Rossi Rifleman

Ok, I know some of you are Lee nuts. Guess you could say I've become half a Lee nut. I have every FCD they make for what I reload. Bought my first complete die set for the .45c, there 4pc deluxe set. I'm use to RCBS dies and don't have this problem. Using the expanding die while pulling the case out of the die, I need to apply gorilla strength, great exercise but does not seem right, so is this normal for a Lee expander die? Could it be the expander is not carbide like the sizing and crimp die states it is? Seems like the Lee has extra parts the RCBS doesn't use.

The one straight case Lee set I have is for the 45-70 and I don't use the expander in that set but a insert from Track of the Wolf. The expander in my Hornady set doesn't seem to take a lot of effort. I take it since you have the deluxe set your have the powder through expander, how much is it expanding the cases?

Make smoke,

My question too.

I thought all Lee straight sets have a PTED regardless of deluxe or not (deluxe adds the fourth die for crimping but you can crimp and seat with the seater).

Make sure the PTED is set high enough to just barely bell the case, just enough to let the lead balance in the mouth. All my dies are Lee (I'm cheap) but only the .223 and .32WCF are other than straight.

I have the .45C set too (and brass) but no .45C (yet). I can look at it and see if it differs from my well used .357 set.

Also make sure the PTED is clean. Like a Ruger, there is sometimes grit or machining leftovers or even thick oil in there. Wash a new set with brake clean or alcohol then work away.

Doc, I think what you are experiencing is thicker walled brass. I use quite a few different brands of brass, and those with thicker walls are a bit "stiff" coming out of the expander die.


jd

I had the same experience with my Lee 45 colt die.
Before I mounted the press on a heavier table, it would lift the table.
I took the piece that goes inside the shell case, chucked it in a drill and polished it with 2000 grit, it reduced the sticking.

I would quote all of you in response cause you touched on all good things....lifting of table! You bet, great advice....thicker brass wondered that with the new Starline (my dummies I made for test and function was range brass and no Starline and no problem)....cleaning and degreasing, need to do it if nothing else, it can't hurt. And yes this is the powder through expander die.
Ok, you've given me something to work with, as usual, you guys are the best, thanks!

One more thing that might help is to hit the expander with a bit of Hornady One Shot sizing and wipe it off OR same deal with Imperial sizing wax and/or polish the expander a slight bit with some Flitz or Mother's polishing compound. Maybe chuck it in a drill or the like.

For my straight walled cases I use Lyman's M style dies and like GasGuzzler stated I put just enough bell on them to start the bullet. They are two stage dies so the first stage expands the brass slightly and the second puts a slight bell on the casemouth so that bullets can be started straight. A bare kiss seems to work for most jacketed while a slight bell is best to avoid cutting up cast.

SaltH2Odeprived wrote:I had the same experience with my Lee 45 colt die.
Before I mounted the press on a heavier table, it would lift the table.
I took the piece that goes inside the shell case, chucked it in a drill and polished it with 2000 grit, it reduced the sticking.

Salt, degreased , polished the removable piece and the wall of the die(looked like someone was washing your favorite mirror with course steel wool) a little silicone dry lube and I'm back in business. Taking things apart is my normal MO, thanks all for bringing me back to basics.

Update, finished belling the first 100 case's. Still a little tighter then I would like. Think I'm going to polish the inside of the die to a mirror finish, then see how the next hundred does.

The inside of the die shouldn't even really touch the brass on the expander die.
The expander bead / thimble / whatever you want to call the center section is the only thing that should really touch the brass.

The outside is sized initially by the sizer, then the bell is removed by the crimp die assuming you don't run a combination operation with a seater/crimper.