Dang

[flyingmonkey35]

Stuck 30-30 case.

Yes I lubed it up poor press.

I'll give Lee a call

[country gent]

Ouch, That hurt. it didnt feel hard or stiff going in? Getting the die out isnt a issue turn shell holder with pliers so thet rim cuttout and ram cut out are same direction,/ Raise the decapping rod if possible and tap lightly pry free and unscrew the die. The base of the press is a diffrent story there though.

[Hannibal]

I tried Cabela's brand case lube. I'll be nice and simply say I was 'under-whelmed'. If that's your first bottle, you might want to make it your last. YMMV.

[MT Chambers]

Lee dies, Lee press, recipe for disaster.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Some thoughts:

1. Get a stuck case remover, brand doesn't matter or make your own even.
2. Replace the case aluminum basic Lee press you have with the Lee Classic Cast Single Stage. Excellent press priced right.
3. Use Imperial sizing wax for single stage resizing.

[Motor]

A very informative post OP thanks. Now I know that there is a limit to what this press can handle.

I have one. I got it free for buying their reloading manual or maybe I got the manual for buying press for free I can't remember.

I use mine for sizing cast bullets and other light duty stuff. For this purpose its great.

I did try it once for sizing but stopped after one or two cases. After using a Rockchucker for nearly 30 years it was just tooooo weird feeling. No feed back and well just weird.

There is nothing wrong with Lee dies and I've never seen anything bad about their classic cast press either.

Motor

[fouronesix]

What happened is pretty obvious. A sturdy press will cost more but it won't do that! So where's the bargain?

Get something like a Rockchucker and don't look back. Also, there are a pazillion case lubes, case lube marketers and case lube advisors out there. Both RCBS and Imperial case lubes work well as do other similar lubes. Then learn when a case is being sized too much (it can be felt during the sizing stroke) and learn when to back off and start incrementally sizing a small amount at a time.

In any case (no pun intended) once in a while a case will get stuck. A good press will simply pull the rim off. At that time re-assess your lube prep and the amount of sizing done with one stroke. Then of course the case will have to be removed from the die…. without damaging the die.

1st try-- only if the decapping pin and neck expander are not stuck in the case! It's one of the reasons I remove the decapper/neck expander from many of my dies and do those jobs separately--. Take the die out of the press, heat a little with a torch, apply Kroil to both ends of the case, put in freezer 'til cold, put die in good vise (using suitable jaw pads of course), insert the largest brass punch that will fit into the case, hit hard a few times with a heavy mallet.

If that can't be done because the decapper is in the case or if it doesn't work, get a stuck case extractor, read the instructions carefully and hopefully that should do it.

[Lead Fred]

My 1952 Lyman, 1971 and 1973 RCBS presses are all made of solid cast iron. They aint never breaking.

Id like to say get a Rock Chucker, but they break too. If I was in it for the long haul, Id find a RCBS press from the 60s-80s. Either a Rock Chucker or a JR. Before the Chinese were making them.
Ive never seen a Lee or Dillion press Id own.

[shoot-n-lead]

Ive never seen a Dillion press Id own.

That certainly is not something to brag about...denotes poor judgement.

[Janoosh]

Best cheap advice, put die with case in freezer (brass and steel have different expansion rates), loosen expander nut prior, mount cold die in press, smack expander with hammer. This works with Lee dies.

[EDG]

That little press is now a hand decapping tool.

Those presses were among the first designed by Lee and I am sure he did not have a clue what he was doing when it comes to stress and fatigue analysis or life time testing. Had he set one of those up at the sizing pressure for a machine gun fired .30-06 case sized in a small base die and cycled it 10,000 times he probably would have broken a press or 10 in testing and would have beefed up the design.
I have one of those presses that I inherited from a friend. I think it would work ok for sizing .357 Mag and smaller rounds.

Lee seemed to have learned his lessons with cheap frames and linkage when he designed the Classic Cast press.

[jmort]

I see the Hornady Unique lube in the background. Far better choice.

[rbuck351]

Don't forget to lube all the moving parts on the press as well. A dry ram will increase handle resistance a bunch.

[lightman]

Wow! Thats going to give the Lee haters something to talk about. Sorry your press broke. I don't know anything about that lube, but most spray lubes have a learning curve. Most need to be shook up well and they need time for the carrier (alcohol) to evaporate before use. When resizing cases, anything you can do to reduce friction is good. This includes lubing inside the case neck and also lubing the moving parts of your press.

What are you going to replace your press with?

[flyingmonkey35]

For a update Lee is replacing it free of charge.

Niels:

Thanks for sending in the photo. We'll get a replacement sent out to you in Monday's mail.
Have a terrific weekend!


Thank You,

Laine
Customer Service

Lee Precision, Inc.
4275 Highway U
Hartford, WI 53027
phone:*262-673-3075
fax:*262-673-9273*

[ascast]

wow that explains why so many old Pacific presses etc are still in use after 60,70, maybe 80 years

nice of Lee to make good, now- just to be sure this don't happen again, you better send over that 30-30

lol

[s1120]

Glad to hear that Lee is stepping up. I have no issues with Lee at all, I have a old Challenger press and like it. Also Im used to lighter weight presses. My other is a old Trueline Jr... But I gotta say Lee really should have had a little more alloy in that press. That base is pretty thin. Might want to put the new one on light duty use, and grab a little more HD single stage one for forming jobs. As I said... I have no issues with Lee... pretty much any of their other presses, eaven the alloy ones would probably do the job well for many years.

[flyingmonkey35]

Thank you all for the tips

I was able to get the case out of the die with a little elbow grease.

This was just one of three presses I own. I have two load master but prefer the single stage for rifle.

I'm going to keep a eye out for a rock chucker or such. Something a little more hard core.

I have a coworker just starting out he may get the new one.

He just dose 40 sw. So no issues.

[fatnhappy]

Sometimes you get what you pay for.

[jmorris]

You don't need a stuck case remover with Lee dies. Just a 1/2" wrench and a brass punch or hammer.