Lee Classic Turret [Archive]

nsdread07

11-11-2012, 01:03 PM

longbow

11-11-2012, 01:24 PM

I got one a while ago and love it!

I have used a single stage Lee Challenger for about 25 years or so and had no problems except it is slow.

I set up the turret press with an arm to support the Lee Perfect Powder Measure because some people seem to be concerned about the possibility of incorrect charging with the automatic powder measure (I am loading bottleneck cartridges for rifle).

I find it much faster to load and I see every charge drop.

Mine is set up with the Lee collet sizer (with home made custom 0.313" mandrel) for .303 British and Lee Universal Case Neck Expanding Die. Fast and easy to use.

It works for me!

Enjoy.

Longbow

jmort

11-13-2012, 12:18 AM

I think in the fullness of time you will decide that you made a wise choice and will love your LCT.

gunoil

11-13-2012, 05:42 AM

Titian will mail mine on 15th . gonna do 45acp's.. Dennis is great, bought LLM from him 3 weeks ago for 9's & 40's. Lots of great videos on youtube for help. Lee is great with a phone call for help, i call lee all the time, i never email, i like to talk to tech reps too! I have done some machine work. Taken the bell out of lee exp die and put .356 step in bells place. There is enough metal to do it. A precision machine shop, i take my mag glass with me so machinist understands what i want.

dragon813gt

11-13-2012, 08:02 AM

The chart you didn't get is just a reference point. It's been close for me but it has never thrown what the chart says. There is also a mathematical formula to figure it out yourself.

I love my LCT and don't see myself ever getting anything else.

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joec

11-13-2012, 09:10 AM

There is also a spreed sheet in Excel put out by Ranch Dog that really takes away the need for the sheet. It is called the VMD Calculator and covers every powder out there with listed VMD but gives you a means of calculating your own. It also will give you what disks to use be it single or double as well as dippers to use to get what you want in a load. It is free. Now I got mine from his Forum Rossi Rifleman however he might have it on his site Ranch Dog Outdoors. I use it to get the actual VMD of each powder rather than using the listed average as each batch is somewhat different in most cases.

Oh and I also have a Lee Classic Turret and a Lee Classic Cast both presses meet my needs perfectly. I use the Turret for 9mm, 45 ACP, 45 Colt and 45-70 the Cast for 12 ga shot shells (RCBS Cowboy Magtech brass shells) and bullet sizing.

RobS

11-13-2012, 09:21 AM

Its a solid press that many here and myself have enjoyed using. The cast presses has really took Lee to another level.

Nocturnal Stumblebutt

11-13-2012, 10:21 AM

I also love my Lee Classic Turret, I have loaded 10K+ rounds on mine and it is still like new.

dnmccoy

11-13-2012, 12:28 PM

I had one for awhile but got of finnicking with the priming system. If your relying on the chart provided by Lee, make sure to confirm it on a scale, as the chart is off.

timbuck

11-13-2012, 12:38 PM

I had one for awhile but got of finnicking with the priming system. If your relying on the chart provided by Lee, make sure to confirm it on a scale, as the chart is off.

This chart is a guide to determine the APPROXIMATE CAPACITY of all popular brands for each cavity. Actual charges may vary due to manufacturing tolerances of the cavities, powder and method of use.

This is why the chart is off.

Highdesertshooter

11-13-2012, 09:52 PM

I have the classic cast turret,got if for the price and have been more than happy..............

DaveInFloweryBranchGA

11-14-2012, 04:08 PM

There is also a spreed sheet in Excel put out by Ranch Dog that really takes away the need for the sheet. It is called the VMD Calculator and covers every powder out there with listed VMD but gives you a means of calculating your own. It also will give you what disks to use be it single or double as well as dippers to use to get what you want in a load. It is free. Now I got mine from his Forum Rossi Rifleman however he might have it on his site Ranch Dog Outdoors. I use it to get the actual VMD of each powder rather than using the listed average as each batch is somewhat different in most cases.

+1 Forget Lee's chart. Ranch Dog's spreadsheet with VMD calculator is the way to go.

BTW, congratulations on your new press purchase. You made a good decision. I still regret selling mine. Be patient and learn how to use it and how to adjust it and you'll be very happy with what you get for what you paid. Don't be afraid to use other brands of dies in your press. They will work too and you can often pick them up very affordably on this website in the swap and sell.

trixter

11-14-2012, 05:57 PM

I learned how to adjust mine by setting the sizing/de-priming die to fit the priming arm perfectly, then all of the other dies as per the instructions. Made it a absolute dream to use. Every primer goes in perfectly. I had tried to shim it to the right height but to no avail. The other way works perfectly (the touch the shell holder method did not work for me at all).

I make quick work a bucket of empty 45's.

PS Paul

11-14-2012, 06:38 PM

I have found the chart is normally incorrect by one size. If the chart shows .85, I go to .94 (as an example) and that seems to be appropriate, but I also make sure to check weights of powder charges as I load because I have found the powder can "settle" through knocking around and using the press, thereby making more "dense" by volumetric measurement. I ahve taken to simply "knocking" on the hopper at the beginning with powders like Red Dot or Unique. Seems to help....

The one quirk I have found is using the priming tool. I have discovered simply holding the toggle lever with my left hand while pushing on the priming dispenser with my right hand to load a primer seems to make the process more "trouble-free" for me.

I love using mine and I do feel very comfortable and safe using the powder "charge dispenser" as opposed to a traditional powder measure (little threat of "bridging" powder).
Paul

Wots

11-14-2012, 07:40 PM

rollmyown

11-15-2012, 05:38 PM

I couldn't help noticing that a few people purchased their Lee stuff from Titan Reloading.

I too have bought Some Lee stuff from them, and have found them outstanding to deal with.

Another vote for the Lee CCT. It's the best value product in reloading.

Inexpensive, very durable and very reliable. What's not to like.

chrisw

11-15-2012, 05:59 PM

I got it and love it! I'll eventually get a single for the occasional more percise loading but for 99% of my loads this is more than perfect!

BTW if you don't have the double disk kit get it- your going to need it. (not sure if Titan includes this or not). The same with the expander die to put the auto-disk on.

I have a ton of extra turrets and the turret cases so I never have to take a die out (other than the expander die for the powder- and I might eventually make or get a few of these to save time!)

also- the instructions are weak but just watch the videos on lees web sight and it all makes sense! I AM kinda a rocket scientist, I can program my VCR but I still couldn't understand their directions until I watched the couple minute video!

Digger

11-16-2012, 09:16 AM

I am liking the LCT more then the RCBS Rock Chucker w/ a PiggyBack progressive that I started out with a few years ago. One of my favorite add on's to the Lee Classic Turret Press is a Automatic Case Ejector. Speeds things up a bit.

automatic case ejector ? ....;.... haven't seen that one yet .... where do I look ?
Been looking in the dealer sites but seem to be missing it.
digger

Wots

11-16-2012, 01:22 PM

http://www.tactical-arms.com/search.php?search_query=automatic+case+ejector+&x=11&y=10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6tsohP_K04

For the collection bin I stung up a small plastic ramp. Only real problem I have had with this is the spring turning lose. Fixed that with a touch of thread lock. Pretty clever device.

W

PS Paul

11-16-2012, 01:51 PM

You know, after dealing with Lee for 25 years, I have found their instructional pamphlets to be pretty helpful. I suppose once you figure out their writing "style", it makes deciphering them easier? but definitely Youtube can help, provided you separate out the buffoonery and inexperienced. Usually somewhat easy to tell what is what...... I'm going to take a look at the auto case ejector. Had no idea such a thing existed, so thanks for that, Mr. Wots!!

nsdread07

11-16-2012, 05:46 PM

I've downloaded Ranch Dog's VMD calculator and will try using that. I've made my adjustments to the dies but haven't had a chance to load anything. I'm interested to see how the safety prime works.

dragon813gt

11-16-2012, 06:15 PM

I'm interested to see how the safety prime works.

If its like mine it's an exercise in frustration. I still use it as priming off the press defeats some of the advantages of the turret. But dropped primers get annoying after awhile. I've gotten to the point at times where I start putting the primers in the cup by hand. Tried all the tricks and it's set up right. It's a design that needs to be improved upon.

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Cowboy T

11-16-2012, 07:56 PM

If its like mine it's an exercise in frustration. I still use it as priming off the press defeats some of the advantages of the turret. But dropped primers get annoying after awhile. I've gotten to the point at times where I start putting the primers in the cup by hand. Tried all the tricks and it's set up right. It's a design that needs to be improved upon.

Here's how I run mine.

http://www.sanfranciscoliberalwithagun.com/classicturret.html

Part 3 goes into some specifics regarding the Safety Prime. There's a little bit of a trick to it, but once you get it, it works.

dragon813gt

11-16-2012, 10:46 PM

I watched all your videos and it got me up and going quickly. Thank you for making them. No matter what I do it won't drop them consistently no matter what position the ram is in. It works better if I back it off slightly, like in the video. I just take my time and try to drop one in the cup every time. If it doesn't then no big deal. As long as they don't end up sideways, happened once, I'm good.

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Mike Hughes

11-17-2012, 02:57 PM

My safety prime was giving me similar problems and it is frustrating. My sizing die was screwed down a little bit too far. It was not much, but just enough to keep the primers from being consistently placed in the cup. Ram must be completely to the top of the stroke for everything to line up. When it lines up right, this priming system works really well

nsdread07

11-17-2012, 03:35 PM

Cowboy T, I also watched your videos and found them very helpful, especially the ones on the Pro auto disk. Many thanks

TRguy

11-18-2012, 08:36 PM

Good Choice, I started with a RCBS Rock Chucker....

If I were starting again I would start with this setup.

WyrTwister

11-22-2012, 03:22 PM

So I broke down and bought the LCT from Titan Reloading, and thanks to them for the quick delivery, with the primer arms and the Pro auto disk measure. I also purchased the bench plate and some dies in 44 mag. Set up was easy despite the instructions that Lee provides. The only thing is that the powder measure came without the chart for the disks. I downloaded the chart from Lee's site but the print is so small you can barely read it. I did email Titan and asked for the instructions. Now all I need to do is some adjusting and I'll be making some rounds.

If you have the Lee reloading manual , use the data in it . If you bought Lee dies , you should have gotten a sheet with the dies with some loading data ?

The disks are calibrated in cc's = cubic centimeters . Not grains . Different powders will drop different weights from a specific size hole .

God bless
Wyr

WyrTwister

11-22-2012, 03:31 PM

If its like mine it's an exercise in frustration. I still use it as priming off the press defeats some of the advantages of the turret. But dropped primers get annoying after awhile. I've gotten to the point at times where I start putting the primers in the cup by hand. Tried all the tricks and it's set up right. It's a design that needs to be improved upon.

Brought to you by TapaTalk.

The trick with the safety prime on the cast iron turret press is to use the black plastic spacer that came with mine , to raise the bracket that holds the safety prime .

Then adjust your sizing die up or down , to allow the shell holder to be at the right " height " . This puts the " proper lever / rocker " at the right height to receive the primer from the safety prime .

Works like a champ . :-)

God bless
Wyr