Getting production out of a turret or any other progressive.
Gentlemen,
There are a couple of key factors for getting the maximum production out of any press, regardless of wether it's a single stage, turret or progressive. Since we're talking about a Lee Classic cast turret, I'll talk about getting that with the Lee, but these points apply to any progressive press.
1. Spend some time and effort up front learning your press, how to set it up correctly and how to maintain it. A clean, properly lubed and properly setup press will run faster, regardless of brand or type.
2. When you build your bench, think about ergonomics. You want the press at a comfortable working height. Some like to sit down, some like to stand and some like to sit/stand on a barstool height stool. Whichever you like, the press should be sitting at a height and in a location where you will make minimal movements with your hands and arms to insert brass, bullets, etc. I like to setup the height of my press so that my left arm, when bent at 90degrees at the elbow, has my hand sitting just above the brass and bullets and just to the left of the press. (The less you have to move your hand distance wise, the less amount of time wasted in body movement.
3. To take maximum advantage of the ergonomic height setup, you need to keep your brass and bullets in a plastic bin, such as an Akro bin. I find the 6" akro bins work well for me, but others may like the smaller bins. You can use cheaper storage bins, but I've found those tend to slide around when I'm trying to load, slowing me down straightening them back up. You want the two bins for brass and bullets to be in line with one another so that you only have to bend your wrist or move your hand a minimal distance to get a brass or a bullet. If you watch the example of the gentleman in the Lee Classic Turret video, you'll find he has 5 brass and five bullets right at hand. You can do the same, perhaps even beat his speed, by having your brass and bullets right "at hand" when you're loading.
This seems like not a big deal, but it truly is. When you work production, it isn't how fast you go, it's how well organized you are. Doing this step isn't hard, isn't a big deal and will greatly increase your production. It doesn't require working "fast" either, just smoothly.
4. Learn to operate your press in a smooth rhythm that's comfortable for you. When you're new, do not try to make as many bullets as you can. Instead, focus on making good quality bullets. Watch your press operation closely and see how it was designed to work. Try to pick up on if you can tweak your adjustments to make it run a little more smoothly. Your speed will come as you get more used to the press.
5. As the Lee is a turret press, you build one cartridge at a time. To facilitate the insertion of a brass and the removal of a cartridge, use the same hand to remove the cartridge that you're inserting the fresh brass into the machine with. While you're dropping the completed cartridge in the finished cartridge bin (placed beside the brass and bullet bin), you can resize and deprime the brass you just inserted.
There are other little things like this you can do to increase your hourly cartridge count without affecting the amount of actual labor you expend to load your cartridges, such as place powder and primers handy if needed and have the primer boxes open and ready to load into the safety prime. After reading the steps above, I'm sure you have the idea and can tweak the "system" to work best for you as an individual. But the general idea is to work smart, not harder, as my Father repeatedly told me as a young man. I didn't appreciate it then, but I sure do now. Thank you Dad. (grin)
LAH,
30 years is a long time. Not sure what type of turret you're loading with, but there's been a few upgrades, changes and modifications to some of the turret presses. You might want to check the Lee Classic Turret video out on the Lee website. You may find it interesting. The Lee Classic Turret isn't at all like a conventional turret press.
Regards,
Dave
