Lee Case Length Gauge and Shell Holder Sets

This is not a thread created to bash Lee. I know some don't like their stuff. That's fine. It's done well for me at a good price. Just looking for any advice regarding my method, etc. I will be sending and edited (non-forum) version of this to Lee Precision.

I bought the .223 Rem pilot a couple weeks ago and my brass never touched the cutter on the 60 or so I tried it on. No biggie, brass was once fired and likely not too long.
I ordered the pilots for 9mm, .357, and .32-20.
I have an issue with all three of them.
All brass was sized using Lee dies on a Lee press.
All brass is once fired or new.


My issue with the 9mm set is the brass fits too tight and the pilot seems a little too short.

Lee's page for the 9mm pilot says the length range is .744-.754". Seems like a wide range to me. My 1X Winchester brass averages 0.750". Here's a picture of how much brass would be cut off if I used this pilot.




No, I don't plan on trimming all my 9mm or even .357 but for the price it seemed like a good thing to have on hand.

My issue with the .357 is the pilot is WAY too short.

Lee's website shows cut length for their pilot at 1.27-1.29". My new Starline brass averages 1.279", perfectly in the range of the cutter and a little short compared to the original spec of 1.29". Here's a picture of how much brass would be cut off if I were to use the pilot I bought.



Mis-marked .38 Special pilot? I don't think so. Here's the pilot inserted into a .38S case.



My issue with the .32WCF pilot is I cannot get it to fit into any but a select few of my cases. Once again, the brass was sized with Lee dies on a Lee press. This cartridge should have a case mouth ID of .312". My brass averages about .301" and the pilot is .304".

Here is a side by side pic. Passes eyeball test on length.



Here's about how far they fit on.



I have a vintage RCBS manual trimmer set up and a whole bunch of pilots. Not sure how to use it, not sure I wanna get all that out every time I wanna trim some brass. I'd like to make this stuff work because it's simple and quick using a cordless drill.

Ideas?

Well heck, what a PIA. The good thing about Lee is all you need to do is call them and they will replace them.

I've experience a couple that were tight but it was always with a specific lot of brass and not others. Of course, you want them to work so I just took some lapping compound on a towel to them and that cured the issue.

As far a length goes and as long as the pilot is short, you can always adjust the length by not threading the pilot in completely. I actually verify a specific cut with all mine using a caliper but I too would find your's unacceptable and would contact Lee. Kind of odd group of cartridges, or what I guess I find funny is that I reload all of these too.

My trimmers are used with the Lyman Case Prep Xpress.

Good information. I think there's plenty of room to adjust for the 9mm as you suggest. I surmise this is why the threaded portion of the pilot is split and splayed....to let it stay put even if not threaded all the way in. No way that's working with the .357. I'm guessing the problem on the .32-20 is the sizer die making the brass too small. I'm starting a ticket with Lee as I type.

Thanks for posting this, it's good info. Please keep us posted on their reply. (tagged)

Run the 32-20 brass through the expander die without belling the case mouth or polish the tool with emery cloth.

Powder through expander die is giving me about 0.005" more, still not enough. The most ID I'm getting out of the expander is 0.309-0.310". I need to load lead at 0.312" so it's not just difference in the pilot and the sized brass. Plus, I'll have to run the brass through the expander twice because that's how I charge them. Then again, I won't be loading many of these very often so I guess it's no big deal.

I think the same. In fact, if it threads in to easy, I spread them a bit with the flat blade of a screw driver. I have an old Saunder's Archery nock set tool that I use to thread them in. It is a perfect fit plier that will not mar the pilot no matter what the pilot diameter is. That's how tight I like them.

I turned the .32-20 pilot OD down to .304" and it fits most of the cases. Should be better once I polish it. Now that I can get the brass over it I have realized it is too short like the 9mm. I'm going to have to make a shim for the .32WCF and the 9mm that will allow me to tighten the pilot at a longer length. I tried some .32WCF with the pilot screwed out a little and although I had to thread it in with pliers, it's still moving and produces inconsistent trims. I cannot afford to keep feeding hard to find brass so I need a better solution.

No way I'll be able to use the .357 pilot as is or with a shim. It eyeballs to 0.070" too short. I'll measure it at some point.

Where is your case holder? Do you have one?

Cole, watcha mean? I have the rest of the set up...shell holders for all and the lock stud. Am I missing something?

No, guess you have it all. In several of photos showing the length gauge you never showed the shell holder or lock. Wondered if you had them. March on !!

I'm with you when it comes to tearing any brass. Sounds like time to email Lee with the pictures and your address.

To start the ticket I filled out yesterday morning I had to provide address and phone number. I inserted links to the pics I posted here although the form didn't ask for them. Today I got a reply from a representative from Lee requesting the pics in PDF (the bane of my existence). I cannot convert JPG to PDF on this machine without a patch I'm not willing to research and install so I replied (at least now I had an email address which to reply) with JPGs inserted in the body of the email.

We shall see.

Thanks for the posts and PMs. I got both.

I use the same trimmer. I have had similar issues with 45 colt brass and 45-70 brass. Like someone else said it is usually with a specific head stamp and not others.

The biggest problem I have that bugs me to no end is in order to screw some of the trimmer length gauges into the trimmer stud I have to use a vice and pair of vice grip pliers... and no it is not and never has been cross threaded.

I have an ongoing conversation with Lee. Thanks for the help so far.

Good to hear!

My 6.5 Creedmoor Lee trimmer was wayy to tight. It would not even fit in the brass. I had the put the trimmer in my drill and press a metal file against it to shave off some surface area.

Lee is waiting on me and so am I.

When I get time this weekend I will sort through my .32-20 brass and determine my best length....which in turn will decide for me what to do.

Lee has offered to replace any of the pilots they find out of spec. Translation is likely that they will send my original 9mm and .32-20 pilots back and replace the .357. If I were to guess, the new .357 part would be in a package therefore may be the same as the old one....just a guess.

In the mean time I will start looking for properly sized shim candidates.

As per Lee's advice, I will continue to turn down and polish the pilots to make the OD fit the brass.

After turning down the OD of the pilot in several increments then machine polishing the .32WCF tool, I am finally able to use and test it on my brass.....some of which looks very old.

I started by sorting according to length.



I have brass that ranges in length from 1.280" to 1.310" and above. The Lee tool trims to right at 1.306". This is just right. I figured out what was wrong and I will test the other pilots today and report on my case of anal-cranial inversion.

blackcoal tried to set me straight but I wasn't listening properly.

Here's the deal (and where I made an error)....the end of the pilot where the taper is DOES NOT SPACE THE PILOT TO THE CUTTER. The shape of the tip is merely to ensure the fatter part of the pilot can in no way interfere inside the case. The case is spaced on the pilot by the shell holder. In other words, the taper of the pilot (obvious now that I see it properly) isn't intended to do ANYTHING as far as spacing goes. It's the shell holder that stops it.

This is why the 9mm pilot is so close to proper in the picture above....the pilot is upright and all is spaced off the ammo box they're sitting on. The .357 pics are with the pilot dunked all the way into the brass with nothing to stop it at the surface plane of the case end.

Here's the .357 pilot when spaced off the end of the case.



Sometimes you feel like a nut.

Upward and onward. Feels good when that lightbulb flashes on and you realize you have made the circuit.

All is well that ends well!

I already sent a self-deprecating email to my Lee rep thanking him for his time. I have his contact information for the future if needed.

I've been using the Lee case trimmers for several decades with about 15 different calibers and never had any issues with them. I was going to tell you to what you need to do,but you figured it out.

If you ever need to trim a whole lot of brass,I'd suggest dropping some coin on a Little Crow WFT trimmer. They are expensive,but are by far the best case trimmer ever made.

http://www.littlecrowgunworks.com/wft.html

Thanks for the link. Might help more than just me.

I can't believe you are trimming pistol brass. Been reloading it over 35 years and have yet to trim one piece. I shoot it until it splits. I do use the LEE trimmers on all my rifle cases though. Never had one problem with any of them.

Guess you didn't read the topic.

From post #1:



.32-20 is generally considered a rifle cartridge and it's slightly bottle necked although my loading will be for a 1st generation Colt. My .32-20 brass varied over 0.030" in length. That's huge for use in a 111 year old pistol.