Lee classic turret question?

[judgedelta]

I just got a LCT and have it set up. Everything is fine, except the priming mechanism. The primer dropper doesn't feed into the primer arm well and the primer isn't going into the case without a lot of moving the case around and trying the lever up and down a couple of times. It is A LOT quicker just to prime by hand.

Any suggestions as to improving the set-up? Thanks.

 

[BigBore45]

mine works pretty well. also try cleaning everything as new stuff has lots of anti-rust stuff on it that collects dirt an foreign material.

If the cleaning doesn't work I would give Lee a call.

 

[kcofohio]

It may take some aligning to get square on. Here is a link for help.
http://leeprecision.com/turret-press-help-videos.html

Tweaking is all.

 

[Mauser69]

Yup, just alignment. lightly loosen the bolt and barely twist it one direction or the other - keep that up a tiny bit at a time and you will eventually find the sweet spot where they drop cleanly. Some folks have said you need to put a washer on that top bolt under the Safety Prime, but I have not found that to make any difference.

 

[judgedelta]

Thanks for the tip and the link, it has a lot of good videos.

 

[Toprudder]

I had a problem with my safety prime dropping the primer into the primer ram. I finally figured out that it was an alignment problem between the two, but not left or right. The whole safety prime dispenser was a little too low. Yes, I did have the spacer under the bracket, but I had to add two washers under the bracket to get proper alignment. So, the one spacer that comes with the press, and two additional washers added to that.

Once I did that, a little tweaking left and right and now it dispenses primers reliably. As for getting the primer to line up with the case, quite often the case vibrates out of place when pulling it down from the resizing die. I have to nudge the case back in place before I try seating the primer.

Also, some headstamps work better than others. S&B 357mag brass do not have a rounded entry into the primer pocket, so those are more difficult to seat the primers. I have been known to take a crimp remover bit to those to get them to work.

 

[kcofohio]

Thanks for the tip and the link, it has a lot of good videos.

You're welcome! Those videos helped me out. If you will be using both large and small safety primers, you may have to find a happy medium. And too, learning the technique of making the right contact between the safety primer and the cup. Just like driving with a stick shift, you gotta have the feel of it.

 

[Gadawg88]

Good advice above. Not much to add other than stick with it. You will get it worked out and once you do it is much faster than trying to handle each individual primer into the cup.

 

[mdi]

Oh, the primer feeder! I thought you were talking about a press...

 

[kcofohio]

Oh, the primer feeder! I thought you were talking about a press...

I think it's a little of both.

 

[SARuger]

My LCT took a little while to tweak but once you get it, you will love it.

Lots of great info here on THR!

 

[dragon813gt]

The safety prime takes a light touch in the right spot to feed reliably. I use my index finger high up on it. Once I figured this out it feeds perfectly until the last three. At that point there is no weight on the column and they don't feed reliably. You may have to lower the ram slightly as well. There is quite a bit of wiggle room w/ it so alignment isn't that critical. It's more on how you are physically pressing it to feed a primer. It drove me nuts for over a month until I figured it out.

 

[trigga]

when you feed the primer into the arm, make sure it's in there. mines was iffy when i started too because the angle wasn't quite right. secondly if you use the right shell holder it should seat with no problem. Can't recall if it was the .40 or .380 where the shell holder that came with the die set was slightly bigger and I had to wiggle it into place. either way I use both hands and have develop a pattern to grab my case and hold onto it until I prime it.

 

[Duvel]

Take the time to get to know your Safety Prime, it's entirely worth it.

 

[Toprudder]

Once I figured this out it feeds perfectly until the last three.

Yep, once I finally came to accept that the last three will never feed, I was a much happier person.

 

[kcofohio]

With the Safety Prime, the only minor problem I run into is with Remington small primers. They tend to get hung up in the track. If I'm not paying attention, it will get low enough to quit dispensing primers. A little tap, and the primers fill the chute back up.

 

[alexcue]

Yep, once I finally came to accept that the last three will never feed, I was a much happier person.

Mine is the last two!!!! at that point I just take it off and hand feed them, or if I'm loading up another batch just add them to the tray. Gravity needs a little push, no amount of wiggling or jiggling will work.

 

[greyling22]

To speak to the second part of your problem, the actual primer insertion, what caliber are you loading? Some 9mms have crimped pockets, and when I started doing 30 carbine I discovered the shell holder Lee sends with their dies is the wrong size and resulted in a loose case, priming woes, and case-die insertion struggles. had to buy another brand as a replacement. could either of those be your problem?

 

[rondog]

I put my Safety Prime parts back in the box and never looked back. I prefer to batch prime anyway.