Lee Turret Press 3 to 4 hole conversion

[General Tso]

I have a Lee 4 hole turret press. I only use 3 dies because I use a hand press to resize on my couch. My question is: If I buy a Lee 3 hole turret, will it work and index properly in my press?

 

[wrangler5]

I'm sure the 3 hole and 4 hole turrets need different indexing mechanisms to align the turret properly. Lee makes a conversion kit to change a 3 hole to a 4 hole turret. Don't know if they make one to go the other way. But you probably could buy the necessary parts separately from Lee.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Considering Lee sells a full kit to convert a 3 hole turret press to a 4 hole press I'm fairly sure you won't be able to go back to a 3 hole setup without changing all the same parts. Look on this page, Part #90933.

 

[rtpzwms]

ArchAngelCD would be correct. The twist on the index rod is different and thats just for starters. I wonder if the turret lugs are the same? I never checked. So you can't expect the 3 hole turret to work as a direct swap. I'm not sure why you want to resize by hand, but to each his own. I went to the 4 hole from a 3 hole and I'm glad I did. The best advice I could give you is to buy a used 3 hole press from ebay or something like ebay used in good condition. That way if you ever want to give up resizing by hand you can. It would also allow you to have a spare for universal de-capping. Just a thought if it interests you.

 

[m33p0n3]

I recently had the same thought and no, it won't fit. The lugs on the three hole turret are completely different so it won't even fit into the four hole press.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Yes you can, but it takes a bit of "yankee engineering". I know because I did it. But you will need a three hole press for the parts needed to accomplish this. I just happened to up grade to the cast iron Lee turret and had the same problem you have, only I resize/decap on a single stage press. It worked, but I decided to put up with the one to two extra holes and sold my three holer...

 

[rtpzwms]

just funnin

The Bushmaster if you "and sold my three holer..." how do you take care of business? And did that have a crescent moon or a full moon? Just kidding....

 

[RealGun]

If decapping as part of that "resize on my couch", consider that it is taking the most lead-contaminated part of loading (spent primers) into your living quarters where lead could be ingested. If concerned about spent primer collection on the Lee Deluxe turret, there are ways to improve it. Start by including the primer arm, whether or not you use it for priming. It provides a ramp to guide the dropped primers down the chute. The same thing applies to the single stage classic cast.

Like another poster, I would question your premise. Normally already having a 4 hole press would be a distinct advantage.

Another idea would be to either manually index or to recognize that you can overridde the index at the half stroke and skip a station.

 

[greyling22]

if you don't need that 4th hole it's nice to have the 3 hole. saves you an extra stroke and yo have more room in the head to adjust dies. I keep a 3 hole around.

I've got the 3 hole upper parts siting around from my conversion to 4 hole i'd let go if that interests you. I've even got a 3 hole turret or 2. pm me if interested. I'll never find this thread again.

 

[The Bushmaster]

rtpzwms...I have 7 acres of tall oaks and a roll of TP. No more digging large holes and moving the outhouse for me...