My New Lee Classic 4 Hole Turret Press
I've been using my old model Lee 4 hole turret press for the past 20 years or so and I decided to retire it and get the newer classic 4 hole turret press this week. I wished I hadn't put off buying the newer model so long because it is an improvement.
One good thing about it is it's easier on the old arm to resize larger casings with it than it is on the shorter stroke of the old turret press.
Another good feature is the way the spent primers fall through the ram and into a plastic tube attached at the bottom of the ram instead of being scattered all over the floor or down into the press like the old press.
I only bought the press and the newer model pro auto disk powder measure since I had all the other stuff they sell in the kit.
The pro auto disk powder measure is also more accurate than the old model auto disk. I loaded 150 rounds last night and checked the weight on the first 50 on my electronic scales which measure grains in the hundredths before I was comfortable with it and it was never off more than .06 of a grain.
One thing I found in the past to make primer feeding easier on both the old and new model is to put a small washer underneath the bracket that holds the safety primer arm in place. It increases the height of the feeder just high enough to avoid hanging onto the primer arm when the ram is all the way up.
One good thing about it is it's easier on the old arm to resize larger casings with it than it is on the shorter stroke of the old turret press.
Another good feature is the way the spent primers fall through the ram and into a plastic tube attached at the bottom of the ram instead of being scattered all over the floor or down into the press like the old press.
I only bought the press and the newer model pro auto disk powder measure since I had all the other stuff they sell in the kit.
The pro auto disk powder measure is also more accurate than the old model auto disk. I loaded 150 rounds last night and checked the weight on the first 50 on my electronic scales which measure grains in the hundredths before I was comfortable with it and it was never off more than .06 of a grain.
One thing I found in the past to make primer feeding easier on both the old and new model is to put a small washer underneath the bracket that holds the safety primer arm in place. It increases the height of the feeder just high enough to avoid hanging onto the primer arm when the ram is all the way up.
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Now, THAT'S a bench light! Where do you hang the welding helmet when you're not reloading?
Lee makes a great handheld primer tool, a fairly large capacity manual powder measure with infinitely adjustable throw volume, carbide insert dies & some unique case prep stuff.
But when you have to stick a washer outta the leftovers can into a pricey, well marketed reloading press; ya coulda had a Dillon.0 -
quote:Originally posted by gunnut505
Now, THAT'S a bench light! Where do you hang the welding helmet when you're not reloading?
Lee makes a great handheld primer tool, a fairly large capacity manual powder measure with infinitely adjustable throw volume, carbide insert dies & some unique case prep stuff.
But when you have to stick a washer outta the leftovers can into a pricey, well marketed reloading press; ya coulda had a Dillon.
Pricey? I only paid $100.44 with free shipping for the press. Not what I would call pricey.
I reload and one of the benefits is saving money. Blowing money on expensive presses is not saving money. The Lee classic turret press is built like a tank for a lot less money.
Another benefit using a Lee turret press is that I can change out a turret plate and install another one with dies on it already adjusted without using a single tool and be reloading another caliber in just seconds. You can't do that with any other press that I know of. I don't shoot thousands of rounds of one caliber but I do shoot a lot of different calibers and the Lee saves a bunch of time changing calibers. A lot of people will buy multiple progressive presses in order to not change out the dies. You don't have to do that with a Lee turret you just buy $12.00 extra turret plates instead.
The classic does great with decapping and priming. I don't like doing extra steps such as depriming and priming with a handheld tool. I do it all on the press from start to finish with straight wall pistol rounds. I do have to deprime rifle casings and resize them in order to check the length to see if they need to be trimmed but I do that on the press also.
The only reason I replaced my old turret press is because I like the upgraded features of the classic turret. My old one still works just fine.
About the light. I have over head shop lights too but they just don't get it. There's always shadows with just those lights on. The fluorescent lights on my bench are actually easy on the eyes.0 -
Wow. You need to get out more.
Dillon die holders swap out by removing 2 easy-to-handle pins on top of the "tool head", which ALSO holds pre-adjusted dies (without tools).
As far as "others" buying additional progressive presses to keep from having to futz with dies; gotta throw that flag, Smitty!
It would be prohibitively expensive (even with a smart reloder press) to buy "extra presses" for each caliber.
Maybe if you actually looked at a Dillon, you might find that they're so much easier to work with than Rick Lee's attempt.
Really, have someone show you how to use the interwebs, & visit the Dillon Precision website. Write down the number & call and talk with absolutely anyone there; they build 'em, and can answer ANY gotcha questions you can come up with.
If you're not a Dillon owner after that; you need professional help.0 -
quote:Originally posted by gunnut505
Wow. You need to get out more.
Dillon die holders swap out by removing 2 easy-to-handle pins on top of the "tool head", which ALSO holds pre-adjusted dies (without tools).
As far as "others" buying additional progressive presses to keep from having to futz with dies; gotta throw that flag, Smitty!
It would be prohibitively expensive (even with a smart reloder press) to buy "extra presses" for each caliber.
Maybe if you actually looked at a Dillon, you might find that they're so much easier to work with than Rick Lee's attempt.
Really, have someone show you how to use the interwebs, & visit the Dillon Precision website. Write down the number & call and talk with absolutely anyone there; they build 'em, and can answer ANY gotcha questions you can come up with.
If you're not a Dillon owner after that; you need professional help.
BS!
If it was that easy to set up a Dillon then why do people set them up like this??0 -
Boy, for a guy who thinks that blowing a hundred dollars is extravagant for a reloading press; you sure schooled me on how cheap it would be to put $3,000 worth of Dillon gear on a shed-sized bench!
Kinda begs the question of why they use Dillons instead of your brand, don't it?0 -
quote:Originally posted by gunnut505
Kinda begs the question of why they use Dillons instead of your brand, don't it?
Not really, if they were using my brand they wouldn't need but one of them.0
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