[Clark]

And I have really strong finger nails. I can peel an orange quickly.

I took out a pocket knife and hacked bevel on the bottom of the tab sticking out from the bottom half of the box. Now I can open them with just my finger nails.

[rcmodel]

Throw the dang thing on the floor and break it open as Mr. Lee intended.

You can buy good die boxes.

rc

[cfullgraf]

Lee storage boxes are one of the reasons I stopped buying Lee dies. By the time I replaced the o-ring lock-less rings with real lock rings, bought a new, well designed storage box and paid for shipping for those items, I was spending near as much as a set of RCBS dies.

[rcmodel]

+1

rc

[rsrocket1]

Flip the lid around 180 degrees so that the box can't lock. Then use a piece of packing tape to keep it closed. Fold the end of the tape over so it doesn't completely stick, it makes peeling the tape off easier.

Or pay double for a set of dies in a nice box. You'll be happier.

[gamestalker]

I won't even mess with their stinking boxes. Once I get them open I throw them away and use a real die box.

GS

[Certaindeaf]

You need to grow an opposable thumb. oohooh!

[beatledog7]

I buy Hornady die boxes for all my Lee dies.

[beeenbag]

Quit being a wuss and just open the box. It's not like it's made of tungsten, just squeeze the sides and pull the lid up. No need using your nails, might ruin a manicure.

[GT1]

I suppose the same guys that can't open these can't open their med bottles either.

What a sad bunch, the boxes open in a second. I have a dozen Lee die sets and it never entered my mind that "darn, these simple plastic boxes are like die safes.". :neener:

[bigfinger76]

They seem fine to me. Never had a problem.

[rcmodel]

I suppose the same guys that can't open these can't open their med bottles either.Oh!
Thats lower then 3 week old whale dung right there.

Try arthritic old hands, made slick with sizing lube, and get back to me when you are 70 years old son.

rc

[jcwit]

Is there nothing we here at THR that we can't bash Lee about!

[rcmodel]

Nope!

rc

[hogshead]

rc I am finally gonna have to disagree with you on something. Of course I don't have the 70 yo hands yet. Glad your still around. Still grinning about your technique for stopping an attacking dog.:)

[GLOOB]

My fingernails have nothing to do with opening the Lee die boxes, and I wear a large glove. I suppose the guys with problems have true sausage fingers if they need a fingernail to catch the lid!

As Rsrocket pointed out, the lid is designed to lock one way, and to slip on the other. All you have to do it turn it around.

I use the Lee lid to hold a working pile of brass and/or bullets next to the press. When I use my Hornady dies, I have to pull a lid off one of my Lee sets.

[rcmodel]

Still grinning about your technique for stopping an attacking dog.
As Rsrocket pointed out, the lid is designed to lock one way, and to slip on the other. All you have to do it turn it around.

I'm thinking that might work on attack dogs too, now that Gloob mentioned it.
I should have thought to ask the war dog trainer about that??

rc

[Certaindeaf]

Lee is so cheap it had to use an "e" twice. well I tried

[Hondo 60]

Is there nothing we here at THR that we can't bash Lee about!

I'm gonna have to agree with jcwit on this one.

If you can't open the die box, keep a small screwdriver handy as a pry bar, OR just turn the cover 180 degrees.

Lee is so cheap it had to use an "e" twice.
That way they only had to pay once to get a vowel, huh? :scrutiny:

[hogshead]

Well you will have to find another test subject cause if it dont work it would be bad and if it did work it would still be pretty bad.

[Certaindeaf]

.That way they only had to pay once to get a vowel, huh? :scrutiny:
I have no idea what you are talking about.

[tcanthonyii]

I like the boxes. I have no problems with them. But with the turret press I just get new turret plates. Then I never need the box.

[dickttx]

Like this ^^^^.
My 76 year old fingers don't work real well on anything anymore. I was just wondering a few minutes ago how I was going to open my gallon jug of Braums milk in a few years.:confused:
And you only have to open the die box once, then put everything in a LCT turret or a LnL bushing, or a Folgers coffee can.;)
Did not know about the 180° switch. Thanks

[sghart3578]

seriously?

[evan price]

The round boxes at least hold a turret or work with push through bullet sizer.

[Arkansas Paul]

By the time I replaced the o-ring lock-less rings with real lock rings

I despise the so called "real" lock rings. The Lee rings is why I buy their dies. I can't freaking stand the little brass allen head tightening screws. I actually have a couple of sets of RCBS dies with Lee rings on them. Also, I like how with Lee dies you can adjust seating depth very easily with the top adjustment. I know others has it too, it they're not as easy to use as the Lee.
I'm not a fan of all of their products, but I would buy their dies even if they were the same price as RCBS, Lyman, etc.
As for the OP, I agree that the other companies boxes are better.

[higgite]

Awww, y'all quit your sissy whining and just get an Acme Ambidextrous Unobtanium-plated Lee Die Box Opening Tool.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3496522

(The :evil: made me do it.)

[kelbro]

And the red color hurts my eyes... :uhoh:

[leadchucker]

Maybe I'm the only one who has no trouble with the Lee boxes. I find them to be a convenient package/storage for the dies, shell holder, dipper, and a few test shells. They don't come open unless you want them to come open. (Opening them is not a problem if you know where to apply pressure.)

You can buy dies that come in something other than a Lee box... but you'll pay a lot more for them. :)

[cfullgraf]

I despise the so called "real" lock rings. The Lee rings is why I buy their dies. I can't freaking stand the little brass allen head tightening screws. I actually have a couple of sets of RCBS dies with Lee rings on them.

I prefer split lock rings over the ones with set screws but once I set a die, the only time it gets readjusted is when I purchased a new press. In thirty some years of reloading, that has been twice.

I have no problems opening the Lee boxes, I do not like the cheap feel and have broken a couple when they acciddntially got launched off the reloading table.

The tops are good for holding small parts or bullets while reloading.

[Certaindeaf]

This is the way the big boys roll..

http://fashionbombdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/tiffany-box.jpg

[floydster]

Some people shouldn't be re-loading.

Smokeyloads

[stubbicatt]

I have no issues with the Lee die boxes, but preferred the old "turret" styled boxes for storage. Just mash in under the tabs on the red part, and the clear lid pops right off. If you turn the lid around it simply goes into place without locking, easing the next opening session.

The non-locking, "lock" rings are surely a disappointment, but the remainder of the die set is top notch and I buy a lot of dies. Typically I replace the sizing die with an X die in bottleneck cartridges. But the carbide pistol dies are top of the line, at least until you make the changeover to Dillon presses and dies.

[Bush Pilot]

Lee is so cheap it had to use an "e" twice. well I tried
At least it's easy to pronounce, unlike RCBS.

[JamieC]

I don't have any problems opening the Lee die boxes, I do wonder if this is important enough to start a thread about, I guess with all the answers, it is.

[Certaindeaf]

They're kinda oily when they come from the factory. I wonder what kind of oil they use.

[GT1]

Try arthritic old hands, made slick with sizing lube, and get back to me when you are 70 years old son.

I will concede that point, sir. *bows*

[kingmt]

Really?

This by far is the best thread. I started laughing at the top & haven't stupid yet. Wonder of we're can get it a sticky.

[springer99]

I don't have a problem with the Lee boxes. As soon as I get a new set of dies, the first thing I do is install them in a spare turret for my press. The empty boxes end up just storing the unneeded powder scoops and extra shell holders. I'm happy to see my money go for pretty good dies and not fancy packaging.

[Certaindeaf]

If I had really strong fingernails and could peel an orange quickly I'd go hog hunting and say "Muay Thai this!". true story

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=409071

[Fire_Moose]

I had trouble opening my first set of Lee dies. Took 5 mind maybe, quickly saw I could close it easier by flipping it 180 degrees. After I for my LCT, I PICKED UP a couple of the round turret boxes. Now THOSE are a waste of money.

First off, it doesn't snap closed, the top just lightly sits on the base. OK so what's up with the hole in the bottom of the base? Can't for the life of me figure that design out.

Needless to say I didn't use them, except for one of the tops, flip the top upside down and it makes a great cup! (Actually it makes a good pro auto holder when the hopper's full.)

useless signiture

[Bull Nutria]

I emailed Richard Lee the url to this thread. Lee told me he would send RCModel a gross of his model perfect red die boxes since Model likes Lee products so much! Lee said he would include a screw driver and instructions for opening his boxes in the care package.

Bull

[45lcshooter]

there were some of those rectangular boxes that didnt have tabs on them. i transfered all my dies that i have in other boxes.

Idea, if it breaks your nails and such, take a dremel with a sander wheel and grind the tabs off.

[SSN Vet]

My dies come out of the box, get set up on a turret, and the box goes in the trash.

What are you guys doin' .... single stage reloading? :eek:

I think I hear George Jetson calling ..... "why's everyone still livin' in the past" :neener:

[raindog]

The reason the boxes are hard to open is that they're tactical reloading die boxes, designed to hold up under battle stress. Those fancy easy-open die boxes will completely fall apart on the battlefield, leaving your precision steel to tumble into the mud.

When there are mushroom clouds on the horizon or zombies at the gates, you'll be glad your die boxes are military-grade. For your average sportsman reloading 270 to take his annual deer, sure, quick access easy-open die boxes are fine. But for Wolverines who need their die boxes to stay closed as they move from one reloading foxhole to another, there's only one choice.

[cfullgraf]

What are you guys doin' .... single stage reloading? :eek:



Single stage (rifle) and progressive (handgun). My progressive is a Hornady L-N-L that uses bushings to mount the dies. The dies with bushings fit nicely in an RCBS die box.

[dickttx]

At least you know what Lee stands for. No one would even put their name on RCBS. Probably most don't even know what it stands for, or that they don't even make that stuff anymore!!:D

Good thread. Lots of creative thinking!!!!

[colonelhogan44]

Flip it 180 degrees.

I cursed the box once and then looked at the lock design. Simple.
They slide on and off nicely when flipped.

[beatledog7]

I heard that in NY you're now required to store your >7-round mags in a Lee die box until you transfer them out of state. That way it's assured you can't use them.

[Rule3]

Wow, slow day, nothing else to whine about? Jusr push the side in and open or turn the lid around.

There are probably several Videos on You Tube. Maybe Nutnfancy has a Tactical review?:rolleyes:

[Certaindeaf]

Wow, slow day, nothing else to whine about?.
See what you just did there Sir Zinfandel? can I get a witness

[horsemen61]

IF you guys don't like the lee boxes I would love to have them just pm me.

[Rule3]

See what you just did there Sir Zinfandel? can I get a witness
I don't care for Zin. To sweet. Wifey drinks that swill.

[MEHavey]

I just sanded/scraped the tabs flush w/ the side.

- Closes fine
- Stays closed fine
- Opens fine

(I save the rocket science stuff for the reloading part)
:evil:

[cfullgraf]

IF you guys don't like the lee boxes I would love to have them just pm me.

Wish I would have known, but I have not bought a set of Lee dies in 15 years or so. Boxes are landfill now.

[mls]

Now this is a good post for those of us who have nothing else to do but bitch a little and not figure out how to do something different. It does give me a lift for the humor.

[blarby]

push through bullet sizer.

Speaking of useless pieces of Shat that roll off the Lee assembly line.... And I own more than one of them. Never more of a thumb-crusher was such a device as this ever made.

Don't get me wrong, I can open a lee die box with a welder and crowbar just like anyone else- But those Rock Chucker Bullet Swage die boxes are considerably better made.

After throwing my latest .308 FL sizing die from lee out the window into the trash can, I've swore off them dies for good. Thats half of $20 I'll never get back. It sized all of 8 pieces of brass before the dang thing crumpled in on itself :/

Don't get me wrong- I love my red single stage press- and will never be rid of it. I love all of the brass cutting sizers and shellholders, too- but I've owned and dismissed more bummer lee die sets than I think I currently actually own. They must be asleep at the lathe down there.

[Wylie1]

When I buy dies I just buy a press plate and the dies never go back into the original box again, they go in the new press plate and just stay there.

[winchester1886]

:neener: I can't believe what I'm hearing. If you think that Lee Dies are a piece of crap then why do you buy them.I find that they are not as good as some other dies but then again I know that when I buy them. As far as the box's are concerned I use a small flat tip screwdriver and slip it under the lid and it pop's right off.I rotate the lid 180 degrees and place it back on. When I am through I turn the lid around and snap it back on and the dies are secured.

[cfullgraf]

:neener: I can't believe what I'm hearing. If you think that Lee Dies are a piece of crap then why do you buy them.

I never said that the dies themselves were poor, just the extras that come with the dies.

When I stopped buying Lee dies in the 90s, it cost me as much to buy lock rings that I preferred and a better die box as it did to buy another manufacturer's die set.

Add in out of stock and shipping woes, the headaches of using Lee dies were not worth it to me.

I believe the price difference between die sets is a bit greater these days so my argument is not as valid today as it was before except for the aggravation of ordering two additional items if i were to order a Lee die set.

Besides, I really like Redding dies these days so I am willing to pay a premium anyway.

My preference and i do not expect everyone to agree.

[thump_rrr]

WOW, First world problems.

[dragon813gt]

Your think the average age of the members here is about 12 if all you read was this thread. Complaining about a box design. Complaining about lock rings. Complaining about push through sizers. All pretty pathetic , IMO. And most of it because it has Lee's name on it. I have no doubt that if Dillon put out a box like Lee's and said it was better than their old design everyone would be praising it.

If you don't like something, don't use it. There are plenty of tool brands that I won't buy. But I don't waste my time complaining about them online. Instead I waste my time making fun of people complaining about "product x" online :laugh:


Brought to you by TapaTalk

[kerreckt]

I agree with member "kelbro". The color of the box hurts my eyes, also. Why can't they change if to something more soothing?

[floydster]

It must be Winter:)

Smokeyloads

[higgite]

It must be Winter:)

Smokeyloads
Why? Are Lee die boxes harder to open in the winter? :D

[Certaindeaf]

I was just drinking some milk and thought of this thread/realized that perhaps/hopefully/someday I'll grow me some herculean fingernails. almost out of milk though, noted upon the fridge

[jcwit]

Why? Are Lee die boxes harder to open in the winter?

Everythings harder to do in the winter, if you do not realize this you're to young to understand.

[StandingTall]

Maybe Nutnfancy has a Tactical review?:rolleyes:
Yup, he can take a 3 second procedure and turn it into 30 minutes.

[Certaindeaf]

nutnfancy only has vestigal fingernails going back three generations. true story

[Joatmon]

Boy, a lot of angst going on out there now, I feel it seeping through the screen. Maybe a combo of cabin fever, Washington politics and dwindling supplies (the small screwdriver or pocket knife trick seems to work ok for me, dont have more than one or two Lee die sets/boxes though). Take more vitamins to strengthen those nails.

[sellersm]

This thread is hilarious!!

However, having rheumatoid arthritis and not getting any younger, I do despise getting those red boxes open, or anycontainer for that matter. That's why God invented children!

[mgmorden]

Can't say that I've ever had a problem with the Lee boxes. They pop right open for me.

If you really have problems, I'd put them on in the "non-locking" fashion and just stack them up.

[Legion489]

I am amazed, AMAZED I say, that anyone can say a bad word about Lee with out being banned for life here! Sure the boxes are a pain to open, the Lee presses are often junk, and some of the other stuff they sell is junk as well (and some is really great too, I have owned or used practically everything they sell at one time or another, so I am speaking from personal experience about that) and they don't stand behind their two year warranty at all, but I see no reason to bash Lee here, especially their die boxes just because they can't be opened!

[pseudonymity]

I agree with member "kelbro". The color of the box hurts my eyes, also. Why can't they change if to something more soothing?

Lee Red is the only color that will allow you to summon the required amount of force. A color like pink or powder blue would keep you from being able to pick up a rock heavy enough to open the case.

[cfullgraf]

but I see no reason to bash Lee here, especially their die boxes just because they can't be opened!

As they say, the devil is in the details.

[thump_rrr]

This is my opinion of Lee dies and die boxes.
100M
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/Thump_rrr/31-10-11.jpg

[JSmith]

Miserable Lee die boxes, I need a screwdriver to open them.

That's by far the easiest way. Luckily, screwdrivers are plentiful around these parts.

That's something I only have to do once, though. Break the box open, remove valuable contents, mount dies in turret plate, toss box and plastic scoop in trashcan.

I am, however, still looking for the ideal storage solution for the die/plate assemblies and the associated shellholders. Something to hold them in such a way that the decapping pin won't get bent.

[jcwit]

Legion489
and they don't stand behind their two year warranty at all,

Not in my experience, they have gone over and beyond the warranty requirements they specify and without me even asking for it, and with me even stating the failure was my fault.

As far as the boxes go, golly guys take a small file and remove the tabs if you wish. After all we are reloaders and somewhat mechanically inclined.

[cfullgraf]

The bottom line is "Different strokes for different folks".

Lee is known for having interesting solutions to reloading and they fill an economy priced segment of the market.

Some folks like the features, some do not.

[jcwit]

cfullgraf, that about sums it up!