Lee die setup for 10mm

[ocracokenc]

I have the Lee carbide dies in 40sw/10mm but when you set it up per Lee's instruction the 10mm auto's case is too long. Does anybody have instructions how to set them up for the 10mm

[Miata Mike]

Which die are we talking?

Decap/sizing die should work on 10mm with no adjustment from .40S&W if it works the same as my .38 special/.357 magnum Lee die.

I never tried to resize a 10mm case with my .40S&W die, I just give the ones I find to a guy at work. Here are the notes I keep by my loading bench (Word document format didn't copy well) :

1st stage Sizing/Depriming die adjustment

o Turn the lock ring as far to the top of the die as possible.
o With the ram raised and the shell holder in place, turn the die into the press until it makes firm contact with the shell holder.
o Lower the ram and turn the die in ¼ turn further into the press. Raise the ram which locks the die in place and tighten the lock ring.

2nd stage Expanding die adjustment

o Turn the lock ring as far to the top of the die as possible.
o With the ram raised and the shell holder in place, turn the die into the press until it makes firm contact with the shell holder.
o Back the die out of the press about ¾ of a turn and set the lock ring.
o Minor adjustments from this point may need to be made.

3rd stage Seating/Crimping die adjustment

o With an empty case in the shell holder, raise the ram to the top and turn the die in until it stops. This is where the crimp shoulder meets the case.
o Place a bullet on the empty flared case. Raise and lower the ram checking bullet seating depth.
o Rotate the adjustment knob clockwise while holding the die. Raise and lower the ram to confirm seating depth.
o Lower the ram and turn the die in one additional half turn. Raise the ram to complete the crimp depth. If using a factory carbide crimp die, omit the half turn!

4th stage Factory crimp die adjustment

o Turn the lock ring as far to the top of the die as possible, and the adjustment knob outward.
o With the ram raised and the shell holder in place, turn the die into the press until it makes firm contact with the shell holder and tighten the lock ring.
o Place a cartridge with a seated bullet in the shell holder and raise the ram.
o Turn the adjustment screw clockwise until it stops.
o Lower the ram and turn in the adjustment screw a half turn.
o Raise the ram to apply the crimp.
o Adjust the screw clockwise for additional crimp.

[david_r]

What do you mean the case is too long?

Resize with die touching shell plate with a shell in it.

Bell and drop powder. Set die to bell at wherever you like it.

Seat and crimp. Seat a bullet to the depth you want. Back out the seater. Screw in die until it contacts case. Screw in until you get crimp you desire. With ram elevated, screw in seater until it contacts the bullet you already seated.

Edit: changed base to case

[ocracokenc]

If you put the die's in as per Lee instructions the bullet seating die also does a crimp and it looks like a bottle neck brass and the powder and flare die makes it look like a tuba and the brass does not go all the way in to the die. I ran one thru without loading it or using a bullet and the crimp die derformed the case mouth way before the ram is up. I bet someone here has loaded 10mm with Lee and will know what I am talking about

[ocracokenc]

I just ran a 40sw thru my set up and it was fine. So I am sure since the 10mm is longer the dies will have to be adjusted but the instructions say nothing about it. I tried going to the Lee website but I am not able to

[Miata Mike]

My 3rd stage instructions should work for your 10mm as they are set up where the crimp shoulder meets the case.

For belling the case in the second step you are obviously going to have to move the die up the difference in height between the 10mm and the .40S&W. I would raise it up maybe a 1/4" and lower it as much as it takes to slightly bell the mouth.

[david_r]

Thank you for clarifying your question. Ignore the Lee instructions for the bullet seating/crimping die. Whether it is the ones in the die set or the ones in Modern Reloading, IGNORE THEM. Mostly ignore the instructions for the powder through die -- ONLY focus on the part that says, "adjust the flare to your liking."


Miata Mike has provided fine instructions for setting the dies up. His last step on setting up the crimping die will shorten the cartridge length as they are written. Something to be aware of.

Powder through/Expanding die
Case in shell holder and handle held down. Screw in die until it contacts the case mouth.
Raise handle
Screw in die 1/4 turn
Lower handle and inspect flare
Repeat as necessary until flare is to your liking.
If you are using an auto disk powder measure on the die, remove it and install the plug while doing this until you are comfortable setting the die up.

To initially set your seating/crimping die:
Put a flared case in the shell holder, lower the handle and hold the handle down.
Screw the die in until it contacts the mouth of the case. That is your zero point for your die. Hold the die body and screw down the lock ring by hand
Next, set overall length for the round by seating a bullet and adjusting the length.
Back off the bullet seater.
Seat a bullet and measure the overall length.
Screw in the seater and remeasure until you get to the overall length you want.

Next, I prefer to back the bullet seater out and then start screwing in the crimp die and testing the crimp on the same round until I get the crimp where I want it to be. Once I do that, I raise the ram and screw the seating stem in until I feel the stem contact the bullet. This prevents the bullet being pushed further in as the die is screwed in to adjust the crimp.

At that point my die is set. It takes less time to do it than to read about it.

The alternate once you have your overall length set is to hold the bullet seating stem while you are screwing in the body to adjust the crimp. I find that takes too many hands but many people do it that way.

FYI, I shouldn't say this because it might suggest there is some merit to the instructions that Lee provides. Your case length difference between a 40 S&W and a 10 mm is 0.142". The threads on your die are 14/inch. Two turns of the die will give you 0.143". So if you establish where the mouth of a 40 S&W is and then screw out two full turns, theoretically you would be at the mouth of a 10 mm. HOWEVER, turns in/out from shell holder contact is definitely not the ideal approach.

Those instructions from Lee (out three turns from contact with the shell holder) are not great. I believe the reason for them are to get the die close to the correct height for an automatic bullet feeder.

Here is what Lee says in Modern Reloading:

"With a properly sized and flared case in the shell holder, move the ram all the way up to the solid stop.

Screw the die in until you feel it stop against the mouth of the shell. Be sure to hold the lever down while doing this, otherwise the die will move the ram down...."

After that, the instructions start to become less than useful again.

Finally, I was able to just pull this from the Lee knowledgebase. "To load 10mm with 40 S&W dies, back out the bullet seating die and powder through expanding die two (2) turns and use large primers." However, I think most people that reload would not agree with the instructions to unscrew the die a set number of turns from contact to setup a crimp die.

[Ruger45LC]

I do have a set of Lee .40/10mm dies, and unless something has drastically changed, there is no issue with using 10mm. I don't load for the 10mm any longer, but when I did, I ran a bunch through the Lee dies. The only thing you have to set up differently is your expander die, just back it out further. You don't have to change your resizing die, and on the seating and crimping die just back out the adjuster further for the longer OAL.