month.[smilie=b: This sucks.

[Justinsaneok]

Buchanan how do you use them as push thru dies?

[birddog]

Justin,
They are a straight wall die and all that is done is brass is sized to minimum saami specs. The lee kit comes with a plunger and you have to take the crimp bullet seating stem out of the carbide die. Actually a slick little system and it works for all of the straight wall semi auto cases, such as acp's.
Charlie[smilie=l:[smilie=l:

[Justinsaneok]

Justin,
They are a straight wall die and all that is done is brass is sized to minimum saami specs. The lee kit comes with a plunger and you have to take the crimp bullet seating stem out of the carbide die. Actually a slick little system and it works for all of the straight wall semi auto cases, such as acp's.
Charlie[smilie=l:[smilie=l:

I looked them up I guess it would cost me about 32 bucks plus shipping. How can lee sell a carbide die for 15 bucks and redding "needs" to sell them for 102 bucks? I wonder?:oops:

[W.R.Buchanan]

Justin: That is the whole reason why we all use the Lee die!

Go back to my earlier post on this thread and go to Titan reloading and order the die and BB kit from him, You'll have it by next week and be up and running. for $30.

And I'd make those other As$%^&# give my money back and all the shipping too!

There is absolutely no reason for that kind of abismal service!

Randy

[Justinsaneok]

The more I think about it the more pissed I get.

[40Super]

I'm into the 3k-3.5k of 40 brass run through my Redding carbide X-sizer,not cracked.I even ran probably 1200 Nickel plated that were mostly shot out of a Glock,still going strong.I've learned sometimes stories get duplicated by people that never even used a particular piece of equipment.IMO

[Justinsaneok]

I'm into the 3k-3.5k of 40 brass run through my Redding carbide X-sizer,not cracked.I even ran probably 1200 Nickel plated that were mostly shot out of a Glock,still going strong.I've learned sometimes stories get duplicated by people that never even used a particular piece of equipment.IMO

Well I'm glad to hear that buddy. I've never read anything bad about them and was told by AJ the tech guy I've dealt with at redding it was very rare. Despite the implication of me having nothing better to do than make up phony problems for the gain of I don't know what. It is a real issue I'm having. If you want you can give me your cell # and I could send you a pick of the die and the priority mail box the sent to me by AJ with the Redding shipping label on it. I paid to send it once. This time the shipping was on them by my request. I don't want to imply because 2 broke that I know of MINE that they are all bad. It would be stupid, like if I said I know 1 works the other 100000 will all work. It just sucks it happened to me , TWICE.

[Justinsaneok]

SEnt it off a week ago waiting for word.

[Justinsaneok]

Still not back or fixed after being sent off a long time ago. Called AJ at Redding he said he was busy and would call me when he had a chance to look at it. I called him back the next day in the afternoon and he said he hadn't looked at it. I know they had it by 2:30 on the 11th because I got a call from AJ asking if the die I sent with my name and address on the box was from me. 10 flippen days and no word from Redding. This is the second time it was sent back and I sent brass with it. The first time I sent it back he said its rare for them to crack but it happens. The second time I sent it back cracked he said its never happened before. Even though I sent him a broken one myself. Its because my brass might be out of spec. ITS WHY I GOT THIS DIE IN THE FIRST PLACE. I'm starting to just want my money back. This might be the first and last thing I ever buy from Redding. Sorry for ******** but I think its BS its not handled.

[Justinsaneok]

Called Redding again today and AJ told me he hasn't looked at it yet. I guess it's not very pressing for them to get it right after two fails.

[Justinsaneok]

I called everyday for the last three and got a call back today telling it me it wasn't cracked. I laughed and thought he was joking. Followed by some things that made no sense. I said fine send it back, no point in arguing with someone when I can send it back to midway. Half hour goes by. Phone rings and It's them, they called to tell me it is cracked. Said he was going to put a carbide ring in from another supplier. I said okay just test it first with the brass I sent with it before you send it back. I'm not going to get into some of the crazy things I was told by a tech there.

[jimkim]

Perhaps they called Lee and ordered one of their carbide inserts. http://leeprecision.com/car-f-c-inst-40sw-10.html Maybe when you get it back, you can sell it on eBay for twice the original cost.

[Justinsaneok]

Perhaps they called Lee and ordered one of their carbide inserts. http://leeprecision.com/car-f-c-inst-40sw-10.html Maybe when you get it back, you can sell it on eBay for twice the original cost.

Heck Why didn't you chime in before sending this thing back twice. I didn't know I could have solved this mistake buy buying a $1 LEE part. I know I could have solved it by spending $35 on a LEE part in the first place.[smilie=l:

[jimkim]

Heck Why didn't you chime in before sending this thing back twice. I didn't know I could have solved this mistake buy buying a $1 LEE part. I know I could have solved it by spending $35 on a LEE part in the first place.[smilie=l:

I just found that thing the other day after Lee's latest update. I like to look at their parts and buy stuff that I can use with other products. I like to multi purpose things, or change them to better meet my needs. Jim

[bootsnthejeep]

So? What happened? We need closure, man!

[taminsong]

So? What happened? We need closure, man!

lol! It makes me laugh! Yeah, what happened? Is everything ok now?

[bootsnthejeep]

We're hanging in the breeze here!!!

[Justinsaneok]

Sorry guys things have been crazy. I was told the second time it was sent back it wasn't broken! I said" ********! Send it back then." 30 min later I got a call saying it was broke. I know it was because when I broke it I heard the snap and left a piece of brass in it so it was easy to see the crack in the carbide ring with the naked eye. You could also see the deep scratch in every piece of brass ran thru it. I cracked on the second piece.

I was told One Shot wasn't a good enough lube to use and should be using Redding sizing wax.
I said well I got a carbide die so I wouldn't need to lube at all and chose to use One Shot to make it easier.
I was then informed the die was dirty and caused the scratching.

After being asked if I cleaned my brass and replying,

"yes I use walnut then corn cob to clean and polish it."

I was told that I shouldn't clean my brass because the oxidation makes the brass run thru the die smoother.

I was told my brass was out of spec because this isn't normal. I said. I got the die to make out of spec brass in spec brass. Redding catolog say's,
"The new G-RX push thru Base Sizing Die is designed to restore fired cases from 40 S&W autoloading pistols that exhibit a bulge near the base.

By passing the case completely through the new G-RX Die,the bulge is removed and the case may be returned to service."

I said the die body is to big on the inside or the carbide ring is to small on the outside. Simple. Can you fix it? He say's I 'll try a ring from a different manufacturer. I said try it before you send it back. I sent 25 or so pieces of unsized brass so they could see it with their own eyes.

Long story short. I have an urge to stay away from Redding because its the only experience I had with them. I was lied to and jerked around. If I said I did anything they would say I shouldn't have. If I said I didn't do something they would have said I should have. I wish I would have recorded the conversations for entertainment value alone. Now that I'm cooled off it would be funny to play it for my friends. I did call a few right after talking with them while it was fresher in my mind. They had it for a long time before even looking at it. The shot show was setting them back. O Y a I had arrival conformation on the shipment they had it and seaid it wasn't there yet.

I do have one that is working currently. I think a few hundred made it thru. If it breaks again it's going in the trash. I wont deal with them again.

Here's another thread about the stupid thing http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1381586

[W.R.Buchanan]

Redding's biggest problem is they think they are incapible of making mistakes. And by no means is this attitude justified!

I hate this as it is the height of Arrogance.

I saw a new Redding T7 Turret press that the detents to index the turret were out of time maybe 10 degrees. It was pretty obvious that the part had slipped in the fixture while in the machining center. This was so obvious that you could see it with the naked eye as the ram didn't line up with the dies even close.

It was a grossly out of spec part.

They would not believe that this press was bad, they would not accept it back to even look at it, they kept tellling the guy that he was FOS Literally! Said what he was describing to them was not possible. (Unless the part slipped in the fixture?)

In the end they basically told him to stick the press up his A$$, and he responded by putting his story on about 15 different internet forums. This guy was one of Glen Frexells buddies from the LASC club and I read the story on thier site.

I told you early on that the finish on the GRX die I bought was so bad I sent it back to Midway with a nasty note and got my money back. It was $35 and I was furious when it came and I found out it had no carbide ring in it and the one that did was $65! This die was not worth $10 it was basically a slightly larger regular Full Length sizing die

The Lee FCD with the carbide ring is about $10-15 when bought separately. The big difference between it and the Redding die is the Redding die has knurling on the OD,,,

that and the LEE die actually works!

You've seen how they act, I'd demand my money back and kickem to the curb!

Randy

[Lloyd Smale]

I kind of am glad i didnt get the carbide one now. i didnt pay attention to the fact they had a carbide version and bought the standard one. I did 4k of cases through it in the last few days and with a bit of lanolin it works like a charm. I was kind of wishing i had gotten the carbide one till i read this.

[runfiverun]

wow.
i have a couple of older redding die sets and a neck sizer set up and they are top quality craftsmanship.
i woulda bought more of thier stuff but couldn't afford it back them.
they aren't part of lyman are they?
thier equipment sounds like it is going the way of lyman's molds recently.
makes me just shake my head when LEE is the name of american made quality.
anybody know of any chinese reloading equipment makers??

[Firebricker]

I have the GRX with out carbide and it has worked good but bottom line is you paid for top quality and haven't got it. I have been happy with Redding but if I got two dud products in a row plus the run around I'd send it back to midway for refund in a heart beat. I would get the Lee and not look back. Hope it works out, FB