One year review of the LEE APP and ACP

[Evoken]

Just out of curiosity I tried sizing some 40 s&w with the x shell holders that my app came with. Using a dillon carbide die, about one and a half tubes into it i ripped a rim off and got a stuck case. Fortunately the dillon dies are easy to unstick with a small brass rod and a little hammer.
Guess i will stick with single stage brass prep. I still definitely like the app for boolit sizing PCed boolits and have also used it with the bulge buster on 40 to iron out the small bulge from the carbide sizer that they sometimes get.

I am potentially interested in the swager as that would be nice to batch run those pesky crimped pockets.

[chambers]

Bought to debulge 40 s&w bulge. Cases had extreme bulge, broke press but they send new parts under warranty. Cases were lubed and did this twice: plastic slide assembly has lots of plastic parts. Had problems sizing oversized 45 bullets. In the end modified with Dillion case feeder, build a better slide feeder, and did more modifications. Use mainly to push through dies. Overall this is a good tool on the bench, have Dillions in SDB and 650’s for other steps. For the price would recommend.

[ddeck22]

If you don't want to wait for any new parts, there are 3d models and print files on Thingverse for this press. Depending on the part, I think PETG or ABS can lost longer than the pieces they are providing. Plus, you can still use the machine while waiting for them to send new parts.

[Dutchman]

Found that by removing that black plastic doohinkus the NOE and Lee push-through sizers worked good.

[Jsm180]

If you don't want to wait for any new parts, there are 3d models and print files on Thingverse for this press. Depending on the part, I think PETG or ABS can lost longer than the pieces they are providing. Plus, you can still use the machine while waiting for them to send new parts.

Ordered some spares from Lee on the 1st, tracking shows delivery today the 3rd. Still time for USPS to screw it up but impressed with the service from Lee.

[ddeck22]

Glad to hear it...for a budget press that's pretty good service.

[tinsnips]

Anyone have a guess how long the APP will last before it is worn out?

[megasupermagnum]

Anyone have a guess how long the APP will last before it is worn out?

Well it survived a million cycles without a failure, so at least that long. My best guess is their failure will be a cracked part. Probably the top sliding head, right around the tie bars. Pistol sizing wont do it. Primer pocket swaging puts some stress on there, so maybe. Using one to fully size 308 will probably break one eventually.

I've had mine since the beginning about 2 years ago. Someone asked why not use a progressive press. You can't swage primer pockets on a progressive, which is half the reason I bought an APP. Secondly, setup between calibers takes way longer on a progressive. All you do is change the shell holder on the APP, and tweak the case feeder if using that. Then there is bullet sizing, could be done on a single stage, but the APP has a bullet feeder if you are into that sort of thing.

It's just another tool. The APP is used for anything I want done as quick and dirty as I can. The single stage gets used for odd jobs and rifle. The progressive gets used for loading lots of pistol. The hand press gets used for anything when another press is already set up, or when I want to do something on the couch.

[Papercidal]

I have used the adapter to feed it with the Dillon case feeder and it works very well.

[Handloader109]

I do not use mine to it's full potential and thus far only use it for boolit sizing.

When you say you need the lee x series dies, do you mean the double slotted shell holders? I thought that you do not want to use those for sizing brass??

x is shell holder, not dies. will use regular dies. I don't size on the APP, but swage for sure.I bought mine for that specific purpose, and did several thousand 223 cases pretty dang quickly. I would buy another rather than do in my 650 dillon.

And the second use is for sizing my cast bullets. I bought all new sizing dies that are made specifically for this press, they are about a third the price as the regular lee sizers and I sold roughly 6 sets of the regular sizers and an old lee single stage and paid for the APP and the new sizers. That much difference in price. I still have my better lee SS that I use to size rifle and load the calibers that I shoot in small quantities.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[Jeff Michel]

Anyone have a guess how long the APP will last before it is worn out?

I've ran two five gallon buckets of 40 S&W brass through mine and I would imagine it will last a lot longer than my arm.

[John Guedry]

I just don't think I need one.

[Horn Ridge]

Anyone have a guess how long the APP will last before it is worn out?

When I first unboxed mine I was underwhelmed by its weight and size. It is now a permanent fixture on my bench and I can’t ever see doing without it. It has a few quirks, far from perfect - but once you figure it out it’s really handy to have. I hope Lee (or someone else) continues to refine it and we see an even better product in the future.