Anyone used the Lee Hand press?

I use one for field loading of 22 Hornet. It will give you a light workout, but they work fairly well. Don't think I would use it for anything much bigger than 223. Straight wall cases should not be much of a problem

I use a Lee hand press as my primary loading press, for .357 magnum, .44 magnum, and an occasional .38 special, and .44 special, instead of a bench mounted single stage press. I use the Lee Carbide Speed Die, with the hand press. All the components were on sale at midwayusa.com, a while back.

The Lee hand press is really effective, as a single stage press, and it is portable. I works as easy as a manual hedge trimmer, though the Resistance is uniform and not at all difficult ... excellent mechanical leverage.

The only thing I do different, is not use the powder feature on the speed die ... I use a Lee Powder Measure. There is no step for seating a primer, so a separate tool is needed there.

Typically I clean a hundred spent cases, then I resize and expand the mouth, in about 30 minutes. I then seat the primer, add the powder via the Lee Powder Measure and seat the bullet in about 45 minutes. The entire process is not difficult, nor physically challenging. What is nice is the portability. Prepare the cases, take them and the powder and bullets to the range and put together a few rounds in the back of your truck, or trunk of your car.

I think the Lee Hand Press is a great tool for reloading handgun, straight wall, ammunition.

I've never used the hand press but an older gentleman, a friend of my Dad used one of the Lyman Tong tools for years for .22 hornet and handgun rds. and I heard some people praise the Lee, especially to take along to the range. For a few rds occasionally, you might consider the little Lee Reloader C press or the similar small press made by Lyman. I've had one of the Reloader presses for years, mostly used for odd jobs now. It works and is inexpensive, just right for a smaller amount of ammo or a few rds for testing.

I used the Lee hand press for a couple of years loading from 9mm to 300 wthby.No problems except a little slow and if you decide to load rifle casings you'll want to clean and lube(mica or graphite) the inside case mouth.
It does have a priming set-up that works great but is made of very soft metal.

I've been using the Lee Hand Press on 45 ACP for about a year. I love it. Now, I am using the the Lee Deluxe Carbide dies. I think this makes it a bit easier. Some tips:

1. Empty out spent primers every 20-30 rounds.
2. Use some sort of trays to hold what you are working on. I find that the plastic trays from purchased ammunition work well.
3. Be careful if you are sitting on the floor and reloading. My foot went to sleep, I fell when standing up to get some more bullets. I missed hitting my head on the coffee table by about an inch.

It is really useful in small batch processing.

Yes, and they produce EXCELLENT accuracy

That is what I had first for reloading back 22 years ago. I liked it most for reloading 10 to 20 rounds of .270 Win. I have been thinking of buying another, even though I have a very nice press. "Why", you ask? Because it is just plain fun!

Edit to add: I wonder if we are talking about the same "critter"? This is what I am addressing:

http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/browse.cgi?1157379600.4685=/html/catalog/cleeloader.html

Doc2005

Nope doc this is what I meant.

Lee Hand Press


A full sized hand held reloading press, yet the tool weighs only 1 1/2 pounds and costs so little you will want more than one. No matter how much equipment you have, it is really great to have a portable hand press. No time is wasted mounting a tool to a work bench. When you're finished, pack it all away.
Lee Hand Press 90685 Serv.Parts 28.98

I use the Lee Hand Loader. I think the Lee Hand Loader is more versatile than the Lee Loader.

I have been known to take a lee hand press on a few driving trips and do a bunch of depriming while driving down the road. This is a brainless operation and since I am just punching primers I can do it with out looking. It keeps my mind and hands busy on long drives by myself.
I use this for 357 and 45 and have a RCBS primer seating setup and have it in my Bugout box.

TexasSIGman thats the rascal I was talking about I'm just not compu savvy enough to put a pic up for ya.I had 3 of them at one time but gave them away to newbies.You can carry the press in your back pocket and casings in your field jacket and resize and expand anywere .

I have two presses, both of them hand presses. I started out with the Lee hand press, and it does work well. My particular one had a slightly mis-aligned ram relative to the die hole. Not enougth to cause any problems that I could not attribute to myself, though.

Then I found the Huntington Compac hand press. It is smaller, but more powerful and better designed/built than the Lee, with one caveat: the lee beats it hands down for depriming, since the lee has a hollow ram that gobbles up all the spent primers and debris. The guide rods and "W" linkage keep the shellholder perfectly aligned with the die throughout the stroke, especially at the top of its travel, where traditional ram-based presses have the hardest time. The Huntington is also considerably more expensive: ~$90, but it is worth it to me. The huntington has a built-in primer punch with interchangeable punches for large and small primers.

Either one is perfectly capable of handling reloading chores, short of radical caseforming or bullet swaging!

Andy

I have used the Lee Hand Press to reload .357mag & .44mag. It works pretty darn well, IMO.

You will likely want to get a powder measure & stand, though, even for small batches.

I use the RCBS hand primer...the one that looks like the Lee, which looks like the Lyman...

I was able to fit the press, Uniflow powder measure & stand, 5-0-5 scale, dies, clamps, & a few other oddiments into a cheap aluminum turkey roaster.

I was able to get up & going right quick to take advantage of spare hours I could steal.

I now have a bit more room in the garage & have broken out the Rock Chucker again.

I use mine during the summer months around here in Texas...use it to decap all my brass and here lately, since I have gotten some Imperial Sizing wax, I use it with no problems on bottlenecks. Just did up some 30 WCF and worked fine.

Course, I don't do a full resize. Just neck them to hold the bullet...they are for my TC. The Winchester gets a FL sized handload being a lever-gun.

I will probably wear it out, I like it so much.

D

I picked up one of the Lee Hand presses wanting to use it for loading at the range, decapping away from the loading bench, etc. Works OK for the latter... maybe I'm not coordinated enough or something but holding the cartridge i.e. case/bullet and hanging onto the press firmly enough with one hand while cycling the handle w/ the other hand... almost seems like I need a third hand! Mine is pretty rough and doesn't cycle very smoothly though. I wonder if that is part of the problem?

I've seen those Huntington Compac presses recommended before... anybody have some pics of one in operation? I'd like to see some 'action' shots to see how they are to be used before sending off my money, if ya know what I mean!

Milanuk I was was going to post earlier in this thread that the steal ram and aluminum frame have lube/dirt issues.Worked best for me to keep the ram clean and every so often take it apart and clean the alum surfaces.If you have to lube use clp or such and let dry.

I just checked these things out on midwayusa.com. They sound great. I'm gonna get one!!

Trying to decide whether to get the plain press for $20.99, and then the auto prime hand primer for $9.49

or

get the hand press kit, which includes the Ram Prime, for $27.99.

I prefer the hand prime tools, don't really like sticking the primers in the little ram prime cups. Plus, how easy is it changing primer cups in the Ram Prime? Is it tool-less, or you need an allen wrench or something? (I've never owned a Ram Prime unit).

I just started reloading a few months ago and went with the Lee Hand Press, due to lack of room for a full-size press setup. I'm only loading .303 British (neck-sizing only) and it's been great. I've made some nice rounds with it and find it easy to use. You also get a little work-out which doesn't hurt anyone.

I'll possible get into .45 ACP loading with it. Glad to hear others have loaded pistol rounds with the hand press with no problems.

Milanuk,

I don't have any pictures, other than this one from their website:


I cut out a 4" circle of hardwood, and attached it to the bottom of the press. This makes a small stand so that it will stand up on its own when I need two hands for something (like fetching a case and a bullet when seating). But the base is not large enough to interfere with handheld use in my lap for sizing or belling the casemouth, etc. I just removed the nuts that hold on the bottom bar (what the handles attach too), and drilled/counterbored holes to match the bottoms of the guide rods. I slipped the wood disk onto the bottom of the guide rods, and reinstalled the nuts. If I wanted to prime or perhaps reload longer rifle cases, I would have to cut some clearance slots in the disk, since the handles drop down below the bottom bar when the ram is at its lowest point.

I also replaced the 1/4" bolts that make up all the pivot points with 1/4" clevis pins and E-clips from McMaster-Carr (like the pivot points on the Lee). They don't protrude as much on the ends as the bolts/nuts. The bolts are threaded on part of the length that serves as a pivot axle, whereas the clevis pins have a smooth bearing surface the entire length.

In operation, the full length guide rods ensure that the shell holder does not start to tip away from the die as the "ram" reaches the top of its travel. This is the weakest point of traditional rams on reloading presses, except for the Forster Co-Ax and the Corbin Mega-Mite, since the traditional rams are at their furthest point from any support when they are closest to the die, and alignment is most critical. The design is completely free of the flexure that is evident in the Lee hand press. The "W" linkage also allows both handles to be used to exert leverage, and also balances any tipping/torque forces on the "ram"/shellholder.

The relatively narrow clearance between the guide rods does not allow room for grasping around the sides of a cartridge or bullet when inserting or removing it from the press. You can either grasp the cartridge or bullet "over the top" between two fingers, or with a little practice, I learned a more convenient way. I usually handle cartridges with two fingers over the top. The way I handle bullets is hard to explain, but I first hold the bullet lengthwise between the 1st (index) and 3rd fingers of my right hand, and bring it up to the rear of the top of the case (behind the right guide rod), using my 2nd finger behind the bullet to steady it. With it directly behind the top of the case, I bring my thumb around the front of the guide rod and case, and then grasp the bullet between my 2nd finger and thumb, and place it on top of the case. That sounds really complicated, but I'm so used to it, I don't even think about it. It is a lot easier to do than describe!

Their instructions mention that windowed seating dies are ideally suited to this press, which would avoid the digit gymnastics I described above. But alas, they are not available in pistol calibers, except from one firm, and then they require an extended shellholder that would have to be changed between different types of operations, since it cannot retract the case from a die with any force. Windowed seating dies also do not crimp, which I prefer to do while seating, at least with a hornady seating die, which also saves a step.

Speaking of shellholders, the shellholder is held in place by a socket-head set-screw, requiring an allen wrench to change shellholders. I've thought about contacting CH Tool (ch4d.com) to see how short they could make me a version of their shellholder extension. It could be semi-permanently mounted in the press's ram with the set screw, then regular shellholders could be snapped in and out of it with ease. This is not a big deal for me, since I rarely load anything but 45 colt anyway.

All in all, you'd think from the modifications I've made or considered, that the press is not worth the money. None of them were necessary, but each makes the press a little more convenient. Right out of the box, I believe it is the strongest, most accurate hand press available. All I've done is just polished it up a little, so to speak...

Andy

You might also consider the little Lee Reloader single-stage if temporary mounting is acceptable. I got one for light-duty tasks like decapping rifle cases, and mounted it to a 4"x4" square of plywood. I just clamp the plywood base to my desk with a C-clamp. I tried resizing .44 Mag cases with it mounted that way, and it does ok. It's almost as portable as the Hand Press (it's lightweight, but a little bulky) and there are some advantages to having it mounted to something. I don't think I'd want to do full-length sizing on rifle cases with it, but I could easily take it to the range with sized & primed cases and work up loads for my rifles.

Lee Hand Press

Works on 375 H&H, 458 Winchester, too. Great little gadget.

Some body mentioned wearing out the Lee hand held press. Go ahead and try, but I doubt that you will succeed, if you occasionally clean and lubricate the thing. I bought one in the late 80s, and it is still going strong.

I prefer to load and watch TV at the same time, (multi tasking). The mind numbing parts of reloading I can handle quite well while watching TV. (Note, sizing and belling cases are mind numbing, charging cases is best done with full attention to the work at hand!).

Yes, progressive presses are fster. I find that I prefer to load mostly on my Lee hand press, and then charge with my RCBS Uni-Flow, and seat on my RCBS Junior press. I am talking about handgun loads here, mostly. Not quick, but I don't watch much TV, and reloading forces me too.

When it comes time to charge the cases, and seat the bullets, the TV goes off. I have considered buying another Lee hand press, not because the one I have is in anyway worn, but simply to save time changing dies.

It's a fine press for the field or the truck but it's slow. You'd wear out your joints or your patience, or both, before you wore it out, though.