Custom 6GT Lee Collet Die

[CK1.0]

Has anyone around here ordered a custom Lee Collet Die before..?

I've recently been playing with one in 6CM as a way to fix case mouths that have been beaten up over multiple firings and spins in the wet tumbler with SS pins. So far, it works fucking great. Enough so that I think I want one for 6GT.

I'm not far into my experiment with these things, but now that I've messed with one for a few hundred rounds, it very well could replace my mandrel die. For now, I just want to have one around for squashing the case mouths back to straight when I feel I need to.

I was actually a little pissed to find on Lee's site that from 2019-forward, they've changed their design a bit to allow a small portion of the case mouth to protrude at the top of the collet and remain unsized... because, for my purposes, that sucks. Luckily I'm running brass with short necks (Lapua ex-22-250Rem brass that I opened up with a .241 mandrel and fire-formed into 6CM, it's awesome btw).

Here's the page for ordering: https://leeprecision.com/custom-collet-necksizing-die-set.html

Lee has what they need for measurements here: https://www.leeprecision.com/files/instruct/custColletdie.pdf

And... they also want 2 fired cases and 1 projectile... but IDK if that's a hard rule since:

Does anyone know if I can just fill in the blanks as far as the specs they ask for with the SAAMI numbers* and have a SAAMI-spec LCD made..?

*6GT SAAMI specs: https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Public-Introduction-6mm-GT-2022-01-28.pdf

Thanks.

 

[CK1.0]

Well, never mind. I was able to reach someone at Lee who was able to answer some of my questions.

Long story short: I've got to wait until I've got 2 fired cases to send in, period (for now).

The person I spoke with didn't have any intel on when, or if, Lee would be offering a production 6GT LCD anytime soon... it will be dependent on the popularity and adoption of the cartridge, and no idea what the criteria is on that front.

Funny: I asked about how I might figure out the date of manufacture on my 6CM LCD, because I might want a pre-2019 one that sizes the neck all the way up, before they changed them? I was told they have no idea, was told the barcodes don't really reliably correspond to dates of manufacture, no way to tell... doh.

 

[918v]

You can overcome the case mouth flaring issue by sizing twice: once with a washer between the collet and the shell holder, and then a second time without the washer.

I agree the change was retarded.

 

[CK1.0]

You can overcome the case mouth flaring issue by sizing twice: once with a washer between the collet and the shell holder, and then a second time without the washer.

I agree the change was retarded.

The washer idea is brilliant. Thanks.

It looks like Lee only offers .243/6mm LCD's in 6CM (which I have) and 6mm/244 Rem (which is shorter, close to 6GT size). I might be able to use the 6mm/244 Rem LCD and that washer trick for 6GT to do what I need to do...

 

[ohnomrbillk]

Mic McPherson does this:

“Finally, I’ll note that I have been modifying CNDs for many years, to work in chamberings for which Lee does not offer this die. For example, I modify the 17 Remington die to work with the 17 Hornet and the 17 JAV (4.6x30 H&K necked down) by altering the die body, the collet, the decapping rod, and an extended shellholder. Similarly, I have modified CNDs to work with the 22 Hornet and 221 Fireball and several other cartridges, for which Lee did not offer the CND at the time, some for which it still does not offer the CND, and some for which it will likely never offer the CND. The noted conversion is a considerable lot of work for one-off manufacturing by hand, but it is absolutely worth it.”