Lee Factory Crimp Die

Khaot1c · September 23, 2008, 08:38 PM

I'm still new to the reloading scene using a Lee Classis 4-hole turret to make pistol rounds. I've started with 9mm and I spent a few extra bucks and got the Factory Crimp die.

I'm having issues getting a round to smoothly go into the Crimp die. Today the die even put a nice crease in the mouth of a round. I understand that there is probably suppoed to be a bit of preassure, but this is far beyond that. The brass is hanging up badly on the upstroke. I can see the RAM and the hole in the die aren't exactly aligned - and i'm curious how that can happen. The three other dies work great and there isn't an issue with a case or round going in. Any suggestions?

murphjup · September 23, 2008, 08:48 PM

I have the same setup as you... I am new to reloading as well...

I would redo the setup instructions again... When I use that die there is hardly any pressure felt or really none at all, sounds to me that you have it screwed in too far...

I would re-adjust per the instructions from scratch and see how it goes...

joneb · September 23, 2008, 10:05 PM

There are mixed feelings regarding the LFCD,
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthrea...highlight=LFCD

tokarev762 · September 23, 2008, 11:44 PM

I use it for the 30-30 and .223 and have never had any problems. I agree that you may need to review you directions on the setup. The die can be adjusted up and down to give as much, or as little, crimp that you would like.

Khaot1c · September 24, 2008, 01:54 AM

The instructions read to run the die all the way down until it just touches the shell holder and then to back out the adjustment screw (on top). Place a round on the shell holder and press it into the die. Screw the adjustment screw down until it makes contact with the round. lower the ram and turn the adjustment screw x to achive light/med/heavy crimp.

The problem comes just getting a round to feed into the die. The die is not cross-threaded and every other die works pretty well. However, the factory crimp die snags hard on one edge of the bullet and will even take a nice chunk/gouge the brass on the lip as it goes in. but ONLY on one side. if i shake the round on the case holder, while moving the ram up into the die, eventually the round will enter the die with no resistance or popping snag......

Gecko10 · September 24, 2008, 04:58 AM

Take a couple of resized cases before you have expanded them and see if they insert easily into the crimp die. If so it may be that you are expanding them too much or the expander plug is oversized. I have to be real careful about this on my .38 rounds with RCBS Cowboy dies.

nate45 · September 24, 2008, 05:00 AM

I use it for semi-auto pistol rounds, but I don't see the benefit for revolver and rifle cartridges.

CowTowner · September 24, 2008, 05:06 AM

I use it for all my pistol and revolver rounds. As well as for my .303 British loads.
If you're having that much trouble after following the instructions, please call Lee and have them assist you over the phone.

cerberus65 · September 24, 2008, 05:48 AM

+1 what Gecko10 said - you're probably flaring the mouth of the case too much with the expander die. How would I guess that? Been there, done that. :-(

wingman · September 24, 2008, 07:23 AM

Sounds like too much flare but odd only one side, write lee and ask Pat their
tech usally takes one full day for answer but they will and if necessary provide a replacement die.

Khaot1c · September 26, 2008, 07:59 PM

So I spent some daylight hours on the press (i'm a night shifter and usually sleep during the day) and could put eyes on the round as it goes into the crimping die.

It looks like its going into the die at a pretty severe angle, but i don't know if its the ram or the die thats cocked.

Any suggestions on how to make sure everything is lining up?

Is it possible that the turrent ring itself is somehow tweaked at that one station?

But it is definetly not straight. on a light crimp, it is only crimping maybe 1/8 of the bullet.

Ok, so maybe the whole press is jacked up. Things don't go very smoothly into the resizer/primer punch die either.......

zxcvbob · September 26, 2008, 08:44 PM

The rifle FCD and the pistol FCD are very different. I have no experience with the rifle dies, I just know they are not the same.

I prefer to crimp my bullets with the seating die. I do have a couple of Lee FCD's, a .45 Colt and a .357 Magnum. The .45 FCD was a total waste of money (at least it didn't cost much.) The .357 die comes in handy for post-sizing the few cartridges that won't chamber because the brass was thick and the bullet oversized (not a good combination.)

wingman · September 26, 2008, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Is it possible that the turrent ring itself is somehow tweaked at that one station?

Look at the turret ring where it mates with the top of press I recently purchase three turrets and had one bad one it was machined with high points, returned to Lee and they replaced.

Sport45 · September 27, 2008, 12:19 AM

Set the body of the bullet seating die down far enough to remove the flare from expanding the case mouth. That way the FCD only has to crimp.

fbrown333@suddenlink · September 27, 2008, 12:49 AM

The crimp dies for rifles are a taper crimp and the crimp for a pistol is a roll crimp. As was stated above it sounds like you have it tightened down too far, or you have flared the case too much. You only want to flare it just enough to allow the bullet to enter with out shaving it. The die should only be turned in a quater to half turn after it touches the ram if I am not misstaken. I have had very good results with mine for my .270,.243,300 Savage,SKS, and my .45. hope this helps you out some. Lee has been very good as far as support and repair,(for me anyway.

yodarkritch · September 27, 2008, 12:53 AM

The FCD . It was a blessing for my 9mm and .45 ACP loads. Indeed the rifle FCD IS different, but in making my 7.62 x 39 loads it is a blessing. The crimp is perfect and almost military. I have no malfunctions, get all the benefits of a military load and no unconsumed powder left in the bbl. And I shoot cast bullets

yodar

murphjup · September 27, 2008, 08:15 AM

Khaot1c, Sounds like something is definatley not square, I would think if that one die is not square, the other dies would be the same... I think you should really call Lee, I have talked to them a few times with questions and they have been very helpful..

Maybe the turrett is not square on the base? Does the decapper find the primer hole? If it wasn't square you would be having difficulty with every die...

sig2009 · September 27, 2008, 08:23 AM

I use the Lee FCD in every caliber except 357 Sig. I have never had any feeding issues with ammo since.

wingman · September 27, 2008, 08:57 AM

If your turret raises or wobbles again check the base(of turret plate) as mine was extremely poorly machined does not take much to throw dies out of alighment.

remshooter · September 27, 2008, 09:03 AM

Quote:

The crimp dies for rifles are a taper crimp and the crimp for a pistol is a roll crimp.

I can only speak for the pistol dies but they are not a roll crimp. At least mine aint.
I kinda think maybe your turret is off time with the ram ever so slighty, enough that the shell will line up with the dies but barely. If you have a flare that is kinda on the large size it will hang on the carbide ring in the crimp die.
Also check that the case is fully into the shell holder. It does not take much to be out of line with the die.

Smoke & Recoil · September 27, 2008, 12:09 PM

On the Lee Classic Turret Press, you can adjust the alignment of
the turret by removing the turret and while holding the 5/16th square
shaft with a 5/16th open end wrench, turn the lock nut located on top
just a bit at a time, and recheck the alignment of the turret, you want
the detent ball to locate with the turret notch on every 90 degree
revolution. Hope this helped.

Khaot1c · September 27, 2008, 01:06 PM

I've attached a picture of the press. And yes - i am having problems with other dies..... Being new i thought it was normal - a piece of brass going into a carbide die getting resized - i just thought there was supposed to be that preassure. A buddy came over and set me straight.

Here is a picture i took of a round going up into the factory crimp die. I'm just going to guess that it should be a lot straighter than that..........

zxcvbob · September 27, 2008, 01:34 PM

The problem looks to be with the shellholder (or the shellholder bracket in the top of the ram.) The shellholder is not centered over the ram; looks like it's not snapped in all the way.

CrustyFN · September 27, 2008, 01:49 PM

It looks like you need to align the turret. Go to the Lee site and there is a very good video that explains how to do that.
Rusty

murphjup · September 27, 2008, 01:50 PM

Either your shell holder is not all the way installed... or you may need to index your turret... It certainly should go up straighter than that...

See here in Lee's help videos... Go to Four Turret index adjustment..

http://leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/video.html

September 23, 2008, 08:38 PM	#1
Khaot1c Member Join Date: March 14, 2008 Location: Florida Panhandle Posts: 54	Lee Factory Crimp Die I'm still new to the reloading scene using a Lee Classis 4-hole turret to make pistol rounds. I've started with 9mm and I spent a few extra bucks and got the Factory Crimp die. I'm having issues getting a round to smoothly go into the Crimp die. Today the die even put a nice crease in the mouth of a round. I understand that there is probably suppoed to be a bit of preassure, but this is far beyond that. The brass is hanging up badly on the upstroke. I can see the RAM and the hole in the die aren't exactly aligned - and i'm curious how that can happen. The three other dies work great and there isn't an issue with a case or round going in. Any suggestions?

September 24, 2008, 05:00 AM	#7
nate45 Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2007 Location: Illinois Posts: 3,746	I use it for semi-auto pistol rounds, but I don't see the benefit for revolver and rifle cartridges. __________________ "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."- Thomas Jefferson ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ (>_<)

September 24, 2008, 05:06 AM	#8
CowTowner Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2007 Location: Cowtown of course! Posts: 1,747	I use it for all my pistol and revolver rounds. As well as for my .303 British loads. If you're having that much trouble after following the instructions, please call Lee and have them assist you over the phone. __________________ NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, Home Firearms Safety, Pistol and Rifle Instructor *“Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life......”* President John F. Kennedy

September 26, 2008, 08:44 PM	#12
zxcvbob Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2007 Location: S.E. Minnesota Posts: 4,720	The rifle FCD and the pistol FCD are very different. I have no experience with the rifle dies, I just know they are not the same. I prefer to crimp my bullets with the seating die. I do have a couple of Lee FCD's, a .45 Colt and a .357 Magnum. The .45 FCD was a total waste of money (at least it didn't cost much.) The .357 die comes in handy for post-sizing the few cartridges that won't chamber because the brass was thick and the bullet oversized (not a good combination.) __________________ "Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth

September 27, 2008, 12:19 AM	#14
Sport45 Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 1999 Location: Too close to Houston Posts: 4,196	Set the body of the bullet seating die down far enough to remove the flare from expanding the case mouth. That way the FCD only has to crimp. __________________ Proud member of the NRA and Texas State Rifle Association. Registered and active voter.

September 23, 2008, 08:48 PM	#2
murphjup Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2006 Location: Jupiter, Florida Posts: 460	I have the same setup as you... I am new to reloading as well... I would redo the setup instructions again... When I use that die there is hardly any pressure felt or really none at all, sounds to me that you have it screwed in too far... I would re-adjust per the instructions from scratch and see how it goes...

September 23, 2008, 10:05 PM	#3
joneb Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2005 Location: Central , OR Posts: 1,888	There are mixed feelings regarding the LFCD, http://www.thehighroad.org/showthrea...highlight=LFCD

September 23, 2008, 11:44 PM	#4
tokarev762 Member Join Date: September 15, 2008 Location: Middle TN Posts: 60	I use it for the 30-30 and .223 and have never had any problems. I agree that you may need to review you directions on the setup. The die can be adjusted up and down to give as much, or as little, crimp that you would like.

September 24, 2008, 01:54 AM	#5
Khaot1c Member Join Date: March 14, 2008 Location: Florida Panhandle Posts: 54	The instructions read to run the die all the way down until it just touches the shell holder and then to back out the adjustment screw (on top). Place a round on the shell holder and press it into the die. Screw the adjustment screw down until it makes contact with the round. lower the ram and turn the adjustment screw x to achive light/med/heavy crimp. The problem comes just getting a round to feed into the die. The die is not cross-threaded and every other die works pretty well. However, the factory crimp die snags hard on one edge of the bullet and will even take a nice chunk/gouge the brass on the lip as it goes in. but ONLY on one side. if i shake the round on the case holder, while moving the ram up into the die, eventually the round will enter the die with no resistance or popping snag......

September 24, 2008, 04:58 AM	#6
Gecko10 Member Join Date: July 18, 2008 Location: New Mexico Posts: 46	Take a couple of resized cases before you have expanded them and see if they insert easily into the crimp die. If so it may be that you are expanding them too much or the expander plug is oversized. I have to be real careful about this on my .38 rounds with RCBS Cowboy dies.

September 24, 2008, 05:48 AM	#9
cerberus65 Senior Member Join Date: April 30, 2008 Posts: 384	+1 what Gecko10 said - you're probably flaring the mouth of the case too much with the expander die. How would I guess that? Been there, done that. :-(

September 24, 2008, 07:23 AM	#10
wingman Senior Member Join Date: August 20, 2002 Posts: 2,108	Sounds like too much flare but odd only one side, write lee and ask Pat their tech usally takes one full day for answer but they will and if necessary provide a replacement die.

September 26, 2008, 07:59 PM	#11
Khaot1c Member Join Date: March 14, 2008 Location: Florida Panhandle Posts: 54	So I spent some daylight hours on the press (i'm a night shifter and usually sleep during the day) and could put eyes on the round as it goes into the crimping die. It looks like its going into the die at a pretty severe angle, but i don't know if its the ram or the die thats cocked. Any suggestions on how to make sure everything is lining up? Is it possible that the turrent ring itself is somehow tweaked at that one station? But it is definetly not straight. on a light crimp, it is only crimping maybe 1/8 of the bullet. Ok, so maybe the whole press is jacked up. Things don't go very smoothly into the resizer/primer punch die either.......

September 27, 2008, 12:49 AM	#15
fbrown333@suddenlink Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2007 Location: West Virginia Posts: 240	Lee dies The crimp dies for rifles are a taper crimp and the crimp for a pistol is a roll crimp. As was stated above it sounds like you have it tightened down too far, or you have flared the case too much. You only want to flare it just enough to allow the bullet to enter with out shaving it. The die should only be turned in a quater to half turn after it touches the ram if I am not misstaken. I have had very good results with mine for my .270,.243,300 Savage,SKS, and my .45. hope this helps you out some. Lee has been very good as far as support and repair,(for me anyway. __________________ Accuracy over volume

September 27, 2008, 12:53 AM	#16
yodarkritch Member Join Date: December 8, 2006 Location: central florida Posts: 51	Lee FCD The FCD . It was a blessing for my 9mm and .45 ACP loads. Indeed the rifle FCD IS different, but in making my 7.62 x 39 loads it is a blessing. The crimp is perfect and almost military. I have no malfunctions, get all the benefits of a military load and no unconsumed powder left in the bbl. And I shoot cast bullets yodar __________________ Yodar Words MEAN things Homebrewing in Central Florida

September 27, 2008, 08:15 AM	#17
murphjup Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2006 Location: Jupiter, Florida Posts: 460	Khaot1c, Sounds like something is definatley not square, I would think if that one die is not square, the other dies would be the same... I think you should really call Lee, I have talked to them a few times with questions and they have been very helpful.. Maybe the turrett is not square on the base? Does the decapper find the primer hole? If it wasn't square you would be having difficulty with every die...

September 27, 2008, 08:23 AM	#18
sig2009 Member Join Date: September 25, 2008 Posts: 49	I use the Lee FCD in every caliber except 357 Sig. I have never had any feeding issues with ammo since.

September 27, 2008, 08:57 AM	#19
wingman Senior Member Join Date: August 20, 2002 Posts: 2,108	If your turret raises or wobbles again check the base(of turret plate) as mine was extremely poorly machined does not take much to throw dies out of alighment.

September 27, 2008, 12:09 PM	#21
Smoke & Recoil Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: East shore of Lake Michigan. Posts: 714	On the Lee Classic Turret Press, you can adjust the alignment of the turret by removing the turret and while holding the 5/16th square shaft with a 5/16th open end wrench, turn the lock nut located on top just a bit at a time, and recheck the alignment of the turret, you want the detent ball to locate with the turret notch on every 90 degree revolution. Hope this helped.

September 27, 2008, 01:34 PM	#23
zxcvbob Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2007 Location: S.E. Minnesota Posts: 4,720	The problem looks to be with the shellholder (or the shellholder bracket in the top of the ram.) The shellholder is not centered over the ram; looks like it's not snapped in all the way. __________________ "Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth

September 27, 2008, 01:49 PM	#24
CrustyFN Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: West Virginia Posts: 2,258	It looks like you need to align the turret. Go to the Lee site and there is a very good video that explains how to do that. Rusty __________________ I don't ever remember being absent minded.

September 27, 2008, 01:50 PM	#25
murphjup Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2006 Location: Jupiter, Florida Posts: 460	Either your shell holder is not all the way installed... or you may need to index your turret... It certainly should go up straighter than that... See here in Lee's help videos... Go to Four Turret index adjustment.. http://leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/video.html