Can I just add a Lee FCD or do I need a whole new set of dies?

[R1_Demon]

All,

 

Ok, I've been reading up a bunch on here on various reloading processes everyone is doing and finally realized that the Lee FCD everyone was talking about is a Factory Crimp Die and that it performs removing the bell (on 40 and 9mm) separately than the bullet seating die.

 

When I bought my initial die set in .40, I bought the Hornady Nitride Custom Grade Die set (Hornady set# 546533).  This set does NOT include a taper crimp die (that is set# 546534).  It is just a three die set.  Now, it is my understanding that this die set has one die that sizes and decaps, one die that bells and one die that seats and debells/crimps.  

 

The more I have read, it seems that a lot more people here seem to prefer to seat in one step and debell/crimp in a separate step.  My question is...is it possible for me to just buy only the Lee FCD die separately and put it in another station and "modify" my current Hornady seating/crimping die to ONLY seat the bullet?  Or am I stuck having to buy the full Lee 4-die set to be able to do all of this in separate steps?

 

I know this is probably a super newbie question, but I wasn't sure if it was possible to unscrew/loosen or remove the crimping part of my Hornady seating/crimping die so that it will only seat the bullet and that is it.  If so, then I don't see why I shouldn't be able to do that so that it only seats the bullet and then buy the Lee FCD die separately (probably way less than the $60 for the full 4 die set) to do the debelling/crimping. 

 

Plus, it *should* be easier to adjust the seating in one die and the debelling in another die rather than all together in one die, correct?  (should being the operative word.  LOL!)

 

Thanks all!

Mat

[Garmil]

You can just adjust your seat/crimp die to seat only. And then add the fcd to remove the bell/crimp.  That will work fine

[Sarge]

1 hour ago, Garmil said:

You can just adjust your seat/crimp die to seat only. And then add the fcd to remove the bell/crimp.  That will work fine

This^^.

[bandw1dth]

You are correct to seat and crimp (remove belling) in two separate stages.
There are a few things to consider when using the Lee FCD. I load for 9mm so adjust numbers for .40.

Depending on how it’s adjusted, the Lee FCD does indeed remove the belling. It also “post-sizes” the entire round. It’s got a carbide sizing ring right at the mouth of the die. And if you’ve slugged your barrel and are shooting a slightly oversized bullet for a better gas seal ( I use .356-.357, in 9mm the average bbl diameter is .355-.3555 and mine slugged right at .3555 ) the Lee FCD will actually size the entire round to make sure it’s within SAMMI? specs for a loaded round, thus reducing the bigger diameter that your going for and creating all kinds of problems like poor accuracy, smoke and leading. This problem is more pronounced when shooting plated and lead rounds.

The Lee FCD can be a really great check to make sure that everything is gonna chamber check ok, if the situation calls for it

I opted for the Redding Taper Crimp die to remove the belling.


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[R1_Demon]

Garmil/Sarge - Thank you both. 

 

Bandw1dth - Thank you for the info on the Lee die. Hmmmm. I wonder if the separate Hornady taper crimp die does the same as the Lee?  Maybe I’ll just look into the Redding die if that doesn’t do it.   Again, I truly appreciate the info. 

Edited September 25, 2017 by R1_Demon

[MHitchcock]

If you reload any kind of volume I'd suggest splurging and getting a Redding micrometer seating due - just twist the knob to adjust seating depth. And the FCD. You will thank yourself later and wonder why you didn't start with it in the first place. 

[R1_Demon]

MHitchcock - I'll have to look into that.  I appreciate the tip.   

[Kaldor]

Ive never been a big fan of the expanders that Hornady has, so I switched to a Lyman M-die.  You have to expand less, but makes for easier seating.  Might be worth your while.  

 

I use a FCD for alot of calibers, and the only thing I can say on the FCD is start with as minimal crimp as you can get away with.  Over crimping is worse that under crimping.

[DukeEB]

I also use FCD for all calibers I reload.  The FCD for rifles uses a collet crimp which is nice. 

[HCH]

Lee FCD is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

[R1_Demon]

I appreciate everyone's input on this.  I decided to try out the Hornady taper crimp die (# 044171) since I already have the rest of the set in Hornady.  Yes, I know you can "mix and match", but since I don't know that much about other dies yet and these have worked for me thus far, I figured I'd just stick with it and go from there.  Plus, it was fairly cheap (under $25).  I'm waiting for it to come in, so as soon as it arrives, I'll set it up and try it from there.  Maybe when I get some extra money I'll try different expander dies (such as Kaldor suggested) and such to see what the difference is between manufactures.  At this point, I don't really know the difference.  LOL!  I'm sure I'll try other dies later on and go "why the heck didn't I try these earlier like people suggested!", but for now, I'm just trying to keep things the same and steady, so I know what I'm doing and keep everything the same, so I don't screw up.  LOL!

[R1_Demon]

Crap...I just found out something the other day.  I realized that when I first bought my Hornady Custom Die set that I bought the "non" taper crimp die set for my .40S&W.  I didn't know that it mattered at the time when I bought all of my reloading equipment together.  So, I guess that my seating/crimping die is a "roll" crimp die instead of a taper crimp die.  Would this make a difference for any ammo I have already loaded?  I haven't loaded much on it yet (only 100 rounds thus far).  Do I need to pull them and run them all through the new "taper crimp" die that I'm getting today?

 

I didn't know the difference when I first bought the die set and didn't know what a taper crimp die set was and was afraid of buying the wrong one, so I just bought the "normal" set (or so I thought was normal).  But, as I mentioned in this thread, I figured that it might be a better idea to seat and crimp in two different stations, so I ordered a separate Hornady taper crimp die the other day and it is being delivered today.  So, now I'm wondering if I should just let those 100 rounds go as is or should I redo them with the new taper crimp die now that I know I did them originally with a roll crimp die.  Uggghhh.

Edited October 10, 2017 by R1_Demon
updated info

[wgj3]

53 minutes ago, R1_Demon said:

Crap...I just found out something the other day.  I realized that when I first bought my Hornady Custom Die set that I bought the "non" taper crimp die set for my .40S&W.  I didn't know that it mattered at the time when I bought all of my reloading equipment together.  So, I guess that my seating/crimping die is a "roll" crimp die instead of a taper crimp die.  Would this make a difference for any ammo I have already loaded?  I haven't loaded much on it yet (only 100 rounds thus far).  Do I need to pull them and run them all through the new "taper crimp" die that I'm getting today?

 

I didn't know the difference when I first bought the die set and didn't know what a taper crimp die set was and was afraid of buying the wrong one, so I just bought the "normal" set (or so I thought was normal).  But, as I mentioned in this thread, I figured that it might be a better idea to seat and crimp in two different stations, so I ordered a separate Hornady taper crimp die the other day and it is being delivered today.  So, now I'm wondering if I should just let those 100 rounds go as is or should I redo them with the new taper crimp die now that I know I did them originally with a roll crimp die.  Uggghhh.

 

If they pass a case gauge and run in your gun, shoot them up. Use them for slow fire practice if you are concerned about reliability. The snag that I experienced when I first started reloading pistol (.40) ammo was that I too had a set of dies (may have even been the same Hornady set you speak of) with a roll crimp. I mistakenly "over" crimped/rolled some rounds and it actually created a bulging ring around the case neck that kept the rounds from feeding. Just be careful, go slow, and only do a few rounds at a time while you are trying to sort everything out.

[R1_Demon]

Cool, thank you wgj.    So far the 100 look okay, but I don't have a case gauge yet.  Maybe I'll chamber check them or just do a plunk and spin test on all of them.  Can't be that hard to do a plunk and spin test on them while watching a show on TV or listening to the radio.  It is only 100 rounds after all.  LOL  But I appreciate the info and what to look out for.    I did receive the new taper crimp yesterday.  Now to reset and check all of my dies, just to be sure.  I'll have to change the previous die to remove the roll crimp and make it a seating die only and then set up the new die to the right amount of taper crimp.  My general understanding is to go .002 on each side of the bullet?  I think that is what I read here on .40's.  So, the bullet, plus the case on each side (.002) and that should be about right to remove the belling, but I'll check.  It's been a while since I initially setup my dies, so I'm going to check them all again just to be sure.   

[kalaur]

On 10/10/2017 at 9:24 AM, R1_Demon said:

Crap...I just found out something the other day.  I realized that when I first bought my Hornady Custom Die set that I bought the "non" taper crimp die set for my .40S&W.  I didn't know that it mattered at the time when I bought all of my reloading equipment together.  So, I guess that my seating/crimping die is a "roll" crimp die instead of a taper crimp die.  Would this make a difference for any ammo I have already loaded?  I haven't loaded much on it yet (only 100 rounds thus far).  Do I need to pull them and run them all through the new "taper crimp" die that I'm getting today?

 

I didn't know the difference when I first bought the die set and didn't know what a taper crimp die set was and was afraid of buying the wrong one, so I just bought the "normal" set (or so I thought was normal).  But, as I mentioned in this thread, I figured that it might be a better idea to seat and crimp in two different stations, so I ordered a separate Hornady taper crimp die the other day and it is being delivered today.  So, now I'm wondering if I should just let those 100 rounds go as is or should I redo them with the new taper crimp die now that I know I did them originally with a roll crimp die.  Uggghhh.

With 40 a roll crimp die is fine. On this cartridge, you really don't need to 'crimp' the case, just remove the bell. If you notice a bump under the crimp near the mouth of the cartridge after crimping, you probably are putting too much bell on the case. Use a caliper lengthwise on the case after crimp, and look at it with a light behind the cartridge/caliper. If you still see a bit of bell, more crimp. Straight is OK, anything more than a tiny bit of light at the mouth of the case is probably too much. Be sure to check a few loaded rounds, as length of the case will determine how much crimp it gets.

The Lee FCD can work well, just don't use it with plated, coated, or lead bullets. Actual jackets only. I've gone back to the standard dillon crimp die since I sometimes load coated/lead bullets.

Edited October 26, 2017 by kalaur

[R1_Demon]

Thanks, kalaur.  I appreciate it.  Sorry, I know I'm getting back to this thread super late.  Been busy as heck the past month and haven't had time to do anything reloading related.  But thank you for the info.  I ended up getting a Hornady taper crimp die to match the other die set that was already Hornady, but haven't had a chance to do anything with it.  So, hopefully sometime soon I'll get a chance since the semester is going to be ending in a couple of weeks and I will be on break until mid-Jan when the Spring semester starts.   

[dlightning]

On 10/26/2017 at 12:00 PM, kalaur said:

With 40 a roll crimp die is fine. On this cartridge, you really don't need to 'crimp' the case, just remove the bell. If you notice a bump under the crimp near the mouth of the cartridge after crimping, you probably are putting too much bell on the case. Use a caliper lengthwise on the case after crimp, and look at it with a light behind the cartridge/caliper. If you still see a bit of bell, more crimp. Straight is OK, anything more than a tiny bit of light at the mouth of the case is probably too much. Be sure to check a few loaded rounds, as length of the case will determine how much crimp it gets.

The Lee FCD can work well, just don't use it with plated, coated, or lead bullets. Actual jackets only. I've gone back to the standard dillon crimp die since I sometimes load coated/lead bullets.

 The last two sentences is critical with coated bullets.