Improving the Lee Turret Press

[cavalrymedic]

Has anyone figured out an improvement/fix for the Lee Turret Press? Not the Classic Cast Turret, but the older one. My specific issue is the ratchet of the auto index wearing out. I was wondering if anyone has tried making one out of a more durable material than the nylon plastic which seems to wear out every 400-500 rounds. At least it wears out on me. I know that the replacements only cost 50 cents a piece, but I was just wondering.

As a second related question: Does the Classic Cast Turret have the same ratcheting mechanism, and is it as prone to wearing out as the older Turret press? If it has a different mechanism, maybe I could retrofit that mechanism onto my press?

[geargnasher]

Polish the square rod with 400-grit sandpaper, then buff it an polish it. Put one drop of oil on it before each use, and one drop of oil on the bottom where the rod spins on the base. I have about 4-5K rounds loaded on mine, so that's close to 20K strokes plus setup indexing and I'm on the original plastic square. I did make one out of some 1/16" copper when I first got the press, but the original hasn't given up yet. I also have a pack of spares I'll use first.

Gear

[cavalrymedic]

awesome, thank you. I love this forum. I'll get busy on that tomorrow after I wake up.

[cavalrymedic]

What do you buff the rod with, BTW?

[bumpo628]

They have a conversion kit from 3 to 4 holes too, if all else fails.
Maybe swinging the turret around a quarter of the way is less stressful than a third.

[cavalrymedic]

I should'a mentioned it's a 4 hole turret allready. It's just the old style. I hadn't even heard of the classic cast turret when I went shopping for a press early last year. I should have done more research, but as my wife will GLADLY tell you, I am an impulsive shopper.

I was looking at the parts diagram for the three hole turret earlier, and it seems to have a far more sophisticated and durable ratcheting system for the auto-index. I wonder why the dinky little nylon square ratchet was chosen for the 4 hole? Not knocking my press, in all other respects, it's awesome.

When I was introduced to reloading back in the 80's, I used my dad's lyman T-mag turret. No auto index feature, it sat at a kind of odd angle, and the turret was a nightmare to turn.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

On the older Lee turrets with 3 stations, the little nylon ratchets if adjusted properly should last a very long time. I have yet to wear one out after years and many thousands of reloads. Undoubtedly it will eventually give up the ghost sooner or later, but the replacements available from Lee are very inexpensive. The trick to having them last is in the tension or tightening when installing one....not too tight or too loose. Lee is pretty explicit about that in their instructions. They claim that nylon has a "built in lubricity"; I never tried lubing mine....maybe it improves with a drop of oil. But it definitely should go a lot further than 400-500 rounds. You might want to contact Lee if you cannot get the condition to improve; they may have some advice or solution to correcting the problem. LLS

[mold maker]

The only problem I've had with the newer 4 holes, is my fault. I short stroked it.. I was told by LEE that the little plastic part is ment to be the weak link so you don't break something else.
I do oil mine ever so often with STP, but remember, a little bit is enough.

[Cowboy T]

That's what I did, too, the one time I weakened that little ratchet square. After thousands of subsequent rounds, I haven't broken another one. No oil or other lube necessary.

[onondaga]

The polishing mentioned by Gear is great. I use a ragwheel on a polishing motor and white polish stick for high shine. Also a lube that is particularly harmless to plastic is a good choice--labels usually tell that. I use Breakfree triple action with Teflon. The part is so cheap to order, get three next time.

Gary