Lee Universal expander

[Willbird]

I also recieved one of these last night, what a laugh, I cannot forsee anything it could be used for.

From other users descriptions I had pictured a die that used bushing like expander buttons that could be stacked and mixed and matched to expand in M die type fashion.

what it is is two plugs with what looks like a 20 degree tapered cone on them, they would bell case mouths only. Oh well hehe. I suppose one could make M type plugs for it on the lathe.


Bill

[BruceB]

This is a coincidence, because just yesterday I was fuming while trying to cobble up something to bell the mouths of .270 cases. I have decided to get the Lee Universal Expander die just for such occasions.

If I was working with softish boolits, the somewhat-undersize necks could be a problem, having the potential to damage a soft bullet while it's being seated. With my normal "woodpecker lips" bullets, tight necks don't seem to affect a thing. I didn't care about inside neck diameter, and just wanted to get some "bell" on those mouths, which is exactly what the Lee rig does.

I ended up using a .30 Carbine expander, because in this old RCBS die set the decapping pin is mounted in that die and the abrupt change from pin diameter up to .30-caliber offers a taper which barely works to put a flare on a .270 case. I'ts crude, I'll admit, but hey...it works! I loaded 150 .270 rounds for my wife's Ruger 77 and the Nevada Shoot doing it this way.

The ideal set-up is of course an M-type die with a full range of expander plugs. In the absence of such luxury, I'll be glad to have a stop-gap such as the Lee expander available.

[Willbird]

Well Hey Bruce hehe,I'll make you a deal on one

Bill

[Leftoverdj]

I'm with BruceB on this. I shoot a lot of odd stuff and a complete set of M dies is out of the question. The Lee belling die has its limits, but it beats the hell out of flaring with a .50 BMG bullet.

[Ed Barrett]

I found the Lee uni-expander to be handy for he odd calibars I load with cast bullets. Word seems to get around if you reload odd/obsolete cases, then people start showing up with some old gun and ask if you could load a few shells for it. I'm still waiting for someone to end that sentence with "and money is no object". Until then I usually try to get the old shooter back in the game with cobble up ultra light loads. I wish I had the Uni-expander a few times over the years.

[Willbird]

I guess what I don't get is why they call it an "expander" ??

Bill

[drinks]

Because it expands the case mouth, not the neck, and will do most everything.
I load cast from .243 to 45-70 and it is much better than trying to wiggle a tapered drift in the mouth enough to keep from shearing lead off one side or the other of the bullet as it is seated.
Don

[Willbird]

OK, when in Rome and all of that jazz.......

Bill

[KCSO]

I use a gizzie like that on an arbor press to bell the case mouths on all my cast loads. When i started with cast bullets M step dies wern't always available so I got into the habit of sizing and then belling in a seperate operation. When I started I used a 50 cal dummy round and tapped it into a 45-70 case to keep from shaving lead. Whe I got an arbor press i fitted it with an adjustable depth stop and just used it to bell the case mouths. It has worked for so many years i never invested in M dies. I guess I should have got a patent.

[kenjuudo]

I threaded the decapping pin in a Lee decapping die 10-32 for an inch or so and turn homade plugs with the same thread, just swap them out. I usually decap with a universal die before tumbling so have plenty of "unused" decaping pins laying around converted and ready to go. Still an extra step but way cheaper than a box full of M-dies.

jim

[tracker]

I don't get it. The Lee product slightly bells the case mouth so that a cast boolit can be seated easley. What’s wrong with that ?

Tracker

[35remington]

Well, the "M" die, which the Lee is being compared to, has a section below the belling step on the expander that opens up the neck a bit larger than the usual amount for jacketed bullets. This is to treat the cast bullet more gently, as it is not squeezed so much when seated. This is helpful because cast bullets tend to be softer and oversized.

The Lee product just bells the case mouth. But you can bell anything with it, and properly handled sizing dies can be adjusted to minimize bullet damage-say, by sizing only part of the neck. I have taken to using the Lee Collet die to gently size the case neck somewhat larger than standard, then bell with the Lee die set. This might be the best way of all to seat lead bullets, IMO. Some also seat paper patch bullets in unsized case necks, and the belling step is very handy there.

[tracker]

Thanks 35 remington.
I have never used a Lee Collet die but have read at lot of folks that have and they like them.

Tracker

[Buckshot]

............A word on Lyman 'M' dies and ho-made 'M' plugs. After banging a bunch of casenecks against the flat bottom of my M die plugs, I pulled them all and put a short sharp taper on'em. This definately guides'em up on it and no more casemouth divits.

............Buckshot