Redding T7 and Lee Collet die setup

[FullMetalJacket]

hey guys been running my t7 for about 6 months now and started playing with idea of neck sizing my 308 lapua brass, so ordered a lee collet die and set up per instruction , stripped first cap right off the die body on first 10 pieces trying to get that 25lb stroke , lee sent a replacement , after 20 pieces it was starting to get to that feeling like cap was going to strip so i backed off , played with again but am wondering how you fellow t7 guys have set your lee collet die. also wondering best place to start as far as case measurement when comparing neck sized brass against full length , curious how tight you guys are squeezing your necks against mandrel . experience is much appreciated

 

[LoanHarvey]

tag for info

 

[MontanaMarine]

I stripped out a collet die cap some years back. I realized I didn't need to lean on it so hard. If you go slowly you can feel the collet closing on the brass, no need to press any harder than that. I have mine set up in the T7 also.

 

[Steel head]

I set up mine with ram up,screw die down to case holder drop ram and screw in 1 full turn then lock it down.
Pretty much stays there,never have to adjust it.
I often neck size my brass using a Lee hand press while watching a movie so it not like a lot of force is needed.
If your blowing the cap off I'd say you over doing it just a tad.

 

[flashhole]

I don't have a T-7 but I do have a Redding Ultramag. If you are blowing the cap out of the die you are using way too much force. One sign of over-force will be vertical lines on the case neck. I you see that you are still using too much force, back off.

 

[Grumulkin]

I have used Lee Collet Dies and I have a Redding T-7 press. In addition, thus far I've never ruined a Lee Collet Die. You have to apply firm but not a huge amount of pressure. I've never measured the pressure I apply but I doubt it's more than 5 or 10 lbs.

Several comments on the Lee Collet Die. First of all, it doesn't set the shoulder back so eventually you'll need to size with a die that does. If the mandril is too loarge, it won't size the neck enough and you'll have to buff it down. Last but not least, unlike what Lee's advertising says, the Lee Collet Die isn't God's gift to accuracy. I hava a 7mm/08 barrel that shoots pretty well with factory and full length sized brass. With brass sized with a Lee Collet Die, groups opened up an inch; maybe a bit more.

I haven't used Lee Collet Dies for some time now; I think you're better off with a traditional neck sizing die.

 

[haroldwilson]

No matter how much force you put on it, it will only reduce the neck to a certain size. Whatever force it takes to achieve that is all you can use. After that, all the extra force is doing nothing put damaging your shit.

Measure a neck od or id. Put in the collet die. Measure it again. See how much it reduced. Turn the die in another 1/8 turn. Size the same case again. Measure it again. See if it got any smaller. Repeat until you find the smallest dimension it will produce. When you find that spot, that is it. More force will not reduce the neck any more. If you want the neck smaller, you have to polish your mandrel down or order a smaller one from Lee.

I set mine up so my press cams over just barely. It is like the least amount of cam over possible, or maybe a touch more.

 

[pell1203]

I use a Lee collet die on my T-7 as the first step in getting the neck down to the correct size. Usually need to resize from about 0.346" down to a final dimension of 0.331" on my .308. I use the Lee die because it supports the inside of the neck while doing the sizing operation and helps straighten out any neck dings. I have set to size to 0.337". A Redding bushing die is then used to get to the 0.331" neck dimension.