Lee Loader

Problem: I just spent an hour getting frustrated by runout or bullets not centering in their cases. Now this was on my CO-AX press but the lightbulb in my old brain went on when I finally remember what the cure was for my old Lee press.

Solution: The base of the shellplate or the shellholder wasn't clean. A small amount of dirt or powder had built up in the shellholder or in this case my shellplate and thus was causing the case's base to sit at an very very slight angle. Out comes a retired toothbrush, some acetone and a little elbow grease and problem solved.

Note: This will not solve all TIR (total run out) issues but I'm not concerned with that kind of precision. I'll leave neck turning and reaming to you benchrest boys.

Seems like something we don't consider when cleaning our dies.
Good tip.

you mention cleaning off the shell plate holder ..... one thing I won't recommend is dropping it into an ultrasonic cleaner with Lemi Shine. I accidentally picked up one with a batch of .357 brass that had just been de-primed and it ran through the cleaning cycle with the brass. I'm not sure what the finish is on the Lee shell plates, but it can't stand up to the Lemi Shine - at least not in the presence of the brass. It's still useful, but it now can rust if not cared for.


jd

All good points. Keep a toothbrush near the press just for keeping the groove on the shellholder clean.

If your offset is setup by bullets not being balanced/aligned on the case mouth, a bit of bees wax on the base of the bullet will stick it perfectly as you can place it. I've been using an NRA formula stick for just this purpose for years. I have the Sinclair run-out tool and whether the case needs to be stuck on the case or not, this little effort reduces or eliminates run-out

I need to clarify something I said in the opening post. I said that base of the shellholder and or shellplate and that is misleading. What I meant to say was the contact surface, the inletted groove in which the case is inserted.

RD point is also well taken. A bullet can't just be haphazardly plopped on top of a case and expected to self center into the case.

Yeap, one grain of powder spilled in that groove will upset things and powder is tougher than you think. It does not crush easily. I've seen one grain of powder stuck on the threads of the aluminum adjusting screw on a die set strip those threads

I load all my rifle ammo on my classic cast turret press. One of the ways I deal with runout is to seat the projectile in several steps. I turn the brass in the shell holder 1/3 of a turn and seat the projectile a bit farther with each stroke.
Interestingly I recently found a large number of Norma target .308 Win. Had off center necks or off center bases. All my Remington and Federal brass has no issues at all.

Well done, this is a simple tip that many can use. I had never thought about sharing this. I have all kinds of brushes I use to clean my press and equipment before and after each use.

I've always done the same with but use a simple twist that provides about 1/2 case rotation.

For those that cast, LLA residue is the bane of straight seating. I have yet to find a sure method of preventing buildup in the bullet seater but it just isn't possible. Another issue is seating plugs that are too shallow or do not match bullet shapes for longer VLD or spitzer type bullets including those with long plastic tips. I have had to make custom plugs for my Lee .223 and .35 Remington dies for this reason. Lee will do this for you at a modest cost. https://leeprecision.com/custom-bullet- ... -plug.html