Lee Classic Turret questions

[he11zna]

After months of having my press, I finally found primers and was able to actually use it!

I loaded up 8 "dummy" rounds and 10 live rounds tonight.
I'm still nervous, and want to see how they function before loaded a high quantity.



The components are:

•Rainer "lead safe" 230gr plated bullets
•4.8 grains of Win 231
•Winchester large pistol primer
•Speer brass

I checked OAL and it averages right around 1.26".
I also "threw" about 20-30 charges and was checking the weight with a Frankford Arsenal digital scale that I have.
It seemed to vary between 4.7 and 4.9 grains.



My questions mostly revolve around the Lee Safety Prime System.

First, I had a hard time getting the primers from the dispenser to the LPS primer arm. I tried adjusting it both left and right, but it still required two hands to coax the primer into the primer arm.

Once I got the primer onto the LPS primer arm and was on the downstroke to seat the primer, the LPS primer arm would get stuck (with a primer) on the shell plate holder and would require two hands to free it, which then allowed it to go through the shell plate to prime the case.

Then, the primers on a few cases do not seem flush or below flush as the Lee manual explains. I'm not sure how to seat them deeper and was wondering if they will pose safety issues.
They appear to be fully seated, but you can feel them when you run your finger on the rear of the case.

After breaking everything down, which unfortunately I have to do due to apartment living, I emptied the powder dispenser but there seems to be a lot of static buildup, as the powder is stuck to the sides.

This isn't a big deal for me right now because I'll be using Win 231 for both .45acp and 9mm, but what does one do to remove all of the powder to prevent cross contamination?

Any help/advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

[brian]

i'm not a fan of priming on the press.
so i use the auto prime, one of the hand held primers. 100 pieces can be primed in a very short time. then all you do is feed the press the prepped cases.
i assume you're using the auto disk powder dispenser?
+/- 0.1 grn of powder in a pistol is not going to be hardly noticeable.
min/max oal, as long as you're somewhere in between both of them for now you'll be ok. you can play with that later to better work with the gun and improve accuracy.

[Grumpa72]

I use the Lee Safety Prime system and I had similar issues with feeding primers from the tray to the arm. Once in the arm, the small hood that is spring loaded would jam. I disassembled everything and gently polised the plastic pieces with 2000 grit wet/dry sand paper. This is the kind that is used for the final touch after painting cars. Almost feels like non-sandpaper.

As far as the tip of the Lee SPS sticking, use extreme caution when removing it. There is a pin that is machine-pressed into a hole and it can shear off. I did shear mine when it stuck like yours does. I would suggest taking everything apart, cleaning thoroughly and VERY lightly oiling those pieces that don't touch primers or powder. For instance, the outside of the cup that holds the primer should get the smallest amount of oil. Then, wipe if off gently leaving a fine film. Do not get any oil on the actual arm (I think that this is called the primer guide, large or small) that the holds the cup. I wound up having to gently sand this with my 2000 grip paper to allow it to work smoothly. Once I did that I didn't have any more hang ups like you described.

[IronButt]

I think most reloaders use the press, but I've always used a hand primer because I don't know any better. I think it gives me a better "feel" when seating the primer & it gives me something productive to do while watching TV.

[Grumpa72]

Originally Posted by he11zna

I loaded up 8 "dummy" rounds and 10 live rounds tonight.
I'm still nervous, and want to see how they function before loaded a high quantity...

Any help/advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

I forgot to add that I reload dummy rounds too. However, to ABSOLUTELY ensure that I don't pick up a live one instead of a dummy, I reload my dummies either in aluminum or steel range brass. I have already popped the primer and then I paint the bullet nose red using my wife's nail polish. I put a ring of red around the primer hole as well as the extraction groove (or whatever you call the base of the brass). I made up six each in 9mm, .40 and .45 acp. That way I can practice my dry firing and trigger control and my wife can practice loading the magazine. Fwiw, I also glue a piece of pencil eraser into the primer hole so that the firing pin gets to strike something other than slamming home. I guess I just described how to cheaply make my own Snap Caps?

[he11zna]

Thanks for the helpful info Grumpa72.
I'm going to try and polish everything up and add the slightest bit of lube and see if that works.

I'm already invested in the Lee Auto Prime system and want to prime on the press since I'm set up with the turret. I want to not have to "batch" reload, and I know there has to be more people out there successfully using the Lee Auto Prime.

As far as the dummy rounds, I did paint them red so there would be no mixup.
The pencil eraser idea sounds awesome and I'll give that a try as well.

[Yoder]

Originally Posted by he11zna

Thanks for the helpful info Grumpa72.
I'm going to try and polish everything up and add the slightest bit of lube and see if that works.

I'm already invested in the Lee Auto Prime system and want to prime on the press since I'm set up with the turret. I want to not have to "batch" reload, and I know there has to be more people out there successfully using the Lee Auto Prime.

As far as the dummy rounds, I did paint them red so there would be no mixup.
The pencil eraser idea sounds awesome and I'll give that a try as well.

I have a Lee turret press and use the auto prime on the press. I've loaded around 4k rds using it with minimal problems. The only time I've had trouble with primers feeding is when the arm is not snapped together correctly coming off the tray. Make sure it's together properly or the primers won't drop down.

The biggest problem I had was not seating my primers all the way. They should be slightly recessed. You really need to use a lot of force when seating the primers. I was nervous about having one explode at first but now I seat the hell out of them. If your primers are not fully seated you will have a bunch of misfires, especially with harder primers. One thing that may help is appying a little oil to the spring loaded cup that holds the primer. Make sure it's clean and slightly lubed. I always oil all moving parts on my press before I start reloading.

The only other issue I had with my press was the dies not being perfectly aligned. I spent hrs trying to get it perfect but one stage would always be slightly off, especially with 9mm. Now I just know at certain steps I need just barely guide the shell in with my finger. I've gotten so used to it now I don't even notice. Lee makes a good press for the money, I'm really happy with mine so far.

[brian]

Originally Posted by Yoder

Lee makes a good press for the money, I'm really happy with mine so far.

that is true. been very happy with mine....besides, i like the color.....

[he11zna]

As far as the prime arm not being able to seat, I took it off and went over it slightly with a file to smooth the edges.
Works like a charm now!

I haven't taken apart the Safety Prime Arm yet, but I probably will later tonight.

I'm going to try to hit the range in a bit to try out the rounds that I loaded.

[mjporreca]

I have the same press, and I agree it can take a bit of force to get the primers seated. I haven't ever had one go off.

If they are not seated fully you will get missfires. Most of the time you will only see a slight depression on the primer. This means the firing pin probably pushed the primer in a bit more. A second attempt will probably fire the round. Still on every misfire, unload the gun, make sure the round didn't fire, and confirm it wasn't a squib (light or no powder load).

You really don't want a round stuck in the barrel and have another one go off. It's worth the time and effort to check.

You get the "feel" of seating primers pretty quick.

Mike