October 26, 2012, 01:34 PM | #51 | |
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My FCD is just under .4715" and I consider mine to be on the tight side. I am planning to polish mine out to somewhere between .472"-.4725". I think one of the reasons these FCD threads go on so long is Lee doesnt hold the tolerance on the ring anywhere near as tightly as they should. Someone with a .472+ FCD is using an entirely different tool than the one jcwit owns. |
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October 26, 2012, 01:40 PM | #52 |
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BINGO! In my partictular case!
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October 27, 2012, 06:16 PM | #53 |
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First of all if you hear a horrible crunching sound using any die then there is a big problem somewhere!
If you need a certain size ring for your die, I believe Lee will polish one for you so you won't have a problem. I look at the die as an "on the press" size checker. If I feel resistance as the round goes in then I know there was a problem somewhere else in my reloading sequence. I would rather catch a problem early then have 100 rounds reloaded that I have to later pull to correct. Mac |
October 28, 2012, 12:59 AM | #54 | |
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really the question you need to ask yourself is what is my maximum tolerance and make sure the ring is no larger. in your case you need to use cases .009 in thickness or less or ream out the inside diameter of the sizing ring to closer match your needs. the whole point of the sizing ring is to make sure nothing larger than the post sizing ring enters your chamber, which in theory leads to more reliability in feeding. |
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October 28, 2012, 01:33 AM | #55 | |
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My solution after fighting with the FCD for maybe 6 months was to put a string tag on it identifying it as a 45 ACP Lee FCD and placing it in one of many drawers holding unused misc. stuff accumulated over 55 of collecting guns and gun related parts and tooling for my kids to wonder "What the he!! did Dad use this thing for" sometime in the distant future I hope. Then to return to my original die sets and tweak the settings till I had a set up that worked for each and every gun, then make up dummy rounds for each particular bullet fired in each gun and label them so said seating could be returned to. All problems were and are solved in all my pistols chambered for the 45 ACP round, This encludes my Llama MaxI, Springfield S/S, Kimber S/S custom and my Ed Brown with match barrel. Being as I never had a FCD die for any other caliber I have been one of those who have loaded thousands and thousands of 9 MM rounds in my pistols chambered for that round with no issues occurring. Must have been to dumb or maybe to stubborn to know my failings. This is my experience in 20 - 25 different pistols chambered for 9 MM. The same applies to 32 ACP, 380 ACP, 9 MM Largo, 38 Spec, 357 Mag., and any other handgun caliber I reload for that I might have missed, after all it is 2:30 AM. Best to all, If you wish to use the Lee FCD, have at it, personally I see nor have no need for it. BTW, My feedings problems are zip to none in any of my handguns nor is the problems with leading when I returned to the so called "old" way of accomplishing my seating and crimping using the "old" system. Maybe I'm an old fool, but I'm a Happy Old Fool. And ALL of the above works just fine for me, Thank You Very Much.
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October 28, 2012, 02:04 AM | #56 |
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If it works for you, keep using it. If it doesn't, then don't.
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October 28, 2012, 02:13 AM | #57 | |
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October 28, 2012, 02:39 AM | #58 |
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I use the lee crimp die in 9mm,.40and .45 auto. On .45 the die does not do much as long as I do not over bell the case. When I used to load range pick up
in .40 the FCD. die would sometimes size the brass if it had the glock belly on it by screwing down the sizing die a little,watching case length and flare I have pretty much eliminated the post sizing and I have also accumulated a working supply of .40 brass that does not have a bulge in the first place. In 9mm it is pretty much the same story, I trim my cases,size properly, don't over flare and I separate head stamps and unless I use range pick up or military brass I won't get any post sizing but I scrounge brass like crazy and it is not uncommon for me to come home with a fair amount of once fired cases so I still use the FCD. I have never gotten any reduction in bullet diameter that I can measure. I think that the dies are tools that have a purpose in some circumstances just watch how you use them and you may find you like them. |
October 28, 2012, 02:53 AM | #59 | |
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Reread my post #46 here
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Its obvious MY FCD die is way to tight. and being so I have no use for it. Maybe in all of mankind I have the one and only one with this problem, What a collectors item. Maybe the kids will make a fortune on it at the estate sale.
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October 28, 2012, 07:35 AM | #60 |
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In the collective time it took for you to type your posts I am positive you could have found a way to ream out a few thousandths of an inch, even in carbide.
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October 28, 2012, 07:55 AM | #61 |
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Mine was JUST like JC's, and my solution was to simply pop out the carbide ring. It will now work equally well on my 45 ACP, 45 Colt, and 454 rounds depending on how, and in what press I set it up in.
There again, I purchased it on sale simply, like a lot of others, to see what all the hub bub was about. IT DID work fine with jacketed with no issues what so ever, as most of them are under the actual diameter I need to use lead with. But there again EXACTLY like JC, when I ran a lead bullet up through it they all came out sized down below what I need to avoid leading. Pop out the ring, and problem solved for all future use. My standard die sets have no problem producing fully functional ammo for all calibers I load for, the FCD as simply something to check out, mainly to see if I could get a bit more consistency with a couple of powders I was playing with at the time I decided to pick it up. I also use quite a few Lee products and can say in all honesty they work well for the money spent on them. I would not try and replace them with something else simply due to the price being higher and hoping for better performance. This said they have and do continue to have a few issues with tolerances, fit, and finish, in some of their lines. Does this mean I am going to ship my FCD back to them, nope much easier to pop out the offending ring. Now if it were a bullet mold, or set of dies out of whack, yep it would be on the way back ASAP, as I have done in the past.
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October 28, 2012, 08:53 AM | #62 | |
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Second, I solved the problem for myself a few years ago, not going to go to the trouble of even trying to resolve it again. Is there such a word as resolve, if not I'm sure you all know my meaning. Third, collective time? Being as I have been an accomplished typist since the age of 16, I seriously doubt I have anything over an hour taken up by replying to this thread over the last few days. More than likely more time spent reading all the posts such as yours trying to get me to do something that is very hard to accomplish. But then it does get my post count up!
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October 28, 2012, 09:26 AM | #63 |
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You're not reaming a half inch hole, your polishing a few thousandths of an inch.
You obviously completely miss the point, and it's probably better you leave your FCD in the drawer |
October 28, 2012, 09:43 AM | #64 | |
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I have and its not something one does with crocus cloth. This may explain it a little to those that do not believe! http://www.finishing.com/430/77.shtml I'm not about to rush out and purchase the diamond compound to polish out 1 FCD die. Just not cost effective as the problem is solved to my satisfaction. Did I miss the point, NO! I believe its the other way around.
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October 28, 2012, 09:54 AM | #65 |
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I tried it with a dremel and the dremel polising compound. After about two hours, I might have taken .0005" out of the ring. But I'm not even sure of that.
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October 28, 2012, 01:38 PM | #66 |
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This makes my decision easier. Rather than touch the one I have I will keep that one for fmj and have Lee grind me a .472 or .4725 for lead.
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October 28, 2012, 01:58 PM | #67 |
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^ that makes a lot of sense.
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October 28, 2012, 02:07 PM | #68 |
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if you don't have the skills to do it yourself, you're better off finding a machine shop local. it won't take them long.
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October 28, 2012, 02:11 PM | #69 |
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^ I saw that and forgot about it. Must be nice to be a company like Lee Precision or Ruger and simply have more demand than supply.
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October 28, 2012, 02:36 PM | #70 | |
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October 28, 2012, 02:40 PM | #71 |
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^ Since you have made it clear over and over and over that you have no use for the FCD, and have taken up so much server storage capacity with your screeds, why not let the constructive conversation continue?
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October 28, 2012, 02:48 PM | #72 | |
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October 28, 2012, 02:51 PM | #73 |
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That's too bad about Lee custom
Last edited by tkglazie; October 28, 2012 at 03:35 PM. |
October 28, 2012, 03:06 PM | #74 |
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I agree with jmortimer, please get over it.
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October 28, 2012, 04:34 PM | #75 |
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It seems to anything technically useful has probably played out here. If someone has a reason for it the thread to stay open, PM me, but otherwise I think I'll just close it for being a source of needless acrimony.
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