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Thread: Very old lee pro 1000 need people opinions

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    Very old lee pro 1000 need people opinions

    Well I tired to upload a pic of it but it wouldn't work. The main thing I see wrong is the supports from base to top have lots of rust. Top looks a little oxidized. Base is fine and not sure about carrier and ram. But main thing is the supports, what is the proper way to clean/fix them.

    Thanks
    Josh

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Try contacting Lee.
    They may just send you a new one.

  3. #3
    Boolit Bub
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    Yea they have good support but idk about sending a new one.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master kmw1954's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by orangeeclipseman View Post
    Well I tired to upload a pic of it but it wouldn't work. The main thing I see wrong is the supports from base to top have lots of rust. Top looks a little oxidized. Base is fine and not sure about carrier and ram. But main thing is the supports, what is the proper way to clean/fix them.

    Thanks
    Josh
    Hot soapy water and a Scotch-Brite Pad, that should clean the surface rust and oxidation from the supports and turret ring. after you have them cleaned up just take a rag and a little gun oil and wipe them down. I use White Lithium grease on my moving parts. Just a dab on the finger and spread it on the ram. If this press has been sitting neglected to the point there is rust on the posts it would probably be a good idea to pull the carrier off and give it a good cleaning and then replace the indexing ratchet parts, they're cheap.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    orangee,, sounds like mine when I got it,, kmw1954 said it all ,, 1000's of rds. still going ,, enjoy!

    coffee's ready ,, Hootmix.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master


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    I have been rebuilding my presses after 1,000's of rounds and some minor rust on parts. Bead blasted the individual parts, gave them a good quality enamel paint job, and am boring the ram holes to take some bronze/brass bushings, that I am in the process of machining.
    Lead Forever!


    The 2nd amendment was never intended to allow private citizens to 'keep and bear arms.' If it had, there would have been wording such as 'the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. -Ken Konecki, July 27, 1992

    John Galt was here.

    "Politics is the art of postponing an answer until it is no longer relevant". (From the movie 'Red Tails')

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy
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    I have had two Lee 1000 presses one purchased one given to me, no end of stress both are in land fill now. I now have a Dillon 550 B no stress anymore

  8. #8
    Boolit Master kmw1954's Avatar
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    Once again I see there cannot be a conversation about a Lee press w/o the Dillon interruption. Please explain what a Dillon press has to do with this conversation!!!! The reply and comment lends nothing to this topic.

  9. #9
    Boolit Bub
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    Thanks guy I got it for 5 bucks its doesnt look to bad carrier down. Would paint mess the supports up?

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master


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    If by supports, you mean the three legs that attach the base to the head, then why mess with them? They don't need to be pretty. The head and three hole turret are aluminum, and should not be an issue. The place to worry about is the ram, the shell plate, and everything under the shell plate.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master kmw1954's Avatar
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    If you feel the need for paint then go for it. Could also just slap a little poly-urethane also. I found that just a wipe down of HOPPES gun oil did the trick.

    For just $5.00 how complete is it? Even if just the press, carrier and a shellplate and a turret it's worth the $5.00.. I've seen them set up with just a shell feeder and collator and a universal de-capper die with then another turret set up with the powder thru die in position one, bullet seater in position two and a crimp die in three. Or set up normally and run with pre-primed brass.

    I bought mine used and was missing just the plastic cover for the primer tray and the tubes for the bullet feeder, all for about $100.00 and since all I load is pistol calibers it works out great. I now load 380, 9mm, 38/357 and 45acp.. If I had a 40S&W and a set of dies I could load that as well

  12. #12
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    GOPHER SLAYER's Avatar
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    I was given a Lee 1000 several years ago and it was a pain to use or I should say try to use. I could never get the thing to insert primers correctly. It was unused when I got it. I was advised by someone this site to give it the float test. That is, you take it out on a lake and drop it in the water. If it floats, take it home.
    A GUN THAT'S COCKED AND UNLOADED AIN'T GOOD FOR NUTHIN'........... ROOSTER COGBURN

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by GOPHER SLAYER View Post
    I was given a Lee 1000 several years ago and it was a pain to use or I should say try to use. I could never get the thing to insert primers correctly. It was unused when I got it. I was advised by someone this site to give it the float test. That is, you take it out on a lake and drop it in the water. If it floats, take it home.
    I to had problems with my feeding and seating primers. I had to put a shim on the base underneath the primer punch to get them seated deep enough and a little shake of the handle solved the primer feeding problem. It has been running pretty good for a few years now. I got a second one for almost free. They are not everyone's cup of tea.

    Tim
    Words are weapons sharper than knives - INXS

    The pen is mightier than the sword - Edward Bulwer-Lytton

    The tongue is mightier than the blade - Euripides

  14. #14
    Boolit Master kmw1954's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GOPHER SLAYER View Post
    I could never get the thing to insert primers correctly. .
    Yeah I hear ya and so many others. Mine must be broken as I just ran 2200 SPP through it w/o a single miscue!

  15. #15
    Boolit Master


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    Get some dry graphite lube and apply to the primer feed chute. They will slide right into place. Check the timing of the index carriage, it may be a tad off. Once I got mine timed correctly, I have had zero issues.
    Lead Forever!


    The 2nd amendment was never intended to allow private citizens to 'keep and bear arms.' If it had, there would have been wording such as 'the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. -Ken Konecki, July 27, 1992

    John Galt was here.

    "Politics is the art of postponing an answer until it is no longer relevant". (From the movie 'Red Tails')

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
    GOPHER SLAYER's Avatar
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    I didn't describe my problem with the Lee Pro 1000 correctly. I said it would not seat primers properly when actually I couldn't get that far. When I loaded the primer tray and put it in place a lagre percentage of the primers would flip over and be upside down. I could never resolve the problem, what ever it was. Another problem, the powder measure didn't always dispense the same amount of powder. If you have one and it works correctly and you are happy with it, that's great. I want everyone to be happy.
    A GUN THAT'S COCKED AND UNLOADED AIN'T GOOD FOR NUTHIN'........... ROOSTER COGBURN

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
    dtknowles's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by orangeeclipseman View Post
    Well I tired to upload a pic of it but it wouldn't work. The main thing I see wrong is the supports from base to top have lots of rust. Top looks a little oxidized. Base is fine and not sure about carrier and ram. But main thing is the supports, what is the proper way to clean/fix them.

    Thanks
    Josh
    My supports are rusted. It is not a problem. I wipe them with an oily cloth and they are not too rough, the press runs fine. The ram needs to be smooth.

    Tim
    Words are weapons sharper than knives - INXS

    The pen is mightier than the sword - Edward Bulwer-Lytton

    The tongue is mightier than the blade - Euripides

  18. #18
    Boolit Master kmw1954's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GOPHER SLAYER View Post
    I didn't describe my problem with the Lee Pro 1000 correctly. I said it would not seat primers properly when actually I couldn't get that far. When I loaded the primer tray and put it in place a lagre percentage of the primers would flip over and be upside down. I could never resolve the problem, what ever it was. Another problem, the powder measure didn't always dispense the same amount of powder. If you have one and it works correctly and you are happy with it, that's great. I want everyone to be happy.
    As a long time machine maintenance mechanic I can understand the frustration of a machine not working. I have seen brand new machines come in that cost ten's of thousands of dollars not work right and then the factory reps are of no help.

    When I see stories such as yours I feel a let down for the operator, that their press didn't work for them. I have had great success with mine and use it constantly. I also know that it is what it is and that isn't a $500.00 tool. For what it is it fills my niche and does what I need it to do. For what I am doing if/when this one brakes I will most likely replace it with another one. I bought mine with my intended use in mind, not someone else's expectations.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master 44magLeo's Avatar
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    I worked at a place running a die cutter. A big machine to cut cartons out of the printed sheets of cardboard. Anyway they decided to get two new machines at a bit over a 1/4 mil each, that were a bit fancier. The first one came in and nothing worked right. The install tech finally figured out that the crimped on collars on all the wires wasn't crimped tight enough. The wires had this collar crimped on so it wires would not get damaged where they hook in. Each wire went into a connector that used a screw to tighten down on the collar. The wires could be pulled easily out of the collars while they where tight in the connectors. The signals that were supposed to travel along these wires was not getting through consistently.
    They spent almost a two weeks recrimping each wire in the machine.
    I tell this story to show even very expensive things can come from the factory with issues. Seldom can you get anything with more than two moving parts that works perfect right out of the box. They almost always need a bit of tuning to get right.
    Oh, by the way this is a casting equipment section, shouldn't this thread be in the reloading equipment section?
    Leo
    Last edited by 44magLeo; 06-28-2020 at 08:21 PM.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    I used a 1000 for at least 25 years and we kept 4 to 6 guys shooting with it . It was certainly not perfect but we could could sure crank out the ammo with it . If it had 4 stations I would still have it.
    It paid for itself a 100 times over.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check