Lee Loader

I was originally planning on decapping on press with the first die after i cleaned the brass. I want to wet tumble the brass and have read here and elsewhere its a good idea to decap before tumbling as the steel pins do an excellent job of cleaning primer pockets and, its easier to dry the brass without a rimer. As I understand it, the decapping die also performs a resizing function on the brass, which is a good thing. So here's my question, is it a good idea to decap dirty brass? I'm sure the decapping portion of the die doesn't care, but what about the resizing portion? Will this gum up the works and if so, what's the solution (separate die, decapping off press, routine cleaning of existing die, or something else?

The brass doesn't HAVE to be as clean as most people like but if you want it really clean, buy the universal Lee decap die. It doesn't size and can be used on almost any brass. Of course you'll need a single stage to make it easy to use and it would be a good idea to get the Lee set of shell holders so you can pop caps on ANY brass.

Yes, I'm spending your money.

I de-cap when I get back from the range. Then at my convenience I bathe them in a Lyman ultrasonic cleaner for about 15 minutes and dry them in an old toaster oven. Then I inspect them and clean the primer pockets on about 5% of them (didn't get as clean as I wanted), put them in a shelf bin until I'm ready to reload them.
In short, I really have had no problem with the decapping/resizing die from dirty cases

I haven't either but I tried to tell him the simplest (not as cheap) way to decap anything.

I bought a spare turret for my loadmaster just to do decapping with the universal decapping die It works great. Just dump a bunch of brass in the collator and pump that handle. Way easier than decapping on a single stage press.

IMHO get another turret with a Lee decapping die. Use that to decap before cleaning with your wet pins. Remove the decapping pin from the sizing die on the turret you use for loading .

gas - no worries. I enjoy spending other people's money too.

if I were to get the universal die, couldn't I use it on my turret press? my press doesn't have a spare spot at the moment, but isn't there some kind of quick connect collar or something so I could swap out the universal die with the other one, rather than having to unseat them each time or buy a single stage press?

btoran wrote:gas - no worries. I enjoy spending other people's money too.

if I were to get the universal die, couldn't I use it on my turret press? my press doesn't have a spare spot at the moment, but isn't there some kind of quick connect collar or something so I could swap out the universal die with the other one, rather than having to unseat them each time or buy a single stage press?

btoran, please read one replay back.

I'd rather spend $50 on a used single to have forever for the hundreds of uses one has than fiddle with changing dies on your turret plate (the whole reason to have a turret with plates you can take off) Turrets are great but a single has its place too. Remember I've said that before and remember I too bought a LCT first....then two singles. Barely use the LCT any more (priming on press is a PITA, flash holes not clean if processed on press, auto-disc is sketchy at best).

If you want to decap before tumbling and when you realize priming in hand or on a bench mount installer is more reliable, the bennies of the LCT are diminished especially when the auto-disc is considered. But for now you have an LCT and we're here to help you get the most.

I guess you could take one die out of the plate and disable the index. Not me. Seems to defeat the purpose.

FWIW I decap universal like, tumble, size, trim (for rifle), deburr, label, store. To start the next process I hand prime then either flare/fill (pistol) or fill (rifle), seat then crimp (pistol).

YMMV

steve - I know I can get another turret. was curious if lee (or another mfg) has something that quickly changes individual dies. lee makes their breech lock system, but I don't think they work on the turret press.

gas - a single may be the way to go. would prefer a quick change die, if they are available, though.