Priming on a Lee Press

Status
Not open for further replies.
wmgeorge

wmgeorge

Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
Messages
560
I have a new Lee turret press, the new style and in the past I have just picked up the primers by hand and primed on the press. A little awkward but I am not in a hurry. The big problem is my fingers no longer work like a 20 year old and the primers even the LP are getting smaller it seems :)

So I purchased the new primer gadget from Lee the one with the triangle shaped holders. Not much has changed with Lee in the past 35 years I have been reloading the primer feed they still can't seem to get right. After dropping a average of 1 or 2 every 10, I gave up and went back to my fingers. This gadget will be for sale BTW or maybe even free.

I ordered this from Midway USA and its marked shipped which means they printed a label and it looks like I have the last one...... https://www.midwayusa.com/product/5...latinum-series-perfect-seat-hand-priming-tool

It has like 70 5 Star reviews I hope it works out.
 
I currently use the Lee hand primer similar to that one.
I’ve thought about priming on the press but need to order the parts. Right now I just prime when I relax in front of the TV so it hasn’t been a big deal but as I start shooting more I’m not sure which way to go.

You’ll find the hand primer works well for batches of 50 or 100. Just take your time and quit when your hands get tired.
 
Sorry you're having problems with the Safety Prime, they can be a challenge. The early ones with the round primer holder needed to have shims to get them to line up right. The new ones with the triangle are actually better.

The key is alignment. Slightly loosen the bolt that holds the Safety Prime slightly and look down from the top. Make sure that when you push forward to load a primer that the Safety Prime is dead square on the Primer Arm Assembly. Once done tighten the bolt.

Also, check to make sure your Sizing/Depriming die just touches the shell holder when you raise the ram. If the die is set too deep it can keep the Primer Arm Assembly from going up enough to catch the primer.

Hope you can get it working right.

Dave
 
I use the Lee hand Primer, I have used 3 different ones, round tray, square tray and the triangle tray.
Round tray was best......

ordered this from Midway USA and its marked shipped which means they printed a label and it looks like I have the last one.
Click to expand...

Please let us know how you like it, I have thought about ordering one, it looks nice.
 
Last edited:
Mine was real fidgety at first too, during the first few thousand rounds I suppose. Now it works fine. I rarely drop on now, tens of thousands of rounds later. Maybe it needed some breaking in? But I think its more likely that I just finally figured out exactly how it likes to be stroked, and committed it to muscle memory. Because I never had any trouble with the large primer feed. I used the small one exclusively for the first few years. By the time I got to the big one I had it figured out.

Still, the last one or two primers will give me feeding issues though. I just dump those ones out on the bench and grab em with my fingers.
 
I have been using mine for years and can't imagine picking up every single primer. Anyway it takes some getting used to. Many of us use them without much problem and it is way faster than priming off the press or handling each primer. You may want to see if you can get it running by watching one of the videos people have made to help others. Most of us have figured out how to make them work. I suspect those of us who don't have much problem are mechanically inclined so for other people it may be more challenging but worth the effort imo.

I just noticed your signature saying you have a home machine shop. Don't worry you will figure it out.
 
greyling22 said:
Sorry to hear you struggled. I've never really had a problem myself.
Click to expand...
I think it has a lot to do with setup and how one applies pressure to the slide, oh and that the ram is stopped each time at the same height.
Once that is figured out it is smooth sailing. Unless the primers cup side are not smooth enough.
 
I prime everything on-press with the Lee safety prime on a turret press. It's not perfect but I have got it to where its pretty good. Maybe because I do not know any better :) FWIW I primarily use CCI primers if that matters at all.

-Jeff
 
I've loaded the primers by hand when I am only doing a few (20 or less) but when I am doing 50 or more I always use the safety prime. I have the round-tray version. I had to add a couple of washers under the bracket on top of the press to get things to line up properly. I also had to trim some mold flashing on the safety prime to get it to feed well. It works very will with Winchester primers, a little more troublesome with Federal primers. Still, I may drop only 1 or 2 per 100 rounds, and I have a tray mounted in front of the press that will catch most of them so that they never hit the floor.

I like priming on the bench more than I do using one of the hand primers, especially if I have a lot to do. I have thought about getting one of the Lee bench primers to try.
 
I have the original Safety Prime and I use it to prime all my handgun brass on the Turret Press. Alignment is the key like said above.

Rifle brass is done with an RCBS hand primer. The one you bought is a very good hand primer and will work very well for you.
 
Last edited:
I would have to say if you are spilling primers it is your technique.
Watch some YouTubes to see how it is used on any one of the numerous LEE presses.
Alignment is important.
 
I've been using the Lee safety prime for over 4 years now. After a small learning curve about getting it to align it correctly, it now runs nearly without fail. Just a few 'fliers' that are often as not my own fault.
 
I'm curious as to what "gadget" the OP's referring to. Mebbe I'm a super mechanic type guy, but I have zero problems with Lee priming rools, or I just know how to read instructions...

FWIW, I used a ram prime and the priming system on my Co-Ax, and picked up primers individually. One thing that helps is I put them on a paper towel, nuch easier to pick up...
 
I have been hand priming a lot of years . My lad master priming set up really sucked .
I had my thumb joint replace so now waiting a one of my nephews to show up and hopefully I can
figuer out what needs to be change to make it work .
 
I like the RCBS ram prime , slow I know , but I don't get any high primers like I do sometimes with my Lee and RCBS auto prime . I haven't tried a hand primer . I usually clean cases one day and then prime them the next day , so I have primed cases when I am ready to load .
 
I really liked the Lee hand primer with the round tray. I went through 4 of them over many years and buckets of ammo, and had I known they were being discontinued I’d have bought 4 more. I got the new triangle hand primer and don’t really like it as much, so I got the bench mounted triangle one, but it definitely isn’t the round one. I never got the hang of priming on the press, and couldn’t do it at the park anyway.
 
I use the Lee Safety Prime on my Classic Cast Turret. I have the one with the round primer tray. Get it adjusted right and it runs very well. I hardly ever drop primers, and when I do, it's my fault. It's not uncommon for it to not feed the last primer though.
 
greg_r said:
I use the Lee Safety Prime on my Classic Cast Turret. I have the one with the round primer tray. Get it adjusted right and it runs very well. I hardly ever drop primers, and when I do, it's my fault. It's not uncommon for it to not feed the last primer though.
Click to expand...
For me, it is usually the last 2-3 primers that I have to take out and hand feed. Or just add more primers.
 
sparkyv said:
Yes, I saw that new Wiley Clapp Influenced Design 3" GP100. Only thing I don't like is the price!
Click to expand...

Toprudder said:
For me, it is usually the last 2-3 primers that I have to take out and hand feed. Or just add more primers.
Click to expand...

Same for me, but I do still have 1 or 2 dropped in 100. For rifle, I hand prime using a similar tool (mine's the Lyman) like the one wmgeorge linked to with no dropped primers;).
 
I have a couple of the older round Lee hand priming devices and an RCBS version. Other than having to use special shell holders the Lee’s works just as well. Neither are what I would consider great and I prefer to prime (load for that matter) on a progressive, if the volume is there.

If I did more than I do now I would buy a “bench priming device like the Forster or RCBS and give them a try.
 
I really liked the Lee hand primer with the round tray. I went through 4 of them over many years and buckets of ammo, and had I known they were being discontinued I’d have bought 4 more
Click to expand...

I would have picked up a couple spares as well had I known, just didn't think the old design needed "improvement" so I just figured I would get another when I needed it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

B
  • Locked
Priming on the press...?
2
Replies
35
Views
2K
BigGee
B
Capybara
  • Locked
Any user reports or experience with the Frankford Arsenal Hand Priming Tool?
Replies
13
Views
3K
Walkalong
Walkalong
A
  • Locked
hand prime vs press prime?
2 3
Replies
64
Views
6K
Lost Sheep
L
A
  • Locked
weird primer-press prime.
Replies
18
Views
1K
Dudedog
Dudedog
N
  • Locked
Lee Press - Prime on press problems
Replies
14
Views
629
REX6859
R
Back
Top