Lee Classic Turret Press Setup

[HeavyMetal]

I also have a Lee Classic cast turret and have ben impressed with it, more so than the Pro 1000 as it has only three die turrets and require a separate operation to do any real crimping.

I've also moved to priming of press these days, as brass has gotten weird in some calibers, like to catch the moron that thought small pistol primers in the 45 ACP case was good idea.

because of this, and doing SS Pin wet tumbling I am now inspecting cases for both primer size and, in the case of the 9mm, small inserts in some cases designed to increase strength, these might play hob with pressure so they get culled during priming.

My Pro 1000 usually does nothing but deprime brass, which it does and does well, with a Lee universal decapping die in it.

Progressive loading is done on a CH Auto Champion Mark IV or V and with four dies station the Lee FCD die makes sure I do not have to crimp in a separate operation.

HM

[sawinredneck]

I also have a classic cast and even after getting a Dillon 550, I still can’t get myself to let it go! It’s just too handy for small batch work. The Dillon sucks for trying to load 10-20 rounds to test!
I was hesitant on the safety prime after reading about its reputation on this board, but reading, and watching vids it works wonderfully! The biggest trick is to set it up to come in a little from the left rather than straight on. That made all the difference in the world!
I went a completely different route on powder feeding, I already had a Lee perfect powder measure, and I’m one of the few to like it, I got the gun-guides adapter for it. I talked to the owner and he wasn’t sure, so I was a guinea pig for him, but it will, just barely clear the safety prime set up for 9mm. That’s about as short as I’ll ever run that adapter.
So I decap/resize, expand, powder then seat, using all four stations on pistol ammo.
I’ve had another member tell me to get the auto drum and replacement drums, marking them and leaving them setup for different loads. Not a terribly bad or expensive idea.
Anyway, these are great presses, when setup right, and can crank out reasonable amounts of ammo for little money.

[TXCOONDOG]

That was my thought as well. I bought the extra drums and turrets. I’m loading 9mm and 10mm with no issues. Soon will be setting up 38 and 357 magnum dies too.

[dragon813gt]

Extra turrets are no good w/ out dies for them


I stopped buying extras in lots of five. It just lead to more guns and more cartridges to load for. Now I keep one extra on hand for the rare times I buy a gun chambered in a new cartridge.

[sawinredneck]

As I use it mainly for short runs of load development, I’ve got to adjust everything anyways, so, this far at least, I’ve resisted the urge for extra turret plates! But I’m still buying them for the 550. It never ends and you NEVER break even!

[fabricator21]

The kit is the way to go. I have loaded many thousands of rounds on mine

[kens]

Many responses say that the Lee turret press is good, once you 'get the hang of it'.
Well what about the Dillon? Do you have to 'get the hang of it' also ??

[DerekP Houston]

Many responses say that the Lee turret press is good, once you 'get the hang of it'.
Well what about the Dillon? Do you have to 'get the hang of it' also ??

I would assume any press has a learning curve. Switching to left hand brass right hand bullet or whatnot would take me a few rounds to get comfortable. The safety prime attachment is the slowest part for me.

[dragon813gt]

Many responses say that the Lee turret press is good, once you 'get the hang of it'.
Well what about the Dillon? Do you have to 'get the hang of it' also ??

Yes, you do. And when referring to the Lee press they're referring to the Safety Prime. Even that isn't hard to use but people give up on it immediately. There is nothing to get the hang of when it comes to the LCT.

There is a lot more to monitor on a Dillon. You do have to get the hang of it. A lot more can go wrong because four or more functions are being performed at once.

[sawinredneck]

There really isn’t a comparison between the Lee and Dillon. I have both so I can qualify why I say! You want to work up a batch of 20rds to test? Don’t waste your time on the Dillon, by the time you get it adjusted and working right, you’d have 100 cranked out on the turret! I’m not saying either is bad or good and there really isn’t anything one can do that the other can’t, if you are willing to work with the press!
In a nutshell, I have a Redding Boss single stage, the Lee CCT turret press and a Dillon 550b.
Now, I could do everything I need to on any one of these presses, if I was willing to put in the effort. But the SS is for depriming and most rifles, the Lee CCT, just wow! If I could only have one press, this is it! No, it’s not the greatest single stage, and it’s not the greatist progressive. But it sure shows it’s virtues as being capable of doing both as best it can.

[Bama]

Have one and use it all the time. Do not put powder in the case with the press. Use a Niel Jones powder measure for putting powder in the cases. After powder installation the bullets are seated and crimped on the Lee press. Got the press for free from a lottery at a local lottery at a country fire station. A primer will fall on the floor from time to time with the Lee primer handling system.
Put a square pieces of old carpet on the floor underth the press to catch the loose primers.

You can stop the occasional spent primer on the floor with a piece of 1/8" copper folded in ring with a tab that fits into the primer slot to keep the spent primers from getting out of the ram. the ring stops just short of the bottom of the shell holder. ALSO 308 brass makes a great tool head holder for the four hole tool heads. I drill and tap for a 1/4 20 screw and counter sink a square plank just a little larger than the tool head to store the loaded tool heads. Caliber changes can be done in less than 10 sec.

[MyFlatline]

Another tool head storage idea

[opos]

I use the Classic Cast press and the Lee auto drum powder measure and love it....I prime off the press ..but just a personal thing...One suggestion that I stole off You Tube about adding something to the press....where I load, things are not really bright and I found the you tube (shown below) and off to the 99 cent store I went...in the book department or reading light department (don't recall exactly which)...handy as a pocket in a shirt...has made my loading a real pleasure....As to the little square units...I bought some to have handy and I think I may have changed one or two over a lot of loading...and my "forcing" things was the reason....

Here's the little light unit:
https://youtu.be/eN1lQckoD8c

[Livin_cincy]

I have the LEE Cast Turret press. I just added the In-Line Fabrication reversing rod & case ejector. Most people report that they get 250+ per hour easily with the ILF modification.

The on press primer system works fine. I just found it to be in the way. I also found the odd rhythm of pushing forward to seat a primer odd after doing 3 pulls only. So I deprime & size, clean, inspect, and seat a new primer by hand.


The ability to use it as a single stage is very nice. I have a turret set up with my Size & Decaping dies. So it will not move on me.

With my brass sized & primed prior to cleaning it leaves a station open. I use a Hornady Bullet feeder for 9mm & 380 loading. I just drop a bullet into the top of the die each time. It is faster than seating by hand.

Critics say the turret wobbles so it cannot make good ammunition. By design the Die wobbles on a Forester Coax. The case wobbles by design on the MEC Marksman. Since the LEE Turret is only working on a single case it is the same principle at work. The LEE Press dies are set up in the turret with the wobble and a piece of brass. It is just hard for those that use the other coloured presses to grasp. The other brands do not index automatically so this is also an issue they cannot grasp.

[RedlegEd]

Hi. While we're talking about Inline Fabrication, let me recommend his turret holders for the 4-hole turrets. They are reasonably priced and keep your die loaded turrets off the bench but within easy reach. Ed

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