Lee Die Quality going south

Sgt_Mike

Sgt_Mike

Well-known member
picked up a set of the Lee micrometer Dies for the 6mm Creedmoor......
Has any one else noticed that the FL die after a short period galling the necks?? .... I was so _ _ _ _ _ _ well you know that word that starts with p and ends in d... .
The other downsides I noted with the die set... the seating stems marks the bullets. So I set in with a drill and a bit reset the stem inner diameter to better match the ogive, lapped the angles to allow the bullet to fit better .. Then the galling appears in the sizing die... I was livid.... It was bad enough that I had to lap the seating stem.
Just got off the phone with midsouth shooters supply, not to complain but to get a actual set of real reloading dies enroute.
Just now waiting on the Fed Ex Truck.
I don't know the type of steel they (Lee) shifted to in these recent production but yeah I'll not be buying anymore regardless of cost. The earlier ones I never had a issue with them.
But the new ones..in my opinion suck massively.
Heck even RCBS Quality, as well as their support is slipping since the last buy-out. And Like I mentioned about Lee the older sets I never had a issue with, while they (Lee) was a budget die they worked never the issues I've had with this set. And yes the older dies sit next to the newer production you can definitely see a metal difference. The new set looks like what we used to call Pot Metal.
 
Sgt_Mike said:
picked up a set of the Lee micrometer Dies for the 6mm Creedmoor......
Has any one else noticed that the FL die after a short period galling the necks?? .... I was so _ _ _ _ _ _ well you know that word that starts with p and ends in d... .
The other downsides I noted with the die set... the seating stems marks the bullets. So I set in with a drill and a bit reset the stem inner diameter to better match the ogive, lapped the angles to allow the bullet to fit better .. Then the galling appears in the sizing die... I was livid.... It was bad enough that I had to lap the seating stem.
Just got off the phone with midsouth shooters supply, not to complain but to get a actual set of real reloading dies enroute.
Just now waiting on the Fed Ex Truck.
I don't know the type of steel they (Lee) shifted to in these recent production but yeah I'll not be buying anymore regardless of cost. The earlier ones I never had a issue with them.
But the new ones..in my opinion suck massively.
Heck even RCBS Quality, as well as their support is slipping since the last buy-out. And Like I mentioned about Lee the older sets I never had a issue with, while they (Lee) was a budget die they worked never the issues I've had with this set. And yes the older dies sit next to the newer production you can definitely see a metal difference. The new set looks like what we used to call Pot Metal.
Click to expand...
I'm old enough to remember the good old days when everything we needed was made right here in the good old USA!
Anybody think we will ever get back to that?
 
I recently picked up a Lee four die 45/70 set. Has the micrometer seating die. 55$. I may only load a few hundred rds total for this deer rifle. No need for 100$ set. So far(I clean the sizing, expander and tapered crimp die) no issues and making sub 1" 100 yard ammo. I do prefer RCBS and Redding die for handgun and any forming operations.
 
22magnum22 said:
I'm old enough to remember the good old days when everything we needed was made right here in the good old USA!
Anybody think we will ever get back to that
Click to expand...
probably not.. sad to say.. however the Redding set I did order is made in the USA (or at least the last time I checked they hadn't outsourced)

I probably could have gotten along with a set of RCBS dies... But chose the Redding option, which was more than $100.00
 
its hard to say of course if this is a systemic new issue... or just a "sample size 1" issue.

ive got a friend whos just getting started - he mounted his press just a few days ago - and we picked several of those micrometer sets up for him.

i'll keep an eye on things as we go thru them, and report back our results as i help him get rolling.
 
The Redding Premium set I ordered arrived (no I didn't select the bushing set for sizing, rather the "standard" FL sizer).
Yeah Night and day difference, the weight was heavier. The carbide sizer ball a plus, After cleaning the insides (of the dies) to remove the preservatives as recommended in the instructions and setting up to size the remaining virgin brass.

Amazing just how smooth they are in the sizing process. Now just to get the rest of the batch sized and prepped for priming, charging, and seating here is where the tale will tell the tale... Just for giggles I'll probably break out the concentric gage Just to see what the runout will be just for my own curiosity. Maybe.. Although the target / chronograph will tell the results.

To say so far I'm pleased would be a understatement. Now I really do regret the Lee set I could have applied that small chunk of change to a better set such as the Redding I picked up. I do Like Lee's universal depriming die it has worked EXTREMLEY well. The thread wasn't (had to correct that I didn't add the n't ooops meant to actually bash Lee just to note that their quality has slipped. I'm of the opinion is boils down to the change in the die metal not the machining. And yes I'm sure it's hard to keep the cost around $50.00 or so with the rising cost of materials. But the cry once saying is working out for my needs.

Plant.One said:
i'll keep an eye on things as we go thru them, and report back our results as i help him get rolling.
Click to expand...
Yeah definitely do and especially if He has way more success than I did with my set.
 
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I have bought Lee dies for a few chamberings I didn't expect to load in high volume, like recently, .45-70 - a few dozen rounds a year, maybe. Anything I expect to load in any quantity or where I want precision, I go Redding.
 
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