1KPerDay
Member
thanks for your patience in answering my silly questions. I've loaded roughly 300 rounds so far.
For any future THRers starting out on a Pro1K I'll report my experiences and tips below.
Starting out was pretty messy. LOL what a comedy of errors! Crushed primers, spilled powder, charging unprimed cases, leaking powder which causes primers to flip, Somehow I got the ram jammed with what I think must have been a spent primer between the orifice/exit and the press base, and mashed it good and stuck everything. I thought at first it was a primer stuck between the shell plate and the carrier, so I removed the tool head and the shell plate carrier but discovered the shell plate was rotating freely (after I dumped all the primers out of the chute and onto the floor, LOL and that the naked ram was still binding in the press. Got that sorted, reinstalled the carrier and then had to do the index/zero adjustment procedure, which was straightforward. Then I had a run of about 100 cartridges with zero problems. bds' tip about placing a bullet on the charged case before it clicks into station 3 is key. However this also prevents or greatly hinders my ability to look into the charged case before placing the bullet, which I have always done and will always do. I need to figure out a good light and mirror system for that. And it's not particularly ergonomic to reach past the left frame boss to place the bullet, whereas the LCT has wide-open access.
Priming definitely seems to be the weak link in this machine, which overall I think is remarkably efficient and ingenious. I like the way Lee solves problems. Like the rod in the primer chute running up a grooved frame boss to shake the primers down. That is just plain cool American ingenuity. And his 3 dollar solution to the case feeder problem is amazingly simple and effective (once I did the penny mod as described above). However I am still getting the occasional tipped primer, even though I keep the chute full and refill the priming tray immediately as it empties, and I also made a cover for the primer chute out of clear packing tape (which was easy), and polished the completed round chute with steel wool and waxed it a bit with a dryer sheet. I need to take the primer chute apart and remove any burrs and polish it. however I've only crushed maybe 4 or 5 primers out of 300 tries and that includes about 3 when I was barely starting out thought I could just sort of muscle them in (like you can with the LCT). Nope... if they don't go in nice and easy first try, STOP and figure out what's wrong. Last 3 times it was a tipped/partially crooked primer preventing proper insertion, which you can feel immediately as the ram nears the bottom of its travel. A dental pick helps here... and make sure it is clear and feeds a couple primers cleanly (remove them from the tip of the primer punch each time) before you put brass back into the shell plate.
Mentally and visually there's a lot more to pay attention to with this compared to my trusty LCT, which you can pretty much run on automatic as long as there are primers in the tray, powder in the hopper, and you are paying attention to the powder charges. On this thing, you have to remember not to let the case feeder tube run dry (no big deal if it does but it throws off your rhythm), watch the primer chute, watch the powder level, make sure to place a bullet before it snaps, in my case I have to put my left pinkie at the bottom of the chute to prevent the loaded round from dropping on my table or floor while I place the bullet (I still haven't figured out a solution for this but I will)... and if you have to remove any brass it's kind of a pain. But once I got into a slow, steady rhythm and the primers were feeding well, I'd go 100 rounds or more relatively quickly. Definitely cool to have one completed round for each pull on the lever rather than every 4.
I'm still learning obviously but hope to be a pro with the Pro soon. Thanks to everyone for all the help. I'm sure I'll have more dumb questions in the future.
For any future THRers starting out on a Pro1K I'll report my experiences and tips below.
Starting out was pretty messy. LOL what a comedy of errors! Crushed primers, spilled powder, charging unprimed cases, leaking powder which causes primers to flip, Somehow I got the ram jammed with what I think must have been a spent primer between the orifice/exit and the press base, and mashed it good and stuck everything. I thought at first it was a primer stuck between the shell plate and the carrier, so I removed the tool head and the shell plate carrier but discovered the shell plate was rotating freely (after I dumped all the primers out of the chute and onto the floor, LOL and that the naked ram was still binding in the press. Got that sorted, reinstalled the carrier and then had to do the index/zero adjustment procedure, which was straightforward. Then I had a run of about 100 cartridges with zero problems. bds' tip about placing a bullet on the charged case before it clicks into station 3 is key. However this also prevents or greatly hinders my ability to look into the charged case before placing the bullet, which I have always done and will always do. I need to figure out a good light and mirror system for that. And it's not particularly ergonomic to reach past the left frame boss to place the bullet, whereas the LCT has wide-open access.
Priming definitely seems to be the weak link in this machine, which overall I think is remarkably efficient and ingenious. I like the way Lee solves problems. Like the rod in the primer chute running up a grooved frame boss to shake the primers down. That is just plain cool American ingenuity. And his 3 dollar solution to the case feeder problem is amazingly simple and effective (once I did the penny mod as described above). However I am still getting the occasional tipped primer, even though I keep the chute full and refill the priming tray immediately as it empties, and I also made a cover for the primer chute out of clear packing tape (which was easy), and polished the completed round chute with steel wool and waxed it a bit with a dryer sheet. I need to take the primer chute apart and remove any burrs and polish it. however I've only crushed maybe 4 or 5 primers out of 300 tries and that includes about 3 when I was barely starting out thought I could just sort of muscle them in (like you can with the LCT). Nope... if they don't go in nice and easy first try, STOP and figure out what's wrong. Last 3 times it was a tipped/partially crooked primer preventing proper insertion, which you can feel immediately as the ram nears the bottom of its travel. A dental pick helps here... and make sure it is clear and feeds a couple primers cleanly (remove them from the tip of the primer punch each time) before you put brass back into the shell plate.
Mentally and visually there's a lot more to pay attention to with this compared to my trusty LCT, which you can pretty much run on automatic as long as there are primers in the tray, powder in the hopper, and you are paying attention to the powder charges. On this thing, you have to remember not to let the case feeder tube run dry (no big deal if it does but it throws off your rhythm), watch the primer chute, watch the powder level, make sure to place a bullet before it snaps, in my case I have to put my left pinkie at the bottom of the chute to prevent the loaded round from dropping on my table or floor while I place the bullet (I still haven't figured out a solution for this but I will)... and if you have to remove any brass it's kind of a pain. But once I got into a slow, steady rhythm and the primers were feeding well, I'd go 100 rounds or more relatively quickly. Definitely cool to have one completed round for each pull on the lever rather than every 4.
I'm still learning obviously but hope to be a pro with the Pro soon. Thanks to everyone for all the help. I'm sure I'll have more dumb questions in the future.