Just wondering what everyones experience with the quality and uniformity of the roll crimp given by the Lee Seating Die has been like. On my .38 spl die, it doesn't really roll the case lip in, but rather just seems to bottle neck it down (even with a very very light crimp). It will only squash it on a little bit, and then for the rest of the case roll it in. Am I just overcrimping here, and needing to back the die out a fraction of a turn? I was kind of expecing to see a distinct roll in the crimp, but it seems to go from very very light roll (I mean very light), to bottlenecking the case. Is this right?
Uneven crimp with the Lee Seating Die
- Thread starter Arch
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armoredman
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Check your die - a taper crimp is what it does when set waaaay back. I set mine in too deep the first time I loded, and ended up with roll crimped 9mm! That didn't work. So, double check your settings when you set it up, and follow the instructions that came with the dies.
If that doesn't work, contact Lee - they're pretty good, (have been with me) on customer service.
If that doesn't work, contact Lee - they're pretty good, (have been with me) on customer service.
BigBob3006
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Arch,
I don't like Lee equipment, but in all fairness, the trouble may be with your cases. Pistol cases seem never to be of a consistent length. This results in som terrible looking crimps. One case will have a crimp 1/16" long and the next case may be too short to even be crimped. If you want a consistent crimp your going to have to trim your cases. Just be careful not to trim them too short or the die will not be able to crimp the cases.
Good luck and God bless.
Bob
I don't like Lee equipment, but in all fairness, the trouble may be with your cases. Pistol cases seem never to be of a consistent length. This results in som terrible looking crimps. One case will have a crimp 1/16" long and the next case may be too short to even be crimped. If you want a consistent crimp your going to have to trim your cases. Just be careful not to trim them too short or the die will not be able to crimp the cases.
Good luck and God bless.
Bob
Hey Guys,
Thanks for the responses.
BigBob3006,
Lee hasn't exatly bowled me over either with their qualiy, but for the price, it's usually pretty functional equipment. Although items like their primer pocket cleaner and case mouth chamferer are just about unusable in my hairy, dinner plate sized hands. That being said, I am using a Lee Case Trimmer, to trim all my cases down to the same length.
armoredman,
Thought of this too. But it seems to go from minimal crimp, to sharp taper.
JDGray,
This sounds like my problem. My projectiles have a crimp grove in them, but I am seating them past the crimp grove, and trying to crimp into that last fold of lead, as I am using wadcutters. But now that you mention it, I can see how that would produce some funny crimp, if the projectile has very little give. I might try seating the wadcutter even deeper, and rolling over the top of it, rather than into it.
Thanks again guys,
I reccon that might be problem solved.
Cheers.
Thanks for the responses.
BigBob3006,
Lee hasn't exatly bowled me over either with their qualiy, but for the price, it's usually pretty functional equipment. Although items like their primer pocket cleaner and case mouth chamferer are just about unusable in my hairy, dinner plate sized hands. That being said, I am using a Lee Case Trimmer, to trim all my cases down to the same length.
armoredman,
Thought of this too. But it seems to go from minimal crimp, to sharp taper.
JDGray,
This sounds like my problem. My projectiles have a crimp grove in them, but I am seating them past the crimp grove, and trying to crimp into that last fold of lead, as I am using wadcutters. But now that you mention it, I can see how that would produce some funny crimp, if the projectile has very little give. I might try seating the wadcutter even deeper, and rolling over the top of it, rather than into it.
Thanks again guys,
I reccon that might be problem solved.
Cheers.
The set of Lee 38 Special + 357 Magnum dies that I have has 4 dies:
- decap/full-length resize
- bell
- seat
- crimp
I need to do separate crimp with the crimp die, not with the seating die. I don't believe that the seat die actually crimp. This is a picture of mine. Does yours look like this?
-Pat
- decap/full-length resize
- bell
- seat
- crimp
I need to do separate crimp with the crimp die, not with the seating die. I don't believe that the seat die actually crimp. This is a picture of mine. Does yours look like this?
-Pat
pbhome71,
Thanks for the input. The dies I have are the 3-die carbide set that come in the red plastic cup. I'm guessing that you have purhaced the 4 die set that come in the flat, hinged box.
The fourth die that you have is indeed a "factory crimp" die (or mabey even a taper crimp depending on how recently the equipment was purchaced). These are used particularly when reloading cartridges to be shot though a semi-auto, as rimless ammo headspaces of the case mouth, hence making a roll crimp somehwhat unsuitable for this application. If you are using your crimping die, you will not get a roll crimp, but a taper crimp, which is really like resizing the case, with a projectile seated within.
If you are using a separate crimping die, unscrew your seating die a bit, so that it does not apply a crimp at all.
However most bullet seating dies will also give a roll crimp, as is the case with mine, so I should be able to seat and crimp at the same time (saves time, and is fine for use within a revolver). Mine was just squashing the brass, as I was trying to crimp into a projectile that was too hard.
Thanks for the input. The dies I have are the 3-die carbide set that come in the red plastic cup. I'm guessing that you have purhaced the 4 die set that come in the flat, hinged box.
The fourth die that you have is indeed a "factory crimp" die (or mabey even a taper crimp depending on how recently the equipment was purchaced). These are used particularly when reloading cartridges to be shot though a semi-auto, as rimless ammo headspaces of the case mouth, hence making a roll crimp somehwhat unsuitable for this application. If you are using your crimping die, you will not get a roll crimp, but a taper crimp, which is really like resizing the case, with a projectile seated within.
If you are using a separate crimping die, unscrew your seating die a bit, so that it does not apply a crimp at all.
However most bullet seating dies will also give a roll crimp, as is the case with mine, so I should be able to seat and crimp at the same time (saves time, and is fine for use within a revolver). Mine was just squashing the brass, as I was trying to crimp into a projectile that was too hard.
The Bushmaster
Member
Yup...Lee Factory Crimp die roll crimps for revolver. Taper crimps for auto and rifle...
Arch...You're over crimping. Back the Lee die out a bit until you get just a roll crimp. I use the Lee FCD for .38 Special and .30-30 only. All the rest of the calibres that I load for really don't need a heavy crimp or any crimp at all.
Arch...You're over crimping. Back the Lee die out a bit until you get just a roll crimp. I use the Lee FCD for .38 Special and .30-30 only. All the rest of the calibres that I load for really don't need a heavy crimp or any crimp at all.
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