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Lee Pro 1000 Help

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twwilson1

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Sep 20, 2015
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I bought the Lee Pro 1000 originally for .40S&W and loaded 500 rounds without a lot of issues, primer issues of course but I worked through that. I have switched everything over to 9mm so I'm trying to load Berry's 115gr plated RN. I'm not sure what the issue is but I'm getting large swings between bullet seating depth. Some are coming in at 1.125, so I adjust to get depth to 1.130 for a couple of rounds. Then I will take a measure and it's 1.142, so I have to adjust again. So I'm getting wild swings every few rounds. Any possible ideas as to why? I know all the cases aren't the same. I was given 26lbs of 9mm cases from a private gun range. Not sure where to start here to get consistent seating depths. Cases, Die, or sell the press?

Thanks
Tyler
 
Have you tried any other bullets in 9mm to see if you have the same issue?
Measure some of the bullets and see if they are consistent.
It might not be the bullets but that's where I would look first.
Do you have good case neck tension? Take a couple of loaded rounds and try pressing the bullet deeper into the case. With a reasonable pressure it should not move.

Could be other things but those 2 are my first thoughts. (assuming the seater die is tight and not moving)

I use mixed range brass in 9mm and while I see some difference I don't see that much.
Hopefully others will be along to help soon.
 
Since the measurements you are using are cartridge overall length instead of bullet seating depth, the issue cannot be case related. Nor do I think it could be press related unless you are simply not operating the handle all the way to the end of the seating stroke. I use the Pro 1000 for .40 and .38 and have never seen any issue that I thought would cause your problem, but I'd still take a close look at the shell plate to make sure it is properly mounted and doesn't wobble at all. Last press issue is to make sure the clamping screw on the plate carrier is tight so that it is not moving on the ram.

If it is not the press, then the only thing left is a problem with the seating plug in the Lee die - if there is some contaminate in there that is preventing easy movement of that floating plug, that would be the problem. Also check the face of the plug for any lube buildup if you ever loaded lead bullets - I had that issue with .40.
 
I didn't see this problem when i was loading .40S&W. But it's been broken down, and moved twice since then and I'm just now getting it back together. I did notice the shell plate did have some movement to it when a case went into the bullet seating die and that's why I thought it may be just a cheap quality press.

I'll check the clamping screw out. Hopefully it's a reasonably simple fix. I can't think of any other thing besides mechanical it can be.

Thanks guys
 
I know you had the carrier out to change calibers, so that suggests where you might have changed something. Especially if you just changed the shell plate instead of the entire carrier. I've never had an issue with properly changing the shell plate, so I cannot say specifically how it might be done wrong (and I'm not about to tear into mine to examine it now), but if the problem is not in the clamp screw or the seating plug freely moving, I'd certainly remove that shell plate and inspect everything very closely.

There are many Lee haters out there that might smile at your "cheap quality" shot, but there are a lot more of us that have loaded many many many thousands of rounds on the Pro 1000 without such problems. IMHO, you introduced a problem when you changed calibers, and it is absolutely NOT an issue with Lee quality. It is easy to leave the clamping screw just a bit loose; I've done that and seen the carrier move on the ram. So hopefully your problem is that easy to fix.
 
If it is not the press, then the only thing left is a problem with the seating plug in the Lee die
Click to expand...

This is where I would start. I have seen this happen if there is a gob of lube or some other debris in the die that doesn't allow the plug to move freely. It wouldn't hurt to take it apart and give it a good cleaning.

Shell plate wobble does impact OAL some but you shouldn't be seeing more that +-.005 unless something else is going on. You can minimize it by verifying that the shell plate is tight.

What about those bullets? Have you tried measuring a dozen or so to see if they are consistent?
 
I'm not saying I think it's a cheap quality press. I hope it is not. With a little fine tuning and patience in the beginning it then loaded 1,000 .40S&W with ease and pretty consistent. I'm not giving up on it yet.

The 9mm dies are brand new but I'll pull the seater apart and see if there's anything obstructing the die.

I will go back and review the Lee videos. Maybe I missed something that is throwing it off.
 
Two things can cause this - inconsistent pulling of the handle, or tilting of the shell plate. I doubt it's a die issue.

The first is easy to fix - make sure you pull the handle all the way down every time.

The second isn't as easy to fix - one way would be to make sure each die hits the shell plate at its highest position (so it stabilizes on all sides). The other would be to create a way to put "stops" in the underside of the die holder/turret so that the shell plate is stabilized but not by the dies. Some have filled the cavities with JB Weld then mounted bolts into the weld area at the appropriate depth. This way, the shell plate is supported on all sides (from the top) and can't tilt to the side.
 
Stripesdude I think you nailed it with the second not easy fix. I went home last night, pulled the seater die apart, wiped it down, made sure it was clean inside and out. Nothing notable that was cleaned off. What I did notice was the amount of tilt the shell plate is moving. It's audible and visible. I believe this is what is causing my seating issue and I don't remember this tilting last time I used the machine, which was 2 house moves ago.

I rotated the shell plate to try it in each position and it tilts no matter which position. I'm going to examine your solutions this evening.

Thanks
 
twwilson1 said:
I bought the Lee Pro 1000 originally for .40S&W and loaded 500 rounds without a lot of issues, primer issues of course but I worked through that. I have switched everything over to 9mm so I'm trying to load Berry's 115gr plated RN. I'm not sure what the issue is but I'm getting large swings between bullet seating depth. Some are coming in at 1.125, so I adjust to get depth to 1.130 for a couple of rounds. Then I will take a measure and it's 1.142, so I have to adjust again. So I'm getting wild swings every few rounds. Any possible ideas as to why? I know all the cases aren't the same. I was given 26lbs of 9mm cases from a private gun range. Not sure where to start here to get consistent seating depths. Cases, Die, or sell the press?

Thanks
Tyler
Click to expand...
The Lee bullet seating plug has no lock ring, so it can unscrew a bit under pressure from the bullet being seated, changing the seating depth.

Wrap the threads of the seating plug in plumber's tape.
 
natman said:
It's certainly supposed to. They come with one.



http://leeprecision.com/reloading-dies/hand-gun-dies/
Click to expand...


No it doesn't. The die does, but not the seating plug.

OP, if your dies are adjusted properly the deflection in the shell plate will be quite uniform. This is something that affects all progressive presses.

For a .012" I would be looking more at bullets causing it, especially if using plated bullets.
 
I tested a handful of the Berry's 115gr RN. and they were all consistent with each other to +/- .001". I will tighten down the center guide rod as shown in the Lee videos and reset the sizing die in station 1 to no greater than 1/4 turn into shell plate. Since I was testing the COAL with one case at a time, the shell plate may have had inconsistent balance which may have caused some of the issue. Cleaning the seating plug last night may also help with consistent seating.
 
And what I was calling the shell plate, I mean to say the 3 hole turret had the audible and visual movement. But have since learned about the shell plate balance issue I need to look into as well.
 
fiftybmg said:
The Lee bullet seating plug has no lock ring, so it can unscrew a bit under pressure from the bullet being seated, changing the seating depth.

Wrap the threads of the seating plug in plumber's tape.
Click to expand...
This is very misleading information. First, the bullet seating "punch" itself is not attached to anything - it floats up and down in the die body. Second. the seating depth adjustment plug ABOVE the seating plug comes fully assembled with Lee's o-ring locking system. While the o-ring is not a true lock, it provides significant resistance to turning the depth plug so that it can not be accidentally misadjusted. This is one of the things I like best about the Lee dies - the o-ring allows adjustment of the bullet depth without needing any wrench or pliers, but stays absolutely in place unless you grip it firmly and turn it with purpose.

I suggest that if anyone is finding that their depth adjustment is changing by itself, they are either missing the o-ring, or it is very old and needs to be replaced.
 
So just an update. I went home, tore down the press, cleaned it good, and started over setting it back up. I followed the videos on set up and die set up. I then proceeded to follow Lee's instruction video on bullet seating die set up. Just as before, COAL would swing 1.123-1.139 as I tested one round at a time. And this isn't me cranking it down full turns if it's .009 high. I'm walking it down to 1.130. So one round at a time was not producing consistent results.

I tried something different. I loaded the case feeder tube full of brass and ran it like I would run a batch. I tested this once I got it to 1.130 on 3-4 rounds and they all came in 1.129-1.131. If it stays within that range, I'll be happy. I don't think that will cause noticeable pressure issues. Coincidence? Maybe. I'll keep testing.
 
I do not believe it is coincidence at all. I suspect that you are seeing less shell plate flex because you are sizing and de-priming on the opposite end of the shell plate which helps balance out the load. When you have a single round in station 3 and are seating/crimping you can think of it as a mini teeter totter with no weight on one side.

When I first started out on my Pro1000, I read a lot of threads where folks were advocating doing multiple runs with their brass. They would de-prime, size and re-prime on the first run and then they would run the brass through again doing the powder drop and flare on station one, seat the bullet on station 2 and crimp on station 3.

Seating and crimping does give you better crimps, especially when you need good heavy crimps for magnum cartridges because it isn't still trying to seat the bullet when the crimping action starts. The problem I had is that I just could not find a good way to place a bullet on station 2 and I was having huge variations in OAL. I eventually went back to seating and crimping in the same operation and the OAL issue went away.
 
twwilson1 said:
update ... tore down the press, cleaned it good, and started over setting it back up ... Just as before, COAL would swing 1.123-1.139 as I tested one round at a time.

... loaded 1,000 .40S&W with ease and pretty consistent.
Click to expand...
This should tell you something changed when switched to 9mm.

If you change back to 40S&W and do not get swings, then it is not the equipment.

9mm RN bullets are not pushed on the tip like 40S&W FP/FN bullets by the seating plug but on the side. If the nose shape is not consistent, OAL will vary.

If you have some FMJ bullets, you can see if you get the same OAL variation. If you don't with FMJ bullets, then it is the plated bullets.

I get more consistent OAL with FMJ bullets than plated RN bullets and adjust my max/working OAL accordingly.

If you are getting OAL variation from shell plate deflection, you can resize the brass separately and reload with the sizing die removed for more consistent OAL.

FYI, here's the link to THR Pro 1000 support thread - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9614898#post9614898
 
Wilson,
I've loaded a few gazillion rounds on my two Lee 1000's since the early 1980's.
If you're now staying between 1.129-1.131 then you're doing great.
I've had factory ammo that's had more variance than that.
I'm assuming you've not loaded lead bullets with these dies?
If so, wax can build up in the seating die and cause significant variance.
I experiance this with 45ACP, since I only shoot cast .45.

Do make sure that your press is firmly mounted to a sturdy workbench and that the workbench does not move, as this can affect your downstroke.

FYI, once of my presses was purchased in the early 1980's and I had to replace a $2.00 part on the handle a few years back.
The new part had been redesigned in the interim to prevent this problem from occuring again.
 
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