Lee Classic Turret press

[duck911]

New to the classic turret press, and although I like the idea of the press, there is one thing I REALLY do not like:

I want to use my RCBS Uniflow with the turret and powder-through expander dies, but also with the Lee priming system.

The design of the press makes this almost impossible.

I've searched all over, and ended up buying this piece:

http://www.uniquetek.com/site/696296/product/T1370

It allows my Uniflow to attach to the powder through die, but the Uniflow STILL doesn't clear the Lee primer system.

That will force me to buy the Lee extension, so I will have yet ANOTHER part between the die and my Uniflow, extra weight, and now my Uniflow will be way above the rest of the turret press. It's a compromise I won't accept.

It's a shame... Such a great press and SO CLOSE to being exactly what I was looking for. In the end, I may ditch the Lee priming system. I will resize/decap, pull the brass out and handprime, put the brass back in, dump powder/expand, seat bullet and crimp.

--Duck911

 

[TBJK]

I plan on doing my decapping & resizing on 1 turret then charge, RCBS powder lockout, seat then factory crimp on another. I'd like to have the powder check just in case something doesn't go right.

 

[Lost Sheep]

It's a shame... Such a great press and SO CLOSE to being exactly what I was looking for. In the end, I may ditch the Lee priming system. I will resize/decap, pull the brass out and handprime, put the brass back in, dump powder/expand, seat bullet and crimp.

--Duck911

If you substituted a hand-held primer dispenser for the Lee Safety Prime to place primers in the priming arm. That way, you could still prime on-press.

It is one solution. If it works for you, good. You are right; it would be a shame to introduce such inefficiency into the process.

Lost Sheep

 

[GBExpat]

That will force me to buy the Lee extension, so I will have yet ANOTHER part between the die and my Uniflow, extra weight, and now my Uniflow will be way above the rest of the turret press. It's a compromise I won't accept.

Just in case you do not have an Auto-Disk Riser available to inspect, Duck, it adds less than 1½" of height and only 2.1oz of weight to the setup.

 

[Potatohead]

I wouldnt consider loading without the Charge Bar. There's also a few simple mods you'll need if you load any of the featherweights (32,380).

 

[Potatohead]

AACD said

As for rifle cartridges, I really don't like charging rifle cartridges on a Pro Auto-Disk.

+1
Im looking for a better system myself. So far it's been a baby spoon and a beam scale

 

[StrutStopper]

Just ordered a Classic Turret Press, a few extra turrets, riser, and a couple parts to allow me to use my safety prime system from my single stage, and an auto-disk powder measure from the used Pro 1000 I've got hanging around. I also put a 9mm 4 die set on backorder. This is at FS Reloading. I'm gonna have to go find some more powder somewhere...

 

[GBExpat]

Good on you! Enjoy!

4-Die set ... I assume that sports separate Seater and Crimper. If so, good planning on your part.

I found myself buying Lee Factory Crimp or RCBS Taper Crimp (probably should have gotten the Lee versions, but I bought the RCBS awhile back) Dies since all of my reloading die groups feature a single, multipurpose Seater/Crimper.

With my single stage press, I would simply use the Seater/Crimper to first Seat all of the bullets and then I would reset it to Crimp all of the cartridges.

 

[tcoz]

Most of the Lee 4-die sets include both the FCD and a combination seater/crimper die. Unless they're loading for revolver, most people adjust the crimp out of the combo die and just use it for seating, then use the FCD. A few of their rifle die sets include a "Dead Length Bullet Seating Die" which doesn't have the crimp option but only seats. It's confusing which sets have which dies. I wanted the Dead Length die and thought that's what my set had, but it came with the combo instead.

 

[1KPerDay]

What's the advantage of the dead length die? Any common seating/crimping die can seat only... just back off the die body so there's no crimp.

 

[tcoz]

There really isn't any advantage to it as far as I know. I've just always felt that a single purpose piece of any equipment does a better job than a multi-purpose one if I only need it for that one purpose. Just one of my idiosyncrasies I guess.

 

[StrutStopper]

Ha! FS said the 9mm dies I ordered last night were out of stock, but I just checked my email and they've already shipped along with the rest of my order! I better clear out my daughter's room and build that bench... In the meantime, I'll probably set it up on a portable bench like I've been using my single stage.

 

[GBExpat]

I solved my "static nightmare" with my Pro Auto-Disk with a simple spray of Static Guard

Well, I treated my new Pro Auto-Disk to a double misting of Static Guard (allowing it to dry in-between and at the end), lightly wiped down the resultant residue with a paper towel, wiped it with a dryer sheet, dusted the inside with graphite and topped it with its aluminum foil cap under the top ... and my static issue with this dispenser is no more.

I tested it with 3 different propellants while rolling some .44spc rounds. It is no longer static-filled, but it can do nothing about the fact that 700x and Unique do not meter worth a damn. The BE-86 results matched what I was getting with my 2 regular Auto-Disks.

 

[cswpsi]

It is no longer static-filled, but it can do nothing about the fact that 700x and Unique do not meter worth a damn.

Great to hear! ... and if you could do anything about metering 700X or Unique well, you'd be a god to us all!

 

[Dudedog]

I believe the reason they say 100 primers is in case something was to go wrong and they a went Kaboom. Smaller Kaboom with 100 than 200.
(never tested setting off a 100 primers at a time but I imagine the result wound not be pretty, 2X primers 2x boom.)

On the old hand primer they reccomended less than 100 for some brands but I don't have my old manual that came with it any longer to be able to tell you which. I do know they recommended not using Federal primers and did state that there was nothing wrong with Federal primers they just were not safe in the old hand prime.

Glad you are enjoying you turrent.
I have also observered you will get a little lighter charges if you just do the powder drop and not the rest of the reload cycle.
I think my Lee turrent was a great buy and a great press for the money.

 

[GBExpat]

I have also observered you will get a little lighter charges if you just do the powder drop and not the rest of the reload cycle.

Yes, so agitation is apparently required with (some?many?all?) propellants in order to produce a larger QTY and the best consistency.

I am still banging on the metal base of the Auto-Disk several times with a ~5" piece of drill rod prior to each drop.

Awaiting the arrival of the tiny cellphone vibrators that I ordered from Hong Kong. They may provide too little vibe, but I will have fun experimenting.

I have already received the switched battery packs that I intend to use with them.

 

[tcoz]

Over a few years of using my PAD, I discovered a number of things that would affect the drop weights. The key was just making sure I was consistent with everything I did throughout the course of each reloading session.

 

[Dudedog]

Never tried it but I heard fish tank pump rubber banded to the measure can help. A small one is about $10 at the pet store. (I have fish)

When I use Unique for 9mm I always had around .2gr charge swings. I finally just made sure the load I was using could tolerate +.3grs and loaded away.

Once you get up to the larger disk sizes for .357/.45 the Disk measures both better with Unique. (but it is still has that a....Unique metering quality)


Again for small charges BDS came up with a neat solution.
You drill a hole in the side of a disk and insert a machine screw.
The thread is here someplace will dig it out and add the link.

Ahhh it was hiding from me, found it by searching Handloading and Reloading for screw.....
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=741988&highlight=screw

Disks are cheap so I also have a couple I have enlarged slightly. I mark them with finger nail polish so I know they are non-standard.
I have just had better luck doing this with smaller charges than using the adjustable charge bar.
For example if the disk is throwing 4.1 and you really want 4.2 or 4.3 just open it up a hair.

 

[GBExpat]

Awaiting the arrival of the tiny cellphone vibrators that I ordered from Hong Kong. They may provide too little vibe, but I will have fun experimenting.

The cell phone vibrators arrived. Each is ~3/8"dia x ~1/8"deep with a self-adhesive tab on one side.

I rigged a Proof of Concept contraption on my original Auto-Disk using 2 of the vibes (placed on opposite sides and a switched 3-AAA battery holder.

I lined up a .49 slot, loaded the reservoir ~3/4 full of BE-86, turned on the vibes, ran a couple of drops to let the system stabilize ...

... and then ran 30 drops, each one measuring 5.6gr on my DS-750 digital scale.

WHOA!

I will now work on cleaning up the hardware ... I would prefer to use large rubber bands to hold the vibes in-place ... I will also be shifting to a switched 4-AA battery holder power source (filled with NiMH) for improved endurance before battery changes.

Happy!

 

[rmcelwee]

I am new to this and have been using a Lee single stage breech lock for 223. I just purchased an opened but NIB Lee Classic Turret for $100 shipped off Ebay for 9MM. I'll get a Lee Pro Disk (double disk) for my powder charge.

The funny thing is, my plan is to use up these 1000 rounds of 9MM brass I picked up from the range but I don't have a 9MM weapon at this time. Thinking of picking up one of the Hi-Point Carbines at the local gun show next week if they have one for cheap (hoping to find a used one somewhere). Spending money to reload a caliber that I can't even use makes me think this is the perfect hobby for me!

 

[GBExpat]

I'll get a Lee Pro Disk (double disk) for my powder charge.

Are you referring to the Lee Pro Auto-Disk? If so, consider getting one of the Lee Micrometer Adjustable Charging Bars for it. I have found it to be a excellent accessory (especially for only ~$10 ).

 

[RussellC]

Well, I treated my new Pro Auto-Disk to a double misting of Static Guard (allowing it to dry in-between and at the end), lightly wiped down the resultant residue with a paper towel, wiped it with a dryer sheet, dusted the inside with graphite and topped it with its aluminum foil cap under the top ... and my static issue with this dispenser is no more.

I tested it with 3 different propellants while rolling some .44spc rounds. It is no longer static-filled, but it can do nothing about the fact that 700x and Unique do not meter worth a damn. The BE-86 results matched what I was getting with my 2 regular Auto-Disks.

I get Unique to meter just fine. It takes a little fiddling at first, but then it seems to be OK. Unique is so fluffy that with 9mm I can tell just by looking in the casing if it is short or low! The other good thing about Unique with 9mm (and others) it is safely usable over a fairly broad range of OAL and powder charges. Unless you are on the ragged edge, you have lots of safety margin for error. It is also, like many powders through the Pro Auto Disc, requires the "same pull/action" each time to insure accuracy. For the cash outlay, the LCT, primer and this powder dropper are about the best all around deal. One day I will go for Big Blue, just to speed up .45 and 9mm production. But that price point really isn't even close......

Russellc

 

[tcoz]

The thing that really sped up my loading (9mm, .45acp, .223, 300 BLK) was switching from the PAD to a Chargemaster. It also made a big difference in the time needed to set up and end a session. I no longer pull each filled case off the press and look inside for overcharges or undercharges and reloading is much more relaxing now. It was well worth $289 plus a $50 rebate

 

[GBExpat]

I get Unique to meter just fine. It takes a little fiddling at first, but then it seems to be OK.

"OK" just isn't a comfortable enough result for my OCD and (especially) these small-throw pistol charges, which are sometimes close to the upper threshold. I want to know that the charge is, say, 5.6gr, not 5.4 to 5.8 with the possibility of some flyers beyond that window. S'just me.

Right now when rolling & testing different loads I must manually trickle each one ... I would much prefer to have like confidence in the uniformity of ammo that I load, en masse, with the LCT.

I have proven to myself thru testing that whacking the A-D base several times with a piece of drill rod each time improves the drop uniformity markedly.

I have hopes that the cell vibes will allow me to set the throw to a more accurate, repeatable amount ... and allow me to speed the process a bit by not having to apply the drill rod action.

 

[Potatohead]

You gotta do the "false wall" mod on the Adjustable Charge Bar GB.