Help please, expander ball diameter.

[gofastman]

I went to go load some rounds with my new Lee dies and I smooshed 3 cases while trying to seat the bullets.
I measured my Lee sizing die expander ball/neck sizer thing and it was 0.2632" on my micrometer.
That doesn't seem like enough, does it?

[Klem]

Back the seating die off a full turn, then screw the seating stem in to make up the difference.

Lee has a bad reputation on this forum so before jumping to conclusions try that first.

[Lemonaid]

See this thread for more info.

http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthread.php?20607-Hornady-Brass&highlight=crushing

[gofastman]

See this thread for more info.
http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showt...light=crushing

Backing the seating die out a turn fixed it!
That is really strange! I don't think this die crimps, and I followed the Lee instructions for setup, but it works fine now that it's backed out a bit.
Thanks!

[Lemonaid]

That's what this forum is all about, getting info you don't have and sharing what you do.
Out of curiosity, what bullets were you having problems with? Was it the 120 Gold dots?

[gofastman]

That's what this forum is all about, getting info you don't have and sharing what you do.
Out of curiosity, what bullets were you having problems with? Was it the 120 Gold dots?

95grain Maker TRex

[grayfox]

In case you're not doing this, here's another little tip, get a VLD inner chamfer and inner chamfer all cases with it. Its angle is a little shallower than a regular one and helps ease the bullet into the case mouth. Do this for all cases every time, new or x-fired.

[FLshooter]

Not sure exactly about what is causing your crushed shoulders,as I don?t use Lee dies too often.But,I did have a similar problem.
Years back,I was getting crushed shoulders on some of my cases while seating bullets.I was using an RCBS die which seats and crimps in one step.Turned out my cases were not uniform.Since then,I run every case through my trimmer.With all cases being uniform,I no longer have a crushed shoulder.

[gofastman]

Update: crushed several more cases. These dies are going in the trash.

[Msalm]

Before chucking them, try this. Measure OAL on several cases, take the longest one and put in the shellholder. Screw the seating stem out several turns and also the die. Raise ram and then screw die down til it bottoms out on case. Unscrew die 1/2 turn from that point and lock it down. Then install a fully assembled round, raise ram and screw seating stem down to touch. Should be set properly now. The only other reason you would buckle necks is not chamfering the inside of the case neck properly or enough.

[Klem]

Update: crushed several more cases. These dies are going in the trash.

This is what I mean, jumping to conclusions. Lee are lowest quality parts but it's more likely incorrect setup that is causing the crush. You said it yourself it started to work after backing off one full turn...work through the problem, persevere.

[grayfox]

You are measuring/trimming them to be 1.510-1.520 case OAL (Grendel spec), right?

Your case mouth could well be hitting the internal crimp/upper edge of the neck-sizing region.
Not sure but if you raise the die body too far up then your shoulder will not resize down to its spec.

I would definitely get better dies, hornady or rcbs, or even better than those, but those are known to work well.
Those Lee dies are costing you money, brass and time.

[Rosecrans1]

What MSALM and earlier, what Klem had said should work but.......I know older Lee dies do not lock down but use an O ring on the locking nut which does move when you take the die on and off the press. If your newer Lee die doesn't have a locking set-screw or locking mechanism other than a rubber O ring, it likely moved when you switched dies. When I used Lee dies, I kept a dummy round, (no primer/powder), that was sized and spaced for OAL for any loads I deemed worthy. I used it to put the die down on top of each time I wanted to load using that bullet and OAL using the instructions these gentlemen stated earlier. Just a thought before you round-file those dies!

[FLshooter]

Although,I prefer Forster,I know lots of shooters who use Lee dies all day,every day.They never complain about crushed shoulders.I have to agree w/Clem and say “incorrect set up”.
I’d measure my brass first.Trim them all to the same size.If all else fail,call lee.They have a Customer service # and I am sure they give technical advice.

[GREYBUFF]

I am using Lee dies and once I got the seating die set up I put blue loctite on the locking nut. I also tighten the dies down with a wrench even though it has the o-ring. I've never had any issues. Also, ALL cases have been trimmed to the proper length before seating bullets.