Lee dies in an RCBS press

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wolverine

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I haven’t heard any negatives but thought I should ask the experts here..

I have an older RCBS (rock crusher type) loading press & want to buy some new carbide dies.. Lee has what I am looking for is a (4) die with separate factory taper crimp..

1st question is: will the Lee dies fit & work in my RCBS press?

2nd question is: Is anyone using Lee dies in their RCBS press & if so any issues?

Thanks--- Wolverine
 
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I use Lee Dies in my Dillion RL550B, and have for 20 years or more. The only problemI had on the Dillion progressive ( and you may not have this on a RCBS) was the length of the dies. Lee's are about 1/4 inch shorter than the standard dies. I got a
spacer from Mike Dillion and all was well. If your press is a single stage I don't see any problem. If it is progressive, you might run in to the over all length problem. But a quarter inch steel washer will cure that. IMHO that is.
 
Like the others, I have some Lee dies I run in my RCBS Rock Chucker. They work just fine, and as I recall, the Lee shell holder works too.
 
I also use RCBS dies in my Lee presses. I bought some Lee lock rings and put them on my RCBS dies for the no tool adjustment.
 
I use Lee dies pretty much exclusively. I haven't had any problems in Lee, Dillon, Pacific or RCBS presses.
 
Yes, I use them in my RCBS presses, and yes, I do have an issue.

The issue is with the powder through expanding die. It is made for use with Lees powder charging equipment and so it has a sliding case expander that slides up and down in the die to activate the powder dispenser. When not using their powder dispensers this expander still slides up and down and creates a heavy jerking vibration and requires extra effort as compared to other brands of dies. If you notice this problem you can block the expander at the bottom of it's travel and it will work just as smooth as the better brands of dies. I use a 5/16" hex nut with two 1/4" lock washers and this combination seems to work in all their handgun dies so far.
 
JB - I thought it was me, glad you had the same problem and even better you figured it out. I'm going to try your fix on the next bunch of .38s I do up. Thanks for tip. WG
 
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