I'm going to try out Lee Collet dies on the advice of some of you guys. I know that I have seen it mentioned in here, that new Collet dies are a bit rough, and some of you "prepared" (i.e. polished) them before first use. Unfortunately, I can't seem to locate those topics any more.

Could anybody be bothered to repeat their advice on Lee Collet dies, perhaps??
1) What exactly do you polish, and with what??
2)Will steel wool do the job, or does one need "sand-paper" of some grit?? (My mecahnical aptitude-level is pretty low, sorry about the "sand-paper" bit, it is probably the wrong term :-).
3) Is it dead-obvious which parts need to be polished??, and
4)is it easy to take the die apart and put togther again correctly (even for a person with 10 thumbs :-)??

I am intending to use the following setup in a Lyman T-Mag press: decap with an RCBS de-cap die, (for some calibers, all or none?) control headspace with a Redding body-die, use the Collet die to size the neck (for lowest possible run-out).
5)Does this setup make sense to you??

I have seen some mention that the de-cap and collet dies won't need cases lubricated,
6)is that the case??
7)The body dies, I presume, will need lubricated cases??

Until now, I have been very careful about not pushing my shoulders back when sizing. Reading Glen Zediker's book of late, it seems like the "non-plus-ultra" is to set shoulders back an infinitesimal amount (like .001"). Glen seems to think this has advantages in terms of not "crushing" the case over time, providing for straighter cases and more accurate rounds.
8)Do you agree or disagree??
9)How difficult is it to achieve this .001 (or whatever) set-back in a safe and consistent manner??
10)Will a set of semi-decent calipers combined with Stoney Creek's (name?) tool to measure from indexing point do?? I take it one measures fired as well as sized cases for comparison.

Again, I seem to remember, that the "indexing" point is the point (some way down the shoulder) upon which headspace should be measured - sorry if I'm using the wrong term.

Thanks a bunch for any input.

- mike

You may or may not need to polish some parts of the Lee Collet die. If your case mouths do not have enough bullet tension after sizing, the mandrel against which the case mouth is squeezed may have to be polished in order to reduce it's diameter a bit and thus give you tighter neck tension. Other interior parts of the die could be made to operate more smoothly if polished with emory cloth a bit, but it is probably not necessary.

If you are loading for a gun with a solid breech (bolt action, single shot, etc.), you most likely will NOT need to use other sizing dies, at least not until you have loaded a given hull several times. The Collet die will only resize the neck, will not cause the brass to lengthen, and the position of your shoulder should not need adjusting after firing.

There is also no need to use a separate decapping die as the Collet die decaps as the neck is resized. At any rate, neither a decapping die nor a Collet die require the brass to be lubricated (a very light lubrication of the interior of the Collet die where the fingers of the collet are squeezed may be desireable).

Remember, the ultimate die for shaping your brass is the chamber of your rifle. The less you change the shape of the brass as it comes from the chamber after firing, the better.

Best of luck!

Personally, it's my favorite setup. My collet die was fine from the get-go, too. Don't push to hard on it.

As far as pushing shoulders back, not unless you have a hard time closing the bolt or have a particular reason to (hunting ammo?). Other than that, you will learn to LOVE the collet die. Size, prime and go. No lubing, cleaning lube back off, etc, etc.

I have gotten into the habit of sizing, turning the case, and sizing again. Probably unnecessary, but can't hurt. FWIW, Dutch.

My first Collet die would simply not work because of the burrs around the opening of the collet sleeve (the part that squeezes the collet). I took some wet/dry sandpaper starting at 400 grit, applied a little 3 in 1 oil and polished the mouth of the collet sleeve and the fingers of the collet. I worked up to 1200 grit I think, which was probably not at all necessary. Next I put a little dab of lithium grease around the mouth of the collet sleeve and then reassembled the die. It worked great after that and I have come to use this polishing process on every collet die I have purchased. It absolutely makes them work better. There are only 5 parts I think to the collet die. You won't have any problems taking it apart and putting it back together.

I don't bother worrying about headspace. I use the collet die to neck size only, usually getting about 4 or 5 loadings before full length sizing is needed. Usually, however, when my brass gets too tight to fit, I'll just toss them and buy new brass.

The Lee collet neck die is a great concept. Not having to lube the case is a real bonus. But more importantly, they make really concentric ammo.

Thanks a bunch to all who answered, much appreciated!

- mike

I also do the same as Dutch by turning the case approximately 1/8th rotation and squeezing it again before withdrawing it from the shellholder. This is usually not necessary, but it does make the mouth just a bit "rounder" in theory and a little more consistent in bullet pull. Once you develop the "double squeeze" habit, it becomes second nature; and even with the extra step it is still many times quicker than resizing with conventional dies involving lubing and cleaning.

Also as Dutch points out, don't set your press to mash too hard on the collet die. The bottom part which engages your shellholder is softer than the shell holder and will be damaged if you apply greater pressure than is needed to fully close the petals of the collet. If you can't achieve sufficiently tight case necks without overstressing the die and press, then reduce the diameter of the mandrel by sanding it (chuck it in a drill and rotate it under a wrap of emory cloth).