Tips for Lee Safety Prime usage.

[Nano]

Is there a trick to using this? I feel like the piece you press your thumb on requires a super precise goldilocks spot. Cuz mine always hits the press and I feel like it should be longer. I've dropped 8/10 of my primers lol. Consistent too. Sometimes I just pick the primer up with my hands and put it in the pocket of the primer cup thingy lol.

[Ozark mike]

Deleted

[JBinMN]

Nano,

One of the things I discovered when first using my Lee Safety prime on the press was to make sure that it is aligned with the priming lever on the ram.

You have to loosen the bolt that hold the "pivot hanger" slightly & adjust side to side accordingly to mate the Safety Prime "primer slider gizmo" to the priming lever on the ram. Then once it is set to be in alignment properly, tighten the bolt.

The other thing is that you may or may not need to put a washer/shim under one side, the other, or both(under the bolt head) where the "holder" for the priming unit hangs & pivots to get that alignment correct.

When I say, "alignment" I mean both side to side, as well as up & down so it meets the priming lever in the ram squarely & at the right height so the primer you are pushing in goes right into the primer cup on the lever.

It may take a bit of "fooling around" with it to get it squared away, but it can be done.

That is about as simple as I can explain it...

G'Luck!

(For some of the older/long term members...I kept this post short, as I am told by such members that I should not give long & detailed advice to those who might be new since their post count is low. Gee, that is too bad, isn't it?)

[JBinMN]

Nano,

When I was attempting to keep the post short I forgot to mention that you can also take the Safety prime pivot hanger do-hicky & remove it from the press, take a heat gun & lightly heat the thing so you can twist the plastic "carefully & gently" to make adjustments that way, if you are careful. Obviously don't over heat it & deform it, or twist so hard ya ruin it. Just be careful if ya feel you need to do it. "Slow but sure".


I have not needed to do this myself, but it occurred to me to do it if I ever have to adjust it again...


( For those long time members who want me to keep things short, I might add that I typed out this post "real slow", just in case the reader doesn't read very fast, as well as in case they are inexperienced. Just wanted ya to know I am following your advice very carefully now that you felt it was so important for me to treat new members as if they are ignorant, slow learners, & unable to understand more detailed explanations... I would hate to overwhelm them with anything advanced & scare them off as you told me I would... )

[onelight]

I have only used the safety prime on the LCT and the ABLP as JBinMN explained you swing it on the mounting bolt for right left adjustment.
The sizing die is the stop for the ram so it affects the height primer cup when receiving a primer Lee’s die adjustment instructions get it close but you can fine tune with the die.
Make sure the collar on the cup slides freely if needed chamfer it. I use Hornady One Shot gun cleaner and lube on the presses between sessions it penetrates well and dries quickly.
The safety prime they sell now is the best one yet. It takes a while to get a feel for it and build the operating habits the more you use it the better you get.

[poppy42]

I feel your pain! I recently just got one and set it up on my Turret press . And I have to say in my initial usage of it I also dropped quite a few primers. I was not very happy with it, almost to the point of thinking it was a waste of money. The one thing I hate to do is waste money cause I ain’t got much of it so I decided to see if I could get the safety prime to work. The first thing I found is Alignment is the key . And I can’t speak for you but in my case coordination was definitely factor . I was used to priming off the press with the hand primer. I realized I was trying to run the press at the speed that I could with Pre primed cases. In conclusion this is what I came up with . you have to get the alignment right. now I understand there’s a little wiggle side to side it is after all plastic. After the alignment was corrected slow down a little. Finally you Have to find the exact sweet spot on the up stroke of the ram. Try and insert the primer while the ram was to low and the primer fell on the floor ( and rolled under my bench, or the couch, or some other hard to move object! Very frustrating LOL). Anyway after some practice I found a rhythm and it actually seems to work pretty well and I’m glad I didn’t give up on it and I plan on giving it some extensive use. In the end I guess it comes down to practice and muscle memory. The more you do the better you get. I hope this helps. Good luck.

[onelight]

The sweet spot poppy42 to describes is what you adjust with your sizer die.
He described my experience very well.
The safety prime it’s not perfect but Works well and is one of the things I like about the ABLP

[Kenstone]

Your problem may be technique related, as well as setup.
Most will write posts that read like a book, one huge paragraph without ever hitting the enter key...very hard to read.
Me I like videos, here's a few to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...ty+primer+feed
Don't bother watching the older vids as the safety prime has been re-designed recently.
Or... watch them if you have an older Safety Prime

edit: There are 3 iterations of the Safety Prime and mixing components from other variants will lead to problems in operation.

[Kenstone]

This guy put some washers on the corner of the square primer tray so it swings out of the way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkC0pIF2HB4
The washers are apparent at the start of the vid but the guy drones on for several minutes...

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP...

Cuz mine always hits the press and I feel like it should be longer. I've dropped 8/10 of my primers lol.

A spacer or washer (or a couple of washers) can be placed under the Safety prime press mount, like JBinMN suggested. Also, the 'chute' on the safety Prime is pressed into the primer tray and can work it's way out, while that may not be your problem, it's one thing that I've found while fiddling with these things...You have to like to Fiddle to set these things up, LOL.

[ReloaderFred]

The OP's questions have been answered, and the thread has gone off in the wrong direction, so it's closed.