Am I the only one who breaks these?

[JohnM]

Xrap, we all know by now you have a deep seated dislike of Lee.
Why do you keep telling us?
Is this going to be the thread that never dies?

 

[cfullgraf]

Here is a worn early version connecting rod.

 

[X-Rap]

I actually have some lee dies that I just used the other day to load some 41 mag rounds. I have no problem in general with products that work. I have more problem with insults and innuendo from those who answered an unasked question to my OP.
There are many luminaries and genius's in the shooting sports but few of them are without fault of some kind and their touch and word was/is not divine so when some blindly retort their unquestioning belief it invokes an image of some dim lit reloading room with candles and incense surrounding an altar to the book of Lee (insert the man brand color here) with various icons that must be worshiped for your ammo ( insert gun, scope, or press here) to turn out proper.

Is this going to be the thread that never dies?

I have repeatedly said ok but there is always one last insult to hurl.
I'm having to much fun with this so you fan boys will have to be the ones to kill it. There are no doubt calls for moderation and thread lock coming so relax it won't be long.

 

[LiveLife]

I thought this was the "high road"

 

[jcwit]

One wonders!

 

[wild willy]

The high road thing works both ways.When someone posts they have have a problem with something Lee Within a couple posts somebody tells them they don't know what they are doing.Not just this thread but others.Why is you hardly ever see that with Dillon,RCBS,and Hornady questions.Are some of the Lee users tring to convince themselves that Lee is as good as the other brands.And before you start jumping up and pounding your head into the wall and call me a Lee basher.I have a good many Lee tools and most of the time they works fine but once in a while you get something defective or something breaks or wears out.And that happens with all brands

 

[ranger335v]

"Why is you hardly ever see that with Dillon,RCBS,and Hornady questions."

Seems to me that few people have the gall to suggest they have user problems with much more costly dies.


"Are some of the Lee users tring to convince themselves that Lee is as good as the other brands."

What at least some of us are attempting is to stop silly attacks on dies that actually work "as good as other brands". I have some 50+ plus sets of dies from something like 10-12 makers, including a few Lee, Redding, Forster, RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, etc. I find no marked difference in perfomance, they ALL work fine when used correctly and it seems to be that way for most people. There are only a few follks that appear unable to handle whatever they find to be more difficult with Lee's. ??

 

[brickeyee]

Get an RCBS bench primer.

It has a better feel than any of the little hand jobs.

You can feel the primer start in , hit the bottom, and then the anvil compress the primer pellet.

 

[cfullgraf]

What at least some of us are attempting is to stop silly attacks on dies that actually work "as good as other brands".

Lee has a history of being innovative in the reloading world. That is great. But some equipment works great, some of it doesn't.

There have been several designs that have come and gone. Lee stopped selling them for some reason.

The trouble with that, someone buys one of the new innovative designs that does not meet his own expectations and so he no longer buys Lee equipment and warns folks to do the same.

I like the Lee trimmer system.

I would still be using the Auto Prime if not for the primer brand restriction Lee placed on the tool. The Auto Prime XR cam out after I bought new hand primers that did not restrict primer use.

I don't buy Lee dies because I do not like their die lock nuts or the storage boxes. By the time I replace the nuts and and storage boxes, I have spent as much as the other guys dies with one stop shopping.

Lee dies work just fine and I have several in service with replacement lock nuts. Just one of my idiosyncrasies.

I don't buy Forrester micrometer seater dies because they are to big to fit the storage box of my choice. Yes, I have one. It works fine.

I bought a Dillon press in part to see what all the Dillon hub-bub was about. I like it, but it does not do some things as well as my Hornady progressive. In my opinion, the primer systems on both are weak.

As much as the Lee supporters do not like their favorite products being bashed, I feel it is irresponsible to claim that all folks breaking Lee equipment are using it improperly and without knowledge.

 

[wild willy]

Wow I never knew that people that used brands other than Lee were afraid to post if they had a problem but ranger since you posted it it has to be fact

 

[ranger335v]

"There have been several designs that have come and gone. Lee stopped selling them for some reason."

Cfull, is it your opinion that only Lee has produced several tool designs that have "come and gone for some reason"? Naw, you know better than that!
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Me: "Seems to me that few people have the gall to suggest they have user problems with much more costly dies. "

Willy: "...ranger since you posted it it has to be fact"

Willy, attempting to make my stated personal opinion into a supposed point of 'fact' is immature - it's time to grow up. Distorting what others actually said is a common sort of response from those lacking valid knowledge of Lee's loading tools.

 

[wild willy]

ranger I didn't say anything about dies .And I'am not talking about people not having the gall to post about problems.I'am talking about how the people answer their questions. If somebody asked about Dillon,RCBS,Hornady or other brands posters will give suggestions and ideas what to do but not Lee within a few posts someboby will tell them they don't know what they are doing and not mechanically inclined enough to be using the tool.I was just wondering why some not all Lee lovers have to get mean and nasty right away

 

[snuffy]

I just bought 2 new die sets, .243 and 30-06, LEE. Both the deluxe models, with both a FL and collet neck sizer and bullet seater.

I wanted the collet neck sizers for both, the '06 will be used mainly with cast boolit loads, I want to neck size after the initial FL size of some old cases used for cast in another rifle. The .243 will be used for a SS rifle, (Rossi), I just bought.

The '06 is a nice 03-A3 that has a great bore. I plan on a lot of use for that rifle. I tried the collet neck sizer just for grins to see if it could be used instead of the FL. I couldn't get it to work! I screwed it in until it was nearly all the way tight to the turret of the classic. I leaned on it pretty hard, afraid of shearing the al. cap, it failed to size the neck, a 30 cal. bullet slipped in easily.

With 50 years of experience, I seldom look at destructions. This time I decided to read 'em. Said, screw die in til it touches the shell holder, then one turn more! Viola! It worked right off! Here's the catch, the press HAS to be near the top of it's stroke where the mechanical advantage is greatest. Then, 25 pounds of force on the handle is multiplied many times more than when it's at mid-stroke.

Moral of the the above book? Read the instructions. Don't think you know it all.

Oh, I used my new XR lee auto prime. It worked flawlessly. The square tray is much better, and the tray itself has been redesigned to flip the primers faster.

 

[ranger335v]

Willy: "...ranger since you posted it it has to be fact" and now.... "I was just wondering why some ..have to get mean and nasty..."

That was you, right?

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I can relate to the problem. I find they are good for about 10,000 rounds till this happens.



I just have three of them now and when a couple break (it takes a few years at the rate I load rifle) I send them back with a payment for a new one and get two new ones in exchange.