Lee Collet Neck Sizing Die Part 1

This tutorial shows how to set up your Lee collet neck sizing die.

[@blogobre]

Thanks, this fixed a problem I was having with the dies!

[@steveduvall5981]

Cool! haven't used mine yet but now I will get it ready anyway.

[@PaulTummers]

Those dies are a charm to work with when you take some time to do what Lee has not done, probably to keep their product cheap; Take it apart, clean everything and polis the surfaces of the parts that slide over each other when the collet has to move and lube those surfaces with High-grade Teflon grease. I would have loved to see one made by Redding.

[@kelhawk1]

+Paul Tummers I've been threatening to try polishing my die for weeks now, and have gunsmith tools ready to do it in a minute. Doin it *now*, thanks! Kinda cool, when I was reading "I would have loved to see one made by"....I guessed you would say..."Redding", then I clicked "Read more". I have owned but one Redding die set, but that's all it took for me to realize the type of quality you were alluding to.

[@PaulTummers]

+kelhawk1 There are other good products on the market when it comes to dies; I personally have all my rifle dies from Forster, they also are great value for the money. It is a very good concept, those Lee Collet dies, but lee does operate in a nice of the market that does not allow them to give as much attention to thing like polishing and finishing as others do. I have a lathe, and one also can customize those collet dies to a certain kind of brass/bullet combination by reducing the diameter of the mandrel. Make sure, you polish it very well when having done that!

[@kelhawk1]

+Paul Tummers I hadn't even considered messin with the mandrel yet. I do have in mind to machine an adjustable spacer that fits around the collet sleeve, between shellholder and the body of the collet die, to positively limit the crush on the collet. Seems like it could produce more consistent results than using a torque wrench as a press handle.

[@josecanisales3491]

Lee Collet dies are very affordable and VERY GOOD compared to the big named ones eg Redding, RCBS, Hornady, Oh Forester is another very good product.

[@Propelled]

As an avid Lee collet die fan, I’ve a few tips to add: 1.) You can get a custom turned mandrel for their collet die to make the neck tension exactly what you want. 2.)To set it up for consistency, start loose and keep going until it bottoms out on the bottom of the stroke. (On my Forster, it doesn’t cam over much) If you crush the shoulder, back it off until it doesn’t. The reason I like it that tight is because it actually uniforms the neck thickness this way (find a funky casing, check for yourself) 3.) Take the die apart. Get a Work Sharp knife sharpener. Rotate it around while buffing off the machine ridges on the mandrel shoulder. This will make sense when you take it apart. Work your way through the belt grits until you polish it with Flitz on a used 6000 belt or on a leather stropping belt. Use a dab of moly grease. You will not believe how slick it works after this and how consistent the feel is! 4.) Rotating for a double working is really helpful to uniform the neck, plus, it will push out any thick spots. Again, almost as good as neck turning. 5.) You can make awesome precision semi-auto ammo with the Lee Collet die. I sent my .308 Forster die back to Forster with three used casings. I asked them to make it so that it bumped back the shoulder three thou and had them take the neck away until it didn’t touch the neck. You full length size the brass, then use the .308 Lee Collet die to set the neck. A bit more work for sure, but worth the effort and works the brass a LOT less than any other way! 6.) I really like the Lee. Other dies monkey with the brass so badly. Think about it; other dies squish the hell out if the neck on the down stroke. To see just how bad, take the sizing ball out, press one and measure the poor crushed misshapen neck. Then, after you have this done, the ball gets dragged unsupported in any uniform way back through the neck to stretch it back out! The brass springs and stretches any old way it decides to compared to the uniform crush of the Lee against the mandrel! The proof is in the runout. Worst thing of all, regular dies work the brass far far more than a Lee Collet die. I get a lot more firings from brass with the Lee. I propose that the hardening is as much done by the extra working done by the ball sizing dies than the firing. But I could mistaken.

[@ammosmith]

Thank you! I learn a lot from the viewers and our forum members. They also make the dies on 50 BMG now. Lee uses rail road tracks and spikes for the material.

[@dianenemeth2832]

Also don't forget to anneal first

[@hackamore]

I just got mine and was wondering about the movement inside the body. Thanks!

[@milboltnut]

if you are experiencing a case that doesn't chamber then the shoulder and body need to be sized. I never had a case neck sized with my Lee Collet die oversize to the point of a case not chambering.

[@meals24u]

great demo and thanks! one question, if anyone knows, can i also just use any case lube on the pedals instead of lithium grease?? thanks again

[@lnldreamer6083]

Thanks for the tip on the collet w/ grit and grease. Any chance you could set up the Hornady LNL AP for 223 with the Lee Collet and Lee FCD and the other die of choice that you feel is the best combo? Specifically for a 223 bolt action rifle for accuracy purposes?

[@samalverio3157]

You started by not having too much Faith' on the Lee die only to find outat the end the concentricity would be very good with the Lee die..as for that high spot that you found when you were using the concentricity gauge for that high spot that showed on the concentricity was because you were supposed to turn the brass slightly so that high spot would be crushed and you won't have that problem.it happens when the brass flows between the petals

[@louisfriendhastaste]

Watch this before you use the die, Wish I had! thanks for the post ammosmith

[@detectiveinspekta]

Do you recommend just the neck sizing die over the full size die? I have been told that the fired brass fits exactly the gun chamber so its a good idea to only change the neck as it will be more accurate as there is less expansion the next time around.

[@ammosmith]

Get both. Range brass can be of an unknown dimension that may or may not fit your chamber.

[@cams7251]

I have the Deluxe 9mm die set and with my sizing and decapping die i cannot get the collet to screw back on! im frustrated. please help! THANKS

[@StefanoRovere]

Did you put the decapping pin back in flush with the face of the collet?

[@frankthetank6173]

contact lee. They will replace ANY damaged or worn parts

[@gregpruitt1647]

I am confused about one thing. I have the Lee Deluxe die set for .223. In the set are two dies with decapper rods (full length resizing die and neck collet die). I only use one of these dies in the press (Lee Loadmaster), not both, right?

[@StefanoRovere]

If you shoot that ammo from a bolt action, then go on and use the neck sizing die. If on the other hand you shoot it from a semi auto, you are going to need to full length size your brass or it most likely won't chamber, or give you big feeding problems at the very least

[@zhukie]

@@StefanoRovere I am getting ready to reload for a bolt action and have read that the collet dies can be used until extraction becomes difficult, then you can use a redding body die (which doesn't affect the neck) to bump the shoulder very slightly then the collet as usual

[@normanmcneal3605]

Pard? It’s a collet, not a mandrel. You are full of “ not reading the first third of Lee’s book”! Carry on with your learning

[@Sherman62]

Actually, it's a collet around a mandrel.