This is a little embarrasing...

[Any Cal.]

but how do you put primers on the priming arm of a press? I have been using the Lee hand prime tool forever, and have never primed on a press. What are my options?

I just got a Lee 4 hole turret, and need to get whatever parts I need to get it up and running. I see the Safety prime set-up, but wonder if there are any other options. I have been trying to search for it, but don't know what terms to use.

Thanks

[44Vaquero]

You can place them by hand, one at a time. Before Lee came out with the safety prime that was the only option on the turret press. It's not really that big a deal.

[nicholst55]

I'm a bit anal about it; I pick them up with large tweezers and place them on the priming arm, on the rare occasions that I prime that way.

[1911]

I use the Lee safety prime.

[geargnasher]

I use the Safety Prime for 90% or more of my reloading that isn't done on a progressive. Only my SD carry ammo and hunting ammo is primed with a separate, dedicated tool.

Your only other option is to place the primers in the cup individually, and somehow, between handling lubed cases and lubed boolits, my fingers are always greasy to handling individually is out of the question. I've tried tweezers but drop more than I get loaded.

Gear

[Plinkster]

Go with the safety prime, at first it seems every one is gonna go off as you seat it but in no time you'll wonder what the hell took you so long to get one. I just made up some .45 acp on my classic turret tonight and I was able to do 200rds/hr.

[Any Cal.]

Well, I went out and tried placing the primers by hand, and it did work. It was also sort of slow. Timing my first few rounds on the press put me at about thirty seconds per round. I am thinking that the Safety prime and some experience could get me up over one-fifty per hour, if I could do two hundred in an hour and change I would be thrilled.

I am trying to get to less than an hour per box of ammo for scrounging, casting, lubing, sizing, and loading them up and this is the second step in that process. The first was getting a real lead pot.:-)

[Plinkster]

Sounds like you are well on your way. I think you'll find the safety prime adds very very little time to the process while loading on the turret, I spend more time checking powder and placing bullets than priming I think. Lee equipment is inexpensively manufactured and dirt simple and even if I had a lot more money I still think I'd use their stuff. It just allows for more bangs per buck!

[Sasquatch-1]

If you were to go the route of placing the primers in one at a time you should look for a pair of pin tumbler/locksmith tweezer. They have a little grove at the end for handling pin tumblers when keying a lock.

Here is one site to look at, but do a search and see what is out there. This was the result of a quick search and will give you an idea of what you are looking for.

http://www.lockpickshop.com/LZT001.html

[Any Cal.]

Well, this is almost addictive. I loaded up another hundred rds, the second fifty I timed. Under eighteen minutes for fifty rds, placing the primers on by hand. That includes reseating several primers in the beginning that weren't seated all the way (my fault). I have a Safety prime on the way, but this way I will be able to roll on if I step on it or lose it...

Also picked up a can of JPW to make some tumblelube to further my quest. If all this stuff comes together I will have the time and the need for another job to stay in powder and primers...

Thanks for all the reccomendations.

[jcwit]

I use hand primers, either the old Lee ones with the screw in shell holders or a K & M hand primer. In both cases I handle the primers with my non oily fingers.

[Any Cal.]

Got my safety prime in and working. It kept spitting out primers 'til I realized the ram was not all the way up 'cause the sizing die was down too far. I'm dropping one or two per hundred, but getting the hang of it now. It is helping speed things up a bit, but the most important things are still having everything laid out properly, it seems. I think the setup is going to make shooting a lot more fun, since you don't have so much time invested in every pull of the trigger. Will try out the 45-45-10 once I get some more boolits cast.

[Plinkster]

Mine will drop a primer now and then but I think it's my error as its usually when I don't push the little slide forward to a full stop and "click". And I've found mine likes a little bit of pressure to my right instead of straight in. And I also have found that a big part of cranking out rounds is in how you lay out components around your press to eliminate wasted motion. And I found that at least for my 1911 that just thinning my LLA with mineral spirits is less work than mixing 45/45/10 and with 3 super thin coats things don't lead for me.

[mdi]

Well, I reload in batches, mebby 100 at a time when I'm not working up a load. So clean hands aren't a problem when handling primers. I have hot dog sized fingers and sometimes a small primer is hard to pick up, but for the most part placing an individual primer in the cup isn't a big deal, slower than a safety prime but what's the hurry? I usually size/decap, turn turret by hand, flare mouth and prime. Then I have a bunch of primed and ready cases to drop powder in and seat a bullet, that I can finish when I feel like it..

[Sonnypie]

To this day I still prefer to prime with my old Lee Auto Prime hand primer tools.
Even for my progressive press I use for 45 ACP.
It just works best for me.

If it works, don't fix it. :mrgreen:

[Sonnypie]

I use the Safety Prime for 90% or more of my reloading that isn't done on a progressive. Only my SD carry ammo and hunting ammo is primed with a separate, dedicated tool.

Your only other option is to place the primers in the cup individually, and somehow, between handling lubed cases and lubed boolits, my fingers are always greasy to handling individually is out of the question. I've tried tweezers but drop more than I get loaded.

Gear

Psst! Gear, get you a small solvent dispensing bottle (http://www.amazon.com/Industrial-Grade-6FAU8-Plastic-Bottle/dp/B004ZRN3BC/ref=pd_sbs_indust_5) a bunch of shop rags.
Squirt a little solvent on a rag and wipe your hands down.
When it is convenient to do, you'll find you do it more often and have less mess. :wink:

Tell Mrs. Gear "Hi!" (Just to rile her up...) :grin: LOL!

[Trapdoor]

If I'm only loading a few, I'll use the primer arm on my RCBS. If I'm priming batches, I'll take them inside, watch the boob tube while I'm priming with my RCBS hand primer. Helps pass the time....

[LatheRunner]

I use the Lee Auto prime also. I have been using it since I started reloading. You can go thru 100 primers in no time at all. I tried the priming ram on single stage press once, never used it again.

[canyon-ghost]

http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx228/3rdshooter/RCBSRamPrime.jpg

Here, for variety, look at my Ram Prime set up. It takes the primer atop that spindle and pushes it into the bottom of the case. It's still one at a time priming. The only advantage is the adjustment stays the same, it seats primers exactly .004" below the rim of the case, regardless of the shellholder, caliber, or case used.

In revolvers, it's the answer to high primers. It is also the most consistent way to seat them - always at the top of the press stroke. I settled on this way as safest when I first started reloading. It seems to be pretty good for a little $50 unit atop a Rock Chucker. Of course, safety can be boring too.

Good Luck,
Ron

[Any Cal.]

Well, I had been using the Auto -Prime for years, but it always left my primers a touch high. Lately, it had been leaving them more than a touch high, so I preferred priming on the turret press, my old Challenger didn't give me that option. Now I get primers that sit properly in the case in much less time than I could do them with the Auto-Prime. The other day it took me about forty minutes to load, clean the noses, and box eighty-four rds from freshly fired brass. The only reason I didn't do a hundred is because I had a couple laying around to finish filling up the boxes. Compare that to forty-five minutes for fifty using the Auto-prime and a single stage press, or an hour and fifteen minutes for a hundred...

[crossdraw]

The Lee Ram Prime that I have, has a 100 primer tray included. It works great. Plus you can adjust for depth.

Anyone else have one of these?

[crossdraw]

Here's what I am using. It works well. Just have to shake it a bit while priming, they don't seem to flow easily. But the depth of the primer is easy to set.

[44Vaquero]

Crossdraw: I also use the auto prime II, still my favorite tool. Its actually set up all the time in a Lee press.

[crossdraw]

Why did Lee quit selling the Auto-Prime II? Probably their best priming device.

[44Vaquero]

Crossdraw, that's a good question that I have asked several times myself. The 2 most likely guesses would be product liability followed by support of new products ie the safety prime.

The next time I call lee for parts maybe I will ask them.

[44Vaquero]

Crossdraw, here is the answer direct from Lee:

Hi James,

The Auto Prime II could only be used with certain primer types. We introduced the Safety Prime in its place: http://leeprecision.com/safety-primer-feed-small-and-large.html

The new Safety Prime accepts all brands of primers.

Sincerely,

Steph

Lee Precision, Inc.
4275 Highway U
Hartford, WI 53027

[Lizard333]

I never realized how nice the primer feed on my Dillon 550B is. You guys have opened up my eyes.

[meterman]

I had a Lee for a number of years. It always gave me grief with those out-of-round GI primer pockets. Then I bought a Hornady and tried it. With that thing, I felt like I was on Candid Camera. Gave all that **** away, went back to the priming post, and have lived happily ever after.

[Any Cal.]

Well, starting to get the hang of the Lee turret and priming system. With the press already set up, I got a couple fifty rd boxes of ammo loaded up in less than fourteen minutes apiece. The ease of reloading is starting to mess up my reserve of boolits, it doesn't take that long to load up a couple hundred. If I could get a Tumble lube for high pressure loads, I would be in tall cotton...well and not having to wipe sticky lube off the nose of the loaded rds.

[Plinkster]

I hear ya, seems a have no stockpile after I got the turret lol.

[1hole]

Back in the dawn of history before Lee provided us his Autoprime Tool virually all of us loaded primers one at a time in a press. I always kept a quart of Walmart denatured alcohol and a roll of paper towels at hand to clean my fingers before handling the primers, probably over kill but I never had any primer problems attributible to oily hands.

I still keep the alcohol and towels above my bench top to clean case lube off both me and my ammo.

[John Boy]

Press the primer onto your index finger with the cup down. Set into the shell holder hole. Put case into shell holder ... move the ram UP - Done