Nice demonstration. I am considering to buy a Lee 9mm case expander die for use on my RCBS Rock chucker, but I got stuck with whether a Powder thru die and Now I see a Universal expander die. Pretty much after the other processes on the single stage press, this seems pretty straight forward. Thx.
Lyman (M) dies work much better. NOE makes inserts for the LEE die that makes it work like an (M) die too. I bought probably 30 or more inserts from them because Lyman no longer sells just the plugs. It's a 2 step die if you're not familiar. Been using them for decades and they work perfectly. They allow the bullet to sit perfectly straight in the case mouth and therefore they also seat perfectly straight into the case. I have a couple of the Lyman universal expander dies as well and they work very well and the same as the (M) and also allow you to use any standard thread powder measure on the press.
Hi Hercules, great information. I did a quick lookup, and looking at the overall design, I can see why they would be a great option. You get a caliber diameter specific die to expand the case neck and the case mouth. Nice. Thanks for watching and sharing!
@@man_1911 Yeah the second step in the expansion is what makes them so great because it allows the bullet to sit perfectly straight in the case and that's especially important with bottle necked cases or lead bullets in any case. Those dies really added to Lyman's fame way back then. All the other manufacturers have copied it nowadays just like all modern reloading dies work in the same stepped procedures as Lee dies whether they copied them internally or not. Just goes to show that if you come up with something great that works it will become the norm.
A question: what does the (M) mean, that you mentioned regardingLee expander die? I ask because I am using an rcbs rock chucker and rcbs dies are just too expensive to keep buying. Now I seem to need a neck expander die and buying a Lee expander die seems more practical. However, I'm stuck with figuring which way to go,, Universal die or Powder thru expander die? And do I need to add some sort of stopper for the sliding flaring inner part?
@@MusicMinisterJP7 If you don't have a LEE drum or auto-disk powder measure don't buy the powder through die because it doesn't work any better than any other standard expander. If you want (M) die function that you can change calibers on and that is affordable buy the LEE universal expander die and order caliber specific plugs from NOE for it in the sizes of your choice among calibers as well. What an (M) die does is first it expands the case the length of the bullet, the second step opens up the end of the case (perfectly round) to just slightly over bullet diameter so that when you place the bullet on the case it sits in it perfectly straight. The third step is optional and it adds a bit of flare in case you are using oversized bullets. The LEE universal expander alone is only a flaring die and not useful IMO, but adding cheap NOE inserts makes it into an caliber interchangeable Lyman (M) die and it works just as well...actually better because Lyman no longer offers custom sized plugs. OH BTW if you are using the RCBS uniflow or any other 7/8x14 tpi powder measure you can buy the Lyman universal powder through die. It's less than 50 bucks and will replace several dies. It comes with caliber specific (M) type powder through inserts for 32 through 45 calibers. They work exactly like the (M) except you can charge powder through them. They only offer a few accessory inserts (if they still do) but it does come with 32, 38a, 38p, 9mm, 40, 41, 44, 45 caliber inserts...I think thats all they come with, but it's a fantastic value for what it's capable of. You will not however be able to purchase oversized custom inserts for it should you ever need them. That's where the LEE universal and NOE inserts really shine.
@@hercules1073 Hey thank you for that concise description. I would rather Not buy a powder thru die, I just wasn't sure if what was available. Now you have educated me. My basic setup is an RCBS Rock chucker, and all I mostly reloaded was my 30-06 and 30-30, rifle rounds. Some months ago I purchased dies for my 7.62x39 and 22-250 cal. Now, I have purchased my sought-after pistol, Sig Sauer P320 9mm full and That is the only round I will reload in pistol. So now, can you give me a specific on the Lee expander die I should get, or thereof? Thanks again.
Mike, I've another question; is it normal or unusual that when the 9mm case is rammed up for the resizing step, for the case to come down with sorta an abrasive or scratchy micro lines on it, and not look like it did when it went up at first? I did remove the decap pin from die and wiped it with alcohol rag, also ran a small piece with alcohol thu die body. Looking thru it, it looked shiny smooth, didn't see any scratches. I did 20 cases, light lube and they all had those marks. When I did my 30-06 and 30-30 cases I never experienced this. And this whole rock chucker press equipment I bought from an army buddy who bought it new when we bought our rifle's back in 89. The dies were new too. Now, 34 yrs later, I have purchased my 9mm p320 and I aldo want to reload this round, I bought this two-die set from another person on ebay. I'm wondering if there's a solution, or should I just return it?
That is very interesting. From my personal experience it should look just like it did before it was resized. I do remember a while back I had a die acting up with a light line and trying to clean it did not fix the problem for me. While I didn't exhaust all cleaning options, to save time and headache, I ended up just buying a new die set and never had the problem again. This was just my experience and I wish you good luck, and great choice with the P320 btw. Take care!
@@man_1911 Thank you for your input. I did contact RCBS yesterday about this. Just a few minutes ago I received an email saying they have created an order for me, covered under the warranty,, wow. I'm left wondering if its just the die in question or a whole new set. I'm impressed. I hope, I hope..lol.
My mistake, that email was for a replacement small primer cup, spring. pin. But I called today, and they said I can send it in to them, bcuz it would be inspected, polished and if that doesn't fix, they'll send replacement..
What I don't understand about this is if you have a lee 4 die set for any caliber pistol, what was the point in the buying the universal expanding die if the pistol die set comes with an expanding die? I understand for rifle as most are only 2 or 3 die sets but pistols it doesn't make sense to me.
The problem I have is getting the bullet to sit absolutely straight up and down. On some of my revolvers a less-than-perfectly straight bullet won't chamber.
@@robertbrandywine that is interesting. I have never seen that before. Once mine get into the seating die everything seems to straighten out even if they start off a little wonky. Unless there is debris in the seating die causing the slight imperfection, I would be scratching my head also.
@@man_1911 I've ordered a Lyman M-Die, which is supposed to continue the increased ID (not the flare) down into the case for half the bullet length. We'll see.
@@man_1911 The Lyman M-die arrived and it fixed the problem. The ID of the cases before the M-Die was .349 inch and after .354 inch. That .349 could be due to a too-small die, or too thick case walls, but the M-die overrides any such errors.
Nice demonstration. I am considering to buy a Lee 9mm case expander die for use on my RCBS Rock chucker, but I got stuck with whether a Powder thru die and Now I see a Universal expander die. Pretty much after the other processes on the single stage press, this seems pretty straight forward. Thx.
Thank you and thanks for watching!
Had to use this on 22 Hornet worked perfectly. Thanks.
Great video! Super informative and your setup is looking awesome! Keep it up 😉
Thank you! 😃
Really well done video brother. Have a good one. Echo
Thank you Echo! I appreciate you watching brother.
Lyman (M) dies work much better. NOE makes inserts for the LEE die that makes it work like an (M) die too. I bought probably 30 or more inserts from them because Lyman no longer sells just the plugs. It's a 2 step die if you're not familiar. Been using them for decades and they work perfectly. They allow the bullet to sit perfectly straight in the case mouth and therefore they also seat perfectly straight into the case. I have a couple of the Lyman universal expander dies as well and they work very well and the same as the (M) and also allow you to use any standard thread powder measure on the press.
Hi Hercules, great information. I did a quick lookup, and looking at the overall design, I can see why they would be a great option. You get a caliber diameter specific die to expand the case neck and the case mouth. Nice. Thanks for watching and sharing!
@@man_1911 Yeah the second step in the expansion is what makes them so great because it allows the bullet to sit perfectly straight in the case and that's especially important with bottle necked cases or lead bullets in any case. Those dies really added to Lyman's fame way back then. All the other manufacturers have copied it nowadays just like all modern reloading dies work in the same stepped procedures as Lee dies whether they copied them internally or not. Just goes to show that if you come up with something great that works it will become the norm.
A question: what does the (M) mean, that you mentioned regardingLee expander die? I ask because I am using an rcbs rock chucker and rcbs dies are just too expensive to keep buying. Now I seem to need a neck expander die and buying a Lee expander die seems more practical. However, I'm stuck with figuring which way to go,, Universal die or Powder thru expander die? And do I need to add some sort of stopper for the sliding flaring inner part?
@@MusicMinisterJP7 If you don't have a LEE drum or auto-disk powder measure don't buy the powder through die because it doesn't work any better than any other standard expander. If you want (M) die function that you can change calibers on and that is affordable buy the LEE universal expander die and order caliber specific plugs from NOE for it in the sizes of your choice among calibers as well. What an (M) die does is first it expands the case the length of the bullet, the second step opens up the end of the case (perfectly round) to just slightly over bullet diameter so that when you place the bullet on the case it sits in it perfectly straight. The third step is optional and it adds a bit of flare in case you are using oversized bullets. The LEE universal expander alone is only a flaring die and not useful IMO, but adding cheap NOE inserts makes it into an caliber interchangeable Lyman (M) die and it works just as well...actually better because Lyman no longer offers custom sized plugs. OH BTW if you are using the RCBS uniflow or any other 7/8x14 tpi powder measure you can buy the Lyman universal powder through die. It's less than 50 bucks and will replace several dies. It comes with caliber specific (M) type powder through inserts for 32 through 45 calibers. They work exactly like the (M) except you can charge powder through them. They only offer a few accessory inserts (if they still do) but it does come with 32, 38a, 38p, 9mm, 40, 41, 44, 45 caliber inserts...I think thats all they come with, but it's a fantastic value for what it's capable of. You will not however be able to purchase oversized custom inserts for it should you ever need them. That's where the LEE universal and NOE inserts really shine.
@@hercules1073 Hey thank you for that concise description. I would rather Not buy a powder thru die, I just wasn't sure if what was available. Now you have educated me. My basic setup is an RCBS Rock chucker, and all I mostly reloaded was my 30-06 and 30-30, rifle rounds. Some months ago I purchased dies for my 7.62x39 and 22-250 cal. Now, I have purchased my sought-after pistol, Sig Sauer P320 9mm full and That is the only round I will reload in pistol. So now, can you give me a specific on the Lee expander die I should get, or thereof? Thanks again.
Mike, I've another question; is it normal or unusual that when the 9mm case is rammed up for the resizing step, for the case to come down with sorta an abrasive or scratchy micro lines on it, and not look like it did when it went up at first?
I did remove the decap pin from die and wiped it with alcohol rag, also ran a small piece with alcohol thu die body. Looking thru it, it looked shiny smooth, didn't see any scratches. I did 20 cases, light lube and they all had those marks.
When I did my 30-06 and 30-30 cases I never experienced this. And this whole rock chucker press equipment I bought from an army buddy who bought it new when we bought our rifle's back in 89. The dies were new too.
Now, 34 yrs later, I have purchased my 9mm p320 and I aldo want to reload this round, I bought this two-die set from another person on ebay.
I'm wondering if there's a solution, or should I just return it?
That is very interesting. From my personal experience it should look just like it did before it was resized. I do remember a while back I had a die acting up with a light line and trying to clean it did not fix the problem for me. While I didn't exhaust all cleaning options, to save time and headache, I ended up just buying a new die set and never had the problem again. This was just my experience and I wish you good luck, and great choice with the P320 btw. Take care!
@@man_1911 Thank you for your input. I did contact RCBS yesterday about this. Just a few minutes ago I received an email saying they have created an order for me, covered under the warranty,, wow. I'm left wondering if its just the die in question or a whole new set. I'm impressed. I hope, I hope..lol.
My mistake, that email was for a replacement small primer cup, spring. pin. But I called today, and they said I can send it in to them, bcuz it would be inspected, polished and if that doesn't fix, they'll send replacement..
@@MusicMinisterJP7 outstanding, that sound great!
What I don't understand about this is if you have a lee 4 die set for any caliber pistol, what was the point in the buying the universal expanding die if the pistol die set comes with an expanding die? I understand for rifle as most are only 2 or 3 die sets but pistols it doesn't make sense to me.
The problem I have is getting the bullet to sit absolutely straight up and down. On some of my revolvers a less-than-perfectly straight bullet won't chamber.
Interesting, Is that for wad cutters or round nose too.
@@man_1911 Rounded flat nose hollow points.
@@robertbrandywine that is interesting. I have never seen that before. Once mine get into the seating die everything seems to straighten out even if they start off a little wonky. Unless there is debris in the seating die causing the slight imperfection, I would be scratching my head also.
@@man_1911 I've ordered a Lyman M-Die, which is supposed to continue the increased ID (not the flare) down into the case for half the bullet length. We'll see.
@@man_1911 The Lyman M-die arrived and it fixed the problem. The ID of the cases before the M-Die was .349 inch and after .354 inch. That .349 could be due to a too-small die, or too thick case walls, but the M-die overrides any such errors.
you need to delete this video