Lee Six Pack Pro at 4k rounds

[9mmepiphany]

Good to know someone is reading my post!
I know what could be wrong for $24+$9 shipping.

He's not the only one. Pretty impressed that transit time from Norway was only four days.
Slightly concerned about the small print: additional taxes and custom fees may apply

I was torn between the printed part or getting the file to print my own...then there's the choice of color. Figured there's be fewer issues with the correct spring in place and the metal pivot pin....so I ordered the one with all the hardware included

 

[Tilos]

Actually, looks like pretty good design.

Wow, you read it too!!
I have since found other designs and other sellers.

I'm sure @vanfunk will let us know how it works out, the seller's vids look promising.
Didn't see that it ships from Norway, and buyers on the Facebook page that bought it didn't mention anything about "additional taxes".
time will tell.
I'll see if I can find the U.S. seller....
.

 

[LiveLife]

Wow, you read it too!!

Just because I am retired doesn't mean I am no longer interested in innovative solutions to our reloading problems. Between wife's never ending "honey do" projects and ongoing house chores (I am baking dinner rolls and wife's favorite chocolate chip cookies with BOTH semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips wife INSISTS as we speak), I get to go back to my reloading/shooting bench corner for my fun.

He's not the only one.

After watching the video, I was quite impressed enough by the design that addresses clearance/stability issue with gated case feeder collator and factory powder container/bottle adapter I am currently working with Calvin to send him the link for Lee Precision product design/engineering team to review. (You don't always have to reinvent the wheel as improving the wheel maybe the solution ... maybe there was a destined reason why SPP was designed with that hole ... )

 

[Tilos]

Thanks for the help, people! My gate’s not working again. I’m using it with .308; the cases are too tall for there to be any tension on the spring so the gate just stays open. I’ll see if it works again when I switch back to pistol cases. Meanwhile, I ordered the 3D printed case feeder that Tilos posted about. It looks pretty ingenious and would seem to solve all the inherent problems with the Lee unit (and was not too expensive). Now to wait for the mail from Norway…

I went to the other mention of this feeder and it led back to the same guy.
Here's a better vid:

Universal case dropper for Lee Six Pack Pro

Available for purchase here:https://grimnir3d.etsy.comFiles for 3D printing:http://tiny.cc/dropper-3dprint

www.youtube.com

and his facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/462694899071354/user/596230667/

.

 

[9mmepiphany]

maybe there was a destined reason why SPP was designed with that hole

That's what I was thinking also.

@GW Staar also used that hole to stabilize his motorized case collator feed

 

[9mmepiphany]

Lee Precision product design/engineering team to review

I suspect the weakness of the design is that the only thing keeping the column of cases from falling is a small spring pushing on the trigger. It seems like it would limit then number of cases you could have in your tubes.

Most auto case feeders have their column offset to limit pressure on the feed. Lee uses the top of their slider while Dillon and Hornady have pivoting assemblies

 

[GW Staar]

Went there to have a look......he's not trying to get rich.....I like his ideas with the dropping mechanism. Wish he had come to the CastBoolets bullet feeder site and shared like so many others have done. His collator is a copy of TylerR's/Ammo Mikes with Tyler's size and without the ramp.....(don't need a ramp for cases). He doesn't appear to be trying to get rich....price is inexpensive. I'd pay it if I hadn't found another way....TylerRs, 2 years ago.....to which I added the idea of using a proximity switch idea.....also used on this one.

You can see TylerR's drop tube twist lock, and the Prox switch in his really fast video. Another Idea, but not one given freely as TylerR did. Still it has merit for sure.......I like the no moving parts keeper in front of the drop. That's great and original. I agree, on using the front hole on the Lee 6000.....a perfect spot for a hole! I like his adjusting threads, but I prefer Tyler's "quick change" inserts.......once printed, no future adjusting needed......just print one for every caliber.....yes there are a lot of calibers.....but most don't shoot that many.....but as you add one print one.

Notice in the picture above the shaped holes on some and centerline cuts on others. The picture is on the old side so there are more shaped side cutouts today. fewer center line cutouts than pictured. The insert holder is one the left, but you can't see it's L shape and insert drop hole. So that part is common to all the rest.....some of these (without cutouts) are for bullets on the APP. For the 6000 they aren't used.....bullets are done another way on the 6000.

The beauty of the Castboolits "so you want to build a bullet feeder" thread is that is has been a sharing of ideas 172 pages long, Many ideas, many ideas from ideas.....it just gotten better and better......the more the merrier.

 

[vanfunk]

Just watched that other video and now I am even more convinced that this is the better mousetrap. Can’t wait for it to arrive! I’m a fickle reloader and I switch between calibers pretty often. This will expedite the changeover between calibers for sure. Lee would be wise to adopt it but I hope they take care of those Norwegians in doing so. Anyway, I’m jumping the gun so to speak. Let’s see if it works. I have 500 newly cleaned .223 cases to load next so that’ll be its first task after I get it set up.

 

[LiveLife]

His collator is a copy of TylerR's/Ammo Mikes with Tyler's size and without the ramp

The beauty of the Castboolits "so you want to build a bullet feeder" thread is that is has been a sharing of ideas 172 pages long, Many ideas, many ideas from ideas.....it just gotten better and better......the more the merrier.

Since you have a 3D printer, here's the print file - http://tiny.cc/dropper-3dprint

 

[GW Staar]

Since you have a 3D printer, here's the print file - http://tiny.cc/dropper-3dprint

Might be fun........if I get bored this winter I may do that. But I'm pretty happy with what I got, that works as well. I made a video a while back showing how it works together with the bullet feeder/collator, but the last frame proves it was just a test of the "M" die not the seater! "M" die stuck pretty good. (there was no powder or primers in that test....and I was not using the .223 shellplate.....so it wobbled a little......(.40 S&W) shell plate it was!)

 

[GW Staar]

The nature of "M" dies is that they need a little push even it's just the weight of a single bullet above the one dropping into the pocket......so the laasst one sticks in the pocket the least. Moral of that story is to always have at least one extra bullet in the stack for stack weight.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Something I liked about the design is that, when using tubes, they don't rise and fall with the shell plate. Taking that weight off just makes me fell better. The tubes being more stable makes me brave enough to try my three foot long tube assembly again

 

[Tilos]

Something I liked about the design is that, when using tubes, they don't rise and fall with the shell plate. Taking that weight off just makes me fell better. The tubes being more stable makes me brave enough to try my three foot long tube assembly again

That and...
The tubes stationery on top clears the view and access to the shell plate throughout it's travel..
No more peaking around that stuff to see what's going on.
jmo,
.
edit: I have a sky hook for my 50 bullet long (3ft) feed tubes:

.

 

[GW Staar]

Well this definitely IS a new day. 9mm's post pointed out the stationary tube/tubes to me......did he add to his video or did my stupid computer only show the first 1/4 yesterday and repeat.........this morning I saw the whole thing.....and that changes things! I didn't even notice he didn't use the hole for stabilization but for the whole thing...doh... and the tubes really DON'T move......that IS awesome! The only thing I'd like to do, is figure out a way to combine TylerR's caliber quick change to that......maybe not possible, but looking at it anyway. I'm slow.......but thanks Tilos for the information.

I wonder what Richard Lee will do when he sees this, LiveLife? If I was him, I'd hire this new kid, as the 3D printing/design engineer......a new important position.

I had to laugh at Tilos's 36" tube support.......reminds me of mine, back when I was trying to build a case feeder for a machine nobody made one for....the RCBS Pro 2000. But in my space the problem was my 7' ceiling furred down in the workbench portion of my garage, for heating trunk lines in ceiling to heat my house (garage is under the master bedroom.) So at 7' I had to drill a hole in the ceiling for the rest of the 3' tube to go in.....Lee's shorter tubes and later 3D printed electric collators worked a little better for me....

 

[9mmepiphany]

The only thing I'd like to do, is figure out a way to combine TylerR's caliber quick change to that......maybe not possible, but looking at it anyway

I don't think it will work without extensive redesign...there just isn't enough room...and I'm not even sure it is needed with this design

What his mechanism is doing is:
1. Using a leading edge vertical extension to keep the dropped case from moving /jumping forward
2. Because the case is dropping in front of the slider, as opposed to atop it, the slide controls rearward movement
3. As cases get taller, the forward extension only controls the upper portion of the case.
3 a) He seems to have thought his design out enough to have made the extension long/deep enough to handle the case lengths that the Pro 6000 is designed to handle

I would think that if you were to raise the mechanism higher, to add additional extensions, that you'd throw off the timing of the trigger lever.

Disclaimer: I'm Not an Engineer (regardless of what my parent's desires). I'm just an observer with a fairly good spatial sense and an understanding of physics . I can't design stuff, but I can usually look at it and tell you if it will work as designed

 

[GW Staar]

Maybe so. I'd have to print his out and I don't know that it's worth that to me. I already dealt with the stationary collator, by making a little 6" clear tubing sleeve that runs up and down inside the stationary part and it works very well no matter if I plugin a ..308, a 223, or even a 9mm insert.....no adjustment except sliding in the insert in the bottom.

Below I just changed to the 9mm to see how fast the change was....



Next: the action.....

 

[Gillie Dog]

For all those running 44 mag, 45 ACP and such with LEE 4 tube case feeder the new 5 tube case feeder case sliders have fixed all the inherent issues with inconsistent feed of these cases to the shell plate. There is no longer case pull back because the new sliders are very open in front and the redesigned push point of the case on the rim seems to present the case to the shell plate squarely so no jamming occurs entering the shell plate. The case sliders will work with the 4 tube feeder just fine but LEE will not sell them, or any of the 5 tube plastic parts, separately so you must get a 5 tube feeder anyway. I do not use the tube feeders because of printed collator so I ended up with lots of extra parts, maybe they will sell parts some day and I can put 5 tube feeder on second press I use for small runs. The 5 tube case gate works fine also and puts less side load on the slider than my printed version which uses a spring around the mount bolt for return.

Just tidbit of information for those who might have the problem as the 5 tube was being discussed above.

GD

 

[LiveLife]

For all those running 44 mag, 45 ACP and such with LEE 4 tube case feeder the new 5 tube case feeder case sliders have fixed all the inherent issues with inconsistent feed of these cases to the shell plate. There is no longer case pull back because the new sliders are very open in front and the redesigned push point of the case on the rim seems to present the case to the shell plate squarely so no jamming occurs entering the shell plate.

Good to hear.

 

[GW Staar]

Lee seems to be the smartest manufacturer in the hobby right now.....they listen and they act......that can only mean more customers and more profit! The other brands could learn something....at least those who have engineering and marketing who aren't controlled by a parent conglomerate far removed.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Lee seems to be the smartest manufacturer in the hobby right now.....they listen and they act......that can only mean more customers and more profit! The other brands could learn something

This is slightly OT, but I just got an email the other day from Mark 7 that their Apex-10 (entry level press) would now come standard with an upgraded CNC Billet Aluminum Toolhead to enhance you reloading experience...with greater precision and efficiency

I didn't even realize there was an issue with their standard tool head...although my friends who own one tell me I have to add a Jack Bolt (I didn't even know what that was without looking it up) for more consistent OAL. I guess they're not too big a company to listen to their customers either

 

[vanfunk]

Hi Folks:

I got the 3D printed case feeder from the Norwegian gent today and installed it on my Six Pack Pro. Setup took about ten minutes. Somewhat reluctantly I have resigned myself to being back to 4 tubes BUT the enhancements in function far outweigh the minor sacrifice in capacity. I had to rig up the Lee 5-tuber with 1/4” nuts to keep tension on the gate cam and the spring, and even then it didn’t work very well. I was getting double feeds with .223 cases; it just wasn’t reliable enough. The new unit really is all that - it works perfectly and fixes all the foibles of the Lee unit. $35 well spent!

 

[irishlad]

Boy have I quit paying attention. I was unaware of an "improved" five tube case feeder. I still have the 4 tube that came a year + ago. I have had no real issues operating exclusively 9mm

I did finally order a slow twist rod and an expander button for the powder through die. Hoping the expander is the new M step style. Had no issue with the old style thanks to setup pointers from this firum. I'm between 2500 rounds and 3000 rounds and pretty easy operation. I'm ether getting used to it or it is getting used to me

-Jeff

I only load 9mm on mine and haven’t had any issues with the case feeder either. Is it just other case sizes folks are having issues with?

 

[vanfunk]

I’ve never loaded anything shorter than 10mm; I suspect shorter cases may be more reliable. For me, .44 Magnum cases were the most reliable feeders in both the original 4-tube feeder as well as the 5-tube setup with the gate. The gate itself wasn’t reliable for me as there wasn’t enough tension on the cam to keep it from moving with the gate, and there wasn’t enough spring strength to return the gate to the closed position. The new system I posted about above just plain works and gives much more case control throughout the cycle.

Edited to add: I discussed the gate and spring issues with Lee tech support and they weren’t interested in sending me a new cam and spring. Odd, as they’re usually quick to replace broken items under their warranty (my unit was only 6 weeks old and totally worn out). Not a good show on their part but I’ve moved on.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I had a similar experience with them when I called them about the priming on my brand new APP Deluxe. They told me to boil some water and reform a particular piece if I thought it didn't fit right.
On a brand new press I didn't think it was appropriate for them to tell me to fix it myself either.
But I bought the APP Deluxe knowing I would have to fix something on it to make it work so it is what it is.

 

[LiveLife]

when I called them about the priming on my brand new APP Deluxe. They told me to boil some water and reform a particular piece if I thought it didn't fit right.

What?!

That doesn't sound right at all ... Could you elaborate?