Epicurean
Member
jc - after being "punched" from the die I wouldn't trust how they mic'ed as being indicative of any problem.
Lee Dies, the best for the PRICE. Lee dies will never equal Dillion dies, just as Dillon dies will never equal Lee's prices.
I am indeed perplexed because I have never seen this problem, ever. And having to continue using lube on your carbide sizer is not a solved problem, it is an accommodation.I'm pursuing this thread because Walkalong and bds seem perplexed
For what it is worth Lee recently had a run of undersized 9mm sizing dies. I know because, unfortunately, I had one. ... You could see this ridge with the naked eye and definitely feel it with your fingernail. Your pictures look like those pieces of brass may have this ridge. The die was replaced gratis and the sticking and ridge problem disappeared.
I had this problem on a Lee "undersized" die in .38 Super. I ruined a couple of grinding stones working on the carbide to get rid of the ridge it caused. Works OK now.
Did the OP ever mic the cases as asked way back? Whether it means anything or not. And if so what is the dia.?
I started sizing and decapping some 9mm tonight. I have the Lee 4 die set. The case is very difficult to fully insert - so much so that I had to lube the cases and torque the press (Lee Classic Turret) much much harder than the 38s I loaded. I calipered the OD of some cases and they measure 0.375" at the mouth and 0.384" just above the head. This is 0.006" to 0.007" below the spec in the Lee book. I set up the Factory Crimp Die, ran the crimp all the way out and the cases slide in effortlessly. Do I have an undersized resizing die?
Epicurean posted,I am putting my money that the die is really a 380 die that was mislabeled at manufacture.
"Brand new Lee 4 die set ... literature says 9mm Luger."
No. Should have, but I am bad about trying to fix stuff myself. Hard headed and impatient I am.Walkalong, you considered calling Lee also for your 38 Super sizer?
On that note I took a Blazer 9MM case (range brass) that had been already sized in a 9MM sizer. It had no bottle necked look etc. Nice and smooth. I put my RCBS .380 sizer in my Partner press and sized the case. It was easy enough for about the first 2/3rds, but then got very tough. I sized it all the way down. It was fairly easy to pull back out of the die.I am putting my money that the die is really a 380 die that was mislabeled at manufacture.