lee has a new single stage press coming out Lee APP

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TTv2 said:
Lee decided those weren't popular enough to include Xpress shellholders for.
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I was pretty surprised that Lee included any shell holders with the press. I expected to have to order separate shell holders for each caliber I intended to process.

I read the specs and "included parts" before ordering and ordered a shell holder for my .38Spl at the same time.
 
9mmepiphany said:
I was pretty surprised that Lee included any shell holders with the press. I expected to have to order separate shell holders for each caliber I intended to process.

I read the specs and "included parts" before ordering and ordered a shell holder for my .38Spl at the same time.
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I would have done the same, except that the .38 and .45 Colt holders are sold out everywhere except Lee's own website. I just wonder why it is that they included holders largely used for semi auto calibers, but none for revolvers (except .32, which is arguably the least popular revolver caliber). Is Lee under the assumption that reloaders aren't bothering with revolvers anymore? Is .38/.357 no longer popular? It's one more holder they could have included and if it raised the price of the press a few bucks, I'd have been fine with it because I would have had that holder, but now I'm stuck waiting.
 
TTv2 said:
I would have done the same, except that the .38 and .45 Colt holders are sold out everywhere except Lee's own website. I just wonder why it is that they included holders largely used for semi auto calibers, but none for revolvers (except .32, which is arguably the least popular revolver caliber). Is Lee under the assumption that reloaders aren't bothering with revolvers anymore? Is .38/.357 no longer popular? It's one more holder they could have included and if it raised the price of the press a few bucks, I'd have been fine with it because I would have had that holder, but now I'm stuck waiting.
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I don't know, how about you see what holders were included, then ordered the ones YOU wanted and I can enjoy a lower priced product without having to pay for obscure or much less popular shell holders.
 
AR-Bossman said:
I don't know, how about you see what holders were included, then ordered the ones YOU wanted and I can enjoy a lower priced product without having to pay for obscure or much less popular shell holders.
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That's a swell idea, but are you trying to tell me that .38/.357 is not popular and in the same league as .25 ACP or .455 Webley?
 
TTv2 said:
That's a swell idea, but are you trying to tell me that .38/.357 is not popular and in the same league as .25 ACP or .455 Webley?
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I think we're telling you that .38/.357 die sales are behind that of .45ACP/.308 (#2), .223 (#4), and 9mm (#19)

I'll also note that the APP has been discontinued and only the Deluxe APP is currently being offered. Guessing demand for the basic APP was much less than expected
 
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TTv2, I feel your pain....patience! :) Always on the lookout for products to speed up my RCBS equipment, I ordered/received Lee's 4-way last fall for the possible connection to my Pro Chucker 7 case feeder. Little did I know that Lee was preparing the APP for introduction. Happy to say, I missed the rush on Lee accessories we are seeing today, and put the 4-way to immediate use when I FINALLY received my long back-ordered APP. (and no, I never got around to converting the 4-way to the green equipment.)

I did manage a miracle when I ordered my APP, having ordered the accessories I thought I'd want at the same time.......so yes I did have the presence of mind to order .38Special/.357 shell holder, and happy I did.......but I still need more.....and we wait....some more...;)

One problem with the 4-way is that it's designed for large cases....one size tubing (9/16OD) to fit all.....so I've been ordering the other Lee company products....clear tubing that telescopes into the 9/16. https://www.petmountain.com/product/lees-thinwall-rigid-tubing-clear

Seems Lee thought of that with the APP, but not the 4-way. This is definitely a happy work in process. Remember the feeder and tubes for the APP are meant to be used with cases AND bullets......the 4-way was designed for just cases.....

9mmepiphany said:
I'll also note that the APP has been discontinued and only the Deluxe APP is currently being offered. Guessing demand for the basic APP was much less than expected
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I'm betting the basic was to hedge their bets in case the Deluxe was just a tad over people's budgets. And now they can't keep the Deluxes in stock, so are applying basic production to the deluxe production.
 
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If you're looking to do .45 Schofield and .45 Colt on the APP, do not use the 14 holder for .45 Colt, use the 11 holder.

I bought the Lee #14 shellholder a few weeks ago because Lee says on their website that it works with both .45 Schofield and .45 Colt, but if used with .45 Colt during resizing, the opening on the 14 holder is too large to be used with the .45 Colt rim and can sheer the parts of the rim off that contact the shellholder.

I was hoping the one holder would work for both, but no and I don't do enough .45 Schofield to justify using them on the APP press, so I'm going to be returning the holder I have to Midway in exchange for a proper one for .45 Colt.
 
I found that the case feeder doesn't work that well for a lot of things except 9mm. That's why my various mods were done .... to make that problem go away. I haven't tried rimmed cartridges yet. You just gave me the nudge to do so......I'm interested to see what you mean, and if there are any fixes that can be made. ;) Goody......another covid project......

That said, I predict that the reason may be the stoopid bevel they added to the edge of the drop down holes on the shuttle pieces.....every size shuttle piece. That's what caused problems feeding .223. The bevel would make bullets fly of the track.....see video example, below: (notice the evil bevel on top of the shuttle in the last frame)


and the fix (bevel ground away) (future 3D printer would make it even better)



My latest is making a .45 plate for one of the Thingyverse bullet collators to feed bullets nose down for to feed the APP's boolit sizer. Not done yet......minor hitch....have to buy a 3D printer. But I have STL files for my idea........that may or may not work of course. PDF below..... a so far work in process. :)
 

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GW Staar said:
I found that the case feeder doesn't work that well for a lot of things except 9mm. That's why my various mods were done .... to make that problem go away. I haven't tried rimmed cartridges yet. You just gave me the nudge to do so......I'm interested to see what you mean, and if there are any fixes that can be made. ;) Goody......another covid project......

That said, I predict that the reason may be the stoopid bevel they added to the edge of the drop down holes on the shuttle pieces.....every size shuttle piece. That's what caused problems feeding .223. The bevel would make bullets fly of the track.....see video example, below: (notice the evil bevel on top of the shuttle in the last frame)
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I've only used it for 223. I'm actually glad to see I'm not the only one having problems. Several of those cases were not de-primed that fell into the bin. That isn't as big a problem as the cases that fell in my bin that were not swaged. I guess you get what you pay for. I think it is neat that enterprising individuals are making fixes with 3d printers. I just think it is a shame the manufacturers aren't more responsive.

BTW, which printer are you thinking about getting?
 
The press is so reasonably priced and Titian had them in stock so I purchased one in late February to process 600 hundred 9mm range pickups. I started to accumulate 9mm to feed a new pistol caliber carbine. Then Covid19 Happened and the ranges closed. Now I’m trying to justify using it at all as most of my loading is done on a progressive.
It’s secondary (?) use is bullet sizing so as I cast all my lead bullets. Maybe I’ll convert and use it for that. Then I’ll have to purchase the bullet feeder and necessary accessories for that.
I think this whole gig has gone beyond just loading for shooting. Hook anyone???
 
Ender 5 pro? ..... maybe ....unless somebody shows me something better. I like the one kit version that jmorris has, the Anet A8, it's cheaper too. But that one has a reputation for burning houses down.....and my cave is under the Master Bedroom! ;) So that made me pause on that idea. Maybe jmorris will chime in and defend it......I'd rather spend less money if the rumor is BS.

DanK3Pos said:
Several of those cases were not de-primed that fell into the bin
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Exactly.....the mod fixed that problem.

.
 
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Mine just arrived yesterday so I haven't done much with it yet but first impressions are good. The only pistol cartridges I load are 9 mm and .45 acp and it appears both work with the same tube and no adjustment other than the tube holder height, and of course a die change. If I only use it for decapping/sizing and case mouth expanding it will be worth the price as it looks to really speed up those two monotonous steps.

I do all my reloading on a single stage so I don't know how useful it would be to those with progressive presses.
 
I went silent for a few weeks not because I wanted to. Spent another week in the hospital.....starting in the ER late one night thinking my ticker found another way to foul up......turned out to be, as my Surgeon described, "A very angry Gall Bladder!" So that's gone and I'm feeling better already! ;) Anyway, all my projects have been on hold.....again!

(I'm under no illusions....if I get covid, with my asthmatic lungs and heart problems, I'm most likely dead.....another week to see if I got anything in the hospital....but I take 12 grams of powdered Vitamin C, per day to rebuild my heart, so that may kill any virus before it kills me.....did that in a China study....)

DanK3Pos said:
I've only used it for 223. I'm actually glad to see I'm not the only one having problems. Several of those cases were not de-primed that fell into the bin. That isn't as big a problem as the cases that fell in my bin that were not swaged. I guess you get what you pay for. I think it is neat that enterprising individuals are making fixes with 3d printers. I just think it is a shame the manufacturers aren't more responsive.

BTW, which printer are you thinking about getting?
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I agree with you.....but it's so danged cheap....and it's so danged innovative, and I want what it can do even if I have to mod it to make it do it well.

I ended up ordering the Creality CR 10 Version 2.....twice (first time it never made it to UPS). Finally coming Tuesday sometime, which is fine since I wouldn't have been able to do anything with it until now anyway.

mmb617: Congratulations, tell us how it's coming!......been two weeks!

I think my next project is to buy new Inline Fabrications quick change bases for my Lee APP/ RCBS APS bench primer station! Just think everything would work better without the flex in the Lee Quick Change bases. that was a disappointment. It works, just not without a little annoying flex....maybe it's all in the press. Let you know.

I'm a green press addict, but I like this little Lee APP!! :)
 
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GW Staar said:
mmb617: Congratulations, tell us how it's coming!......been two weeks!
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mmb617 said:
Mine just arrived yesterday so I haven't done much with it yet but first impressions are good. The only pistol cartridges I load are 9 mm and .45 acp and it appears both work with the same tube and no adjustment other than the tube holder height, and of course a die change. If I only use it for decapping/sizing and case mouth expanding it will be worth the price as it looks to really speed up those two monotonous steps.
Click to expand...

Since I posted the above I've run a few hundred cases of both 9mm and .45 acp through it. Overall I like it a lot as it's made the sizing and expanding steps much easier. A couple random things I've noticed:

I was using the included spline drive bushing to hold the die and you have to make sure you tighten the bushing well or it will work loose in the press frame. They give you a little plastic wrench and I'd advise using it as finger tight isn't enough. Also the spline drive bushing I got with the press had an allen set screw in it but when I bought a 4 pack of those same bushings for other dies they had a phillips head screw which are harder to keep tight without stripping. The bushing needs to be pretty tight to the die or it slips. Since the whole idea is that you set the bushing to the required depth and then you don't need to reset it each time you change dies, you don't want any slippage. I'd have preferred to just use the old style of breech lock bushings but this press doesn't have the spring loaded button that locks that style in place.

I also had a problem crop up that traced back to the two columns that the carriage rides on coming loose allowing too much flex in the assembly. I tightened them and will monitor the situation. If they loosen again they will get some locktite.

After a while the slider assembly started not coming the whole way forward causing the next cartridge to stop a little short of centered on the shell holder. If I didn't notice and pulled the handle the case would be ruined as it didn't enter the die but instead got the top dented. I found that some graphite lube sold at Lowes for in locks seems to have solved that problem. I applied a little on the rails for the slider.

There's certain speed of pulling the handle that works best. If I go too slow sometimes the next case doesn't load into the shell holder centered as it stops short, and if I go like a madman and one case fails to load for any reason I'm likely going to damage both the case and the press. A good steady medium speed works best while allowing me to verify that each case is centered up.

While my first runs were made using the same tubes for both 9mm and .45, I soon found that there is enough difference in the tubes and holders that they do need switched to work best. At first I thought the two tubes were identical as when I measured them the outside diameter was the same. But after closer examination I saw that the thickness of the tube wall is different so the inside diameters are different. The tube holders are also just enough different that they need changed as well.

Like any new piece of equipment there is a bit of fiddling to get it all working properly, but overall I'd still give it a thumbs up.
 
mmb617 said:
but overall I'd still give it a thumbs up.
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Yup! At the price of the APP, you get WAY more than you paid for in convenience, speed, and unique options! Thanks for the report! I'll probably fail, but once I figure out my coming 3D printer, I'm going to try to make my Green Summit do some of those tricks......wish I had jmorris's skill level, and similar tools and shop ! ;)
 
mmb617 said:
Since I posted the above I've run a few hundred cases of both 9mm and .45 acp through it. Overall I like it a lot as it's made the sizing and expanding steps much easier. A couple random things I've noticed:

I was using the included spline drive bushing to hold the die and you have to make sure you tighten the bushing well or it will work loose in the press frame. They give you a little plastic wrench and I'd advise using it as finger tight isn't enough. Also the spline drive bushing I got with the press had an allen set screw in it but when I bought a 4 pack of those same bushings for other dies they had a phillips head screw which are harder to keep tight without stripping. The bushing needs to be pretty tight to the die or it slips. Since the whole idea is that you set the bushing to the required depth and then you don't need to reset it each time you change dies, you don't want any slippage. I'd have preferred to just use the old style of breech lock bushings but this press doesn't have the spring loaded button that locks that style in place.

I also had a problem crop up that traced back to the two columns that the carriage rides on coming loose allowing too much flex in the assembly. I tightened them and will monitor the situation. If they loosen again they will get some locktite.

After a while the slider assembly started not coming the whole way forward causing the next cartridge to stop a little short of centered on the shell holder. If I didn't notice and pulled the handle the case would be ruined as it didn't enter the die but instead got the top dented. I found that some graphite lube sold at Lowes for in locks seems to have solved that problem. I applied a little on the rails for the slider.

There's certain speed of pulling the handle that works best. If I go too slow sometimes the next case doesn't load into the shell holder centered as it stops short, and if I go like a madman and one case fails to load for any reason I'm likely going to damage both the case and the press. A good steady medium speed works best while allowing me to verify that each case is centered up.

While my first runs were made using the same tubes for both 9mm and .45, I soon found that there is enough difference in the tubes and holders that they do need switched to work best. At first I thought the two tubes were identical as when I measured them the outside diameter was the same. But after closer examination I saw that the thickness of the tube wall is different so the inside diameters are different. The tube holders are also just enough different that they need changed as well.

Like any new piece of equipment there is a bit of fiddling to get it all working properly, but overall I'd still give it a thumbs up.
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I had the same issue with the guide rods coming loose. Also, in my opinion this press has a huge amount of deflection. It's not surprising considering the design and size but holy cow I wasn't expecting this much.
 
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