Lee 6000 Personal Experience

I started out with a Lee single stag press in 1997, got a Redding T7 around 2002, a Lee Loadmaster around 2014.

When the 6000 came out I wanted to wait to see some reviews and finally decided to get one. I think Lee nailed it. The Loadmaster has its quirks but the 6000 is awesome. I am only loading pistol cartridges and using three dies. I spend more time grabbing a fresh case and bullet than anything else. Without going crazy a loaded 45acp comes out every 12 seconds.

Priming system - Awesome. Use any brand of primer, any quantity.

Auto Index, Awesome, very simple with a precise shell holder lockup.

Powder Dispenser on the powder through expander die - Sweet and super easy to adjust to any charge volume. I can mount bottle of 231 right on top.

Small footprint on my loading bench.

Price - $339 from Titan Reloading. Just add powder, primers, brass and a bullet. What a value.

The Loadmaster: I am selling it and all shell holders and accessories is the classifieds in hopes that it will add to someone else's existing Loadmaster set up or get someone new further into reloading. It isn't a Pro 6000 but it is priced right.

Good job Lee. This is my last press I'll need to buy.

 

I don't keep an inventory log, don't need one.
It's all in one spot.
I just need to keep a log on where I put things so when I put something some where so I'll know where it is, I can find it again.

 

Wrong thread TGT.

 

I think this 6000 is a great value.....not perfect, but neither is Dillon's, RCBS's, or Hornady's best. I enjoy progressives, period. This is my third progressive, fourth progressive project. The 6000 is just fine for anyone not caring that they don't have an electric case feeder. I was there once.....but laziness gets worse with age.....especially since printing your own case and bullet feeders is so easy and cheap.

I already have a 3D printed bullet feeder working on it, and am working on a case feeder.....the harder job. Why harder? Because Lee has their case shuttle moving up and down with the shell plate. That means the 4-way tube feeder with its big "shaker" collator, also move up and down.....I think that's the only minus so far. Minus because I'm using an RCBS Uniflow P.M. on mine and it's in the way of said shaker, since it's taller than Lee's P.M.

I'll let you all know if I come up with a way to feed cases electrically to such a moving target! Either way its providing me a fun winter project. Funner of course if I'm successful with the case feeder.

 

I just finished getting my 3D printed collator hooked up to my ABLP last night, fed 250 cases of 223 to test. Big issues I had were the spring knocking the slide plate out, which was remedied by a zip tie, and I had to slow down the speed significantly so cases wouldn’t back up in the spring tube while the ram was up.

 

Yeah it's a real problem....
I'm not warm and fuzzy about pushing four filled tubes of cases up every stroke either. What were they thinking? I'm considering a design with side by side tubes, with a printed cross over that dumps a single case on each stroke from the collator tube side, into the tube that mounts to the press at a particular spot........may be dreaming...... we will see. Anyone else have a brain storm....we are all ears.

I wonder why Lee is so against making case feeders? Even RCBS made an attempt. Not perfect, but it was fairly easy to overcome its limitations. Hornady's wasn't that great either, but the 3D printed version for the Hornady, I hear, is great!

 

jmorris figured it out.

 

I like mine, it is my first progressive. I do not do the volume that some here do but I've probably got 500 rounds or so loaded on it in the past month.
So far so good. Its not perfect. I wish there was a way to "turn off" primer feed when done. There are ways around this but I just do not like leaving primers in when finished. The tubes with the collator on top seem like a bad idea but I've not had any issues yet. With the penny mod I've been 100% on casing orientation too so it works. My biggest concern is when doing 9mm sometimes the shell plat snaps pretty fast and I get some powder spill. Might happen 2% of the time or less. I think its my technique and I should slow the stroke down

-Jeff

 

I wondered where that went. I was trying to post from my phone and it went all ca-floo-ie.

 

You're right. Having already watched that a half dozen times in the past, I never realized the LoadMaster raised its cases, and so never looked at his magic with the cases. It appears he did a tube in tube like 9mmepiphany thought of. Too bad he sold that one.....maybe he took more pictures of it.

I have lots of tubing.....I'm going to have a look at that angle. It might be a mechanism similar to the ball bearings used in bullet feeders to release one at a time? Maybe he will drop by and clarify.....

 

The switch in the collator (up at the top by the funnel) is not used in this application. I didn’t change anything wiring wise it’s just not a factor. Instead that orange proximity switch ziptied to the bottom of the tube cuts power to the 120vac outlet the collator is plugged into when a case is in front of it. Keeps the column of cases pretty short. The frosted tube, is an ID that allows the OD of the lower tube to telescope into it but can’t come out at full down stroke.

 

Okay, I see. Great idea! Now I have something fun to do today! Thanks! TylerR has a prox switch print housing that will do that and can be printed in a few hours....I have one printed to try out...looks like this:


Wrong color, but good enough to test. Will get busy and print a red one...

 

You just don’t want to shove the column of brass up into the collator switch.


the proximity switch is controlling the relay to the right and the yellow cord is going to the collator power plug.

 

All the prox switches I've done so far is high ones just out of the collator.....the way it's been done for ages, but TylerR took the opposite approach.....which certainly works better here. Never seen a prox switch like yours.....I like that design.

 

Nope, and my Uniflow I'm using is proof of that......made it worse. It's a lot taller than the Lee....and I bought the press only, not the kit.....because I have extra Uniflows already, and I don't mind mixing colors. But that makes the Lee shaker impossible to use unless I replace the tubes with 3 footers, and that many cases is a lot more weight. So I'm pretty committed....and I think a rendition similar to jmorris' success, similar to your tube inside a tube idea is going to work. Getting there with what I have on hand, but once it is working, I will design, specific for the purpose, 3d printed parts that anyone can print and use for this press. That's my goal anyway.

I really appreciate the insight....better than the direction I went last night.

 

Think of controlling a wall outlet at your home via a wall mounted switch. Then replace that switch with a proximity sensor and relay to control the power.

Now just turn on the collator, no cases will ever make it up to the mechanical limit switch on board, so it will run until the proximity switch opens the contacts on the relay, turning off the outlet.

 

That is basically how mine is set- the prox switch rides on the ram, and shuts off before filling the spring tube, which allows the spring to flex while the ram is in motion.

 

I decided to start with .223 cases first. I figure if I can get it to feed .223 cases, I can feed any pistol with ease. I had to redo the mounts for my little Ammo Mike collator for to feed those .223's. Yeah I know, kind of small, but it's all I have extra today. Next week will probably print one more larger one for the job, but I want to finish the feeder tomorrow. Looks like its going to work fine using the tube-in-tube method. I'll do a video of it tomorrow when it's done.

Another spec I wanted was a caliber quick-change.....that's designed and printed and works great. What that means is....I can use all the TylerR APP quick-change caliber inserts on this case feeder and press....with zero modifications. IOW's I can use the system already being used for the APP to feed the new press.

Including an old picture of APP inserts that I'll get to use.



I only had to redesign the insert hanger (part in the center at the bottom) because the center to center measurement is smaller.....that is center to center from the left hole that the mounting bolt goes in to the hole at the right that all the caliber inserts drop in......the rest of the parts will work. Below is the insert for the .223 I'm starting with....you just drop it in.

 

I did for a few decades. That said the first 3D wax printers I had seen were ~ $250k, back in the ‘90’s. The Anet 8 I picked up was $120.

It would be neat if I could live long enough for an affordable metal 3D printer to be created.

 

Yes! Wouldn't that be something. They are even building houses with them now. Nothing that great yet, but........coming? I did not trust myself building an Anet kit, plus, I wanted a bigger bed for bigger case collators, so I dropped $500 on my Creality CR10v2. But I picked well....it can make collators as big as Dillon's Case collator.....and I think I average spending maybe $80 on one that big including motor, spring tube, switch, and relay. Way easier on the pocket book than buying commercial...bullets or the bigger case versions. Even the one I bought is cheaper today, though. Prices are better today. Ender 3's, fine for everything but the biggest case collators are less than $200 today....

Yet Ammo Mike's littlest one that I built for $40 (smaller cheaper motor) is capable of feeding .223.....but not as many at a time as a big one. Still dumping a handful in the top is way better than loading Lee tubes by hand. The shaker is plenty fast, but that top heavy thing in the way in each stroke, is in the way on this press, with my taller powder measure. It boils down to limited options.

The absolute have to haves on a 3d printer IMO, is the polypropylene bed, and an automatic bed leveler. With the poly bed, there is no more lifting, no more glue sticks or tape or spray....and they are superior and cheaper than PEI beds. With the auto bed leveler....most work but I really like my proximity switch version from TH3Dstudio. No moving parts to break, when you inadvertently cram the nozzle into the bed while learning your machine. I did it once and if I'd gotten a leveler with the prob, I'd have had to buy another.