using Lee pro 1000 as a single stage press

[authentic]

Im just getting into reloading and purchased a pro 1000 on a deal, Ive head some posts where reloaders have mentioned disabling the indexing rod and using the pro 1000 as a single stage press. since im a newbie that may be something id like to do while learning.

Has anyone here tried that? And are there any concerns I should have when trying to use the press in that way?

[beex215]

off the top of my head, theres nothing wrong with that. you could still index the shell plate without the rod if you wanted too.

[dragonrider]

And if you wish you could index the turret thus leaving the case in the front position. Or you can leave the index rod in place and just run one case at a time through the stations. It is a versitile press and a good choice for a newbie. What caliber are you working with.???

[authentic]

And if you wish you could index the turret thus leaving the case in the front position. Or you can leave the index rod in place and just run one case at a time through the stations. It is a versatile press and a good choice for a newbie. What caliber are you working with.???

Im doing 380 and 9mm to start with, Id like to make match grade 308 for bolt action use at some point but I dont even own a 308 rifle yet so that could be a while. I dont know what press I want for 308 but ill find out as I learn, and I figured the pro 1000 is as good as any to learn on for $130 + dies.

[evan price]

The pro-1000 can't do rifle taller than .223 so you need another press for 308 anyway.
I've had a Pro-1000 a long time, load a lot of stuff on it. It's good for what I need.

[Mike Kerr]

I see you have taken additional steps to figure out the best way to learn on that puppy.

1. I recommended giving Lee's sugestion of one round at a time a try for 100 rounds or so, because I know it works. Lee also suggests in their Pro 1000 "mini manual" that comes with the press to not jump into the case feeder operations until you try the above.

2. Lee is being tounge in cheek because the Pro 1000 has a whole bunch of operations going on in a small space and waiting for a few 100 rounds to use the case feeder will greatly simplify "timing" issues. (Yes it will no matter who tells you otherwise.)

3. Yes you can operate it in single stage OR by pass priming or Powder drop Ya Da Ya Da Ya Da but if you try one round at a time FIRST it will give you a chance to check indexing , primer drop operation and insertion, powder dropping etc; not to mention bullet seating and crimping in station 3. You can see what is adjusted correctly and what might need tweaking.

Then you will probably be one of the reloaders that likes to fiddle and will be successful with the Pro 1000 - Like Evan Price who just posted and who taught himself the operation.

regards,

:smile::smile::smile:

[zuke]

The pro-1000 can't do rifle taller than .223 so you need another press for 308 anyway.
I've had a Pro-1000 a long time, load a lot of stuff on it. It's good for what I need.

UUUMMMM Your wrong there. I use my LEE turret press as a single stage all the time, and load 45-70,30-06,35 Whelan with No problem's.

I knock out the fired primer's with a LEE universal decapping die,tumble in SS media,size with LEE lube,10 minute tumble in the same SS media,prime then turn the turret 1 stage to seat the boolit's. With 45-70 I I size the flare with a quick turn of the turret.When it's ready to seat a boolit I just spin the turret to that die.

[beex215]

zuke, no one was talking about a turret press. the pro 1000 as ive heard cannot do 308's. i personally have not tried it yet but it can do 223.

[r1kk1]

The Lee turret is not the pro-1000.

http://leeprecision.com/reloading-presses/progressive-presses/pro-1000/

http://leeprecision.com/reloading-presses/turret-press/

Take care

r1kk1

[UNIQUEDOT]

UUUMMMM Your wrong there. I use my LEE turret press as a single stage all the time, and load 45-70,30-06,35 Whelan with No problem's.

The pro 1000 isn't a turret press it's a progressive and it can't load cases over .223 length.

[Cowboy T]

You can do it, but an easier route might be to pick up the little cheapie single-stage $28 "Lee Reloader Press". Even with both of my Pro 1000's, that single-stage remains used and is very handy for various tasks, e. g. cast boolit sizing, universal decapping, fixing the occasional errant round, and other stuff like that.

I've tried using a Pro 1000 as a "single-stage". It does work, but it feels kinda awkward running it in that mode. You can do .308 Winchester on it, but you must remove the auto-indexing rod and move the shell plate manually, like on an RL-550B. If you want to do rifle cartridges, personally I'd recommend the Classic Turret Press for that. It's just a better tool for that type of cartridge. The Pro 1000 is really geared toward mass production of handgun cartridges, and at that task, it does very well.

[joec]

You can do it, but an easier route might be to pick up the little cheapie single-stage $28 "Lee Reloader Press". Even with both of my Pro 1000's, that single-stage remains used and is very handy for various tasks, e. g. cast boolit sizing, universal decapping, fixing the occasional errant round, and other stuff like that.

I've tried using a Pro 1000 as a "single-stage". It does work, but it feels kinda awkward running it in that mode. You can do .308 Winchester on it, but you must remove the auto-indexing rod and move the shell plate manually, like on an RL-550B. If you want to do rifle cartridges, personally I'd recommend the Classic Turret Press for that. It's just a better tool for that type of cartridge. The Pro 1000 is really geared toward mass production of handgun cartridges, and at that task, it does very well.


I agree with T in that I have a Lee Pro 1000, Classic Turret and the Reloader as well as the hand press and use them all for different things. They all have their uses and regardless I of what press I had I would still want either a Turret or single stage press over all the others.

[geargnasher]

The Pro-1000 has a shellplate carrier that takes up a lot of the 'working room' between the dies and shellplate, so it can be an issue getting a long rifle cartridge out of the press after having seated a boolit. It can be run in single-stage mode just fine, or as a manual turret by rotating the top head, or just loading "one at a time" in auto-index mode, letting the shellplate rotate through all the stations. Very versatile press, but like was said not really suitable for full-size rifle calibers.

+1 on the Classic Turret press for all your other reloading needs.

Gear

[Bullfrog]

I have been reloading some 25 years now and advanced from a C-H 3 stage to a Rockchucker. I have a Lee Pro 1000 in 45 ACP still in the box, because quite frankly I still have not taken the plunge to an auto loader. I am resolved on trying it after viewing Cowboy T's video on U tube last week. My question is where can I get the conversions to load other calibers? Loading on a single stage is slow and boring to some, but I have found it to be enjoyable and relaxing personally. I do want to load my 45ACP, 40 SW, 9mm, and 223 on my Lee Pro 1000, thus the interest in not only learning to use it, but gaining conversion kits. Any help is much appreciated.

[Cowboy T]

The process for converting cartridges on Pro 1000's depends mostly on whether or not you're changing primer sizes. Due to the way the shell plate holder assembly is built, to change primer sizes, you've got to take the whole assembly apart. It's not "hard", and I've done it several times, but in actual practice, I just swap the entire assembly to save time.

Here's the breakdown.

- Small primer to small primer (e. g. 9mm Para to either .454 Casull or 5.56 NATO): swap just the shell plate and the turret.
- Large primer to large primer (e. g. .44 Special to either .45 ACP or 7.62x39 Soviet): swap just the shell plate and the turret.
- Small primer to large primer, or vice-versa (e. g. .38 Special to .45 Colt): swap the entire shell plate holder assembly and the turret.

Since I shoot .38/357, .44 Spl/Mag, and .45 Colt, I therefore have two shell plate holder assemblies, one for small primers, and another for large primers. Whether they're rifle or pistol primers, the priming system doesn't care one bit. All it cares about is primer diameter.

Now, where to get the parts for cartridge conversions? MidwayUSA generally has these items in stock.

[Bullfrog]

Cowboy T,

Have you done a video on swapping the plates and such yet?

[Paints-n-cows]

It isn't any real trick to swapping the shell plates. Basically you fit an allen wrench in the hole in the center where the indexing rod is (obviously after you have removed the rod), put a large screwdriver or another large allen wrench through the hole in the carrier under the first station, and then turn the wrench in the indexing hole clockwise.

When you go to put it back together, make sure that you get it plenty tight or use a dab of blue locktite on it. If you don't, after a few hundred rounds, it will loosen and you will find yourself trashing primers because the shellplate isn't indexing properly. If you use the locktite, don't get crazy because you will eventually want to take it apart again.

I also have a shell carrier for small primers and one for large primers. That makes life a lot easier when switching from .40 to .45.

[Three44s]

I also just acquired a pro 1000 with a bunch of tool heads and base assys to boot. It was very low cost.

But if I was going out and buying new, I'd opt for the Load Master if I wanted to cover larger rifle rounds or be more serious with handgun (in staying with Lee).

The Loadmaster with 5 stations is a more serious press without a doubt.

I am going to stick with my pro 1000 for a while (I have only got about $65 into it) with a Bonanza case trimmer and some books thrown in so I can easily get out what with four die sets and four complete shell carriers that came with it.

Ain't loading grand??


Three 44s

[Bullfrog]

Yes it is, it is indeed :)

[Moonie]

I just got a Pro1000 in the swapping and selling, looking forward to it, I had one years ago and enjoyed it. Might just use it for priming cases to run through the Loadmaster, never did have issues with priming on the Pro1000.

[authentic]

well I got it put together taken apart and put together again (I like dis/reassembling stuff and understanding its parts) and decided to just run it with no cases for a while to look at all the operations, then I started running it with only the de-priming die in while feeding one case at a time. after a bit I added the case feeder and got into a rhythm.

check case orientation and make sure its seated properly
handle down
catch the falling case
visually confirm case is de-primed while raising handle
repeat

I ran into some problems along the way such as the shellplate not indexing fully or at all, cases not de-priming and etc but I was able to isolate each problem and make adjustments until I had it running flawlessly for a few hundred cases. This was extremely educational and I think Im really getting a feel for how to quickly prevent several problems and fix them if they do occur. in the end it was quite easy to deprime extremely quickly.

I will repeat this process again with only the priming step, and then do only the powder and bullet seating. Hopefully ill find any quirks in each step after the first 200 or so rounds and understand how to fix them individually before trying all of them together. I think if I really understand each part then ill be able to trouble shoot quickly and working with the quirks in this piece of hardware will be an enjoyable part of the process instead of the headache that it could become otherwise.

Since the manufactuors documentation is... extremely lacking... Once ive loaded a thousand rounds or so I think I will write up an introduction to the machine for newer people and a guide on a process to set it up and prevent problems, all of the issues ive seen so far could be prevented completely by going through a ~2 minute calibration procedure before starting work. I assume the problems may crop back up again after enough rounds have been loaded, but it should be easy enough to just recheck calibration every time the case-feeder is empty.

I think this machine is going to work out just fine as long as the priming step isn't too much of a problem. I'm a little worried due to all the stories ive heard but we shall see.

[geargnasher]

Never let the primer chute run empty, keep it clean (remove all primers and "dust" it with a camel-hair paintbrush after every session and you'll be fine. I use masking tape on the back side of the primer chute to ensure that the halves stay locked together tightly and don't spread out. When the last primer goes out of the tray I load maybe four more rounds and when the topmost primer emerges from below the socket that holds the tray, I pull the tray and refill it. If you pull the tray while a few primers are still in the chute near the top where you can't see them, they jam up and you'll have to fish them out before you can reinsert the tray. The priming system relies totally on gravity to push the bottom 10-12 primers along, and when the weight diminishes by running the primers too low in the chute, they stop feeding properly and jam the primer mechanism because the primer won't be pushed fully onto the punch.

Another tip is put clear tape over the top of the primer chute to keep stray powder kernels from falling in there as they sift out of the measure directly above it.

The most important thing I think to learn about any progressive is ALWAYS cycle the handle through the full travel, NEVER stop in the middle unless you're forced to by some malfunction. This will get you in the habit and keep you from having missed, double, or partial powder charges and keep you from missing primers.

Gear

[authentic]

thanks, those sound like good tips.


Never let the primer chute run empty, keep it clean (remove all primers and "dust" it with a camel-hair paintbrush after every session and you'll be fine. I use masking tape on the back side of the primer chute to ensure that the halves stay locked together tightly and don't spread out. When the last primer goes out of the tray I load maybe four more rounds and when the topmost primer emerges from below the socket that holds the tray, I pull the tray and refill it. If you pull the tray while a few primers are still in the chute near the top where you can't see them, they jam up and you'll have to fish them out before you can reinsert the tray. The priming system relies totally on gravity to push the bottom 10-12 primers along, and when the weight diminishes by running the primers too low in the chute, they stop feeding properly and jam the primer mechanism because the primer won't be pushed fully onto the punch.

Another tip is put clear tape over the top of the primer chute to keep stray powder kernels from falling in there as they sift out of the measure directly above it.

The most important thing I think to learn about any progressive is ALWAYS cycle the handle through the full travel, NEVER stop in the middle unless you're forced to by some malfunction. This will get you in the habit and keep you from having missed, double, or partial powder charges and keep you from missing primers.

Gear