Esteemed Board

I just got my first of these dies, and have a question. The picture on the instructions shows the sleeve at the top of the die and the bullet sticking out of it. The sleeve on my die (44 WCF or 44-40) appears fixed at the bottom of the die. Should it slide easily? Do I need to give it a good whack to knock it loose, or return the die, or use it as is?

I just checked my newest one (for .38-55) and noticed the collet is not as loose as my older ones but it still should work fine. As long as you can move the collet in and out with out too much force it should be fine. You can remove the collet by pulling out towards the base and see if there are any chips or other crud stuck in there and clean it out.

Odd! I would clean it good and see if it comes unstuck. If not, this is obviously a design change from Lee. Try it and let us know.

I recommend you take it apart and clean it. Give it a light coat of oil and put it back together. When you adjust the die be sure the 4 grooves at the top are open and when you raise the ram into the die the 4 grooves should close slightly but not come together all the way (viewed from the top). Closing these grooves all the way is maximum crimp (this is fine) but do not exceed this as you can damage the die or cause it to lock closed. I usually adjust the die so that the grooves close about half-way when the ram is all the way up. I crimp the bullet and take a look at it if I want more crimp I turn the die in another � turn or until I am happy with the crimp. I usually turn the cartridge � or 1/3 turn and re-crimp 2 or three times. These dies are the best thing since sliced bread.

Is the .44 WCF or .44-40 Lee Facrory Crimp Die listed as a rifle or pistol die? The pistol type dies use a "fixed" carbide sizer sleeve or ring at the bottom of the die and a floating crimper sleeve in the die body cavity. These dies are labled "LEE Carbide Factory Crimp Die". The rifle type dies use a sliding (collet) crimper in the die body cavity. Some of the rifle type Factory Crimp dies that I have used worked much better after the collet was removed, deburred, cleaned,and in some instances polished, and lubricated at the tapered surface. The die bodies also seemed to need cleaning on some of these dies. I like the way both the rifle type and pistol type Lee Factory Crimp Dies crimp the cases, although they work in different ways.