Am I mis-using Lee Seating die

[BigMacMI]

Been loading plated/FMJ bullets no problem.

Recently got into the cast game. Added a Lyman M-die for case flare prior to seating due to some shaved lead using only the Lee expander/powder through.

So, now I basically have 5 dies on my 4 die turret.

In the interest of time/efficiency, I ran a batch today using the height of the seating die to 'de flare' the cases, and noticed that the lip of the CASE had a bit of shaved brass. You can see that where the edge of the flared case glides on the side of the die, it must shave a bit off as it brings it in toward the bullet. (think of the ends of the letter Y that have to be brought together).

I was under the impression that you could use the bullet seating die to 'de flare' the case. I don't apply crimp so to speak. Just remove enough case expansion to chamber efficiently.

I could go back to FCD. Thinking of an efficient process to do this. I did size/deprime a bunch of cases, which means I can jsut have those prepped before i run a batch of bullets, and replace the sizing/decapping with the M die. Then it is M die-->Powder through expander-->Seating-->FCD

I guess the only concern is the wear on the brass... I do pick mine/others up, and have few thousand(s?) extra on hand... but ya never know when you may need to make a piece of brass into a bullet multiple times over the course of it's life... (hopefully not for the next 3.5 years at least)

 

[243winxb]

Recently got into the cast game.

Are you sizing the cast bullets to the correct diameter?

 

[BigMacMI]

Yes. All is running well otherwise. I am mostly making sure that I am not ruining the seating die (or using it incorrectly) by using it as a case straightener. I see online that the 3 die set (no FCD) the seating die is suggested for a taper-crimp like use, by setting the die height independent of bullet seating adjustment. I do not see this indicated as a yes or no for the 4 die set... but i imagine that it could be a different die (seems less likely, especially for LEE).

Things run fine how I am going about it... It's just weird to see all of those hair like strips of brass around the case (is NOT shaved lead... have pulled bullets to confirm). If it wasn't clear above, the reason I am doing it this way is because my turret has 4 and not 5 holes... so adding the FCD is a 5th spot in the rotation. My other option is just to make bullets and then either crimp them all after the fact by swapping FCD in. Or as I said above, just sizing/decapping a bunch of brass prior to the fact.

Call it sloth or searching for maximum efficiency? I enjoy reloading... but not adding steps to the process i guess. I'd rather shoot em

 

[edwardware]

I've seen the same. . . it's shaved from the case mouth be rough machining (reamer marks) on the seating die's crimp surface. This is common in Lee dies.

You can polish it if you want, you can minimize it by chamfering the outside of the mouth.

The FCD has a carbide ring, so it's smooth.

 

[BigMacMI]

I like that idea of polishing it. I can certainly feel the machine marks. I have some mag wheel polish. I wonder if that would be the right (very light) abrasiveness. On a rag and spun slow with an electric screwdriver (slowly)

 

[edwardware]

In my experience, you're going to want to start coarser than that. I'd start with a rubber bob (the rubber wheels from the paper handling shafts of a modern printer are perfect) and a tab of 600 silicone-carbide paper. Maybe a dremel set will have something you can reach up there with.

You need to at least dull the sharp edges of the chip gouges left by the reamer, and I don't think a fine polishing compound will do it.

 

[BigMacMI]

In my experience, you're going to want to start coarser than that. I'd start with a rubber bob (the rubber wheels from the paper handling shafts of a modern printer are perfect) and a tab of 600 silicone-carbide paper. Maybe a dremel set will have something you can reach up there with.

You need to at least dull the sharp edges of the chip gouges left by the reamer, and I don't think a fine polishing compound will do it.

thanks... I will look into what I can find. I have learned the dangers of the dremel early in life

 

[Englishmn]

Or just don't worry about it.
I have same thing with my Lee pistol dies.

 

[jmorris]

I guess the only concern is the wear on the brass...

The worst part of it will be the stretching from the extra flare your giving it, that is what will start cracks first.

If you can hold the bullet straight while it's being seated, you can get away with almost no bell.

This is how little I use on my bullet fed machines, using my cast and coated bullets.

Pull some of the shaved bullets and see if the cut is on one side because it was set crooked on the case mouth or because the profile didn't match the seating stem.

FWIW if the bullet is not contacting the seating stem at or before the point the case bell is being removed from the die, the extra stretching of the brass your doing is pointless.

 

[edwardware]

I will look into what I can find. I have learned the dangers of the dremel early in life

True to be sure, but you do need to remove a sizable amount of material in this case. I probably polished the crimp surface back by almost 0.0005 (a guesstimate), because I wanted to get past the chip gouges that were peeling shavings from the brass mouths.

You could also have a chat with Lee; they may replace the die body for you. They're not RCBS, but they are pretty decent folks.

 

[SASS#23149]

seating and crimping in 2 ops is the way to go. think about ths;
any time the handle is moving down,the round is moving up.So doing it in 2 ops means the flare is still there while seating and can't shave anything .

I"ve been doing it that way for years, sure keeps the dies cleaner inside.

 

[Mark NM]

With my Lee dies, every time this has happened (occasionally over the years), one of two interventions has resolved problem. First, really cleaning the seating die—loading cast, the lube can build up and collect nasty crud. Second, flare less on the powder-through die. With some bullets (e.g.41 mag laser-cast) I need to crimp separately, most others can seat and crimp together without shaving brass if clean and not over-flared. As always, YMMV. Stay safe. Mark