Should I Sell/Trade My Loadmaster?

[Olympus]

Since I got my Lee Loadmaster last Christmas, it has literally been the bane of my existence. When it works, everything is great. But when it doesn't work, it makes so frustrated that I see red, but not it's not Lee red. The biggest problem I have is with the priming system, and more specifically the primer sliders. I have replaced probably 50 total of the large and small sliders. The small primer feeder in particular are the worse. The little hook always seems to get gnarled up and twisted causing problems. At this point, I'm tired of wasting money buying the primer sliders and paying shipping.

I've seriously toyed with the idea of just taking it on the cheek and paying more for commercial bulk ammo. But I like the ability to change charges, bullets, etc and the freedom of reloading my own. And the biggest factor is all the money in components that I have tied up. I have way too much money in the press, the dies, the powders, the bullets and the primers. I doubt I would even get half of my money back on the stuff.

So my question is, should I sell the Loadmaster and just give up on reloading altogether? Or should I sell the Loadmaster or trade it for another kind of press that is more simply to operate? I'd really prefer not going to a single stage press. Whatever speed advantage the progressive Loadmaster has has long been gone in the amount of time I have spent trying to troubleshoot the little problems and time I've spent waiting on parts. I know Dillon seems to be the cream of the crop, but I don't want to invest more money into a more expensive press and have similar problems. Is there some more reliable out there that I might be able to compromise on a little bit of speed from the Loadmaster's progressive model? Especially one that has a priming system that is less prone to complications?

I know there are people who are going to try to convince me to keep the Loadmaster, but I've given the thing 8 solid months and my father in law owns the same press and even he is getting tired of helping me figure out what is causing my problems. I've pretty much decided I'm sick of messing with the Loadmaster completely, so convincing me otherwise is probably a waste of time. Suggestions and opinions are welcome though.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

I will start by saying that I don't know squat about the press. I will ask what customer service has had to say.

 

[Olympus]

I've tried that too and all you get is a "try this" and "try that" response. Sometimes it works, most times it doesn't and when it does work, it doesn't last long.

 

[kingmt]

If I was you I'd just sell it. Let me know what you have & what you'd take.

 

[MMCSRET]

I used one for 12 years until I gave up working for a living and decided to hand load and shoot for the rest of my life. The machine is a good machine but it requires patience and a mechanical ability to keep it going. I primed only on station 2, I never tried to use that station for a secondary function, that hole in the turret was left empty. I got mine before there were the videos to help, I stuck with it and fine tuned it and it turned out to be a very good machine. Took me about 18 months of loading on it every evening and about 3 gazillion primer sliders but it finally all wore in and came together.
Now I do all mine on single station presses 'cuz I like to load and take my time, I'm retired.
Stick with the Load Master, it will do you a good job as you learn the machine. OH, it takes 3 eye balls to keep track of all that's going on when you pull the handle.
I filled the primer tray as soon as it was empty, never let it get the chute empty, you need the weight of the primers in the chute to keep an even feed, stop and fill the tray as soon as it is empty.

 

[1SOW]

So my question is, should I sell the Loadmaster and just give up on reloading altogether? Or should I sell the Loadmaster or trade it for another kind of press that is more simply to operate? I'd really prefer not going to a single stage press. Whatever speed advantage the progressive Loadmaster has has long been gone in the amount of time I have spent trying to troubleshoot the little problems and time I've spent waiting on parts. I know Dillon seems to be the cream of the crop, but I don't want to invest more money into a more expensive press and have similar problems. Is there some more reliable out there that I might be able to compromise on a little bit of speed from the Loadmaster's progressive model? Especially one that has a priming system that is less prone to complications?

You asked for an opinion.
It sounds like you're fed up with the press---can't blame you.

Keep the dies and any accessory reloading equipment/tools you will use. Sell/advertise the press. It should recover a fair percentage of cost, since it's never been used.

Buy a Dillon 550B or step down to the LEE 4-hole Classic turret press or another turret brand. If you thought you needed a progressive, go with the Dillon. I don't have a Dillon, but people I trust swear by it. IT IS a lifetime press. Why mess around again.

Easy for me to say, but there it is.

P.S. I thought "sliders" came on small hamburger buns.

 

[Olympus]

You know, I don't mind to tinker with stuff every now and then, but when the Loadmaster goes down, it's more than just tinkering. It's a hassle when you get 5 rounds sitting in the shell plate and each round is at a different stage in the process. Then you have to take the shell plate off to dink with the primer system. Then you have to get all the rounds back in the same stages and see if what you did fixed the problem. With me 90% of the time it didn't fix it, so I start the whole process over again. Rise and repeat.

Right now I'm leaning more toward stepping down a notch to the Classic Turret model. I can still use my Auto Disc powder thrower and all the different discs with the Classic Turret. I've read that there seem to be less problems with the priming system on the Classic Turret as well. If it comes down to a compromise in time/rounds loaded and reliability, I would definitely sacrifice time/rounds loaded to eliminate some of the stress I've had from working on this Loadmaster. I think I want to steer clear of the progressives for a while. I would REALLY be mad if I spent a ton of money on a Dillon and I had just as many problems. I'd rather K.I.S.S. for the sake of my sanity.

 

[Quoheleth]

I would say the sell it and buy a Classic Turret is the best option. I have taken the auto index feature out of mine (Ok...I wore out my bushings and I'm not going to pay $6 to ship two fifty-cent parts to me. When you order the LCT, buy a dozen spares so you have them on hand) and still can crank out 50 rounds of 9mm or .45ACP in under 30 minutes. The .38 Spcl and .357 Mag are just slightly faster as there are only 3 dies and not 4.

I've not regretted buying mine.

Q

 

[Seedtick]

....to the LEE 4-hole Classic turret press or another turret brand.....

Hate that you've had so much trouble.

Here's what I think. Get yourself a Lee Classic Turret Press. A lot of us have em and you can punch out a bunch of ammo on one.

Seedtick

 

[Lost Sheep]

I used to use Lee Pro-1000 progressive, but got tired of using

3 eye balls to keep track of all that's going on when

I pulled the handle. On top of that, the primer feed required re-filling BEFORE it ran out of primers, else it would not feed the last 2 or 3.

Gravity may be reliable, but

you need the weight of the primers in the chute to keep an even feed

I prefer a more positive feed mechanism.

So, last (2010) July I upgraded from my finicky, halting and complex progressive to the Lee Classic Turret, like Seedtick and Quoheleth. While shopping around for mine, I also found out that Sue Kempf (of Kemp's Gun Shop) had made the same switch. Besides, switching calibers on a turret press is no more difficult than switching on a single stage. No special shell plates and such. And Lee's turret heads are cheap enough to leave the dies set permanently in them. I have 7 setups and can switch calibers in under 30 seconds (and that includes getting up and going to the shelf to get it out of its storage box).

If you don't need the quantity of output of a true progressive, the Lee Turrets (both the newer, superior Classic and the older, Deluxe) are the only turret presses on the market today that feature automatic advance. If you don't need more than four die stations, they are the best you can buy at any price. If you need more than 4 die stations or need the output of a progressive, I hear good things about the Hornady LNL and Dillons. But Primer feed is a problem with every press I know of.

The auto-indexing of the Lee Turrets make batch processing unnecessary and easily exceeds 100 rounds per hour (including keeping the powder hopper and primer feed filled) in continuous mode vs batch mode.

However, the RCBS has primer strips that are said to be fairly positive. But I MUCH prefer the Lee Safety Prime. It works like a Pez dispenser and since the primer arm is right out in front of you, you can see if the primer has mis-fed. The Lee Safety Prime has the same gravity feed as others, but since it is right there in front of you is easy to know if it needs filling. Its main drawback is that it needs to be installed just right. Adjust the left-right position (very easy) and the vertical position (which might require a washer or two as a shim) and mine works very reliably. And, as I said, you can see the primers right in front of you.

The only thing more reliable than the Lee Safety Prime would be using your fingers; don't laugh. With the Lee priming arm, that is easier and a better option than you might think.

Now, the primer tubes and arms used by RCBS and Lyman are also extremely reliable, but I quit using those because the time required to load the tubes is more that the trouble saved. On my RCBS RockChucker I found it to be nearer to 100% than any other mechanism. Then I found out that primers in a tube sometimes set each other off. Bad news. Never happened to me and I hear it is rare, but when it does, it gets exciting.

I always wear eye protection when reloading.

Lost Sheep

 

[Olympus]

If I did switch to the Classic Turret, what about my Pro Auto Disc powder thrower? On the Loadmaster, the disc is resent using a little chain. When I look at the Classic Turret, it doesn't seem to use a chain to reset. Would I need to get a completely new Pro Auto Disc for the Classic?

 

[kingmt]

No. You would order a leaver & spring. I don't remember the price but I think it was less then $5 shipped. I never got them because it bugs me to pay more for shipping then the parts.

 

[Olympus]

It bugs me too, but I've learned to just take it on he chin after all the primer sliders I've ordered!

 

[greyling22]

mine took forever to get going right, but with the help of loadmastervideos.com I think I'm good to go these days. Priming is definitely the weak link on the press. If you don't mind slowing down some, the classic cast turret recommended above is a wonderful tool. If you have to have a progressive, I'd get the hornady lock and load ap, or, if you only needed 3 holes, the lee pro1k worked more reliably than the loadmaster. (for me anyway) I think you will really find you miss the automatic case feeder when you move away from lee. I know they other guys make big fancy electric case feeders, but at $300 bucks for one, I really appreciate lee's design. And good golly goo, filling a primer tube by hand gets old fast.

my biggest and reoccurring problem with the LM is with my range brass 9mm. Occasionally I get a crimped primer pocket mixed in there with all the other brass and that one screws up the system and often trashes the slider. Also, silver primers seem to slide and feed better than gold, and small pistol primers will occasionally flip upside down or sideways when the slider starts to go bad.

 

[Walkalong]

I had the same problem with my old Projector many years ago. I went to hand priming and the press ran great sans the priming. I like hand priming now for a variety of reasons. I have never tried to prime on my newer LNL, and I don't ever expect to.

 

[Olympus]

mine took forever to get going right, but with the help of loadmastervideos.com I think I'm good to go these days. Priming is definitely the weak link on the press. If you don't mind slowing down some, the classic cast turret recommended above is a wonderful tool. If you have to have a progressive, I'd get the hornady lock and load ap, or, if you only needed 3 holes, the lee pro1k worked more reliably than the loadmaster. (for me anyway) I think you will really find you miss the automatic case feeder when you move away from lee. I know they other guys make big fancy electric case feeders, but at $300 bucks for one, I really appreciate lee's design. And good golly goo, filling a primer tube by hand gets old fast.

my biggest and reoccurring problem with the LM is with my range brass 9mm. Occasionally I get a crimped primer pocket mixed in there with all the other brass and that one screws up the system and often trashes the slider. Also, silver primers seem to slide and feed better than gold, and small pistol primers will occasionally flip upside down or sideways when the slider starts to go bad.

The videos were good for setting up the press, but haven't been much help since.

It sounds like the Classic Turret is what I need. I have never even been able to get the case feeder system to work for me. I have been inserting cases by hand on my Load Master this whole time. I could never get the case feeder adjusted right. It would rarely push a case all the way into the shellplate. Then it would try to double feed cases and it would jam everything up too. And since I'm always crunching sliders, the case feeder was always in the way when I took the shell plate off and the primer feed assembly out. I just never bothered with the case feeder. It was just another thing to get in the way and bind up.

 

[greyling22]

wow, really, my case feeder has been great. I struggled a bit till I saw the case feeder setup video about which screws to tighten on the angled slide rod, but since then, all has been well. I'm sorry to hear you're struggling so much. The loadmaster is the most difficult press I have ever messed with. It works, but oh! the learning and tinkering curve.

 

[dogrunner]

I've a friend that has experienced the precise problems you describe. The press, when it works is fast and delivers a good product.........when it works.

Had I known he intended getting a progressive I would have tried to steer him toward Dillon's stuff.........I have a 550 that I've used for over twenty years and not once has a problem arisen that was the fault of either the press or it's design........Lee's priming systems are poorly designed and constructed of inferior (for the purpose applied) materials for some of their functions. I gotta believe that Lee'd have a winner IF they'd correct what is an often heard complaint. For the record, in the 20 I've used that Dillon, I have NEVER had a primer issue that wasn't my doing......not once.

Do yourself a real favor and do either the blue stuff or get the turret.....then you can begin to load instead of constantly tinkering.

And by the way, that buddy of mine recently destroyed a nice 3 screw Ruger Super Blackhawk with loads he cranked out on that cranky Lee.......yeah, it was basically his fault but that consistant malfunction just caused him to lose track of sequence.....My call was that he failed to charge a case due to the same stoppages you describe..lodged a 250 in the bbl and knocked a hole thru the side of his house with a large section of cylinder.

THAT sort of event is precisely why I would not tolerate a poor design like that Lee!

 

[Snowbandit]

Isn't that the press you set out by the curb when you're tired of trying to make it work. Buy the blue one and you only have to do it once.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

You don't need the chain setup when using the Auto-Disk on a 4 Hole turret press. The powder dies are "powder through" and the case rising activated the powder measure.

I've had my Classic 4 Hole turret press going in 4 years now and I've had no real problems the whole time. I can safely load between 180 to 200 handgun rounds an hour with it. Remove the auto-index rod and use it like a single stage for rifle loading.

Sorry you are having so much trouble. I know how had it is to have a new toy and it doesn't want to play well with you... :banghead:

 

[Olympus]

You don't need the chain setup when using the Auto-Disk on a 4 Hole turret press. The powder dies are "powder through" and the case rising activated the powder measure.

I've had my Classic 4 Hole turret press going in 4 years now and I've had no real problems the whole time. I can safely load between 180 to 200 handgun rounds an hour with it. Remove the auto-index rod and use it like a single stage for rifle loading.

Sorry you are having so much trouble. I know how had it is to have a new toy and it doesn't want to play well with you... :banghead:

I know the upward movement of the case though the powder/flare die actuates the auto disk. But the has to be something that makes the disk slide backward again to be refilled with powder. If not, the disk will just stay in one place.

 

[Jeff H]

I know the upward movement of the case though the powder/flare die actuates the auto disk. But the has to be something that makes the disk slide backward again to be refilled with powder. If not, the disk will just stay in one place.

There is a return spring that does that. When I bought mine, it included both the chain and the spring in the box. Maybe you already have it and don't know it. either way, it is only 50 cents.

If you do get the LCT, you'll need this part as well http://leeprecision.com/xcart/AUTO-DISK-RISER.html maybe that will help you justify the shipping cost for the spring.

 

[Olympus]

Okay, so if I buy the Classic Turret, do I need to buy the Lee Safety Prime assembly separate or does it come with the press?

Cabela's has the Classic Turret on sale for $90 right now and that's cheaper than I can find anywhere else. And they ship free to their stores which one is close to where I live. Plus I have an additional 10% off coupon that expires this weekend.

 

[kingmt]

You have to buy a new leaver also for the auto disk. The one you buy in the set is different then the one that is by its self.

 

[Olympus]

Would it just be cheaper to buy the Classic Turret kit from Kempf's rather than piecing everything together from different sources? It seems like the Kempf kit has everything I need and all I would need is extra turrets for my other dies and extra shell holders.