Lee collet neck sizer die: To polish or not to polish.....

[gargodude]

After reading many positive posts about the Lee collet neck sizer dies, I decided to try one. Midway had them on sale for $18 so I went for it. Lee has been known for having the cheapest reloading equipment on the market so I know they have to cater to their market. High quality comes with a price. The thing that attracted me to the collet neck sizer is the fact that you don't need to lube the case like you do with other neck sizer dies. I got the die and immediately took it apart since I have read that many people believed that the surface finish on the mating tapered surfaces of the die is too rough to make the die operate smoothly enough to get a "feel" for proper operation. They also mentioned that they had to polish the mating surfaces to get theirs to operate properly. I have been a machinist for well over 30 years so I know what a collet system should look like. The finish on mine looks like crap (100-125 RMS, for those of you who know what that means). I think it should be more like 16-32 RMS. I called the Lee tech support guy who said the following: "The die parts are made in computerized mills. The finish that is on the nose of the collet is the way they are finished and designed to allow the die to operate properly. Give it a try." I guess I should have expected that answer from a P.R. person. Making parts on computerized equipment is no reason to have a crappy finish unless you want it that way or you have lousy quality control. Can anybody give me one good reason to use this die with the crappy finish? I was going to put the parts in the lathe and smooth things up, but I figured I'd see if anybody can give me a reason why I shouldn't. I know I will have to use a small amount of grease on the tapered surfaces regardless of what I do. Picture attached.

Edited November 26, 2013 by gargodude