500S&W LEE dies

[cwlongshot]

Any one having problems with them?

I have noticed some scratching of vases. Nothing too bad, but scratches just the same. I took the die apart. (PIA I will add...) The style of retention of the decapping rod. Necessitates near Herculean strength be applied to keep it from moving. I added RCBS adjusting nuts as I like them better than the Lee junk.

 I am no fan of Lee is you haven't read between the lines. They make a couple products that have promise but are manufactured with sub quality materials that always seem to prematurely fail. I DO like there Collet Neck size die sets, and there trimmers are cool too. But these 500 S&W dies are junk!!  I have loaded maybe a couple hundred rounds thru them. They are not abused in any way and never dropped. Look what I found while cleaning...






When I got my 500 they where the only game in town. I'm about to order a set of Redding if available other wise RCBS will get the nod.

 Just wanted to see if anyone else had similar problems and make others aware of the issue.

CW

[billy_56081]

Were they damaged this way when you got them? If so were  they scratching cases right from the start? If not it appears that something hardened was raised on the ram and damaged the die.

[cwlongshot]

Were they damaged this way when you got them? If so were  they scratching cases right from the start? If not it appears that something hardened was raised on the ram and damaged the die.

I bought them new. They where fine for some time. I haven't loaded with them since last year. I took them out of the box this afternoon to begin prepping some cases and on the third case I noticed bad scratching. The first two not too bad, third case is ruined. With a big "dig" in its side. I pulled the DE-capping stem to make sure nothing was in the die...and found this as you see it. I found three little pieces lying on the press. I load the majority of my bullets single stage on a RCBS Ammo-master. Quality over quantity is my game.

 I am the only one to use these dies and they have never been abused or miss-used. Just for general information, I do know what I am doing, as I have been loading since the mid/late 70's. Having loaded countless tens of thousands of rounds in that time. I have taught others re-loading at the gun store I worked since the early 90's. I have never seen this from any other manufacturers die, regardless of the number of rounds loaded thru them.

 Simply looking at pictures alone, I would agree with you, something looks to have been jambed into the mouth of this die. But it is not the case, after three cases they simply fell part. Typical of LEE products, as I said I find them made with poor quality components/materials. They work fine for a short time or for the occasional re-loader.

CW

[buck460XVR]

you may have set the die to deep when you first set it up. The carbide ring is hard but very brittle. Unlike non-carbide sizing dies where you  lower the die till it just touches the shell holder, with carbides you have to raise it back up just a hair so that it doesn't hit the shellholder when you size your casing. Hard contact with the shellholder during sizing will crack or shatter the carbide ring..........and that looks like what happened.


edit.........even with carbide sizing dies, I still lightly lube every other case for my .460.....it just makes things easier.

[billy_56081]

Ya don't have any kids around that like to mess with your stuff do ya?

[krod47nw]

I believe Lee has a warranty that covers such a problem.

Kevin

[MnMike]

You hate Lee and you buy Lee.
I hate Hornady and I don't buy Hornady.
I am happy, you seem upset.

Is there something to be learned here?

Maybe buy from people you like.

BTW My Lee 500 die set works fine.

mike

[cwlongshot]

You hate Lee and you buy Lee.
I hate Hornady and I don't buy Hornady.
I am happy, you seem upset.

Is there something to be learned here?

Maybe buy from people you like.

BTW My Lee 500 die set works fine.

mike

Mostly but not entirely true...

 I did buy these dies, but only because I needed to load this caliber and they where the only ones available at the time. I wont be buying any more. 

 My opinion of the product is based of 18 years of selling reloading equipment. Lee is head and shoulders above all others in broken returns. Many of these people have been my customers for years and years, I am quite sure have they not abused or misused the equipment. Only good thing is CS is good and they replace most items. Like I say, it works well for the short term or for infrequent LO-volume use, but is NOT built to last or to be used in a high volume manor.

I know many of you guys love your Lee stuff as its inexpensive in initial costs. But I offer a snippet to chew on; The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten. Buy the best you can afford.

CW

[Grumulkin]

I believe Lee has a warranty that covers such a problem.

Lee's warranty is only good for 2 years; it kind of shows what they think their quality to be.  The warranties of RCBS and Redding is lifetime.

I think Lee's collet and factory crimp dies are unique and work well for their purpose so I buy them for some cartridges I reload.  In general, currently when I need dies I buy Redding.

[Troyboy]

purley from price point i have purchased all lee dies so far the 38 and 9mm have worked as described. hopefully this will continue to be the case.


                                                                         Troy

[cwlongshot]

Woo-ho!!!

 I got home form work just now to find the front door wedged open... with a package from MIDWAY!!!  I ordered it just after posting this thread and its already here. Three days Thats what I call, SUPER SERVICE!!

 I'm heading down the the reloading room now. Maybe I can get a hundred or so done before momma gets home...   

CW

[MnMike]

cwlongshot:

>I'm heading down the the reloading room now. Maybe I can get a hundred or so done before momma gets >home...

Great to hear. Screw in the new dies and load em up. The .500 is a fun round. I do a mix of light (1300fps) and heavier (1900fps) with 370 gr bullets.

good luck
mike

[cwlongshot]

Thanks Mike,
 I am finding my 500 seems to like the throttled back loads more than the near full house ones.

 I seemed to always have a flyer until I tried the 440WFN's Tim suggested I try. But because they are lead with a GC, I chose H4227 and didn't look for top velocities. Got nice consistent targets!!

Now these loads I have loaded with the 385's are lower velocities. I also added a new pad and completely floated the for-end.

With some luck, I'll get out there today to see.

CW

[gypsyman]

I've sold Lee,Redding, and Hornady dies in the 500S&W. The carbide ring in the sizer, on the Lee's, broke on a couple. My customers sent them back, and Lee always makes it right. Never had any complaints with the Redding or the Hornady. Talked a couple of guys into just buying the standard dies, instead of the carbide. After talking it over, they figured they were only going to load 300 or 400 rounds a year, so will just lube that many, and not worry about the ring breaking. gypsyman

[bill439]

OK, i'll go to bat for lee.  The die you have was most likley damaged by having the die adjusted to contact the shellholder.   All carbide dies of any make (to my knowledge) will also break under these conditions.  Ask the maker of any dies and they will instruct you to keep the shellholder from contacting the bottom  of the die.  Maybe you have a press that cams over top dead center, so when the handle is down the ram is lower than the apex of its travel.  Thus if you adjusted the die  with the ram in the up position it still could contact the carbide ring because of the camming effect.  I think you are selling mr. lee short.  I believe lee's  products are good and have given the joy of reloading to many folks on a tight budget.  If you follow their instructions you will have very few problems. wishing you the best bill439

[blhof]

I've had good luck with Lee's and they've backed up their product well for me.  I recently got some Hornady with the Titanium sizer ring and stopped lubing all together.  They're slick and smooth, though a little pricey, haven't run enough through to know of any problems yet.

[quickdtoo]

For anyone expecting a reply from cwlongshot, he's offline until he gets his PC fixed or replaced, he asked me to let ya all know he'd be away for a week or two. 

Tim