Lee Auto Breech Press / Case Feeder Damage

[alexanderkidd]

After selling most of my reloading equipment in my divorce, I'm getting back in the game. Started out with a Lee Auto Breech Lock press and generally I like it.

However, I just got the Case Feeder attachment this weekend and I've already damaged the press. A case got trapped in the feeding cycle and dented the plastic on top of the carrier, making a large divot that is now causing intermittent case feeding problem.

Generally I think it's a pretty handy press but it stinks that it's so easy to damage. Any words of advice?

[joebaja]

Had the exact same problem. Found that the divot wasn't the issue, but where the plastic under the divot went. It peened out the sides of the track that made the pusher thing get hung up. A few minutes with some 150grit sandpaper got that tuned up. Because I was leery of removing too much material, I also loosened the screw that holds the halves of the pusher just a tiny bit. After those two things, I was back in business.

Other than that, my advice is make sure you don't have a stray 40S&W in the tubes when you have the feeder set up for 9mm - that's how I jammed up mine.

It would be nice if the "runway" part of the whole thing was aluminum or at least a plastic that didn't deform so easily.

[onelight]

The case feeder works but I watch each case for upside down or other problems I wish it had the controlled feed like the App press , but for a 25.00 case feeder and 10.00 collator I can't complain.
You can order a plastic parts kit from Lee or a Lee supplier and it is very cheap to fix your issue.
Just operate the press at a speed where you can keep an eye on the feeder. I am at 8 to 10k rounds on mine at this point with no parts replacement but have a spare parts kit on hand just in case I mess something up. Make haste slowly I find it to be a good little press well worth the money.

[alexanderkidd]

I do think it’s a nice little press for the money.Honestly I feel like it’s easier to figure out then the RCBS pro 2000 I used to have which was triple or quadruple the price.

I agree I wish the feed ramp was aluminum so it was harder to dent. As mentioned above once I figured out the plastic had pushed out I was able to get it working in the meantime. I will probably have to take the time to replace the whole carrier and maybe keep an extra one at hand.

[onelight]

You just need the plastic cover cheap and easy to install.
At the Lee web sight in parts if they list it separate from the kit it will only cost shipping for the first one you put in the cart.
Here is the link
https://leeprecision.com/3-cav-family-mold.html

[sghart3578]

Yep, been there, done that.....

[tomme boy]

On my 4th one.

[kmw1954]

The plastic covering was my biggest gripe when these came out. The carrier is the same basic design as the Pro1000 and the Pro1000 is all metal.

[stinjie]

I really mangled the original plastic cover on my press.Lee sent a new cover at no charge,tried to be careful,it happenned again.Filled the divet with J B weld.Bought 3 new covers to stash for later. The J B weld is harder than the red plastic and hasn't been damaged,yet.You gotta have your eyes on a lot at one time with this press.

[alexanderkidd]

What’s the big draw with this press versus the pro 1000?

[kmw1954]

What’s the big draw with this press versus the pro 1000?

I believe it is the addition of the 4th station and the Safety Prime. The die bushings do nothing for me, I much prefer the turret tool heads.

[stinjie]

What’s the big draw with this press versus the pro 1000?

it's cheap,I'm cheap.

[tomme boy]

And the manual primer system. The pro1000 is super finiky. I used 2 different 1000 presses just for brass processing. And the older 1000 presses you had to remove the whole press to collect the spent primers from under the base.