Lee 6000 press

[LiveLife]

You know, they could be two different people with Stephanie Lee being daughter/granddaughter of Richard Lee.

She is Richard's granddaughter, married name is/was Weber.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Gillie Dog]

So I called Lee Customer Service to order one of these "scratch and dent" Pro 6000s and learned that all 72 press kits were configured for 45 Colt.

"No problem" I told the nice lady and we added the 9mm shell plate (Part #91851) so my Pro 6000 with the 19S shell plate is on its way.

Hope to hear about it once it arrives.

So after a "pause" of a few years I am back reloading. Work, retirement, moving and new house got in the way.
Cleaned and serviced the presses and went to town with several hundred loaded and shot so far, changed to auto drum powder dispenser and like it a lot.
But I liked the idea of the 6000 so am on notify list with a couple vendors and hope to get one if I can beat you guys to it.

Some things will be interesting to see:

How primer system works (modified ones on my current presses work perfect and hope for same here with factory system)
Why only one size primer punch
Can primer depth be set, if not how is full seating accomplished on different depth primer pockets
Do not really understand the offset ram and how the carrier maintains needed "flatness" with all stations full. Sizing & primer insert, bullet seat and crimp stations are nearest to ram so any lean/bow might not be there I suppose, other stations should not matter (I could be all off in left field on this one) Have not seen/used any presses like this and want to maintain good COAL tolerance when I do.
​

I am sure it will be a fun journey getting used to a new press and am looking forward to it now that I have time.

GD

 

[LiveLife]

I liked the idea of the 6000 so am on notify list with a couple vendors and hope to get one if I can beat you guys to it

You won't beat those of us who got one of 72 "scratch and dent" Pro 6000 kits but MidwayUSA is showing 9/15/22 as anticipated "in stock" day - https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1025592362

How primer system works

Looks like priming system for Six Pack/Pro 6000 kit is brand new with two (small/large) "primer guide" that attaches to "primer slider" to feed primers into station #2 one primer at a time.




This is different from gravity based priming attachment used in other Lee presses/kits and looks to ensure individual primer placement for priming of case (And Lee no longer requires specific brands of primers to be used).

Why only one size primer punch

Not sure but I can find out more once I receive the press.

Can primer depth be set, if not how is full seating accomplished on different depth primer pockets

Primer seating on Six Pack/Pro 6000 is done on downward stroke of ram lever and primers will be seated regardless of primer pocket depth.

do not really understand the offset ram and how the carrier maintains needed "flatness" with all stations full. Sizing & primer insert, bullet seat and crimp stations are nearest to ram so any lean/bow might not be there I suppose

Most other progressive presses place ram under the center of shell plate and utilize some sort of subplate to support the shell plate under resizing force of case. But there still is some shell plate tilt/deflection that can add to OAL variance as bullet seating is done on the opposite side of the shell plate (And members such as Walkalong reported using pre-resized brass reduced OAL variance confirming shell plate tilt/deflection).

Pro 1000, ABLP/Pro 4000 and Six Pack/Pro 6000 places ram under station #1 where resizing takes place. All three presses utilize "free floating" shell plate design where there is no contact with bottom of shell plate with top of shell plate carrier during rotation of shell plate. But when resizing force is applied at station #1, shell plate bottom fully contacts the top of shell plate carrier and limits the downward travel of shell plate. Since full resizing ram force is applied directly under the case in station #1, there is essentially no shell plate tilt leveraged on ram/subplate as shell plate simply drops flat on top of shell plate carrier.

 

[Gillie Dog]

You won't beat those of us who got one of 72 "scratch and dent" Pro 6000 kits but MidwayUSA is showing 9/15/22 as anticipated "in stock" day - https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1025592362


Looks like priming system for Six Pack/Pro 6000 kit is brand new with two (small/large) "primer guide" that attaches to "primer slider" to feed primers into station #2 one primer at a time.

View attachment 1100832
View attachment 1100833

This is different from gravity based priming attachment used in other Lee presses/kits and looks to ensure individual primer placement for priming of case (And Lee no longer requires specific brands of primers to be used).


Not sure but I can find out more once I receive the press.


Primer seating on Six Pack/Pro 6000 is done on downward stroke of ram lever and primers will be seated regardless of primer pocket depth.


Most other progressive presses place ram under the center of shell plate and utilize some sort of subplate to support the shell plate under resizing force of case. But there still is some shell plate tilt/deflection that can add to OAL variance as bullet seating is done on the opposite side of the shell plate (And members such as Walkalong reported using pre-resized brass reduced OAL variance confirming shell plate tilt/deflection).

Pro 1000, ABLP/Pro 4000 and Six Pack/Pro 6000 places ram under station #1 where resizing takes place. All three presses utilize "free floating" shell plate design where there is no contact with bottom of shell plate with top of shell plate carrier during rotation of shell plate. But when resizing force is applied at station #1, shell plate bottom fully contacts the top of shell plate carrier and limits the downward travel of shell plate. Since full resizing ram force is applied directly under the case in station #1, there is essentially no shell plate tilt leveraged on ram/subplate as shell plate simply drops flat on top of shell plate carrier.

Yes, I saw the MidwayUSA prediction, we will see if I am fast enough on release.

Yes, I saw Lee have spare parts available and looked at them also, some parts come and go from availability depending on day it seems.

Still need to understand how primer depth can be proper for all various cases, I guess if the primer punch is the down stop, we will see.

All well explained, thanks. Experimentation will tell once I get to play with the press.

Thanks
GD

 

[bfox]

 

[drband]

Not sure I trust this review. It does not look like the press was set up entirely to instructions and then put through troubleshooting before reviewing. He didn’t even tighten up the press arm before running it and it slipped out of place repeatedly before he realized the problem. At least set it up as Lee intends before changing where the powder drop is located and then make sure everything is running before offering a review. The press has differences from any other Lee press. Different is not automatically bad. I look forward to more reviews.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

That review was ridiculous, between the dog jumping on him, he not having the press setup correctly, and then just saying "well, I hear a Harley, my buddy just showed up so that's the end of the video."

He should have tightened up the handle when he discovered the ratchet was loose and started the video over at that point.
It was probably loose for shipping purposes.

Looks to me like he has it out for this press before it even has a chance to prove itself.

As far as the post being in the way, most of the reviewers complained about this with the ABLP, I stand or sit off to the left side of the ABLP so the post on mine doesn't interfere with me setting bullets at all. I don't sit directly in front of my Hornady AP either, just isn't comfortable for me there.
Yeah, if you stand directly in front of it, and want to seat and crimp in two different steps on the ABLP, and the Six Pack, the post will be in the way. Even though this press rotates the opposite direction as the ABLP, that case still lands right behind the post. That's a bad coincidence.

Although when Livelife does his review we will have a better idea about that problem.

There will be more videos that will show the press in the correct light. I'll wait for a more fair assessment of the press once it's assembled correctly and some time is spent on the set up.

LIvelife,
His video did raise a question about the primer system though, if the primer punch sticks in the primer pocket when no primer is present, that would tell you that your out of primers (good thing), but it looks like it has a square, sharp edge on it, so if it gets rammed in the pocket tight enough to get stuck, is it going to raise up a bur in there that would need to be cleaned out before using that case again, or could it even ruin the primer pocket in the case by over sizing it?
When you get yours would you run it out of primers on purpose to see if this happens, as part of your review?

 

[bfox]

I didn't make the video .
First video I ever saw about it and thought I'd post it .

 

[GW Staar]

I didn't make the video .
First video I ever saw about it and thought I'd post it .

Thank you. Always interested in Lee's latest innovations. No the video wasn't that well done....mine aren't that perfect either. But it gave us a look-see, which is more than we have from Lee yet. I was interested in what Lee's doing with primers.....that seems to be everybody's weakness more or less, and Lee priming hasn't been fail proof. It's the most common cause of slowdowns, hangs, and aggravation, from smooth feeding, straight seating, and seating depth. Even the ones that work somewhat can get dirty and stop. Requires plenty of attention and maintenance on any press, and you'd best not ignore.

 

[LiveLife]

Video starts with "... completely unbiased review ... I am obviously a fan of Lee stuff ..." then goes on and on complaining about various features/parts of Pro 6000 "... dumb ... I don't like it ... I think it's bull(sack)"

... OK ... You are entitled to your "unbiased" opinion.

At 9:15 minute of video, "finished" rounds are showing no primer ... and he already admitted he "bound" the spring and bent it ... (But I thought he was a fan of Lee stuff and mastered all their operations during his lifetime?)

At 9:30 minute of video, "I am very disappointed right now ..." and at 9:54 minute of video, shows "primer guide" not grabbing a primer from the attachment chute BUT "... there's only three [primers] in the system"

If he has used all those red Lee presses and is a fan of "Lee stuff", he SHOULD KNOW that the gravity based primer attachment REQUIRES full column of primers above the pin that rides the frame column with notches to shake the primer tray to keep the chute full of primers.

And I am sorry but if all the other Lee presses are mounted on the same black plate with thumb knobs that flexes with ram lever cycling, you are not going to get much consistency from the set up.

Next!

Well, I am going to do my review "completely biased" as a lifetime user of Lee products and just like the ABLP/Pro 4000 review, will somehow find what's wrong with the press (What was Lee thinking making the finished round collection bin like a diving board for rounds to bounce out? ... But the fix was easy with some foam packing sheet to block the front of bin and also to quiet the sound when round hit the bin).

 

[LiveLife]

LIvelife,
His video did raise a question about the primer system though, if the primer punch sticks in the primer pocket when no primer is present, that would tell you that your out of primers (good thing), but it looks like it has a square, sharp edge on it, so if it gets rammed in the pocket tight enough to get stuck, is it going to raise up a bur in there that would need to be cleaned out before using that case again, or could it even ruin the primer pocket in the case by over sizing it?
When you get yours would you run it out of primers on purpose to see if this happens, as part of your review?

I watched the video of primer arm cycling and priming pin being pushed up and was looking for some sort of case sensor feature that's on Pro 1000.

Until I examine my sample of Pro 6000, I won't know entirely how the case sensor/activation of primer feeding and seating operate. My kit should arrive in a few days so stay tuned.

 

[ballman6711]

"completely biased"

I'm looking forward to your "completely biased" review. I'm sure it will be honest and complete as always, and thanks for doing it.

chris

 

[GW Staar]

Video starts with "... completely unbiased review ... I am obviously a fan of Lee stuff ..." then goes on and on complaining about various features/parts of Pro 6000 "... dumb ... I don't like it ... I think it's bull(sack)"

... OK ... You are entitled to your "unbiased" opinion..............

Me.....I turned the sound off....and just looked at the motion! Never heard a thing. That way I got the real unbiased observation.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

My kit should arrive in a few days so stay tuned.

Thank you sir.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I didn't make the video .
First video I ever saw about it and thought I'd post it .

We know, it's all good. We are glad you did, like GW Star said, it's more than we had to start with.

 

[Gillie Dog]

MidwayUSA is showing 9/15/22 as anticipated "in stock" day - https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1025592362

.

Now 9/29, maybe end up being Christmas presents. That would be fun.

Really looking forward to your review.

GD

 

[bfox]

We know, it's all good. We are glad you did, like GW Star said, it's! more than we had to start with.

Thanks , I thought most like me would really like to see how the priming system works .
I do agree with everyone . He should have waited on the video till he had things setup correctly !

 

[RashQuestion]

I'll refrain from commenting on the less than useful video since everyone else has already nailed it!!!

Many Thanks to LiveLife!!!! Can't wait to see your review!!! Thanks Again for all you donate here!!!

 

[GW Staar]

This all reminds me of the "early adopter" threads that were on THR when RCBS released their Pro Chuckers..... If you are going to review something, learn it first, and maybe you'll have better luck with it and not break parts.

I can wait for LiveLife to give us the real picture. On the ProChuckers, I waited a full year after the release to order mine....and I ordered a PC5 with a PC5 to 7 conversion kit....got an extra powder measure that way.....and I found that it wasn't nearly as bad a press as the first lousy reviews made it out to be.......and have yet to break primer feed parts.....the extras I bought for such contingencies are still in the drawer. So what's my point?

With this new press be patient, be great reader and understander of Lee's directions, and go easy until you learn the system.....and most important....if it hangs somewhere stop and examine...don't just muscle it past the hang...that's just dumb, and breaks things. And pay attention to where Lee says to lube....and do it well....and keep everything lubed and clean.

So how do I like the Pro Chucker? No press is perfect, but every press is perfectible.....mine's pretty close now. The Lee's big plus is value.....and making 6 stations available to the cheapest of us.

Still working with my brother and his "new" 650 Dillon.....perfect? Not hardly, but perfectible....of course!....unless you want 6 or 7 stations.

 

[LiveLife]

This all reminds me of the "early adopter" threads that were on THR when RCBS released their Pro Chuckers..... If you are going to review something, learn it first, and maybe you'll have better luck with it and not break parts.

I can wait for LiveLife to give us the real picture ... keep everything lubed and clean.

So true.

If I did my review of Pro 1000 when I first started using it almost 30 years ago (Wow, has it been that long ago? Dang, time flies), I would have concluded that Pro 1000 was a difficult press to set up and operate reliably, although it was capable of producing consistent "match grade" ammunition, which I shot USPSA matches with.

But after years of usage and truly understanding how the press was designed and operated, particularly after the THR support thread where we essentially root-cause-analyzed every reliability issue, introduced mods to enhance operation and proper set up/lubrication steps for reliable operation out of the box, now we are able to guide new users to Pro 1000 avoid the usual "noobie" mistakes and better enjoy to produce consistent rounds (To the tune of .001" OAL variance with pre-resized mixed range brass).

When ABLP/Pro 4000 was introduced, I waited to do my review until I had a chance to really get to know the press and identify the pros/cons. After making a small modification to Safety Prime to release each primer more reliably (Not a specific ABLP/Pro 4000 issue) and lining the finished round collection bin with packing foam sheet piece to keep rounds inside the bin and quiet the noise, ABLP/Pro 4000 operated reliably as designed without hiccup.

With Six Pack/Pro 6000, we basically have a 6 station ABLP/Pro 4000 with beefy ram/linkage capable of loading longer/larger rifle cartridges (Pro 1000/4000 are limited to short rifle cartridges), new priming system and improved counter-clockwise rotation of shell plate for bullet placement/powder charge visualization closer to operator and finished round collection right up front.

So with the ability to load just about any pistol/rifle caliber, Six Pack/Pro 6000 with case feeder for $359 retail pricing looks to possibly be the game changer for the reloading world (Currently, no other 5 station progressive comes close with case feeder). Lee likely already outsells all the other press manufacturers combined annually and with this new 6 station press, chances are many Lee users may upgrade and non-Lee press users may consider purchase world-wide (Yes, Lee products are sold world-wide).

 

[LiveLife]

Received the following email from Lee today: (I guess Six Pack is now called "Six Pack Pro")

"Dear Lee Customer's,

Thank you for ordering our pre-production Six Pack Pro.

We discovered yesterday from a customer in the field, a crack around the
feature that supports the ram in the pre-production bases we received.
We will not be able to assemble any more presses until we get the new
bright and shiny bases in (will hopefully be receiving more week of
September 26th). Would you like to keep your order open and on hold, or
would you like a refund?

Sincerely,

Stephanie Lee
Lee Precision, Inc."
​

I sent a reply email requesting to keep my order open and on hold. Pictures of "base crack" below

 

[LiveLife]

Quick reply back.

"Hello John,

Will keep it open, thank you.

Sincerely,

Stephanie
Lee Precision, Inc."​

 

[Gillie Dog]

(will hopefully be receiving more week of

September 26th)​

​

Now 9/29, maybe end up being Christmas presents. That would be fun.

Looks like MidwayUSA was optimistic with the 29th, it says "Temporarily Unavailable" now. But I will be patient, all the other presses I have are running just fine but are not a new toy.

GD

 

[LiveLife]

I will be patient, all the other presses I have are running just fine

I don't have a choice either than to be patient.

Due to medical issues with my aging parents, had to liquidate 15 presses and over 90% of my shooting/reloading equipment and supplies stocked for retirement. (Thankfully, we didn't have to sell our houses and move to another state for their care)

I kept Dillon 550C and Pro 1000 (NIB pre-2018 model) and building a reloading bench because I "Paid It Forward" my primary reloading bench during the "liquidation". I can wait for the Pro 6000 press kit to arrive to finalize my bench layout and reloading set up.

 

[Gillie Dog]

I kept Dillon 550C and Pro 1000 (NIB pre-2018 model) and building a reloading bench because I "Paid It Forward" my primary reloading bench during the "liquidation". I can wait for the Pro 6000 press kit to arrive to finalize my bench layout and reloading set up.

I went through that before I retired, hope it all works out ok for you.

But after retiring and down sizing I got rid of 7 of 12 presses and kept 3 Loadmasters, a cast single stage and Rock Chucker Supreme (have not used it ever).
With Mike Rowan's modifications, I copied a couple also, the Loadmasters are essentially flawless on all the pistol cartridges I run and then do all the rifle all on single stage. The Auto Drum dispensers were quite an upgrade and helped a lot also now that I am back reloading again. Use one Loadmaster just for decapping before SS cleaning, one small primer and one large primer and it works out well.

But new technology calls, I will be patient.

GD