Project Appleseed

I recently picked up a Lee Turret press and a set of Lee .308 dies, but I've hit a road block trying to set it up and can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

I've prepped my cases - they're cleaned, to size (once fired, so they didn't need to be trimmed) and lubed.

I installed the sizing die per the instructions: I raised the ram, screwed in the die until it was touching the ram, lowered the ram, screwed in the die 1/2 turn more and locked it in.

But when I place a case on the ram, it doesn't fit into the die; the case gets stuck with about 1/3 of an inch hanging out the bottom of the die. I tried to force it, and the decapping pin popped out of the die and got stick inside the case (the bulge in the decapping pin that's supposed to size the neck of the case went past the neck and got stuck below the bottle neck of the case). The neck of the case is bunched up and I had to tear the case apart to get it back out. The decapping pin never even hit the primer.

I tried inserting a commercial .308 round into the sizing die (with the decapping pin still removed) and it got stuck with 1/3 inch sticking out, same as the case.

I inspected the dies, and they clearly say ".308 Win" on both the die and the box.

I've been reloading pistol cartridges on my Dillon XL650 for years without a problem, and I don't understand why this is failing so badly. I picked up the Lee press because it was cheaper than buying the conversion kit for the Dillon.

WTF am I doing wrong here??? Please help!

Are you thoroughly lubricating your brass with caselube?  Any of a number of products are surefire including RCBS pad lube, Lee Lube, or Imperial sizing wax.  Sometimes the various spray lube products like Dillon or One-shot don't put enough lube on the brass, especially if it's military brass fired from Machineguns, and you'll stick cases.

I expect your Dillon is using carbide dies which work great for straight wall pistol cases, no lube required.  Loading for bottleneck rifle cases requires thorough lubrication on the cases (except the neck) to size them.

The other thing you might look into is if your have the decapping rod adjusted properly.  Your expander ball (integral with the decap stem on a LEE) may be bumping the inside of the case web and not allowing the brass to travel all the way into the die.  Set the decapping stem so that the decapping pin is only 3/16" or so below the bottom of the die.

Those are the only ideas I have at the moment.

-David
Edgewood, NM

Duplicate...I'm too stupid to figure out the difference between "Reply" and "Modify" on the forum.

-David

Nevermind, I see that you tried it without the decapping pin.

Lube. Like ^^he said. You will want to be sure the neck is lubed, even a little on the inside with a q-tip if you have to.

Quote from: TonyDedo on August 27, 2009, 03:45:57 PM

I installed the sizing die per the instructions: I raised the ram, screwed in the die until it was touching the ram, lowered the ram, screwed in the die 1/2 turn more and locked it in.

I reload primarily for bolt action rifles.  I've always initially set the sizing die just touching the top of the shell holder with the ram raised.  At the same time, look in the shellholder rim gap and check the firing pin protrusion - it doesn't need to be very much below the shellholder casing head support.

I check the sized case to see how far down the neck the case is sized.  I go to great lengths not to size the neck so far down that the shoulder is set back.  Adjust the sizing die up or down as necessary to size the neck but not touch the shoulder.  The resulting cases will fit the rifle you fired them in with little problem.  If you're using multiple rifles with wildly different chambers, you're going to have to compromise - but the less you push the shoulder back, the longer your cases will last.

Following up on what David said, you didn't mention your sizing lube.  I've found Imperial sizing wax is best for my cases, with Lee case lube a close second.

Also, PM sent on something basic.  

Hi guys, thanks for you input so far.  Just to cover the bases:

Yes, I'm using boxer primed brass (good question, forgot to confirm that one).  I'm using once fired PPU brass; I've tried rounds fired from a Remington 700 and from an M14.

I'm pretty sure the case was well lubed.  I used the Dillon spray-on case lube, sprayed the cases down, and rubbed a little on the inside of the neck with a Q-tip.  I also used some gun oil on the decapping pin.  I feel like if I lubed them any more, they'd just be dripping wet...

can you run an empty into the die with the decapping pin removed? e.g. can you lube a case, place it on the ram and run it all the way into the die?

If not send the die back to Lee there's something wrong with it.

I don't have a set of Lee 308 Win dies, mine are RCBS.  I measured the inside distance from the die base to the beginning of the shoulder using a dial caliper (using extended end of the caliper, not the jaws) and came up with 1.437-1.440".  You should be pretty close with your dies.    

Well folks, we have liftoff!  Looks like it was a combination of not enough lube and needing to tighten the decapping pin. 

I went home and drenched the next shell in case lube (literally, it was dripping).  Then I tightened the decapping pin as tightly as I could muster.  And the first case cycled through without hesitation!

I continued to drench the first half dozen cases I sized, but after that the die worked fine with only moderately lubricated cases.  I guess it just needed to be broken in a little bit.

Now onto my second problem - the press is missing the priming assembly!  For now I was able to prime the cases on my Dillon press (set up for .45ACP, so the case diameter and priming assembly is the same), but I sent an email to Lee telling them the assembly was missing from the NIB reloading kit.  And their response?  "Buy the pieces from the website!"  Jerks...  I've had such good luck with customer service for my Dillon gear, I guess I just expected them to send me the parts.  I guess you get what you pay for with Lee...

Anyway, thanks for all the help fellas - it's appreciated!

Quote from: TonyDedo on August 28, 2009, 12:04:28 PM
Well folks, we have liftoff!  Looks like it was a combination of not enough lube and needing to tighten the decapping pin. 

I went home and drenched the next shell in case lube (literally, it was dripping).  Then I tightened the decapping pin as tightly as I could muster.  And the first case cycled through without hesitation!

I continued to drench the first half dozen cases I sized, but after that the die worked fine with only moderately lubricated cases.  I guess it just needed to be broken in a little bit.

Now onto my second problem - the press is missing the priming assembly!  For now I was able to prime the cases on my Dillon press (set up for .45ACP, so the case diameter and priming assembly is the same), but I sent an email to Lee telling them the assembly was missing from the NIB reloading kit.  And their response?  "Buy the pieces from the website!"  Jerks...  I've had such good luck with customer service for my Dillon gear, I guess I just expected them to send me the parts.  I guess you get what you pay for with Lee...

Anyway, thanks for all the help fellas - it's appreciated!

Shoot me your address and if I can find the parts from my press you can have them.  I have never used the priming assembly on the press.  I prime almost exclusively with an RCBS hand priming tool.

I use a lee turret to size and decap and power trim my brass. I use my dillon 550 to assemble the final finished rounds.
I found that the deflection of the lee press, even with the die bottomed out, didn't give me full rezize.

A quick trip to the carbide sharpening shop, 5 thousands cut toff the bottom with a daimond wheel, and the prass rezizes just fine.

DO NOT TRY AND CUT YOUR DIES DOWN YOURSELF WITH A WHET STONE.  Quess how I know that one......

There's valid reasons why I recommend RCBS equipment, and don't recommend most (not all) LEE equipment.

I'll second that recommendation to stay away from Lee. RCBS and Lyman work right out of the box. I use the old school lube pad to apply the case lube and the RCBS hand tool for priming, you can feel the primer going into the pocket. 

Always with new dies (any brand) - make sure to clean the manufacturing oils off the die before using them - especially the sizing die.

I find it advantageous to more heavily lube the first few rifle cases of a batch - regardless of who made the die.