Lee expander dies ... SUCK!

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Walkalong said:
They say it’s on purpose to help settle powder etc, but, imho, that’s just advertising to excuse poor machining, which of course saves money. Some are worse than others, I polished all of mine, and most (if not all?) have been replaced.
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I don’t use a measuring device other than a Lee dipper so I polish them and put a 250 finish crosshatch in the surface to hold wax. They slide like a Corvair on a wet brick road. 🤣
 
jski said:
You've misconstrued my comments. ALL my frustration is directed solely at Lee.
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I would suggest you stop buying Lee. If they’re the only game in town, make some using blanks and a lathe. You get better quality if you make it yourself.
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
I don’t use a measuring device other than a Lee dipper so I polish them and put a 250 finish crosshatch in the surface to hold wax. They slide like a Corvair on a wet brick road. 🤣
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My second car in college was a 64 corvair monza. Did a 360 after an emergency lane change on DRY pavement. My knees still shake thinking about it.

I only use dippers now too thanks to you. Well I just use the .5cc
 
I wet tumble and use Lee dies and I don’t have a problem with mine . I reload 9mm , .38 , .357 , .44mag .45 acp and .45 Colt .
 
A single stage loader here. I do not know if the Lee expanders "suck" but they sure do stick sometimes. I went from Lee auto disc and auto drum and powder through expanders to a Redding M expander and a hand operated powder measure. My ammo got straighter, I quit worrying about whether the powder measure "went all the way", and my loading is probably faster. And I no longer futz around taking dies apart and trying to polish surfaces.
 
jski said:
All my Lee expander dies require a LARGE downward upward force when removing the die from the case. My wife can hear it from clear across the house! Why would Lee design such a boneheaded die? Also, I have to believe this ain’t good for my Redding T-7 turret press.
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My experience as well, with clean brass. Dirtier brass seems to release with much less snap. I dislike both Hornady and Lee floating expanders. I've polished them (which shouldn't be required anyway) and it does tend to help.

I used a piece of 1/2" copper pipe to make a ring spacer to eliminate the space in which the floating expander slides on the Hornady. Probably could do something similar with the Lee, though I believe it would need to be smaller in diameter.
 
I believe the "shudder" is the steel insert, rubbing/grabbing the brass in the case neck. The cleaner the steel and brass, the more the metals want to stick together/gall...
 
Posts #26 and #34,
You will find this on all Lee pistol dies with the Powder thru die expander. This has been discussed and explained many times on the Lee Loader website, which happens to be down at this time. I believe it is also mentioned on Lee Precision FAQ. Their bottleneck rifle dies work w/o an expander. I believe if you search here you will also find the same responses.
 
In Lee's book Modern Reloading he states the expander button is purposly left with a rough texture so when the powder through expander die is used on a progressive press the jarring action will keep the propellant from bridging within the measure drop tube or die itself. As mentioned polish the expander button, use lube, or both if this bothers you.

Guess I first stopped reading at the end of the first page LOL. Whatever the reason none of my handgun dies that Lee made have an excessive amount of grinding or whatever when removing the brass. You should try the RCBS primer pocket swager if you want to be annoyed with having to thump the lever on the upstroke.
 
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FROGO207 said:
In Lee's book Modern Reloading he states the expander button is purposly left with a rough texture so when the powder through expander die is used on a progressive press the jarring action will keep the propellant from bridging within the measure drop tube or die itself. As mentioned polish the expander button, use lube, or both if this bothers you.
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Funny, I had never read that about rough texture but it doesn’t apply to any of mine—original 9mm, original 45acp, spare 45acp plugs/inserts—they were all smooth and shiny finish I just polished them more. These were bought in 2019 so maybe they changed after that.

We had a thread here a while back (6 months or more) and a fella was having trouble with his really rough looking expander so I and others said polish and call Lee cause that’s junk:) Remember that one?
 
Lee pistol caliber powder through expander dies are designed to "bump" when removing the case from the die. This is from the Lee instructions: "In use, the expander plug travels approximately 3/8” within the die and comes to an abrupt stop at extraction. This helps to shake the powder through." Like CQB45ACP I have found that polishing the expander plug helps smooth this out.
 
jski said:
All my Lee expander dies require a LARGE downward upward force when removing the die from the case. My wife can hear it from clear across the house! Why would Lee design such a boneheaded die? Also, I have to believe this ain’t good for my Redding T-7 turret press.
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Are you working with NATO 7.62x51 brass??? If so just throw them in the trash. I have been complaining about NATO brass in the what have your done in the reloading room today thread for a while now.
 
jski said:
All my Lee expander dies require a LARGE downward upward force when removing the die from the case. My wife can hear it from clear across the house! Why would Lee design such a boneheaded die? Also, I have to believe this ain’t good for my Redding T-7 turret press.
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I agree, they do suck. Nearly all my Lee expanders have been replaced with NOE plugs and the universal expander die. I was shocked when I bought my last set of lee dies and the expander was actually smooth and didn't lock on to the brass and require a slam of the press handle to release it. You can polish them like others have said, but some dies require a more aggressive approach using 1000g sandpaper since they're so bad.
 
Talked with a Lee tech and he said to spray some Ballistol on the die … not the case. Repeat thus until it “works its way” into the die.

He claimed the problem is the new tungsten against the new brass and it needs something to lube the interface between the two surfaces.
 
jski said:
He claimed the problem is the new tungsten against the new brass and it needs something to lube the interface between the two surfaces.
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Kinda like the minuscule dust that dry tumbling would add…………..

That’s been mentioned…………..

in this thread…………………………..

Already………………………………….

Multiple times…………………………
 
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