Experiences with the LEE ACP?

[ParallelCode]

I was considering purchasing a LEE ACP for priming 9mm, but I've heard little about it as compared to the APP.

Does the LEE ACP work well for you? Any complaints or issues of which i should be aware?

 

[whughett]

I use mine strictly for decapping 9MM and others before wet tumbling. Basically as I use a blue progressive for all the handloading steps.

 

[Soonerpesek]

To be quite honest, I bought the APP on a whim as kind of a novelty thing cause it was so economical, and I heard a lot of good things about it on this forum.
I have found that it is very useful in it's primary job of depriming ( that's what I use it for anyway ). It keeps my workhorse press cleaner....
That being said, I don't have any experience with the ACP, but if it works as good as it's cousin, it's prolly worth getting...

 

[gwpercle]

Before Lee came out with the LEE ACP - Automatic Case Primer ... I bought a Lee folding tray Auto Prime hand priming tool ... and boy was I disappointed in the materials , design and workmanship .. the words Poor , Flimsey and Micky Mouse come to mind, little plastic doh-dah broke the first use . If the ACP is anything like the new hand priming tool , don't go there . I mounted a Lee Ram-Prime in a Lee Hand Press and it has become my favorite priming tool , simple design and all metal .... After my poor experience with the new hand Auto-Prime tool... I would talk to several people who have them before buying an ACP ... the Lee Auto Prime tool was pathatic and sits in box unusable ... make dang sure the ACP works or it will just end up sitting in the box.
Gary

 

[RealGun]

The cost of the complete rig begs for some cost-benefit analysis.

 

[Pistolpositive]

Kind of like the idea of the depriming setup offered for the ACP.

 

[ParallelCode]

Kind of like the idea of the depriming setup offered for the ACP.

People seem to love the very similar APP for that. I'm trying to get mine running smoothly after putting it together last night.

 

[Pistolpositive]

People seem to love the very similar APP for that. I'm trying to get mine running smoothly after putting it together last night.

I use the Breech Lock Pro (pro 4000) and the classic turret. I know when I deprime in bulk ahead of time, instead of on the progressive, things seem to run smoother. I have simply removed the crimp die and the index rod and used the progressive to deprime.

 

[WeekendReloader]

For those interested in the ACP...

 

[9mmepiphany]

I was considering purchasing a LEE ACP for priming 9mm, but I've heard little about it as compared to the APP.

I don't know if you can compare them as the APP doesn't prime

I got an APP when they first came out and use it mostly for decapping. It was slightly irritating that the fingers don't always place the cases far enough into the shell holder to align with the decapping pin

Does the LEE ACP work well for you? Any complaints or issues of which i should be aware?

Based on this thread, I went and bought an ACP...being on sale helped tip the scales. I just finished priming 200 .38Spl cases and noticed the following issues:

1. Primers tend to turn in the feed chute...some sideways, some inverted. I think it is because they use the same chute for both large and small primers. I use a knife blade to turn the sideways ones over.
2. Once the primer has reached the bottom, they sit in a depression that holds them in place for priming. It makes them difficult to turn them over.
3. The metal shield for the primer tray makes inserting the tray fully into the chute less than ideal

Now the Pros of the ACP:
1. When all the primers are correctly oriented, the press is blazingly fast
2. The design of using no shell holders coupled with the case aligning fingers works really well...I loaded both the .38Spl and a handful of 9mm
3. The fingers consistently placed the cases correctly to enter the aligning fingers
4. The effort required to seat the primers was minimal
5. All primers were seated consistently below flush
6. Loading primers into the Lee Trays is very simple and fast. I have 5 trays and can load them faster than I can fill a couple of primer tubes using a Vibraprime

9mm casings do tend to bounce when they drop from the feed tubes. I might play with the height I have the tubes set at the next time

 

[GW Staar]

Thanks 9mm, I've been waiting since the ACP came out for that kind of review. I love my APP, but I've never heard one good thing about Lee's new trays, and your take is more or less what I figured. Time for Lee to revisit the tray weakness......until then I'll keep using RCBS's APS bench primer. APP's are worth their weight in gold, especially if you add a collator.....in my case the cheap 3D printed versions......but even loading tubes by hand or with a shaker makes the APP awesome.

Wonder if you can salvage the buy by buying APP parts for it? Or maybe come up with a 3D printed part or two to fix it....

 

[9mmepiphany]

I've never heard one good thing about Lee's new trays, and your take is more or less what I figured. Time for Lee to revisit the tray weakness

I've actually got my trays working...learned by using them on my Lee Bench priming tool. They need a little vibration to keep the primers flowing. I give the tray a tap if primers aren't flowing down (Yes, I removed the blast shield).

My issue is the interface between the tray in the chute that feeds the priming station. I think I figured it out, but I'll have to test my hypotheses out the next time. I believed that the issue comes from using the same chute for small and large primers. The larger chute allow the smaller primers to tilt during their fall. If I can keep the flow constant, I should be able to eliminate the problem. (It is actually hinted at in the instruction manual)

My APP not pushing cases far enough could be as simple as a weak spring or dirt built up on the guide rail. As I raise the handle, the shuttle moves forward... just not enough. I can push the shuttle carrier the rest of the way, so it is just hanging up somewhere. If I move the handle more rapidly, the shuttle pushes the case all the way into the shell holder

 

[9mmepiphany]

until then I'll keep using RCBS's APS bench primer.

The APS strips were a great idea for safely handling primers. My only druther that it doesn't address is feeding cases in and out.

On the whole I'm pretty happy with the ACP and think it will be a workhorse after I tinker with it a little bit. What really amazes me is the consistency of the depth of the primer seating with as little effort as this press requires.

I have my Classic Cast single stage, APP, and ACP all mounted on Inline Fabrication Quick Change plates, so it's easy to move them around for whatever I want to do at the moment. The ACP is mounted on a riser so I can easily see the primers feeding down the chute

 

[GW Staar]

My APP not pushing cases far enough could be as simple as a weak spring or dirt built up on the guide rail. As I raise the handle, the shuttle moves forward... just not enough. I can push the shuttle carrier the rest of the way, so it is just hanging up somewhere. If I move the handle more rapidly, the shuttle pushes the case all the way into the shell holder

I did figure out that one......the pusher was not designed quite right. I made a little extension with a bent paperclip and a drill to cure it. But TylerR over at Castboolits had the better fix with a 3D printed part. Here's a picture of the redesigned bottom pusher.....



Beats the heck out of my paperclip

The APS strips were a great idea for safely handling primers. My only druther that it doesn't address is feeding cases in and out.

And that's the great thing about the APP, ACP concept........a case/bullet feeder on a single station press! That and the unique shell holder and upper/lower tool option.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Beats the heck out of my paperclip

I remember that picture.

That is along the lines of what I was thinking the fix might be. I have something similar to that as part for the case feeder on my Hornady LNL...just enough to push the case all the way into the cutout in the shellplate.

The reasons for getting that 3D printer are just piling up

 

[GW Staar]

I remember that picture.

That is along the lines of what I was thinking the fix might be. I have something similar to that as part for the case feeder on my Hornady LNL...just enough to push the case all the way into the cutout in the shellplate.

The reasons for getting that 3D printer are just piling up

I know what you mean.....in fact the APP parts TylerR created is what finally did it for me......dang guy anyway.....but you saw all the projects I did before......so much work.....3D printing was a bit expensive at first, but it sure made the inventing a breeze....(and borrowing inventions).

What would be nice is if TylerR would buy an ACP

 

[Jim Watson]

OP, did you buy one? Does it help?

Me, I load handgun ammo full progressive, Dillon now, CH in the stone age, and I want to put in brass and get out ammo.
The trend towards separate "processing" pretty much escapes me.

I reluctantly primed off the progressive to seat CCI BR4 hard enough for reliable ignition in a pistol, but that was an aberration of the panicdemic shortages.

 

[ParallelCode]

OP, did you buy one? Does it help?

Me, I load handgun ammo full progressive, Dillon now, CH in the stone age, and I want to put in brass and get out ammo.
The trend towards separate "processing" pretty much escapes me.

I reluctantly primed off the progressive to seat CCI BR4 hard enough for reliable ignition in a pistol, but that was an aberration of the panicdemic shortages.

No, I have not purchased one yet. It's on my list though for later this summer, hopefully on sale!

 

[Walkalong]

Posts have been deleted. In the future, if you want to ya ya back and forth, do it by PM, or better yet, just take a breath, relax, and let it go.

 

[GW Staar]

.........Me, I load handgun ammo full progressive, Dillon now, CH in the stone age, and I want to put in brass and get out ammo.
The trend towards separate "processing" pretty much escapes me..........

I understand what you're saying. In a perfect world with perfect tools we ought to be able to do that....put in brass and get out ammo.....and I've been successful at that for some things for a time with my Pro 2000. But then you find military brass with crimped primers.....or you get a wild idea that shiny new looking (polished brass) would be eye candy you can't resist. Either way, I do add steps and process brass. I always did that anyway for rifle, but now do pistol too. I hear tales of Dillon 1050's being able to handle military brass with their swaging station, and keep the "brass in-ammo out" dream alive, but I just don't want the expense or caliber change hassle of that.

So these days, I prefer to process all brass before I put it though a progressive.....yes, even primers. I pretty much have RCBS's infamous primer feed glitch fixed on my newish Pro Chucker 7.....and had successful sessions.

But with military .308, swaging works for the most part, but once in a while there's not enough swage on a piece or two and the primers can deform. So I just got in the habit of processing first on a bench primer....so progressive loading sessions NEVER have a hiccup. Expecially since I have that bling disease anyway.....causing me to want to deprime off press and tumble and trim first anyway.

Even still, I love having all those stations....and use motor driven case and bullet feeders on my bottle neck rifle loading, like this:

1. Collate and feed and Size polished, swaged, and primed brass (having removed the inside expander plug.
2. Expand with a stepped "M" style expander (to make bullet feeding a straight, stay put, stand up affair)
3. Charge the case
4. Powder check the charged case.
5. Collate and feed the bullets
6. Seat bullets
7. Taper Crimp which also removes the "M" step.

 

[Jim Watson]

Well, I haven't turned up a crimped primer 9mm in some time; most of my supply comes from an AGE range, predominantly Federal, so the 550 is OK. My 1050 handles the crimped .45s that I still have some of, the worst aggravation is culling out the small primers that I get when I pick up empties.

I do not load rifle ammo progressive at all, I do not load blasting ammo in surplus brass. My only rifle shooting was BPCR and F Class which took a lot of TLC. Past tense, nearly all my shooting is pistol or rimfire now.

 

[GW Staar]

Well, I haven't turned up a crimped primer 9mm in some time; most of my supply comes from an AGE range, predominantly Federal, so the 550 is OK. My 1050 handles the crimped .45s that I still have some of, the worst aggravation is culling out the small primers that I get when I pick up empties.

I do not load rifle ammo progressive at all, I do not load blasting ammo in surplus brass. My only rifle shooting was BPCR and F Class which took a lot of TLC. Past tense, nearly all my shooting is pistol or rimfire now.

550 and 1050.....looks like you got pistol covered. I'm am tempted to add a Lee ACP.......a little. ANYthing with a case feeder is intriguing....especially since the APP is such a time saver for me. I just might.....not a great expense to try it. And with 9mmepiphany telling us he's got the Lee primer tray working better.....(would like to see more on how that is done) And finally, I am addicted to new reloading style projects......and the APS bench primer I now use is not without its hangups.....it sometimes struggles doing small primers trouble-free....big primers are a breeze. So here again....one tool 2 primer sizes can be a problem.

I wonder if the chute could be improved for smalls with an insert inside to make it smaller.....3D printed maybe?

 

[9mmepiphany]

. And with 9mmepiphany telling us he's got the Lee primer tray working better.....(would like to see more on how that is done)

I'll start that up in a new thread once I tweak a couple of issues with the chute. I didn't realize it was such a universal issue.

I wonder if the chute could be improved for smalls with an insert inside to make it smaller.....3D printed maybe?

I'm going to try a couple of rubber bands or zip ties to tighten the channel. The chute is shaped somewhat like a water slide...I'm assuming to slow down the speed of primer flow or just to reduce pressure on the bottom of the primer stack.

There are several things about the design of the chute which I don't understand the function of yet. I have determined that there is a optimal speed range in which to operate the handle...to keep primers from jumping out

 

[GW Staar]

Cool! On pins and needles...... Wonder if using paste wax on the chute would help make it more friendly.....or Teflon or silicone spray....

 

[9mmepiphany]

Wonder if using paste wax on the chute would help make it more friendly.....or Teflon or silicone spray....

I'm open to trying a lot of different things.

The primers flow smoothly, there just seems to be excess room which allows them to "turn"