Lee pro 1000

[LiveLife]

Welcome back kestak.

1 - The primer system is a weak link indeed. I can't get a steady flow. primers jam, primers flipping...I am looking how to make it more reliable...

Yup, I have found small primers are more prone to this problem than large primers. The primer system is gravity based and relies on the metal rod/pin attached to the side of the feed ramp to "click" along the grooves on the support rod it rides on to keep the primer tray "shaking" to push the primers down the feed ramp. When you tighten the shell plate carrier hex bolt, I turn the carrier clockwise a bit to make sure this rod/pin makes contact with the grooves - if there is no contact, the feed ramp/primer tray just goes up and down and primers won't be shaken down the feed ramp. The system absolutely depends on primers being pushed into station #2 as the next case arrives to be primed. Partially dropped primers above the primer push rod causes most of the flipped, sideways and jammed primers.

Sometimes, even though you have a full primer tray, primers will hang and won't drop down the feed ramp. I simply tap on the primer tray or some have cut diagonal notches on top of the feed ramp where primer tray feeds into the feed ramp to keep the primers moving smoothly.

Also, make sure you have the right size primer feed ramp (S or L marked on the side) and that feed ramp is tightly pressed together (since you took it apart, it may not have reassembled tight or may have spread apart - you can use some scotch tape to hold them tight to try out). I found that feed ramp that is not assembled tight will cause primers to "hang" in certain areas. Many also polish and lube the ramp with graphite to make the primers slide down more slicker, and you can try this also.

2 - The bullet feeder is good but you still need to keep a close eye on it. I removed some material from the chute and it doubled its reliability but it is far to be perfect.

I don't use the bullet feeder and feed the bullets with my left hand. I find this just as fast and helps with your problem #3.

3 - And the most anoying...I use 5.1 grains of Unique in the cases. They are pretty full. When it goes from station 2 to station 3, the stop of the plate makes some powder to spill out. Right now I am using my finger over the case to prevent the spill. I plan to switch to bulleye that is using 4.3 to 4.8 grains. The case will be less full. But anyone got a better solution?

Some case (9/40/45) and powder charge combination seem to be the problem. On most of my charges, this is not a problem. I could load 500-1000 rounds and count the few powder particles that spilled out onto the shell plate. But some powder charge/case combination will toss the powder up out of the case as the shell plate clicks into station #3. I do the same as you do - simply put my finger on top of the case as the case clicks into station #3. Since I hand feed the bullet, I usually have a bullet in my left hand, so I have just put the bullet on top of the case. Both work, but I found using my fingers work faster.

Since shot group accuracy is what drives my powder/charge selection, I do my test load workup regardless whether the powder spills out of the case or not. I guess you can note which powder/charge combination minimizes the powder spill.

 

[ants]

Each operator's experience may be different, but I find priming problems to be related to:
1. Debris (mostly granules of gunpowder, but also bits of brass and carbon) in the priming station. It gets in there during normal operation. Blow the debris out regularly. Keep it absolutely clean. If you think that one or two bits of dust or powder won't interfere, think again. Especially if a case fails to get its primer and you raise the ram to drop powder, the powder will fall through the flash hole and get into the priming station. Blow it out.
2. Poor shellplate timing flips a primer sideways. Adjust it carefully, just exactly as the instructions tell you.
3. I don't need to polish or modify the chute, but I liberally lube with graphite all the time. No such thing as too much dry graphite. I also put powdered graphite in the case feeder and slider, the entire Pro Auto Disk, and the chute that the loaded cartridges slide down after being ejected.

 

[fluffi]

Pro 1000

these machines can be a pain.i get spilled powder more on 38 s than others i load.i find that spraying all pistol cases with case lube even though my dies are carbide really helps smooth out the rotation.the jerky movement of the disk makes the powder fly out(sometimes).
i lube all metal on metal parts with spray silicone,works great and no contamination of primers/powder.
the shell plate carrier can usually be rotated a little to tighten up the spring primer shaker thingy to the serrated post to help keep primers flowing.just loosen the bolt holding the carrier to the shaft and twist it towards the corner post.
on my primer tray the cover is a little loose and will allow primers to jam up if i dont tape it on tight.
the last thing that gave me fits for a while was the aluminum hinge piece on the handle that drives the ram must have been cracked for a while.for a few hundred rounds the press wouldnt do anything right,load a few,jam,load a few more,oal would move,a few more and primers would go haywire....
fought press like h@!! for a bit till it finally broke.the new piece from lee is now steel.the press ran like new after i changed it.i figure it must hav been cracked or weak for quite a while without me knowing. hope this rant helps.

 

[Hondo 60]

Since my last post in this thread on 4/17, I've pounded out about 1200 rounds. Now that I got it running smoothly, I really like my Pro 1000.

I added a bullet feeder & it's almost doubled my output. It took me a bit to get it going, but with help from this thread & others, mine is working great.

And I only broke the chain thrice

 

[helg]

Юрко,

take a look at my simple mod to Lee bullet feeder. It prevents bullet from being dropped when there is no shell at the bullet seating station.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE3zZ1C3S8w

 

[kestak]

Greetings,

Thank you all for the answers. Especially BDS!

If Lee would make a cup like the Dillon on the push rod, the primer system would have one annoyance removed. It could even have a little pin that if it is extruding, a primer is present and if not, there is no primer. The main problem with this systme at my eyes is the inability to visually know if a primer went and if there is one ready to be pushed in.

I fiexed last night the bullet feeder with a my good ol' dremmel. To my surprise, the bottom part is in metal! They made it in metal while they made the bullet fingers thing in cheap platic...:banghead:

Today, I am working on my powder spill problem. Maybe I'll use another powder that fills less the case..

Thank you

 

[RVenick]

Rather than starting a new thread I figure I can ask my question here. I have been using my Pro 1000 for about a year and a half for pistol rounds. I have pretty much figured out the quirks and make good ammo. I recently bought a AR15 and decided to load 223. I got all the needed components. I depime/resoze all my brass using the Pro 1000 I only have the Resizing Die in the Turrnet and run em thru then I prep the cases ie. trim, chamfer, clean primer pocket etc. I then remove the Resizing die and leave that hole empty and put the Rifle Charging die and the Bullet Seating die in holes 2 and 3. I have primed on both my Breech Lock using the Safety Prime and on the Pro 1000 and have found that it is 6 of 1, half a dozen of another. OK so much for the setup here is my problem. When charging the cases with the Pro Disk if I attach the chain the height of the Rifle Charging die causes it to bind on the upstroke and the chain gets bound between the bottom of the turret base and the shellplate carrier. I have stopped attaching the chain and 75% of the time the Pro Disk returns to down position on the downstroke. Sometimes when I am in the "Zone" and cranking away I will not notice that Pro Disk has not returned to the down position. I usually do the shake test on each finished round before boxing em up and there is an occassional 1 in 100 rounds that was not charged. Does anyone have a workaround for the chain binding problem?

 

[LiveLife]

Maybe I'll use another powder that fills less the case..

kestak - greetings back to you, fellow "brave" Pro 1000 user.

Hate to burst your bubble, but sometimes powder spills out even though the case is not near full with powder.

Consider the cause of the powder spillage. At first I thought it was the sideways movement of the shell plate "clicking" into station #3. I tried adjusting the shell plate timing and it really did not help. After scratching my head and pondering, I realized the obvious.

If you look under station #3, you will find the tension ball bearing on top of a spring. The ball bearing presses hard against the bottom of the shell plate to make sure the shell plate "clicks" into station with a positive lock. As the case charged with powder moves from station #2 to #3, the tensioned ball bearing also rolls under the shell plate and when the case arrives at station #3, "pops" up to lock the shell plate BUT flicks the powder up in the case. This is what causes the powder to spill.

I have thought about decreasing this spring tension by clipping a spring coil or grinding the bottom of the shell plate so the shell plate does a less of a "click" - trust me, powder spillage had me frustrated too.

Funny thing is, most of the time, the more I am careful and slow down the shell plate rotation, the more powder spills. If I am less concerned about the powder spillage and rotate the shell plate normally, the less powder spills- go figure.

Until I have a better solution, I simply cover the top of the case with my finger as the case arrives at station #3.

Does anyone have a workaround for the chain binding problem?

RVenick, the chain is supposed to move freely in the hole as the shell plate carrier moves up and down. If it is binding during the up/down cycle, identify where it is binding and what's causing the bind. I normally put the end piece and spring at the bottom of the chain and pull the slack up through the Pro Auto Disk lever holes so there is no loose chain tail to be bound or crushed under the shell plate carrier.

I do not recommend anyone not using the Pro Auto Disk without the chain because the disk may not return fully to receive the full charge of powder from the hopper - you probably get partial charges.

kestak have use a piece of wire when his chain broke, and you may try that. As long as the wire is the right length to pull the disk back fully and won't interfere with the up/down movement of the shell plate carrier, it should work ok.

 

[ants]

Powder bouncing out of the case...

Some powders bounce. Some don't. When you use up all your powder, try another like Titegroup. It doesn't bounce no matter how much is in the case.

Don't modify the spring under the detent ball. The shellplate needs to be held tightly in position during the upstroke.

 

[kestak]

Greetings,

Spent another 1 hour on the machine.

- Powder dispenser works perfectly.
- Case dispenser works perfectly. Just too bad sometimes a spnet primer does not fall into the primer hole and goes to the floor...but oh well!
- Bullet feeding system works well now after using my dremmel on it for a few hours. It is annoying to have to catch the falling bullets the first to hit of the crank... I saw a mod on Internet. I will just catch the bullets with my hands.
- The primer system.... ^%#%^&**^#@% :banghead: (Here imagine all swears in French and in English you can think of...and trust me, there is a lot in French...). This is a POS! I reloader something like 50,000 rounds with my Dillon and never I got a primer going bang on me. I got it TWICE and I reloaded a total of 41 rounds only as of now. Someone needs to find out how to modify this system with a cup like the dillon system. The press is great, but the primers going down the ramp are as unprevisible as my wife in her PMS!!!! I am seriously looking at this if I can fit a Dillon primer system with some mods now...

Thank you

 

[GW Staar]

What brand of primers are you using? A good friend of mine was having similar problems with his, and I did some research for him. People say CCI primers just plain work better in the Lee than other brands. So he tried it, and except for having to keep the primer tray pretty full to bear more weight behind the primers going down the ramp, his problems went away. Try the CCI if you haven't already.

 

[helg]

One primer in 20 rounds is easily reproducible issue. Load your primer tray with 100 spent primers and try to reproduce the problem by doing only priming with the spent primers at the press. I am sure you will figure out what the problem is before spending the whole hundred.

 

[kestak]

Greetings,

I know and saw the problem: The primer sometimes does not line up on the rod or a primer goes too far and prevent the rod to push the primer up and the primer squeezed may detonate if crushed

I am using CCI primers.

Thank you

 

[arizona_cards_11]

I about ripped my hair out trying to figure out the system. I broke the same chain on the powder dispenser TWICE within the first 30 minute period. After the second time, I found 2 stretchy nylon/spandex strings and tied them up to the dispenser. WORKS LIKE A CHARM.

I've found that the primer system can be greatly improved by focusing on feel and general experience. You really have to get a rhythm for your lever pulls.

When seating primers:

1) Go to the top of the action very smoothly and gently until your push is stopped by resistance. stop.

2) Now lean into the lever a bit and you should feel the primer seat.

If the lever isn't budging, relieve the pressure and scoot the case around a tiny bit....try again to seat the primer.

If that still doesn't work, remove the case from the station and see if the primer is flipped.



Don't give up. I went from wanting to throw a hammer at small children to pumping out 300-400 rounds in a couple of hours with only 1 or 2 hiccups. Take your time and get the feel for each station at the top and bottoms of the pull. You'll get the feel for the system and be producing ammo in no time. Never rush your timing......it is what makes everything work predictably. Don't ram the lever to the top and bottom, ease it firmly and in control.

Also, find a routine for checking if everything is in order before and after pulls. If you're vigilante, you can greatly decrease the frustration you feel when something goes wrong.....you'll know what it is and how to fix it.

 

[kestak]

Greetings,

26 rounds...3 jams.... 1 primer sideway...

Each time I got the jams was the primer ready to go on the pushing bar was sideway anvil toward the primer ramp.

Anyone got that problem? I know it is not my pull of the lever. I can feel the lever and the primers getting in. I felt the primer going in sideway.

Thank you

 

[GW Staar]

Just thinking out loud:

1. Your press is mounted perfectly level and solid.

2. You graphited the primer-feed ramp (rubbed it in with a Q-tip).

3. You didn't touch anything around the ramp with your dremel that might cause roughness or a burr. (polishing plastic with a dremel heats the plastic and makes it rough as hell, not smooth.)

4. Look for anything in the ramp or below the ramp (a slight step, ridge, bump that might catch a primer's edge.)

5. Hold your mouth different.

6. If none of those things work, call Lee and

 

[kestak]

Greetings,

75 rounds total....and it broke one me. I guess maybe it is part of the problem....







I need a liberal to pass my anger on him and beat the crap out of him... Just too bad I live in a county 99% conservator....

Thank you

 

[pcwirepro]

Been there. Lee have a new one coming or do they want the press sent back?

 

[kostyanj]

Had the same exact thing happen to me. They had me send it back in and write up what the problem was. I even got a free action rod out of it (wrote that I needed another action rod and they should contact me for payment info, never contacted me and sent one with the package). It just takes a while for their shipping to reach me all the way in NJ.

 

[kestak]

Greetings,

I asked them to send me the part by mail and I told them I will return the defect part after I got the new part and put the pices back together. I told them I want the original part because I'll know how to reassemble the stuff together by looking at it.

EDIT: BDS --> I forgot to mention one thing also: the wire does not work I bended the bottom with a hook and on the pull, the hook does not stay after 10-15 pulls because the wire is not strong enough. I went to buy a chain at lowes...I thought I got a good idea...nope...

 

[LiveLife]

kestak, I was out of town this week for work - hence no post.

- When I clean the shell plate carrier, I lightly lube the top of the center top metal piece that the hex rod goes through because it rubs against the shell plate carrier (I use motor oil).

- I also very lightly lube the nylon gears (with oil dipped Q-tip) before I put them back in the shell plate carrier.

- Other than these pieces, no other internal shell plate carrier parts get lubed. Hex rod on the other hand gets lubed often before and during reloading sessions.

- When installing the shell plate carrier on the ram, I wedge an empty plastic primer tray between the top of the shell plate and the bottom of the top press ring where the turret drops in and push the ram up against it until the shell plate carrier is fully seated on the ram (often you get a positive "thunk") before I tighten the hex bolt. I have also used a small piece of wood, but the empty primer trays are always close by. This eliminates any further movement of the shell plate carrier when you are trying to seat the bullet and sometimes is the cause for OAL/bullet seat depth changes.

- Well, you tried on the chain idea thing. Now that you got the Pro Auto Disk hopper thumb screws just finger tight, you shouldn't have any more broken chain.

- If you are still having issues with primer feed attachment, have you considered hand priming? Since I hand prime, it is no longer an issue for me. FYI, unlike with the small pistol primer attachment, I do fine with the large pistol primer attachment.

 

[kestak]

Greetings,

I received the new part Saturday with no cost and no hassle because I sent the pictures b y E-mail to Lee. The service is great!

It took me about 1 hour to dissassemble and reassemble the things. Seriously, the easiest part was to time the shellplate. It is funny because it was that part I was the most concerned.

The part I had the most hard time to reassemble was the stupid &^$%^& primer system. That little piece of wire flies and flies and flies!!!!

Now, let's try again to make it work tonight!

Thank you

 

[ricklin]

Zen

Have not fired up the Pro 1000 in a while, my current obsession is shotgun.

The best bit of advice I have seen about the Pro 1000.............Zen.

You must be one with the machine.

 

[MetalHead]

Zen......yeah that helps, I loaded bout 6000 rounds of 223 on mine over twenty years ago, when you finally find the speed it wants to run at you can really crank out the ammo. When I started I was doing 45acp and powder spills were driving me crazy, went so far as to cut a slot in the pocket that holds the priming pin to let the powder out again. Only thing I have ever broken is the plastic ratchets. I have like six shell plate carriers now so even having a carrier casting fail wouldn't stop me for long. What I really like for a time saver is having several loaded priming trays ready to use, seems once I get going at reloading I don't do well loading priming trays, spill too many.

 

[BOlesen]

Lee Pro 1000 & Multiple Calibers

I'm taking a serious look a buying a Lee Pro 100 press 9mm. I also would like to load 40 S&W, 45 acp, 38 special, and 357 mag. Can I just buy the appropriate plates and dies to change on the press, or do I need to buy the whole caliber specific press?