Lee APP First Impressions
I will get this out of the way up front. I am in no way bashing this press. These are my honest opinions after using it over the past few days. I read the instructions before using and referenced them when setting it up. Used it to deprime and swage about 600 LC cases of varying years. I purchased the primer pocket swaging kit and bulge buster kit along w/ the press.
Overall it feels like what you pay for it. That’s saying it feels inexpensive. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I understand using the right materials for the application and not overbuilding. It’s the abundance of plastic parts(I’m using the term generically) that I’m not a fan of. I foresee them breaking over time. I hope I’m wrong but time will tell.
The stock handle is a complete joke. I don’t know who thought it was a good design. I have smaller hands and the web between my index and middle finger was hitting the press arms. Maybe this doesn’t happen w/ larger hands. But I’m thinking it would put the web even closer to the arms. I honestly can’t believe they point out the grip as being really comfortable in their literature.
I didn’t mind the handle as much until I started swaging and had to put some a pressure on it. That’s when I decided to add a roller handle. Had an Inline ergo handle for the Classic Cast series that I don’t find comfortable. Used a unibit to increase the mounting hole diameter on the APP arms and mounted the roller handle.
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Increasing the hole diameter does leave less metal at the edges. But I don’t plan on using this press for any heavy operations. Bought it solely for case processing. And for this purpose it works okay.
First thing I set it up for was depriming. The riser was easy to install on the case inserter, more on that to come. The tube support was easy to setup. But I found it’s location above the riser was quite important. I had cases that were not dropping into the jaws. Tried adjusting the actuator screw to keep the jaws open more. But this didn’t work because the jaws close when the assembly is at the end of the stoke. Fixed the tube support alignment, it was dropping cases to late, and all was good.
I did have some random weirdness. At times it would not kick a case out of the shell holder. Found that some primers weren’t being pushed completely out which prevented the cases from being pushed out of the shell holder. The next case would hit the case in the shell holder and put pressure on it. Backing off pressure, pushing the case back slightly would allow the primer to drop. Not faulting the press or dies in any way. It was completely random.
I had the riser shoot off across the room on two occasions. No clue what caused that to happen. That happened early on and hasn’t happened since. I’d prefer a more robust assembly but this is a case of hitting a price point.
Everything worked great for depriming. And everything worked well for the most part when it came to swaging the primer pockets. It was quick and easy to setup. Only took a few minutes and Lee’s directions were clear for once. But then I processed a batch of LC12 cases. Stoppage on almost every case.
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As you can see the swage rod is not lining up w/ the case mouth. And not just by a little bit. Everything was working perfectly the prior night and I made no adjustments to the press or dies. I simply started to process a specific batch of brass. If I rotated the shell holder so the exit was pointing towards the back of the press the mouth would line up better. But as soon as a case was inserted the shell holder would rotate back and there would be another stoppage. There’s quite a bit of play between the case and shell holder.
The case inserter does not have consistent drops when it comes to position as well. The pic is of the same case from the first photo. There were other cases that were off more.
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When it works., it works great. But constant misalignment makes it slow. I had every intention of selling my Dillon 600. Not so much now. It could very well be related to those specific cases. But I don’t have any issues w/ the Dillon regardless of cases. I have other batches of segregated cases that I’m going to run though it before I make a final determination.
It was a big let down when I had constant issues. I expect one every now and then. But every cases is excessive. The only other thing I really have to say is the tube feed is worthless. No collator and a single tube w/ no way to fill it off press doesn’t make anything quicker. Single feeding a case each time was faster in all regards. Anytime you have tubes w/out a collator they aren’t saving you any time regardless of press.
Don’t want to end on a bad note. So here’s a video of it swaging cases w/ no issues.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/dragon813gt/309769
Lee APP First Impressions
Went through about 300 cases this morning. Same issues right off the bat. The problem is the shell holder. There is to much play in the floating setup. The case is not centered under the backup rod because of it. I installed the o-ring that they tell you not to use w/ the x-press shell holders. It worked a lot better because the shell holder stayed in place. If a rim is broken or out of round I don’t want to use that case anymore to begin w/.
Before I installed the o-ring there was an easy fix. I just had to push on the shell holder to align the case. I marked it in the pic below. Problem was there was a stoppage that had to be addressed.
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I went through a bag that had mixed year cases and for the most part there was no problems. Same thing for the few bags single year cases. Even reran the problem batch w/ the o-ring installed. Night and day difference.
This happened as well.
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It double fed cases for no apparent reason. It was towards the end of the tube. Since I don’t plan on using the tubes I’m not really concerned about it. At some point I may order up long tubes and drill them for cotter pins so my oldest son can fill them off press. He was trying to keep the tube topped off while I was running the press but wasn’t able to.
The last thing I’m not a fan of is the breech lock bushings. I use many brands of presses so they serve no purpose for me. They add unneeded complexity and a potential failure point IMO. If all you use is Lee presses I see how they are convenient. But like the handle it’s about personal preference. If the press is tapped for standard dies one doesn’t have to worry about losing an adapter. I really prefer the K.I.S.S. principle and the bushings do not follow it.
Lee APP First Impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dverna
Thanks for posting your review.
I have a Dillon 600 and looked at getting the APP for swaging primer pockets as I though it would be a bit faster/easier. I will stay with the Dillon.
When it works it’s a lot faster. It’s the stops that obviously cause the problems. I like the 600 and enjoy flinging the cases for distance into a bin. Once setup it swages the pockets perfectly. But so does the kit for the APP. And setup was quicker and easier w/ the APP.
A 650 is the best option for case processing. One pass and the case processing is complete and ready to to be loaded. But you have to pay quite a bit. I thought about getting a case feeder for my 550 and an aftermarket swager. But the press is not designed to swage cases. And the cost of those parts was more than the APP.
For me the APP is worth it for depriming alone. But only for bulk processing. Normally I deprime on press at time of loading. So once initially processed I wouldn’t be using the APP anymore. But I can say the same thing for the 600. So I’m not unhappy w/ my purchase.
I have a large batch of RP cases that are sorted. Along w/ a couple thousand more unsorted LC cases. I’m not giving up yet. And I still haven’t tried 7.62 cases. There are thousands of them to process as well. If it works well for bulge busting and body sizing 357 Sig cases it’s just icing on the cake. Already have a Star so it will never be used for bullet sizing.