am i doin somethin wrong?

[marduk185]

was attempting to crimp with a new lee factory crimp die. when i do like the instructions say it seems like the crimper collet thingy is trying to crimp air ahead of the neck and i dont see that its doing anything to the brass. do i have this thing set wrong somehow?
it seems like maybe the shellholder is too tall so that it crimps before the case is able to feed up high enuf maybe? could i possibly be running the wrong brand shellholder for this lee die and its not compatible?
i guess its possible im just not applying enuf torque to the press arm but dont wanna break something. any ideas?
oh and i trimmed the necks with the lee trimmer thats within book dimensions so i dont think its short brass problem either...

 

[Mattrmvpd]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

Post up some pics if you can of your setup... and how the dies are set.

It will make it easier for us to see whats happening.

Matt (LEO SOUTH GA.)

 

[snipedogg]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

I use LEE and I think I know what you are talking about. Try this, loosen up the die and turn it back a few of turns, make sure you count how far you turn it. Then, put the round in the case holder and pull the handle of the press down until it stops (until ram is all the way up) then turn the die back down until it touches the case neck. Make sure you count this as well. Now, if you have to turn it past where you originally had it, then you had it set wrong. I believe LEE says to go an extra 1/4 to 1/2 turn down after touching the case neck. Just make sure you haven't damaged any cases yet.

 

[marduk185]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

i dont see how i could have damaged any cases cuz it looks like im crimping on the bullet not the brass... ill recheck everything tonight.

 

[tullius]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Snipedogg</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I believe LEE says to go an extra 1/4 to 1/2 turn down after touching the case neck..</div></div>

No. LEE instructs to run the ram all the way up (shell holder empty), screw the die in to touch the shell holder, and then 1/2 turn more. Adjust in for heavier crimp. When four splits in collet are closed, max. crimp has been achieved.

 

[juliomorris]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

I use the same dies for my autos. It sounds like something is wrong with the die if it is leaving crimp marks on the bullet because it should be crimping right at the case mouth. The shell holder is what engages the the collet to crimp so if it is thicker on the top than a lee holder it could engage it sooner casing it to crimp the bullet. I use rcbs with rcbs dies and lee with lee dies.

 

[marduk185]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

just got home to check it out and i noticed my shellholder is rcbs so maybe i need to find a lee one to compare

 

[tullius]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

LEE press shell holder measures ~0.125" thick from seat (that supports case head) to the top (that contacts the die)

 

[F4D]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

If you look through the top of the die when you raise it to crimp, you will see the collet gaps close on the neck.

 

[marduk185]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

f4d, when u do this does some brass show above the collet part with the closing gaps? mine doesnt

 

[tullius]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

No, you won't see brass above the collet.

From the top, it'll look like you're crimping air if you're not trimming to MAX trim length. No one trims to MAX, most everyone goes to MIN trim length so you don't have to trim every time.

If your die was cut away, it'd look like this from the top:

But, rest assured, the collet is still crimping the brass.

When you pull the cartridge out, a light crimp should look like this:

(randomly appropriated web photo)

 

[snipedogg]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

Good call tullius, I don't crimp my stuff so it's been forever since I've even looked at my crimp die.

 

[marduk185]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

ok last night i changed presses, mostly so i could realy throw some torque and when i really cranked down on them i got something similar to the above photo. im not using cannelured bullets so maybe i was expecting too much visible smooshing of brass. i think im just gonna not crimp anything without a cannelure. thanks for the input fellas.

 

[Fuzzball]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

"LEE press shell holder measures ~0.125" thick All shell holders should have a .125" depth."

All shell holders should have a depth of .125", it's the standard.

 

[tullius]

Re: am i doin somethin wrong?

You can crimp non-cannelured bullets just fine. I crimp my 75 gr. Hornady BTHP match round exactly like the photo above.