All the Complaining That Goes On About Lee Precision

[1bluehorse]

When you get one so it will load 100 rounds in under 4 minutes, you do feel like you accomplished quote a goal, though.

I've seen the pic's of the one you "worked over". Amazing stuff you did there. I have two of them myself and am pretty pleased with their performance...now...

[omgb]

Indeed one does. Honestly, none of the progressives are free fro burps and frustratingbobbles

[jmorris]

No, at some point everything will give you trouble. Although some presses are closer to a sleeping baby than a teenager testing his luck.

[mdi]

Tired of being insulted by the reloading "left"...

Now that's an insult! Perhaps you're tired of hearing replies to tool snobs, probably as much as I'm tired of those who are "superior craftsmen/reloaders" ranting and won't accept anything but the absolute best; $$$$ (by their definition). I am a lifelong machinist/mechanic and I've seen tool snobs at their best ($7,000.00 tool boxes, $125.00 1/2" wrench, purchasing tools by name only and superior attitude; "I won't dirty my hands on any cheap Craftsman tool" [or insert MAC, Proto, etc.]). There are many, many reloading tool snobs that post Lee bashing on forums, and either they rant about one out of a million bad tools (some they only heard about and not experienced) or they failed to use the Lee tool as intended. Lee is like any modern manufacturer, they will on occasion ship a "bad" tool, as will RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, and yes even Sinclair, but the Lee haters condemn every tool produced by that company as "cheap, worthless, and a total waste of money and time and go out of their way to tell the world their opinion. Many, many of the anti-Lee rants are very easily explained (like read the instructions, which I personally experienced with a new Lee priming tool) which I think only ticks off the tool snob...

If you find a "bad" Lee tool but don't post a rant about it, you are probably not a Lee hater, just a reloader that found a defective tool, but if you do rant about the entire tool line and how you are insulted by having one in your possession, you are probably a Lee Hater...

[OS OK]

I never saw a dead horse get beaten longer or harder than the old horse named Lee...

[PS Paul]

I have many colors on my bench, but red gets used more than most of the others....

[psweigle]

Heck, I still use the old lee loaders. Great for passing the time at camp. Got a lee Classic turret press, collet dies in all the rifle calibers I load, factory crimp dies, the lee breechlock challenger press, the auto-prime II, all 3 sets of the dippers(red black and yellow), plus numerous sets of dies. All my molds and sizers are lee.
I also have rcbs dies, a jr3 press, scale, uniflow powder measure, and assortment of tools that I wouldn't have it they weren't given to me. I love the scale and uniflow. The dies are as good as my lee dies, and the press is perfect for the auto-prime II. I have had to replace pieces and parts on both brands and have had no issues with either companies customer service.

[salpal48]

I really have No opinion. I do use Lee Dies. .
Many younger Loader Grew up on Lee equipment. That all They Know or want to know. I grew up. on Lyman, Herters Lachmiller Easton and Other. That's all I want to Know

[mdi]

I never saw a dead horse get beaten longer or harder than the old horse named Lee...

Lee is getting a lot of free advertising...

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yes this horse has been beaten to death. I just ordered a Lee mould for .40 S&W boolits. Bet it will work just fine. I also use lots of Lee dies, in fact if it is a caliber new to me and it is available form Lee that's where I go. If they don't make it then I go to Ebay.

I grew up with tool snobs, but I haven't been a fan of Snap On since the 60's. Just picked up a box with Snap On Wrenches in it at Costco the other night. Made in China. Put it right back down.

I refuse to pay Snap On Prices for stuff I can buy at HF for 1/10th the cost.

As far as Sinclair, the purveyor of the finest Reloading Tools made, They rejected my BPM Hand Press with the disclaimer that "it didn't fit into their Product Line."

Instead they are taking on the "Lee Line of Tools" so that they can compete directly with 50 other outfits who already sell the stuff.

Makes a lot of sense huh?

However on one hand you could say since they are renown for only selling the best,,, then Lee somehow qualifies,,, and thus Lee Haters Suck Wang. On the other hand the fact that they didn't want my tool means they suck wang!

If you are only buying tools based on Brand Name you are simply wasting money.

If you are buying them as an investment you should realize that there is very little resale value in Reloading tools, just look on Ebay. A typical set of New Redding Dies from Sinclair is $180+, used ones on Ebay run around $30-50.

Randy

[kmw1954]

Wow, I just spent almost 3 hrs reading this whole thread. Very interesting comments.

[kenyerian]

Yes this horse has been beaten to death. I just ordered a Lee mould for .40 S&W boolits. Bet it will work just fine. I also use lots of Lee dies, in fact if it is a caliber new to me and it is available form Lee that's where I go. If they don't make it then I go to Ebay.

I grew up with tool snobs, but I haven't been a fan of Snap On since the 60's. Just picked up a box with Snap On Wrenches in it at Costco the other night. Made in China. Put it right back down.

I refuse to pay Snap On Prices for stuff I can buy at HF for 1/10th the cost.

As far as Sinclair, the purveyor of the finest Reloading Tools made, They rejected my BPM Hand Press with the disclaimer that "it didn't fit into their Product Line."

Instead they are taking on the "Lee Line of Tools" so that they can compete directly with 50 other outfits who already sell the stuff.

Makes a lot of sense huh?

However on one hand you could say since they are renown for only selling the best,,, then Lee somehow qualifies,,, and thus Lee Haters Suck Wang. On the other hand the fact that they didn't want my tool means they suck wang!

If you are only buying tools based on Brand Name you are simply wasting money.

If you are buying them as an investment you should realize that there is very little resale value in Reloading tools, just look on Ebay. A typical set of New Redding Dies from Sinclair is $180+, used ones on Ebay run around $30-50.

Randy

It looks like Lee holds it's value as well if not better than most of the used reloading equipment. Especially the Classic Turret. Most of the time it is less expensive to buy new.

[kmw1954]

Well let's see, sent a Auto Drum measure back to them on Monday, received email from them this morning, received another email from them this afternoon that a replacement has been shipped with tracking number. Guess their SC/Product support really does suck!

[cainttype]

"You get what you pay for."... In the highly competitive market of reloading equipment, that old saying is generally very accurate.
Any company out-pricing the value of it's products (including customer service) is a company that will NOT survive very long, or develop a high demand for any limited production runs.
I've used products from many manufacturers of reloading equipment for 40+ years, including LEE, products from most current makers and many long gone... NONE have had as many issues as LEE products in either design or poor qualty control.

That said, LEE does offer an inexpensive alternative to help someone get into reloading. And "YES", some of their products work well... well enough that even seasoned reloaders find enough value in them to keep them on hand.
The ONLY reason higher priced equipment manufacturers survive is because many experienced reloaders are willing to pay 3 and 4 times (at least) the intial cost for bullet molds, presses, etc. because they value the higher quality of those products that much... It isn't rocket science.

[kmw1954]

"You get what you pay for."... ... It isn't rocket science.

And I have purchased some very high end electronics, auto parts and non gun related parts from high end companies tat have been junk. Some high end electronics that have even arrived DOA.
Seems I also remember in my life time a number of Rockets exploding upon launch. So you don't always get what you pay for!

[mold maker]

I will accept the responsibility of rescuing you from the dreaded LEE scourge. Just send all those wasted purchases to me for quiet disposal. I promise not to publicly embarrass you by telling the world you got suckered.

[Maven]

I will accept the responsibility of rescuing you from the dreaded LEE scourge. Just send all those wasted purchases to me for quiet disposal. I promise not to publicly embarrass you by telling the world you got suckered.

Great reply and sense of irony, mm!

[cainttype]

I will accept the responsibility of rescuing you from the dreaded LEE scourge. Just send all those wasted purchases to me for quiet disposal. I promise not to publicly embarrass you by telling the world you got suckered.

I've used various LEE offerings for over 40 years. Some products work fine, some are pretty unique and offer a nice option, and some are JUNK. No reputable reloading equipment maker has worse quaity control, allowing so many defective units out.

I use some LEE products with total satisfaction, but usually it's because I don't expect them to deliver an item comparable to another vender's offering that cost a lot more.
My last LEE mould purchase was 2 different 8MM in their "New" styles, since I'd long ago stopped using their old designs. One mould was useable, but the other was so misaligned as to be totally useless... Quite frankly, a 50% **** ratio is pitiful.

Luckily I had purchased them from Mid-South, and they have always been very helpful.
When asked about returning or refunding, I explained that I had ordered the mould hoping for a good one and would have preferred the mould but I didn't want to chance another reject.
The good people at Mid-South offered to inspect the replacement before shipping, so I agreed. A week later a "good" mould arrived, and gave me the chance to try a different design... So all turned out OK.

If LEE's products were "as good" as their higher priced competitors, LEE would have put everyone else out of business decades ago with their low cost... The truth is they are cheap. That's it... That's the "secret" to LEE's on-going existence.
It isn't rocket science.

[No Blue]

Sinclair's is going to sell Lee? One of their paper catalogs appeared in my mailbox a couple of years ago, only Lee was the original hand primer, the special shell holders it uses, and the universal depriming die.

Leafing thru that catalog I can see why a lot of you peeps would be leery of Lee; all the rest of the goods were at least triple what Lee charges, and some four or five times more. And yet they do the same function.

I never had lots of money to waste, so I managed to figure out the best value when I did pull the wallet out. Most of the time.

It takes some research and knowledge about what it costs to make various items; so if I see something that has $1 of material, 5 minutes of machine time, if that, to make it, and they want $50+ for it; I know I'm getting stroked.

There used to be a relationship between cost of production and retail cost, but that seems to have disappeared over the last 20 years and it's crazy pricing and see which fools that believe 'you get what you pay for' will bite....if you understand cost of production, you'll know when it's a 'too good to be true' of a deal.

Or when you're getting stroked...

[M-Tecs]

Through the years I have tried numerous Lee products. Some I have been very happy with initially but after extensive use they just didn't hold up as well as RCBS, Dillon or Redding products. Some of the Lee product got returned or sold after the first use. I have a fair number of Lee six cavity molds. For the most part they work well but they will not last as long as a mold made from 2024 AL.

I want to like the Lee Collet neck dies but after 4K or 5K in start having issues with them.

Other than cheap limited use molds or power dippers I don't foresee purchasing anymore Lee products.