My Lee Classic Turret is Defective

Well if that’s defective I’d hate see the one in good shape lol

BEWARE! It is bound to break! You may only get 40 or 50 more years of use out of that piece of junk, get another press TODAY!

I have the lee economy model, and I will upgrade to the classic press next. I really like the turrets, and overall Lee is awesome stuff for the money. I do plan on a big single stage press someday though for hard core sizing and some swaging work.

Once set up properly they run just fine. No issues with mine. Caliber swaps are easy, parts are cheap.

Hmm
It seems the one Lee item that gets the least amount of criticism is the LCT. I’ve even seen Lee haters comment that it’s a quality press.

I have one and it’s been great. My only problem is time and money. As in I don’t have enough time to shoot more right now and not enough money to buy more components to reload more.

As for the LCT use it and love it. Even if you have other presses it’s a great press for so many th’ngs that I th8nk it’s a great press to have and I highly recommend it as a first press to use in single stage!

That pretty much sums up my experience as well. But I've only had mine for maybe five years. Thousands of rounds though. Same plastic ratchet piece too. The people that are breaking them must be short stroking the press.

Another happy LCT owner here. 10K + rounds of 9mm a year with no problems at all.

Dave

A long time ago (my hair was all dark and I wasn't so wrinkly) I had one of the first issued Lee Turret presses. The three hole, manually advanced sort. After about half a gazillion rounds, the press wore out. Well, the screw holes in the aluminum frame wouldn't hold the screws anymore. So I replaced it with something else by Lee. Then got a massive tax refund and upgraded to a Dillion XL 650 and haven't looked back.

But I've got nothing against Lee products. Still use Lee reloading dies mostly.

10k + rds on mine easily, still on original plastic square as well. 3 rifle, 5 pistol calibers. Lee everything just about. I like buying a turret ring with a set of dies and once it's set up, it's simple to change calibers. I use 2 of the auto disk powder drops.

Of all the Lee stuff I've used, I can find very little to complain about. Their scales are horrible. Although they work, I don't like their case trimmers for large batches, but will use them at times. I've had a couple shell holders - esp for the hand prime - have burrs in them or poorly milled and just not work. The auto disk is great with a single disk. 2 disks stacked with the double disk kit leaks a bit and makes somewhat of a mess.

I have some other stuff mixed in too that I like. Like RCBS small base sizing die for .223. The Lee one works just fine and is less prone to causing lube dents, but since I run .223 through a dozen or so different rifles figured it would be a better choice. I like the Possum Hollow case trimmers for anything that needs done in bulk. I have a couple Redding seating dies that I like better than the Lee, although the Lee work just fine. And a whole set of Lee dies = 1 redding die.....

Yep, Lee makes some real "junk" (not!). I have a die set I bought in 1971 and would you believe it, a couple weeks ago I had to take one apart and clean it? Even their new stuff; I have a bench prime that has stuffed in about 3,200 primers and yesterday one went in backwards!

RandyP said:

At least I'm guessing it MUST be defective. I've been using it for about 10 years and have loaded thousands of rounds in several calibers, handgun and rifle.

In that same timeframe I've read a whole lot of folks trashing the machine as nearly worthless and suggesting that unless it's blue, green or different shade of red it is a boat anchor at best.

I can report that I'm still on the original black plastic square ratchet (a supposed weak link), I prime on press without issue, use only Lee dies without a failure or problem, and in general find the machine to be built plenty strong enough and plenty reliable enough for all my ammo needs.

Therefore, there must be something amiss with this press, as so many 'experts' out there assure me I'm doomed.

I could be mistaken - LOL

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My experience, or maybe my perception, is different than yours. I have read an untold number of negative opinions about and experiences with Lee progressive presses, some based on fact, some on opinion and some on mere color of the product. But, the comments I see on the LCT are overwhelmingly positive. As far as color bias, yeah, Lee's stuff is regularly panned off hand by some folks who wear colored glasses, but that generally isn't specific to the LCT. I love mine for what it is but I even changed to green glasses when I went progressive.

I have an affinity for Lee products. I'm especially a vocal advocate of the classic turret, but if I'm honest I think half of Lee's products are fantastic, and half of it is crap.

I have a 3 hole press, Pro1000 press and now a Breech Lock pro press. Not a single complaint on any of them. Just have to realize that Lee has discontinued support for all of the old bases used in the 3 hole and Pro1000 as far as hard parts such as Ram, linkage or conversion kits. My plan is to watch for a new base Value press and refit it with the turret ring from a 3 hole press. Still haven't been able to determine if the rams are the same and if the new press will accept the auto advance clamp.

Yep, definitely defective. You can go ahead and send that one to me. That way I could have 2 mounted on my bench.

Mine just works, 99.9% of the mistakes it makes are my fault. Between it and my old Pacific Multi Power C and shot shell loader I haven't needed another one. I will admit that I have a Duke's mixture of accessories in green, red, orange and who knows what else. Don't have any blue though, even if it has always been my favorite, way before I knew what reloading was.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

PM me and I'll give you my shipping address. Send that piece of crap to me and I'll put it next to mine on the bench for company. Then I can load two calibers without the incredible difficulty of changing a turret and shell holder. I'm sorry you bought such a lousy product. I only have four Lee presses and, like yours, they are an incredible disappointment. (I'm truly not happy with the Pro1000s but have found a workaround.)

I’m on my second LCT because I made the mistake of selling my first one a few years ago to move up to a Redding T-7. I’m now loading everything except .308 on the LCT. I think the T-7 might go up for sale soon.

I like the Lee collet dies and ram prime.
Turret press I was happy w Lyman.
Single stage, old junker RCBS A2.
Powder measure (pistol- ball powder).........Lyman 55 or Lachmiller.
Case trimmer.........Lyman.
Scale? Ohaus beam type.

I can't talk, mine is only 12 years old.

Mine is only about 7 yrs. old. Still waiting for the original square ratchet piece to break. The extra that came with the press and 5 others I bought off ebay are somewhere in the black hole in the garage.

Bought the Pro Breech Lock Pro last year when Midsouth had them on sale. The LCT is still my go to press.

Mine is defective, too. Probably 15000 rds or more loaded. It just runs now that it’s dialed in.
It’s a great press to learn on!

Doesn't matter what color it is,,,

Once you start braggin' about it,,, it'll let ya down,,,

Only complaint I have is the primer feed on mine keeps dropping them on the floor. Need to adjust the arm somehow so the primer cup lines up better with the dispenser.

An oldie but goodie....
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/lee-classic-turret-press-a-love-sonnet.810476/

somethingbenign said:

Only complaint I have is the primer feed on mine keeps dropping them on the floor. Need to adjust the arm somehow so the primer cup lines up better with the dispenser.

Click to expand...

Make sure your sizing die isn't set too far in. Sometimes that can cause the primer arm not to come up all the way.

Over time I've upgraded to the Auto Drum powder measure and my most recent upgrade is to the newest Safety Prime. I got the upgraded one last year after seeing this video from TreeTopFlier. Cost around $25 and worth it. So smooth, aligns easily and no clicking.


Newest on the left is white.


Tighter feed tube so no primer flip.


The base has guides for better alignment and you can notice the primer feed on the white one is guided on both sides as opposed to the older black one with a guide only on the right (facing the picture).


Dave