Picking out a new press and shell holder

fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
it's still useful... you can use it to beat all the other LEE stuff off your bench.

i do agree their classic cast is a good press, but it costs just as much as the others so it damn well should be a good one.

i will throw out there that it is possible to wear out other brands of presses.
i have an RCBS i had drilled out for a larger bar then threaded to make a swage press out of, it was sloppy loose from so many up and down trips over the years... so kind of a win-win for me... except for the paying for the work, and a die set, and jackets.
 
P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Not an endorsement, just a story.

Many years ago, I picked up a new RCBS Reloader Special-5 press that was heavily discounted. I had some plans to use it as a supplement to other presses. Through a series of events, and household moves, it ended up being used far more than anticipated. That budget priced aluminum O-framed press turned out to be a fantastic press. I eventually sold it off. After thousands upon thousands of cycles, it was as tight as the day I purchased it. I did keep it clean and lubricated but it held up well.

About 4 years ago I purchased an RCBS Rebel and that has proved to be an outstanding press and excellent value. I will endorse that press.
 
CWLONGSHOT

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
I have a 1974/75 Rock chucker. Untold strokes it has had. I have my fathers Spartan. Same deal who knows. Both are as good as when new. I have many presses but one log book. I didnt start it till early 1990's. Started reloading mid 70's but really got rolling in & after Highschool few years later. My log book started @ 100,000 its just over 200,000 now.
CW
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
i just gave the SIL my old herters C-press with all the shell holders i had.
god knows how old it really is, but it was just holding down a shelf.
it weighs about 90 lbs. dry,, but it's still solid with no slop, i've had good luck over the years buying used presses.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Monochrome said:
The problem was something in the breech lock bushing, with the interupted threads on the outside,....
Click to expand...

I got behind on this thread. Thank you for providing that detail.

I'm not sure I completely follow all of it, but will look more closely at mine and I'm sure it will make sense. One difference I noticed is that mine did not come with the little button that locks the steel bushing into the press so you can use 7/8-14 dies in it.

I want to study mine again too, because there were two different "bushings" or "breech0lock" thingies, or whatever they are called. I have some of each and am not sure which one I like better (or less) yet.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Petrol & Powder said:
...After thousands upon thousands of cycles, it was as tight as the day I purchased it. I did keep it clean and lubricated but it held up well...
Click to expand...

This is something I'm pretty particular about. I don't baby my presses, but I do spoil them a bit by keeping the ram wiped down from time to time and adding a drop of oil. Every so many years, I'll tear them apart and do a thorough cleaning, but it doesn't seem to yield much - probably because I keep them pretty clean.

Primer residue, LEE presses, I think everyone gets that point. Not worth buying a new press just so I don't have to wipe it off now and then.
 
M

Monochrome

Active Member
Jeff H said:
I got behind on this thread. Thank you for providing that detail.

I'm not sure I completely follow all of it, but will look more closely at mine and I'm sure it will make sense. One difference I noticed is that mine did not come with the little button that locks the steel bushing into the press so you can use 7/8-14 dies in it.

I want to study mine again too, because there were two different "bushings" or "breech0lock" thingies, or whatever they are called. I have some of each and am not sure which one I like better (or less) yet.
Click to expand...

lee hand press - Search Videos

www.bing.com www.bing.com

This is the NEW version, most likely the version YOU have. At the 5 minute mark, his left thumb is near a flat spot on the top of the handpress, right next to the metal bushing. On MINE there was a small black button that needed to be pressed down in order to allow the breech lock fitting to be removed and installed.

On mine the bushing itself would allow the Hornady die body to lift out of the bushing on the upstroke, and for some reason the bushing would now and then somehow release itself from the catch. I could screw a die in with the lock ring nice and tight, and the breech lock bushing would suddenly release and start turning inside the press itself.
 
M

Monochrome

Active Member
To make it more FUN for me, the challenger press that i have, has the breech lock bushing installed in the interrupted threaded hole. BUT it has the locking button too.
 
B

beagle

Active Member
After about 30 years of using a Lyman Spartan, I retired. Press was getting old and I bought a new Rockchucker. Has done well with no glitches. Found a used Rockchucker for $25 and added for redundancy. While I was at it, I got rid of all the off brand shell holders. One brand, all RCBS. Haven’t regretted it at all. No adapters, no mess. Everything works. No fit problems.
Standardize with good equipment. You’ll be happy. Don’t have to do it all at once. Trade around./beagle
 
CWLONGSHOT

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
Jeff H said:
Not a whole lot of choices in hand-presses though. I like the press, the design and how it works. I'm not crazy about the breech-lock system.

Thanks for the extra info.
Click to expand...
My APP uses breech loc. but not adaptors. Its how unit is built. So I keep it lubed and try not cause extra wear. I know its gonna break. I just trying to extend use as much as I can.
I live the lil press for my sizing bullets. I have worn out two alum bushings with the skip thread. Alum wears fast..

The press main structure is what I call "pot metal". I assume same as Lee has always used. It has broken and worn out for me more then a few times. In this case, WHEN it wears out Ill buy another. Its very quick and I like its abilities. Made of proper materials it was cost double or tripple... But it would last lifetimes.

CW
 
M

Monochrome

Active Member
CWLONGSHOT said:
My APP uses breech loc. but not adaptors. Its how unit is built. So I keep it lubed and try not cause extra wear. I know its gonna break. I just trying to extend use as much as I can.
I live the lil press for my sizing bullets. I have worn out two alum bushings with the skip thread. Alum wears fast..

The press main structure is what I call "pot metal". I assume same as Lee has always used. It has broken and worn out for me more then a few times. In this case, WHEN it wears out Ill buy another. Its very quick and I like its abilities. Made of proper materials it was cost double or tripple... But it would last lifetimes.

CW
Click to expand...
Thats the problem these days... you can use the "proper" alloy and charge like it was built from solid steel. Or build from solid steel and price it like it came from the wreckage of the Bismark... Or do as LEE does and use "not quite the right alloy?
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
I'm not sure what some of LEE's parts are made of, particularly on the newer stuff. Maybe my assessment of their stuff is dated. I got the turret press in the early nineties and an O-shaped one not long after - for $20 on some kind of special. Both have been excellent presses for me. I only use the O-press for large decapping sessions and for bullet sizing, so it really does not get much abuse. I have not had a "large decapping session" in years, so it stays quite clean and sees little stress. I no longer form cases either, deferring to some pretty common and mild cartridges.

My most modern LEE press - the Hand-Press:
The interrupted threads in my hand-press look shallow to me. I'm less enamored every time I look at the pieces-parts. It came with a steel insert, which has a 7/8-14 internal thread, which I am thinking about installing permanently with green Loctite and an Allen screw and buying locking rings for each die - ditching the colorful, expensive bushing setup. The portable kit will be intended to load ONE LOAD each (MAYBE two) for the 357 Mag and the 30/30, and NOT in vast quantities, maybe ten to fifty rounds at a time. Screwing dies in and out will not be a major detractor.

The part about that which irks me a bit is that the new bullet-sizing die holder and the on-press priming setup are both the interrupted thread deal - not 7/8-14, so that blows my portable kit priming idea up and will add weight/bulk on bullet-sizing. I have the older on-press priming system, which is just OK. I was hoping to avoid having a separate hand-primer in this kit. Trying to keep it skinny, but more convenient (and quieter) than the Whack-A-Mole outfit.

The little, plastic die-wrench? Not a fan. A leather shoe-lace and a toothbrush handle make a convenient/dual-use "strap-wrench" which works just fine.

I've got a shotgun I need to sell, and once I do that, I will reinvest in some different parts. If someone IS a fan of the breechlock bushings, I'll probably be looking to trade for locking die rings in their place. The threads on THOSE look great, but the threads in the press are a bit pathetic-looking and I don't trust them.

EDIT: Pic of breech-lock-only on-press priming and bullet-sizing die-holder.

breechlock (Copy).jpg
 
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C

castmiester

Active Member
Lee makes, for the most part, substandard stuff, as far as presses on accociated parts, junk. Hit or miss. AND they do not take care of you. RCBS takes care of you. It doesn’t take much persuadtion to replace parts or get a warranty even on old equipment within reason and if you talk to the right guys it’s a VERY pleasurable experience!! Lyman is second but recently it’s like pulling teeth.
 
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