Should Lee shell holders be used with the Lee Factory Crimp die?

Status
Not open for further replies.
W

William Young

Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2018
Messages
33
I have run into a snag. I purchased the LFCD for my .308 and .223. The .223 case neck doesn't make contact with the collets. They are trimmed to exactly mid length between min and max case length. I even tried putting an unsized case in it and tested a bullet right afterwards. The bullet fell right in the case. I have followed the instructions and run the die down until it touches the shell holder and then turning in a half a turn. The only thing I can think of is that my Hornady shell holder has slightly more deck height than a Lee and is not letting the round go far enough in to make contact. I don't have any Lee shell holders to compare it to. Has anyone had an issue like this? Also, my .308 Crimp die does work but it crimps on the very end of the case. Also using Hornady shell holders.

Thanks in advance,

William
 
Is the split collet closing all the way when you push the ram up to the fcd? The ram should hit the piece in base of the die and push it up a bit to close the collet.
If not screw the die down more. I screw it down until I see the collet close up tight.

It is possible the shell holder could be taller above the shell base. I haven't seen any problem with my 4 fcd's and have various brands of shell holders.
 
Last edited:
I doubt the shell holder it the problem. Trimming the brass is not critical like with other crimp dies.

Here is the link to the FCD instructions page. Click on the Rifle FCD, it might help you.
https://leeprecision.com/instructions.html

You turn the die in until it touches the shell holder and then add 1/2 turn. Like said above, when the fingers of the collet are fully closed you have max crimp.
 
I ran it down until the collet closed all the way. The brass is within spec. The only thing I can figure is the height of the shell holder is slightly too high and not allowing the case to run in all the way or the collar that actuates the collet is too long.
 
That adjustment would be the starting point. then you turn the FCD in or out slowly to get the amount of crimp desired. I too have an assortment of shell holders and the FCD does not seem to care what brand I use. FWIW my 223 is a Lee shellholder. My 308 I use Lee, RCBS, and Herters. They all work to give me a good crimp. FWIW I now do not use the FCD on my ammo as testing with and without crimp the non crimped ammo is more accurate in my assorted firearms. The only exceptions are the tubular MAG type. For the 30-30 and 32 SPL the FCD is a time saver as I do not need to trim with every reloading. And yes I use the same FCD for both with good results. I just do not turn the die in as far for 32 SPL.
 
Thinking about this a bit. The FCD should be able to put a significant crimp into the actual bullet itself without the brass neck if it is the correct diameter even if the brass is too short. Is there even a mark on the bullet above the brass neck? If not I also think that you have a defective die.
 
FROGO207 said:
Thinking about this a bit. The FCD should be able to put a significant crimp into the actual bullet itself without the brass neck if it is the correct diameter even if the brass is too short. Is there even a mark on the bullet above the brass neck? If not I also think that you have a defective die.
Click to expand...


No mark on the bullet....it is closing together where the top of the cannelure is located. I did insert a case in it from the top just to see if it would crimp and it crimped the snot out of the neck. You could not push a bullet into it and had a noticeable crimp.
 
It has been my experience that the deck height (proper term?) is virtually identical across shellholders from different manufacturers. If they were not, the sizing dies would not push the shoulders back to the right place when full-length sizing.

It sounds to me like the FCD might be suspect.
 
Toprudder said:
It has been my experience that the deck height (proper term?) is virtually identical across shellholders from different manufacturers. If they were not, the sizing dies would not push the shoulders back to the right place when full-length sizing.

It sounds to me like the FCD might be suspect.
Click to expand...


I just got off the phone with Lee and after talking with them, they determined that the die itself might be the culprit. They said that a Hornady shell holder should work with it and that the collet length might be too long.
 
“The bullet fell right in the case.”

Am I reading this right? We’re talking about the Lee Factory Crimp die? Crimping completed rounds and not neck sizing? The bullet falling into your case has nothing to do with the Lee Factory Crimp Die.

I’ll follow up tonight and see what I’m missing here.
 
Bang! said:
“The bullet fell right in the case.”

Am I reading this right? We’re talking about the Lee Factory Crimp die? Crimping completed rounds and not neck sizing? The bullet falling into your case has nothing to do with the Lee Factory Crimp Die.

I’ll follow up tonight and see what I’m missing here.
Click to expand...

I read it as put an empty unsized case in fcd and tried to crimp it, then set a bullet on top and it fell in. Meaning case was not crimped by the fcd.
 
I put an empty case into the die just to see if I was getting ANY crimp at all. I then dropped a bullet in the neck and it fell into the case with no resistance which would be indicative of no constriction placed on the neck. I then took said case and fed it through the top of the die and used the press to constrict the collet and I got a noticeable visible crimp on the neck and a bullet could not be placed in the neck. This tells me that the case neck is not reaching the required height for the collet to crimp it. My case size is 1.755 which is right in the middle of min and max case length.
 
Just to see I popped the collet out of my 223 die body and measured it at 1.706" top to bottom.
 
I get it, now. It’s possible the brass is springing back enough to not hold a bullet.

Go ahead and go thru the steps. Except make a dummy round. Full length resize, trim to trim length, seat a bullet and then crimp. Pull the bullet and look for crimp line. When trouble shooting I find it best to fall back to the beginning and carefully go thru each step, evaluating as I go.
 
The above photos are what I've got going on. The top photo shows it is a .233 die. The second is my case length. The third is the die with my shell holder and a shell mated up. The fourth is the die with a shell in the shell holder standing up on my bench. The next is a shell in the press full up. The fifth is a shot of the collet fully closed. The next two are the results.....no crimp. You can almost make out where the collet almost started to make contact with the very edge of the case rim. What do y'all think?
 
In the pictures I see your die is not correctly setup.

Like in the instructions I linked to, screw the die into the press until you touch the shell holder. Then add an additional 1/2 turn down. This is why the shell holder didn't matter. Please just do that before anything else. I can see the bullet is very deep into the die and there is no way it can crimp the brass.

Screw the die in until you touch the shell holder and then add an additional 1/2 turn!
 
IMG_20180612_220041.jpg Push the collet out of the bottom of the die and measure it.
Guessing they just made the collet too long.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
Lee Shell Holders
Replies
14
Views
2K
fguffey
F
J
  • Locked
.45 ACP Lee Factory Crimp Die
Replies
13
Views
2K
ATLDave
A
1
  • Locked
LEE 'Universal' Shell Holder Question
Replies
7
Views
1K
1SOW
1
E
  • Locked
Ideas for Lee Shell Holder & Lock Stud
Replies
7
Views
959
Evenflo76
E
T
  • Locked
Shell holder for press: Lee/Hornady compatibility
Replies
4
Views
911
KansasSasquatch
K
Back
Top