lee and rcbs.... interchangable?

[ch3no2freak]

i have older dies from rcbs. .308w rcbs dies from 1991. The expander ball ripped the threads right off the rod and from inside the ball and bent the rod. since i cant find replacement parts for my dies anymore i dont wish to buy a new set just yet and my machine shop access is severely limited at this point. my question is can i use the lee one piece decapping rod in my rcbs? im just not sure if the rod will fit in the compression fittings because no one i know has this rod. does any one on here happen to have one the can mic out for me? the rcbs rod mic's out to 2.002. thanks for any help you guys can provide.

 

[ch3no2freak]

i can i think drill out the fittings depending on how extreme the size difference is

 

[GCBurner]

The Lee and RCBS parts aren't interchangeable, but if you just need something for decapping cases, Lee sells a Universal Decapping Die by itself, just for that purpose.

 

[ch3no2freak]

do you know the size by chance of the rod on the lee unit?

 

[Certaindeaf]

If you crumpled the actual rod you had it adjusted too low.

 

[jim243]

No, different size stems. I bought the Lee Universal Decaping die and use it most of the time on rifle cases. Purpose was for decaping military cases and saving the decaping rods from getting bent. For pistol I just use my Lee dies.

Jim

 

[lightman]

Call RCBS! They will replace it for you, probably for free. Their customer service is among the best in the industry, heck, in the world. Lightman

 

[ch3no2freak]

and im sorry i miss typed the diameter of the rcbs rod. I meant .202 not 2.002

 

[Certaindeaf]

Jim, do you mean pin or rod?

 

[ch3no2freak]

i know how i broke it. i just need a diameter measurement of the lee rod. and yes these military crimps are a bitch. according to rcbs the part is discontinued and they cant replace it

 

[ch3no2freak]

jim was refering to the part of the rod the clamps at the top

 

[dsm]

Yep, call RCBS. Without doubt, they will get you set up with all the parts you need.

 

[jim243]

Interesting, I was trying to find my extra decaping rods from Lee. It's been years since I bent or broke one. Who knows where they are hidden.

The RCBS rod has threading up and down the rod, the Lee rods are smooth and use a different locking system (compression nut). If I ever find them, I will take a picture to show the differences.

Lightman is correct, just call RCBS and they will replace the rod for free. I doubt they have changed the design (Maybe) in years or they should be able to get you one from old stock.

Jim

 

[jim243]

RCBS on the Left - Lee Universal on the Right



Jim

 

[ch3no2freak]

lol i just realized the pics i uploaded did not post like i thought they did. let me try reposting the pics so you can see what i mean. my rcbs dies are older model dies. it does not use the threaded rod like you are thinking. but if you could send me a measurement of the thickness of the lee rod?????? please???

 

[ch3no2freak]

i have this and it broke

 

[ch3no2freak]

so i want to know if this

 

[ch3no2freak]

will fit in this??!!?!?!

 

[jim243]

0.202 inch

 

[gamestalker]

RCBS will take care of you. Just e-mail them and explain the problem and they'll either just send the replacement out to you, or swap everything out for new.
GS

 

[ArchAngelCD]

You keep saying the dies are old but 1991 isn't all that old. I have dies from the 70's which RCBS has replaced parts. Do not assume they can't fix them and if they can't fix your older die they will still replace it. Call them, don't email them and they will fix the problem, really... Don't try to order the parts because that might get you the "we don't have them anymore" answer but they will replace anything that's broken.

 

[david_r]

I learned something in this thread. If you have a very specific question, you must ask it a minimum of 4 times before it will be answered

Confirmed Lee decapping pin is .202. Length from end to shoulder is 3 5/8" if you need to know.

Are you aware that your resizing die won't resize the neck properly if you replace an expander ball type decapping pin with a straight decapping pin?

 

[ch3no2freak]

omg david thank you so god damn much! finally i cant believe it took that long to get that simple answer. and yeah im aware. but thank you for the info finally. where the hell were you like 3 hours ago?!

 

[ch3no2freak]

and jim thank you too however i wasnt asking about the ones that are straight like that. i posted a pic of the one i was asking about

 

[ch3no2freak]

and again i already called rcbs. they told me i was **** out of luck. like a said before so this makes twice now. i already called them. now three times