[controlfreak]

Just got the lee classic cast press out of the box. Worked the handle once or twice and the ram was getting scratched up pretty bad. So I am asking, any suggestions on how to polish the ram surface areas. Also what to lube it with ect. It looks like a fine tool if they had just spent more time slickn it up.

[Steve Koski]

Dillon calls for standard car/auto motor oil on the ram, I imagine the same thing would lube up a Lee ram well too. A quart of 30 wt will last you a bazillion years.

[wally]

It looks like a fine tool if they had just spent more time slickn it up.

If they did, it'd cost more.

Add a few drops of oil (anything is better than nothing except maybe WD40 which tends to form gums and sticky varnish) and work the ram up and down some, it'll slick right up. How the ram looks is unimportant, that it run true and not wobble is what matters. If you try to polish out any scratches you may make matters worse, much worse.

--wally.

[Fatelvis]

Use oil like they said above. Occationally wipe off the grey/black used oil, and replace with fresh oil.The press will polish itself up, with use.

[strat81]

I treat it like a gun: some CLP followed by a few drops of oil. Make sure you clean up any excess since any powder drip will tend to accumulate there, and there's no need to make paste.

[davinci]

I lube my turret and ram (and all moving parts) with a grease gun and heavy chassis grease. It catches the dirt and grime and I can wipe it off after a session to keep the press cleaner.

Lee recommends motor oil for the turret, they don't say anything about the ram. I lube the hell out of everything I've got regardless.

[mjrodney]

I've used everything from Breakfree to 30 weight and my Lee single stage is well over 12,000 rounds now. Still smooth and tight.

As long as you lube it with something decent, and keep it wiped down, you should be fine.

[Jake in TX]

I believe you might have missed the part in the instructions about lubrication, on page 2:

"...The ram and connecting link pivots can be lubricated through the pivot pins. Nearly any lightweight oil can be used; gun oil, sewing machine oil and motor oil are all acceptable. Avoid water displacing oils such as WD-40 and CRC56. Leave a film of oil on uncoated metal parts if the press is to be stored
for over a week..."

I used 30 weight engine oil on mine, as that's what I keep in my oil can.

Jake in TX

[controlfreak]

I appreciate all of your replies, but I was mainly worried about the scratching on the ram. It seems like it has some burrs gouging it. I read somewhere some fella took his apart and polished a little, but I don't think he said how he did it. I was thinking of putting a small chamfer at the bottom of the press, seeing as how that would be the most likely place for it to be scraping.

It may be just remnants of thier polishing, looks like they left a lot of dust in there.