Upgraded Use For The Lee Neck Size Collet Die 

The Squirrel - You don't have to go around six times unless you are trying to get that last measure of neck thickness uniformity. For our factory rifles, 3x around is more than enough really.... Good shootin' to ya, Steve

LH - Lee equipment has won matches. The reason Lee doesn't offer neck turning equipment is their Neck Size Collet Die is such an engineering wonder...Richard Lee was very proud of this for rifle shooters. For handgun shooters, he offered carbide dies at half the price of competition and the 6 cavity bullet molds. Have a great day, Steve

ds - I thought I knew the Lee website inside out...guess not...Have a great day. Steve

Unfortunately, as I write this, since about 2021, Lee withdrew this custom service. Which makes me and several of my rifles cry... Hopefully they will resume doing this next year in 2024.

Thanks for posting, EV - and you have a great day, Steve

Hello to dowdawg ..!! And Hi - O - Silver...Away..!! Steve

CSH - If you do the repeated collet work, you might indeed get .0005-.001" lengthening, but this doesn't cause a problem most of the time...I'm probably overdoing the number of compressions - 3xs around the case really should be enough...Good reloadin' to ya, Steve

Brass doesn't really flow, that's a bit of a misnomer, what actually happens is the body sticks to the chamber walls. Then the head stretches back to meet the bolt face. Adding whatever the rifles headspace was to the case (minus a little spring back) by only neck sizing them, after the first firing, they have almost zero room to stretch

Hugh Johnston - Sometimes the need for FL sizing happens after 5 firings. And depending on our seating depth, we may very well get donuts in our case necks as well. Then comes the annealing procedures. I have just gotten away from all that by discarding the brass after 5 firings and get new brass. Starting with a batch of 200 rounds of brass, the 5 cycles is 1000 rounds of shooting. Plus, we get a good idea of number of rounds fired. After the second batch, the barrel is close to being burned out so a new barrel will be in the mix. Good shootin' to ya, Steve

@@FortuneCookie45LC never ever had a donuts on my cases, perhaps only using Laupa or Norma Brass helps? Excellent video

Yep the “CONTROLLA VIRUS “ panic has completely wiped out ammunition, so primers for the people aren’t at the top of the list for ammunition manufacturers right now. The primers are going towards factory ammunition, and they just can’t pump enough out. As soon as some get back in stock they’re gone again. Everybody is buying guns, ammo, and reloading supplies like it’s the end of the world. I feel kinda bad for a lot of folks. They couldn’t find ammo or didn’t wanna pay their liver for it. So they figured they buy a reloading press and some dies, just to find out they can’t get any primers to load with.

Yep, John Anderson is on the beam...A lot of stuff is in short supply...I'm glad I have always kept a good supply of primer reserves...Steve

KM - When you go to the local range, post that you would like to buy some primers. There are shooters who might sell some to you as they might be moving out of the area, suffering from health problems or there may be widows trying to divest herself of her husbands reloading stuff. Also talk to the ringmasters - there may be members willing to trade powder or bullets for primers. Otherwise, we learn from these events to stock up on primers when they are available. I always budgeted some money to be able to pounce on good buys that come across. Have a great day, Steve

@@FortuneCookie45LC Great tip! Thanks, Cookie.

Reloading/rebuilding primers is a fun endeavor and somewhat time consuming endeavor but fun. It is satisfying to have the ability to never really be out of primers.@@johnanderson186

AA - Once uniformed, those necks will only require the normal pass through the Lee Neck Size Collet and trimming as needed. Then the occasional full length resize (or bumping) and annealing if brass longevity is in the mix. Good reloadin' to ya, Steve

GP - Thanks for the link...always good to see fine equipment... Best to ya, Steve

John Anderson - This is something I've done for quite a while, and you don't have to overdo this as I do...I just like the uniforming of my case necks (this is easy for you to confirm), plus, you only do it once, then after that, just collet neck size the usual way. As for work hardening, this is static compressive force, not dynamic moving of brass. No doubt, there may be some working of the brass, but I haven't seen any badness from doing this. After 5 firings, we just anneal to continue, perhaps we'll be FL sizing one time, perhaps removing donuts, etc. I don't bother with any of that as I just discard the brass and get new brass. Starting with 200 rounds of new brass, 5x, then buy 200 more rounds of brass = 2000 rounds (that's a lot of rifle shooting) - close to need for a new barrel. Good shootin' to ya, Steve

This die doesn’t actually expand it before sizing it, like normal sizers do. Lee recommends doing it twice with no cam over.

@@connerm4850 Cam over is far more repeatable and consistent than using the No. 1 Mk 1 arm gauge to do each case the same. If the manufacturer of your press didn't design it as a cam over type of press to start with, they would probably advise you not to do cam over when using such a press instead of yours. Whether using a cam over press or one that doesn't, you can still screw up with too much pressure. I do love these collet dies

No flare unless cast bullets for rifle. Just chamfer/deburr.

Stinger45 - Yes to what yo lo is saying...rifle calibers do not need the powder and flare die and would not want to use it even if you had it. The neck tension is going to be fine after use of the Lee Neck Size Collet Die so debur the inside of the case neck and seat the bullet. We don't need to crimp unless we are shooting from lever gun or perhaps the semi-auto. Bolt guns need no crimp. BTW, the Hornady concentricity tool should not be used to "correct" run out as the force actually loses neck tension, and that is detrimental to accuracy. Best to use it to read the run out only. Best to ya, Steve

@@FortuneCookie45LC Thanks, Steve. I only use the Hornady for checking runout only. I have a competition seating die that keeps my runout inside of .002 for my .223 and .308.

Just found your aug 1 2016 clip..that mentions setting up in Forster...

my info may not be totally accurate, but full length sizing most does the inside of the neck, and and base...

FW - You don't want to do that with your FL die - reason is that with the Lee Collet Die doing static squeezing, you are not doing dynamic working of the brass. Your FL die actually dynamically works the brass (moves the brass with unsupported squeezing and stretching - that's what the expander ball does). The more FL sizing you do, the sooner you'll need to address annealing issues. The Lee Collet squeezes against a static supported mandrel - not the same thing we're getting. Good reloadin' to ya, Steve

Hey, I got the answer for you right here, THE “CONTROLLA VIRUS” panic is why. You have everybody, their brother, sister, mother, grandma , grandpa, uncle, aunt, 1st through 6th cousins, etc buying guns, ammo, and reloading supplies. Ammunition manufacturers are running round the clock just to keep ammunition on the shelves. So a lot of their production is going towards ammunition and the primers being used for it. That’s why primers, and powder are in such short supply. That and the country was basically shut down for 3 months, so I’m sure ammunition manufacturers had reduced staff for social distance purposes, so that right there already put them behind. Thank the Demoncrat party, China, and fake news for creating fear and panic amongst the sheeple of the nation, all for political purposes to try and push for election fraud by means of “vote by mail”. EVERY FREEDOM LOVING AMERICAN NEEDS TO DEMAND THAT THERE BE ACTUAL IN PERSON VOTING AND NOT ALLOW THESE CLOWNS TO NEGATE OUR VOTE BY RIGGING ELECTIONS BY MAIL. Speak out against it, if they manage this you can kiss our democratic process goodbye. Sorry about the political rant, lol . But yeah that’s where the primers are, just too much demand for ammo right now so primers for the people are not at the top of the list. I tried telling everyone I know to buy ammo or whatever they needed over the past 4-5 years. It was Abundant and relatively cheap. Now folks are paying 2,3,4 times more for ammo and guns compared to 6 months ago. Just hang in there and subscribe to be notified when primers come back in stock , AND JUMP FAST, because they go fast!

RH - When you go to the local range, post that you would like to buy some primers. There are shooters who might sell some to you as they might be moving out of the area, suffering from health problems or there may be widows trying to divest herself of her husbands reloading stuff. Also talk to the ringmasters - there may be members willing to trade powder or bullets for primers. Otherwise, we learn from these events to stock up on primers when they are available. I always budgeted some money to be able to pounce on good buys that come across. Have a great day, Steve

Christopher Vogt - Tough one to answer, because it depends on the size of the ingot molds you are using and the number of times you flux the alloy. But it is a lot of 'em - and at $15 for a full propane tank, the energy is a bargain. Best to ya, Steve

"Mere shooters"??? While the mere "Trust me - I'm an Internet Operator!" crowd will broadcast their intentions (and their identity) to those they're preparing to follow somebody else (not them leading) to fight in the revolution. Now that's amusing.

I hope so. That's what I have been using for several years. Seems OK.

Nick J - Just fine Nick - I was up your way to build a chicken coop for my daughter - too busy for anything else than staying on a schedule... as for the neck, yes - no sizing needed as the collet squeezes the neck on the mandrel and then releases it - there is no dynamic moving of the brass requiring any lube... Best to ya, Steve

@@FortuneCookie45LC Sorry we couldn't get together :-( That was some barbecue

I've been doing a crush fit chambering on all my bolt guns since about 1974, including my Sako 22-250 varmint rifle that I've worn out and replaced the barrel on three times... we have lots of gophers to shoot here in Montana. And a 1950 manufactured Long Branch Lee Enfield rifle that has had thousands of rounds at military ball pressure reloads through it. How many years would you suggest have to pass before I start noticing this galling on my bolt lugs? Askin' for my gopher shooting friends as well as myself.

Ah! grasshopper, it's in the way you walk into the room,either turn left or right. But! please don't forget to anneal on third firing. An Aussie point of view.

@@blackprince4074 Haha, always love a good Kung Fu reference. Bet you're full of them? But while I have you on the line, about annealing, it's very unlikely that I will purchase an annealer--how many firings can I safely get out of my brass?