Boring a Lee die ?

[3006guns]

I'd like to modify one of my Lee F/L sizer dies so that it neck sizes only. My thought was to simply bore the major portion of the die on my lathe, leaving the neck alone. Are they hard steel, requiring a carbide tool or would a high speed steel bit do the job?

[KCSO]

They are hardened and you might even have to anneal and bore and then re harden. Why not just back it out a turn?

[dragonrider]

No lathe work needed, As KCSO said just back it out enough that you are about 1/16 inch from the shoulder. Or order a Lee collet die in appropiate caliber, they work very well.

[3006guns]

Thanks for the info guys. I'll back the die out a bit and just partial size the neck. My intent was to have a "dedicated" neck sizer, but it looks like it really isn't necessary.

[1hole]

"Are they hard steel, requiring a carbide tool or would a high speed steel bit do the job? "

Few FL dies and cartridge combinations will allow proper neck sizing simply by backing the die out. While there is no benefit to neck sizing below the bullet base, if the sizer contacts the case wall it's really not a neck sizing operation and can cause more problems than it solves.

All sizer dies (and some seaters) are case hardened so they do require carbide cutting tools.

I've made both neck sizers and body sizers from several spare FL sizers by simply boring away what I don't want by using cheap carbide "concrete" bits in a drill press. A 1/2" bit will easly make a "neck die" for any case with the common .473" head size. I try to stop at the die shoulder but, actually, where I stop isn't all that critical, it just seems nicer if it's "right".

As a side issue, I also make my own body dies by grinding the same cheap carbide bits (on a diamond wheel) down to something like 10-15 thou over normal neck diameter and then boring the die necks. I've found neck boring works better if it's done at a slow drill speed and from the bottom of the die rather than the top, that makes for a cleaner neck-shoulder transition. (But even then that hole edge needs a bit of dressing/smoothing with a bit of medium grit emery cloth spun on a split wood dowel.)

My modified dies get their tops cut off and smoothly dressed with carbide lathe bits. The soft inner core of the die body is then easy to label with 1/16" stamps what the die is modified for.

It's hard (impossible?) to match the results of a Lee Collet Neck Sizer with any conventional or bushing type sizer dies tho.

[Clark]

I have cut back the carbide ring in Lee dies with diamond, a couple times, because when the carbide gets thin, and I pound brass, the carbide cracks.

[1hole]

"..because when the carbide gets thin, and I pound brass, the carbide cracks."

Carbide gets "thin"? And you cut it with diamond to make it thicker?

[dk17hmr]

To get a consistent depth on how deep you run your die you could use washers between the shellholder and the bottom of the die....I do something like that for a 243 wildcat I have.