Priming set ups

[Bret4207]

I've used Lee Auto Primes for years. However, now I'm getting tired of replacing the thing every few months beacuse the priming ram wears and the plastic wears and the ram dents primers and....well you get the idea. I also use their Ram Prime that comes with some presses. Works great and uses standard shell holders but 1 at a time is slow. I have a Co-Ax press with the nice priming set up but every one of my shell holders has a through hole that is too small for the priming ram to pass through. Still one at a time priming too.

My question- Does anyone have any dope on the Lee Ram Prime with the primer feeder? Pro/cons? I have about 30,000 primers in stock and want to use them up, so the nifty RCBS primer system is out for a while.

[Oldfeller]

Any LEE primer system that has the plastic tray and the downward curved square plastic feeder tube seems to require some form of agitation vibration (up-down or rotating) to get it to work correctly.

If I am envisioning the one you are talking about correctly, it has no possible agitation from any rotary or vertical press motions as it just sits still, up on top of your press sticking out in the air like that and it stays perfectly still as you cycle your lever .....

No agitation could get agitating (to you).

Oldfeller

[Bret4207]

Know what you mean Kelly. Got to shake them in somehow. I went by Gander Mt today and picked up an RCBS hand priming tool on a whim. Same price as Midways on sale too! I'll give this a try. I found the RCBS strip priming tool which I'd forgotton about. For $65.00 I can suffer for a while.

[Willbird]

I myself like the little rcbs priming press, it uses normal shellholders, it works nicely, and the primer tubes can also be used as primer pickup tubes for progressive reloading tools.

Bill

[MARCORVET]

The Lee Auto Ram Prime Is A Derivitive Of The One On The Loadmaster. As It Moves Up And Down, It Rubs On Two Small Points To Agitate The Primers So They Are Constantly Feeding Correctly (at Least That Is What Is Supposed To Happen, I Usually Tap The Primer Tray About Every Ten Cycles). As For The Auto Prime, I Have One That I Have Used Since 1990 Or So. It Still Seems To Work Fine And Has Primed Several Thousand Cases. Good Luck With Your New Choice. Fwiw, Sam.

[Buckshot]

.............If I have to prime a bunch at home I use the Lee Auto Prime. Gotta reach up and give it a flick every now and then. The last feew don't like to feed down there at the bottom of the shute so I have a bit of wire I use to herd the last couple.

Otherwise just doing 20 or 50 I use the RCBS/Lachmiller priming press. Mostly I save up cases needing to be primed and will bring them to work and use the RCBS primeing press there. Might as well be getting paid while doing it .

There has been a couple times when I had a ton of 38 and 357 to do so plugged in the Dillon and did everything short of reloading them.

................Buckshot

[BD]

I'm in the market for a hand priming tool also. Is there any consenses on the quality of the RCBS/Hornady/Lee tools? I'd like to be able to prime cases while watching the tube with my wife. BD

[Willbird]

Well if your gonna use Lee priming tools, at least read, and follow his directions on picking primers, and make sure everybody in the room watching TV is wearing safety glasses.

According to the designer of the Lee tools some brands of primers should not be used at all, and some only 20 in the pan, etc.

Personally I had 2 of them and like some others felt they wore out too easily, I gave mine away.

also the special shellholder bit annoyed me. it is tought enough having ONE to fit every case let alone TWO.

and the Lee autoprime DOES blow up, I have heard of it within my circle of aquaintences, and Mr. Lee would not address that issue if it was not a factor.

John paul Jones lays the blame for most priming tool explosions to CCI primers....he is quiet adamant about not using them in primer magazines...and according to him a very high percentage of priming explosions were with CCI primers.

I have badly mangled primers with the autoprime when I had them, but they did not blow. at that time I was below that age when reason was running on all 8 cylinders hehe

Bill

[RayinNH]

I've used the Lee hand prime tool for about 9 years now, seating 4 to 6 thousand primers per year. Be sure to follow the Lee instructions about putting a little grease or vaseline on the connecting rod. In this time the clear plastic cover on mine has yellowed a bit and it's not quite as tight as when new but for $10.59 from Midway it's a very good deal...Ray

[felix]

Look at the Sinclair tools. The have the Lee system done right.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/cgi-bin/...TSI&type=store

His stuff is top notch.


felix

[C1PNR]

I myself like the little rcbs priming press, it uses normal shellholders, it works nicely, and the primer tubes can also be used as primer pickup tubes for progressive reloading tools.

Bill

I guess this is a "me too" post. I've been using the RCBS bench tool for years. Have it mounted to a piece of 1" x 6" that I "C" clamp to the bench, kitchen table, etc., when it's time to prime cases. You get a rhythm going with it and it's nice to stop every 100 cases, just to look around, have a sip of coffee, reload the primer feed tube, and get back to it.

[Maven]

I too currently use 2 Lee Auto Primes, (1 for LR & 1 for SP primers), but never with CCI primers and must say I like them. (Only the one I use for pistol primers has the "flip tray" attachment.) However, one did break due to the poor quality of the casting, but it was cheap enough to replace. I also purchased a Forster Co-Ax primer seater, which is well-made, but rather inconvenient to use and adjust for cartrdiges whose bases are something other than .473". Lastly, I have a Lachmiller unit with only a .473 shellholder that I use on occasion. None of them does a better, or worse, job of seating primers than the Lee Autoprime. ...Maven

[fatnhappy]

I too had a lee hand priming tool. What a piece of junk. It lasted around 1000 or so primers before the cam arm broke in 2.
So I ponied up $25 for the RCBS hand priming tool and couldn't be happier.

My $.02

[BD]

Look at the Sinclair tools. The have the Lee system done right.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/cgi-bin/...TSI&type=store

His stuff is top notch.


felix

A hundert and five dollars!!! I hope they have it right. Thats only 3 times the cost of an RCBS and nearly ten times the cost of a Lee! Of course if I blow up a tray of primers while watching TV with the French Woman I might have to build yet another house to live in, (alone), which would cost a bit more.
BD

[drinks]

I have been using the Lee hand primer since they came out, still the same one, just follow instructions about periodic lubing and do not squeeze till something breaks, usually, if a bunch of pressure is necessary, some thing is wrong, wrong type of primer, something in pocket, primer crossways or two primers one on top of the other.
So far , several thousand primers and no problems.
Don

[Willbird]

I must say on the Sinclair unit if it is made like the K&M (Sincleir might be better) it is not even in the same class as any of the other hand priming tools,a much more refined setup that must be tried to be appreciated.

Bill

[joeb33050]

I had to go get it to make sure I got the name right. The Lee Auto-Prime. I've had this since ??, certainly before we bolted to Florida in Sept. 00. I prime thousands of cases a year with this tool, and it has never let me down, broken, acted up or exploded. I think I've had this for 10 years or more. I had another one, but I think I left it at the range or ?? Sinclair speaks well of this tool in the catalog. George Roberts gave me an RCBS priming tool, I tried to give it back, he wouldn't take it, I gave it to Ed Bradley and he gave it away.
Are we/am I talking about the same tool?
The old grey cast metal Lee primers were great, but wore out quick. They were small and worked fine until the ram thing wore and they didn't seat the primers. Is that what you're talking about?
joe b.

[KCSO]

I have a couple of the old aluminum Lee hand priming tools with the screw in shell holders. I seem to remember buying them and a set of Shell holders in about 1969. They are still working and that is mostly what I use. I tried the newer Lee tray primer unit once and thought the speed was offset by having to jiggle the tray ever couple of pulls.

[KCSO]

I have a couple of the old aluminum Lee hand priming tools with the screw in shell holders. I seem to remember buying them and a set of Shell holders in about 1969. They are still working and that is mostly what I use. I tried the newer Lee tray primer unit once and thought the speed was offset by having to jiggle the tray ever couple of pulls. I also have a 310 tool with priming heads for a number of calibers and use it once in a while.

[Bret4207]

I was talking about the standard cast metal and plastic Lee Auto-Prime. I basicly wore mine out where the ram comes up to push the primer in. Got really sloppy.