LEE APP Press Experience ?
- Thread starter Cherokee
- Start date
Tomme boy
Well-Known Member
The guy I was going to get my bullet feeder from stopped taking orders for right now. He is having a hard time getting the right motors for the drive. Sizing bullets is what this thing does an excellent job of. Swaging primer pockets on 9mm is FAST. 223 is way faster than the RCBS way. You just have to run it through to deprime and it puts a very small expansion flair on the mouth. Then you run it through again with the swager. It is pretty fast actually. But you have to have a pace that is consistent.
Cherokee
Medina, Ohio
Bringing this back for update. Got the APP yesterday and set it up for sizing 9mm cases. My first impression was "I wonder how long those flimsy plastic parts will last". Not difficult to put together following instructions. Bolted solidly to bench. One caution, the on-line template for drilling holes was off scale – worthless. Another item, when installing the “Actuator slider spring”, its not easy to get in the eyelet, and the open end must be toward the floor after installation; the other end is hooked onto the plastic (flimsy looking) hook on the slide. Interesting feature is the spring serves two purposes: first to draw the slider to the right toward the die, then to push the slider back into position to pick up another case.
Installed my Lyman 9mm sizing die, sprayed Hornady "One Shot" (I always use it) on the cases and sized a few. Fiddled a little to get the proper alignment of feed tube and slide, then sized 100 cases. Had a few bobbles: Occasionally the “fingers” will miss a case and push it off the side, and occasionally a case will drop on its side, both of which require manual intervention to clear and resume processing. Sized another 150 cases and encountered a few of the same bobbles, guess that's going to be the norm. The real pain is filling the wobbly tube ever 21 9mm cases, a case feeder would definitely be a speed asset. I like the primer catch bottle.
Being mounted solidly to the bench, there was less flex than I saw in the videos using the mounting plate. Overall, I’m not sure I saved any time but operating the Lee is less fatiguing than sizing on the RCBS Jr press because of the shorter throw of the operating handle. Also, with lee I only handle the cases once, to fill the tube, rather than twice on the RCBS. OTOH, the RCBS remains on the bench and the Lee will be an on/off tool. Here are a few pictures:
Installed my Lyman 9mm sizing die, sprayed Hornady "One Shot" (I always use it) on the cases and sized a few. Fiddled a little to get the proper alignment of feed tube and slide, then sized 100 cases. Had a few bobbles: Occasionally the “fingers” will miss a case and push it off the side, and occasionally a case will drop on its side, both of which require manual intervention to clear and resume processing. Sized another 150 cases and encountered a few of the same bobbles, guess that's going to be the norm. The real pain is filling the wobbly tube ever 21 9mm cases, a case feeder would definitely be a speed asset. I like the primer catch bottle.
Being mounted solidly to the bench, there was less flex than I saw in the videos using the mounting plate. Overall, I’m not sure I saved any time but operating the Lee is less fatiguing than sizing on the RCBS Jr press because of the shorter throw of the operating handle. Also, with lee I only handle the cases once, to fill the tube, rather than twice on the RCBS. OTOH, the RCBS remains on the bench and the Lee will be an on/off tool. Here are a few pictures:
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Ian
Notorious member
Bless all those who update threads with new info.
I can't figure out why Lee didn't make this compatible with their 4-tube case feeder and collator that fit the origressive presses. The case collator and feeder system is one of the best-working plastic gizmos Lee ever engineered and produced and is especially effective for autopistol cartridges. Dump and fill the tubes with 100 .45 ACP in just a few seconds and rarely have one go in backwards.
I can't figure out why Lee didn't make this compatible with their 4-tube case feeder and collator that fit the origressive presses. The case collator and feeder system is one of the best-working plastic gizmos Lee ever engineered and produced and is especially effective for autopistol cartridges. Dump and fill the tubes with 100 .45 ACP in just a few seconds and rarely have one go in backwards.
Tomme boy
Well-Known Member
@Ian it does work with the case feeder it is in the instructions on how to set it up. Lots of these guys just don't have one so they do not know it works. Like I said in my post two up from this one it works. And it works well. I even had the bullet feed tube set up on mine but had to fill each tube by hand to fill them. I used a nail on the bottom of each tube so the bullets did not fall out so I could insert each in the adapter then pull the nail to drop them down. It work well also.
Ian
Notorious member
Ok, I wondered. I'm not sure how the 4-tube case collator would work with bullets if you wanted to push them all through the sizer the same direction, but it is bound to help. The case collator and tube system is a lot less flimsy if you put a couple wraps of tape around the middle to bundle the tubes together.
Tomme boy
Well-Known Member
I use the tubes out of the bullet feeder adapter. It is a little different than the case feeder adapter. I use the tubes for the 9mm size bullets and I wrapped the ends that insert into the adapter with black tape then took a small piece of tube off the 45 cal size tube and slid it over the tape so it is snug in the adapter holes.
While it worked, I will have my bullet feeder delivered on Tuesday. This way I will use the regular Lee feed tubes that come with the APP. I can't beleive Lee has not marketed one yet. They are the plastic king of parts. It would be right up their alley. Especially the MBF bullet die. Guys are knocking them off with their printers. And they usually cost $25 compared to $50 for the MBF ones.
While it worked, I will have my bullet feeder delivered on Tuesday. This way I will use the regular Lee feed tubes that come with the APP. I can't beleive Lee has not marketed one yet. They are the plastic king of parts. It would be right up their alley. Especially the MBF bullet die. Guys are knocking them off with their printers. And they usually cost $25 compared to $50 for the MBF ones.
Chris Stephenson
Member
OK, so I've finally gotten my APP all together now. Turned out I first purchased a kit with only the press and bottle. So I needed the "automation kit", which Lee does not sell any longer (they don't sell the stripped down APP kit anymore either). To get the automation kit, I had to buy all the bits and pieces separately, but what the heck, I got the brass collator and four tube feeder as well.
All said and done, it works a charm, I was able to de-prime, size and flair over 1000 pieces of 9mm this afternoon in a couple hours. I wish bullet sizing worked as well, your stuck feeding the single tube manually. I'm confident that in time, someone will come up with an easy way to overcome that shortcoming.
And, oh yeah, the use of Lee's original push thru bullet sizers is no issue at all.
All in all, well done LEE.
Chris
All said and done, it works a charm, I was able to de-prime, size and flair over 1000 pieces of 9mm this afternoon in a couple hours. I wish bullet sizing worked as well, your stuck feeding the single tube manually. I'm confident that in time, someone will come up with an easy way to overcome that shortcoming.
And, oh yeah, the use of Lee's original push thru bullet sizers is no issue at all.
All in all, well done LEE.
Chris
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CWLONGSHOT
Well-Known Member
Even with my receipt LEE failures Im re thinking this press...
CW
CW
Chris Stephenson
Member
I think if you don't get any over-zealous ideas for it, you will be happy. My intent for the thing was to use it to size bullets and run pistol brass after casting and returning from the range. And, oh yeah, keep those pesky, friggin' spent primers off my garage floor. For these uses, it will shine. Now, if you want to use it to run start to finish bottleneck case reloading, it may be a little cumbersome. Use whatever you already have for that...
Chris
Chris
Cherokee
Medina, Ohio
Update:
I have been working with the Lee APP for several months now. Overall, I like the concept and the design seems good. The problems I have experienced are due to use of cheap plastic parts and accompanying generous tolerances that comprise the cartridge case feed operating mechanism.
The press is compact and the mechanical design of the metal parts seem to work fine. It has sufficient leverage for the 9mm I have been processing.
The plastic feed tube is flimsy and does not fit the receptacle well, so it flops around and makes it hard to fill. A piece of tape helped. A taller receptacle for insertion of the case tube would add rigidity. A funnel top would be an asset to filling the tube.
The sliding plastic parts that captures the case from the feed tube and moves it to the shell holder flops around enough that there are frequent misalignments and a case will not drop from the tube, or a case will drop and be pushed ahead of the “fingers” that should be holding it.
Misalignments also cause cases to be tipped when picked up…not good. You haven’t lived until a case goes flying across the reloading room because the mechanism hung up, then overcame the hesitation and the spring flings it forward to throw the case to the wall.
The two pieces that form the sliding mechanism do not want to stay together, being only held in place with small tabs, thereby causing misalignments again. The “fingers” that capture the case seem to work fine when everything lines up.
The pass-through shell holder is a good idea and works, when it stays in place and does not rotate while in use. A case head hitting the edge of the shell holder will cause it to rotate, and after a few “hits”, the shell holder will rotate enough to cause a jamb. It needs a detent to keep it from moving. A divot in the shell holder base and a spring/ball in the die would do the trick.
I like the primer collection setup, works great, the only thing that has not had a problem in the 2000+ 9mm cases I have processed.
Just a few observations. This press will not be replacing my old faithful RCBS and CH presses.
I have been working with the Lee APP for several months now. Overall, I like the concept and the design seems good. The problems I have experienced are due to use of cheap plastic parts and accompanying generous tolerances that comprise the cartridge case feed operating mechanism.
The press is compact and the mechanical design of the metal parts seem to work fine. It has sufficient leverage for the 9mm I have been processing.
The plastic feed tube is flimsy and does not fit the receptacle well, so it flops around and makes it hard to fill. A piece of tape helped. A taller receptacle for insertion of the case tube would add rigidity. A funnel top would be an asset to filling the tube.
The sliding plastic parts that captures the case from the feed tube and moves it to the shell holder flops around enough that there are frequent misalignments and a case will not drop from the tube, or a case will drop and be pushed ahead of the “fingers” that should be holding it.
Misalignments also cause cases to be tipped when picked up…not good. You haven’t lived until a case goes flying across the reloading room because the mechanism hung up, then overcame the hesitation and the spring flings it forward to throw the case to the wall.
The two pieces that form the sliding mechanism do not want to stay together, being only held in place with small tabs, thereby causing misalignments again. The “fingers” that capture the case seem to work fine when everything lines up.
The pass-through shell holder is a good idea and works, when it stays in place and does not rotate while in use. A case head hitting the edge of the shell holder will cause it to rotate, and after a few “hits”, the shell holder will rotate enough to cause a jamb. It needs a detent to keep it from moving. A divot in the shell holder base and a spring/ball in the die would do the trick.
I like the primer collection setup, works great, the only thing that has not had a problem in the 2000+ 9mm cases I have processed.
Just a few observations. This press will not be replacing my old faithful RCBS and CH presses.
