Experiences with the LEE ACP?

[9mmepiphany]

Had a chance to try my "Chinese Fix" on it...I can say that, I'm an immigrant from Hong Kong.

Grabbed a rubber band and wrapped it around the top of the trough (chute/slide) until the primers were pretty much aligned vertically in the chute...about 6 times. Now the primers don't have room to turn sideways and their fall from the tray is controlled so that they don't invert. The next 100 primers fed very smoothly down the trough. However...

Now I'm having the on-deck primer flip...about 1-in-10...on edge. I think it has to do with the more direct downward pressure of the column of primers above it and the primer being flipped as the priming insert raises after priming. I'm also investigating another possible cause

 

[GW Staar]

Interesting!.....reminds me of the 3d printed bullet collator project....having the collators adjustable angle-wise was everything. Angle too steep caused over feeding and a bunched up outlet. Not enough angle and feeding wasn't a sure thing. So it was trial and error until the angle was just right.

So questions.......is there any adjustment, or is the feed angle fixed? And did you try graphite burnished in the trough outlet where the new problem occurs?

 

[9mmepiphany]

So questions.......is there any adjustment, or is the feed angle fixed?

There is no adjustment unless I'm willing to heat-n-bend. This might be a route I'll pursue in the future as the chutes sell for $5. They are a one-piece molding that you have to fold and bend to shape

I primed another 100 cases this morning and found that technique has a lot to do with reliable function. Slow isn't the key as much as smooth is. The feed doesn't like jerky movements...which isn't really a problem as the shuttle feed for the cases is very reliable. (I haven't done the "penny" modification to the collator yet; but the shuttle places the inverted case perfectly under the alignment jaws)

And did you try graphite burnished in the trough outlet where the new problem occurs?

That's next on the list for fine tuning. Degreasing and lubing with graphite should have this press singing

 

[GW Staar]

How about a couple of pictures of the chute interface close up. Otherwise I may have to buy one of these just to see for myself.....curiosity....one of my biggest weaknesses.

I don't know a thing about "Chinese-fixes" but it might be similar to what I'm used to....only called country-fixes, usually with baling wire, pliers and whatever else is handy.

But now I have my Chinese 3D printer! Way more useful than my baling wire!

 

[Burstfire]

Prime approx 3-5k / month on the acp. Love it.

Works great. Just keep in mind you need to snap the white primer chute close with your fingers, or it will cause feeding or primer flipping issues.

tension spring at the end may require repositioning here and there. Or it may cause primers to hang up. Adjust every 1-2k or so to make sure it maintains proper position / tension.

the plastic right at the feed lip wears out quickly. For 9mm / pistols, everybody 2-4k. Poorly swaged / reamed 223 cases forcing primers in will wear it out within 1-2k. Get some spares from Lee. It’s free.

otherwise, it’s amazing.

If you prime on a reliable progressive, like a 750. You don’t need it. But if you are like me, and dedicate a certain press for certain things, and one of those is not a Dillon (and have a ****ty priming system) or you simply want to do this as a separate step, you can’t beat the speed of the acp.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Primed another 300 last night (Ginex SPP) and everything went smoothly. I'm pretty sure flipping primers in the transition from the feed chute to the priming insert.

I can prime pretty quickly as long as I move the handle smoothly. I slow down as the primer makes contact with the primer pocket and then apply smooth pressure to fully seat the primer...yes, you can feel all this through the (stock) handle.

Flipped primers occur if I hesitate with the handle and lift it slightly when I restart. The column of primers is retained in the chute by a spring tensioned finger, but the on-deck primer is sitting in the recessed trough of the priming insert leading to the ram position.

Note: The priming insert is spring loaded by the spring surrounding the priming ram. The tip of the ram is slightly below flush with the trough in the priming insert; this creates a "seat" for consistent location of the primer within the insert.
When the case is pushed down, while aligned with the alignment fingers, the insert is pushed down by the case onto the ram; which in turn seats the primer. It is a very cleaver way to eliminate the need for shell holders and accurately/consistently control seating depth

 

[westernrover]

I started to look into this when I realized it had been a year since I looked at reloading gear and that Lee has introduced some new stuff like the 6-station progressive mentioned in a more recent thread. I don't want 6 stations, as I've moved from using 4 down to 1 or 2 on my ABLP. I really appreciate the ABLP for depriming because of the case collator/feeder and ejector. I never intended to prime on the ABLP, but found it to be absurdly bad when I did attempt it.

So I've been using an RCBS hand prime tool, with a Lee tray actually. I like how it works, and it goes very fast, but I have to limit myself to 150 cases at a time or I risk a repetitive stress injury. Squeezing the primer tool 500 or 1000 times risks tearing a tendon in my elbow and those injuries can take a year or more to heal. I bought the Lee Bench Prime for this reason, but it totally sucks.

Lee has great ideas. I just wish they would build stuff so it would be the last word in the job it's intended for. I would pay twice the $89 Midsouth and Midway are asking for an ACP if I could be sure that it wasn't just a piece of junk that would fail and be in the garbage after 15000 rounds and 9 different repairs and tweaks.

 

[GW Staar]

Lee has great ideas. I just wish they would build stuff so it would be the last word in the job it's intended for. I would pay twice the $89 Midsouth and Midway are asking for an ACP if I could be sure that it wasn't just a piece of junk that would fail and be in the garbage after 15000 rounds and 9 different repairs and tweaks.

I understand somewhat, but Lee started out to build a company and products to make membership into the hobby of reloading accessible to those who don't have the resources to buy RCBS, Redding, Forster, Dillon, and Hornady. I believe it is harder to design and manufacture products that meet that goal. The Lee family has been pretty successful at it and in some cases, innovation at Lee has made the big boys have to get off their backsides and innovate themselves to keep up. The Lees are smart people for sure, and I'm glad for their business model.....it's great for the hobby.

The APP has two things nobody ever did before, and mark my words....they will change single stage reloading. 1. Case/bullet feeding for a single stage press. 2. Being able to use dies below the press as well as above the press. Those are revolutionary improvements. The ACP now needs to be the platform for Lee to upgrade their ideas on primer feeding.....betcha it happens....and I betcha it's soon.

Check out my RCBS Summit with Lee Magic added: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ee-app-was-first-but-wont-be-the-last.909232/

 

[westernrover]

I recently employed an ACP. I primed about 100 cases on it in the first run. It ruined 4 brass and 6 primers out of the 100. I have 1200 more standing by, but I'd like to improve my process before I attempt to do all of those. I'm used to fiddling with Lee junk since I've loaded on three Lee presses including a progressive for many years. I suppose I could improve the results with a little tweaking, but there are some things that are disappointing that I cannot fix.

The worst feature is that it holds and centers the case using polymer fingers on the case mouth. Don't touch my case mouths! It's extremely irritating that handloading product engineers are insensitive to this. Their slogan might as well be, "we make products for stingy plinkers."

The other issues are nits. The plastic primer chute seems to be warped and I have to constantly tap the primer tray to get primers to slide through the chute. A die-cast primer chute would have solved this and prevented an endless source of irritation.

The case feeder works a little differently than the one on the press, though I used the same four-tube silos and collator top. I'm having some trouble adjusting it so that when the case drops into the fingers it doesn't fall at an angle and lodge diagonally in the fingers.

Two primers went in sideways. The other four were dented due to the little piston pushing on the edge rather than centered on the primer. The primers were not fully fed into the loading position. The feeder depends on the weight of a column of primers in the feed chute to push the primer into the loading position, but as I described, there are a lot of hangups in the chute.

I'm hoping I can get this thing running well and prime a thousand at a time. With the hand priming tool, I have to limit myself to 150 in a session to avoid an injury to my tendons.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I'll address your concerns in reverse order, as it's just easier that way

Two primers went in sideways. The other four were dented due to the little piston pushing on the edge rather than centered on the primer. The primers were not fully fed into the loading position.

It sounds like you're trying to primer too quickly. In priming over 600 cases, I haven't had any "dented" from not being center. The only primers I've even seen not centered are the last 3-4 in the tray. I also have had any primed sideways, because I can feel and hear the primer when it turns on edge...I stop and flip them flat

The case feeder works a little differently than the one on the press, though I used the same four-tube silos and collator top. I'm having some trouble adjusting it so that when the case drops into the fingers it doesn't fall at an angle and lodge diagonally in the fingers.

I haven't had this issue either. My first thought was that you had your tubes set too high and the cases are dropping too far and/or bouncing. My second thought is that your dwell time is too short to allow the case to fall between the fingers

The plastic primer chute seems to be warped and I have to constantly tap the primer tray to get primers to slide through the chute.

Did you remove the protective shield? The shield is designed to bump against the frame of the press and agitates the primer tray to keep the primers flowing.

If you did remove the shield, you should be able to see into the "split" in the primer chute to see when it falls to half full and give the tray a couple of taps

The worst feature is that it holds and centers the case using polymer fingers on the case mouth.

First, I'm not even sure why this is an issue. This seems to fall into the category of picking at nits. I don't consider myself a "stinking plinker" as I compete nationally with my reloads...at distances of about 50 yards

Second, is that it isn't completely true...at least not with the cases I've primed. I've primed 9mm, .38Spl, and .45ACP on my press and the polymer fingers initially contact the case to ensure that it is centered over the ram. The finger than support the case at the head as it presses down on the priming assembly.

I've found this feature , being able to prime without using a shell holder, the best feature of the ACP

 

[westernrover]

Do you anneal your necks?

 

[9mmepiphany]

Do you anneal your necks?

I don't load for rifles

But when I did,I primed my cases with a Co-Ax bench priming tool