Lee bench prime

[Blanco]

When I saw that Lee had a new bench prime coming out I knew it would replace my old hand prime. In read some of the reviews on here and was somewhat skeptical. It seems there are more than a few Lee bashers here. Lee is one of the reasons I reload. I know they might not make the best, but they do have some interesting solutions.
I ordered mine while they were on back order and got it in a couple of weeks ago.
I finally got around to setting it up and tried it out on a small batch of 30-30 that I had waiting.
Impressions... Actually very well made even for Lee. Nice cast base. The handle is heavier than you would think. Im not a big fan of the priming tray, but it.does work. I seem to have to fiddle with it at times to get it to drop a primer. Likely needs a bit of deburring.
The actual priming action is pure smooth as baby butter. Verry slick.
So far I have only used it on the 30-30 .... But I really like it.

[DerekP Houston]

Meh not a basher here just honest. I use all lee equipment since it was purchased for me and its what I have. Are there better alternatives for some items? sure. It boils down to not minding fiddling with it a bit to get it to work or wanting it 100% out of the box. The only thing I'll never buy again is the 2 cavity molds all others have worked reasonably well. I'm looking at the 3 station loadmaster for my pistol loading despite all the rumors.

The only time I prime separate from loading is for rifle cases and the amount I go through is minimal so I have no need for the bench prime. I use my turret press with the safety prime and works fine for me. Blow it out with compressed air whenever the primers start catching I've found a minimal amount of dust builds up over time that causes them to flip.

[jmort]

"But I really like it."


​Me too. Agree with your comments.

[lightload]

I plan to eventually get a Lee bench prime. Over the years I have used some Lee dies, a turret press, and several molds and had no complaints. I know better than to buy a Lee progressive since my mechanical/tinker aptitude is not high enough. My opinion is that RCBS dies are excellent, and I recommend them as well as Lee dies.

Customer service is built into product prices. The Lee organization may keep prices low by not having the no questions asked policy like RCBS. I've sent RCBS powder measures bought used back to the company for freebee repair but always declared that I was not the original owner.

I think that Mr. Lee believes everything that he(or they)write about their products being superb. I believe some of it and as an old guy, I know how to navigate among his wares. One other thing is that I would never buy the zip trim device, which might work if it weighed 20 pounds and used a lawn mower rope.

We have guys here who are advanced machinists and tool makers--both in private enterprise and industry. I accept their opinions on reloading equipment because I have zero background in their complex area.

[Blanco]

Lee does oversell some of their products. I have never had anything from lee that was a lemon. Yes I have had to tinker with things to get them working, overall no bad experience. If I had something break they have replaced it. I wish that they would use a bit less plastic at times...

[robg]

Friends just bought one ,I wait and see how he gets on with it.fancy one myself as my thumbs give trouble if I prime too many on my old round auto prime.