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Stupid beginner question

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07 August 2004, 11:45
Recoil Rob
Stupid beginner question
Are most sets of dies interchangeable with most presses?

E.G. I have a Lee hand press, will it work with Lyman dies? Any other combos that will or won't work?


Thanks, Rob
07 August 2004, 11:50
Swede44mag
Yes if they are the same thread size. I have various sets of dies from Lee. Lyman, RCBS, Hornady etc... they all interchange.



Enjoy reloading it is a life long challenge.

There are no stupid questions.
07 August 2004, 12:28
shilen30
They are interchangeable, and as swede stated, reloading is a challenge but is rewarding. Put time and money into reading good manuals. I would get a hold of books on reloading basics and reloading for accuracy. Read what the experts have to say so you save yourself the headaches.
07 August 2004, 12:31
onefunzr2
Not a stupid question at all.
Industry standard is 7\8"x14 thread size.
I guess there could still be some ancient oddball presses and dies around from when things were still being sorted out but that would be more than 40 years ago.
Benchrest dies used in an arbor press are in a league of their own.
07 August 2004, 14:51
Tailgunner
LEE hand press, is that one of the "nut cracker" (tong tool) style? I believe those are NOT the standard 7/8-14 that most* PRESSES are built to.

*There's a 1 or 2 Dillon presses that dont use standard dies, even though most of the Dillon presses do use standard dies
07 August 2004, 15:34
Sanman
Quote:

LEE hand press, is that one of the "nut cracker" (tong tool) style? I believe those are NOT the standard 7/8-14 that most* PRESSES are built to.



The Lee Hand Press DOES use standard dies. I use one at the range as a "Bullet Adjuster"

Rick
07 August 2004, 17:35
Swede44mag
Quote:

Quote:

LEE hand press, is that one of the "nut cracker" (tong tool) style? I believe those are NOT the standard 7/8-14 that most* PRESSES are built to.



The Lee Hand Press DOES use standard dies. I use one at the range as a "Bullet Adjuster"

Rick



I have had 2 Lee Hand Presses the major problem I had was with the threads. I bought a tap that matches the thread size and cleaned out the threads they now work perfectly. The other problem I had is the hand press will spring and for this reason I can't get it to reliably resize a 7mm Rem Mag brass. They work great for adjusting the OAL of rifle ammo in the field. Lee makes some great products at a reduced price.
07 August 2004, 23:09
Tailgunner
You could very well be right, I thought I'd run across seperate listings for the handpress and regular press dies. Just looked at LEE's site again and didn't see it.
The mind is the second thing to go
08 August 2004, 01:33
<eldeguello>
Yes. So are MOST (but not all)shellholders/presses, except for the progressives.
08 August 2004, 01:36
<eldeguello>
No, the LEE hand press is NOT a tong tool type. The ONLY one of these currently being made is the Lyman 310, which is NOT a press at all, and does use a different size die thread. The LEE uses regular dies and shellholders. I have one. My main objection to the LEE hand press is that it has no provision for seating new primers. The Lyman 310 does have a primer seating die.