GHinNH
Member
Every winter(ish) I find myself low on loaded pistol ammo. Using single stage press, the worst part for me is to stack bullets on the cases by hand. I've been toying with the idea for quite a while, so decided to go ahead and take a $40 gamble.
After looking closely it appeared to me that I wouldn't be able to use my Classic Cast iron press because of the huge bushing which raises the feeder up too far. That kind of stinks because I've a "kicker" and a chute that drops things into a bin and would have been ideal.
I had a El' Cheapo Lee collecting dust, so that's what it will stay on permanently. Used just for feeding, seating, and lightly crimping bullets. I like the "roll" crimp much better for copper plated bullets which is what I use the majority of.
I've found that like most things LEE, the feeder was close but in my opinion needed refinements to make it work better, more precisely and reliably.
The bullet tube flops around like a fish, one layer of black tape was ideal for a snug fit.
The "axle" for the linkage arm comes sloppy, so I added a nut on the very inside to take up the space and lock it in place. It's adjusted so the long bolt still rotates freely but eliminates all the side to side slop which was moving the attached linkage arm side to side.
The Z bend on the linkage that moves the bullet shuttle did the same thing, put all sorts of sideways push/pull on the shuttle making the bullet not align with the case mouth. I straightened the Z and used two shaft collars lightly pinched together to hold it straight.
I also chamfered(?) the sharp corners (carefully) on the bottom of the feed fingers to also help alleviate the issue.
13/16 Split collar I had to cut for clearance to the press, I put that half of it in my vice, and used a new very thin (.045) cutoff wheel with the vice jaws as a guide to keep it clean and straight.
The arm going to the actuating rod is just a piece if 16ga with a stiffening rib that I used "soft silver" to attach. Iv'e got thicker material but I was being lazy.
It took some thinking to get it put together, which side to put the arm on, added a 1/4" shaft collar as a spacer to get the bullet is in position soon enough, because the 13/16 split collar eats up a bit of ram travel.
All said and done, it works just fine and will alleviate the tedious and dreaded balancing act of bullet placement and dropping them onto a tray of charged cases knocking powder everywhere... Not in a hurry to do that anymore.
Not bad for $40 and some thinkinering.
After looking closely it appeared to me that I wouldn't be able to use my Classic Cast iron press because of the huge bushing which raises the feeder up too far. That kind of stinks because I've a "kicker" and a chute that drops things into a bin and would have been ideal.
I had a El' Cheapo Lee collecting dust, so that's what it will stay on permanently. Used just for feeding, seating, and lightly crimping bullets. I like the "roll" crimp much better for copper plated bullets which is what I use the majority of.
I've found that like most things LEE, the feeder was close but in my opinion needed refinements to make it work better, more precisely and reliably.
The bullet tube flops around like a fish, one layer of black tape was ideal for a snug fit.
The "axle" for the linkage arm comes sloppy, so I added a nut on the very inside to take up the space and lock it in place. It's adjusted so the long bolt still rotates freely but eliminates all the side to side slop which was moving the attached linkage arm side to side.
The Z bend on the linkage that moves the bullet shuttle did the same thing, put all sorts of sideways push/pull on the shuttle making the bullet not align with the case mouth. I straightened the Z and used two shaft collars lightly pinched together to hold it straight.
I also chamfered(?) the sharp corners (carefully) on the bottom of the feed fingers to also help alleviate the issue.
13/16 Split collar I had to cut for clearance to the press, I put that half of it in my vice, and used a new very thin (.045) cutoff wheel with the vice jaws as a guide to keep it clean and straight.
The arm going to the actuating rod is just a piece if 16ga with a stiffening rib that I used "soft silver" to attach. Iv'e got thicker material but I was being lazy.
It took some thinking to get it put together, which side to put the arm on, added a 1/4" shaft collar as a spacer to get the bullet is in position soon enough, because the 13/16 split collar eats up a bit of ram travel.
All said and done, it works just fine and will alleviate the tedious and dreaded balancing act of bullet placement and dropping them onto a tray of charged cases knocking powder everywhere... Not in a hurry to do that anymore.
Not bad for $40 and some thinkinering.
Last edited:
