I have read several threads on the Lee collet die being a great die,...but the members have also alluded to the fact that they "tweaked" some burrs etc on them before they were "flawless" (used loosely) .

What should I polish or file or grind or weld etc etc etc??? What little tricks do the experienced users have in their repitoir for a new user?

Thanks

I got the exact question. I used mine for the first time this week. I damn near tore the press off my bench trying to make sure the neck was down enough. But after loading last night, I don't think I have enough neck tension on my bullets. So I want to polish down my mandrel. I am trying to think of a good way to do it.

BC,

If I remember right, I chucked mine into a drill and spun it with fine emory or sandpaper. BM

Thats right, I just called Dave from lee, and he said put the mandrel in a drill press and use 120grit emory cloth. Also warned only go on mil, and said be sure to taper the mandrel not just the top, but the part where decapper is.

You might also check to make sure that there are no burrs or foreign material between the petals of the collet which would keep it from squeezing down to its minimum diameter. Also, on the operational side, I rotate my cases 1/8 turn after sizing while they are still in the shellholder and run them back into the die again for a second squeeze. This provides a little more neck tension and also theoretically makes the neck "rounder". You might try this before reducing your mandrel. Once you adopt this method, it becomes second nature and takes very little extra time.

That's a good tip about spinning it half or even a third way and giving it two or three passes. I've had mine to get a little smaller with each pass. I've gotten used to doing that on every brand but using Lee got me started. Also good idea to take apart and polish and look for burrs. BM

Thanks,..I was planning on taking the die apart and polishing everything. I also am in the habit of turning the brass a partial turn,..and then running it again. I do this even with my Redding dies,..and it does work.

I'll polish the mandral straight away.

I got one of those for my Mountain Rifle in '06. According to the directions you really need to screw the die in with any press other than a Lee? They say if the press toggles over it can screw up the die. Following their directions for adjusting the die, how much pressure is needed on a Rockchucker press? I've pressed down pretty hard and the bullets seem to be held in there tightly but they chamber only with difficulty. Granted my rifle has a tight chamber even with some factory loads but this was even harder. When I then size the same cases with an RCBS die adjusted to full-length size they seem to chamber ok. Does this mean my chamber is so tight I have to pretty much full-length size after every firing? The cases are once fired Winchester brass. If I full-lenght size, what kind of case life can I expect?

NoCAL