Lee 1000

[histed]

I've been handloading with a single stage Rock Chucker for a long time. Now, with casting my own boolits, I find I can afford to shoot more, especially my handguns. Problem is I spend more time at the bench than on the range. I'm considering buying a Lee 1000 Progressive, but I've seen some remarks on this site and a couple of others that make me hesitate. Is there something wrong with the 1000? If so, can you recommend another entry level progressive?

[kbstenberg]

Histed The Lee is very temper mental in the adjustment dept. An it doesn't take much to through it out of adj. If you are a tinkerer you should have no problem keeping it running. There are other websites for those that love them.
I have 1 and I can keep it running. But you have to watch as the machine is running to spot upcoming prob.
That said I am trying to sell mine to move up to a Dillon. Which is a more expensive machine. But it can do rifle and pistol. They also have there quirks but not as bad.
An alternative is the lee 5 hole progressive. But once again the machine has to be watched closely. Kevin

[mrblue]

I asked about progressive presses a few weeks, and was looking at a Lee. After asking on here, I went with a Dillon 550. If your doing just pistol try a Dillon Square Deal B.

[Finster101]

I'm running 3 Pro 1000's and am okay with them. The biggest problem is the primer feed. If you can keep that going smooth you won't have much of a problem. For the life of me I can't figure out why Lee won't do a little work and make a better priming system. If they did that they would have a dandy little affordable press!

[seagiant]

Hi,
If money is an issue and you want a better primer setup look at this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXwYwAEHc4I

[VHoward]

I would take the classic turret over the pro 1000 any day.

[geargnasher]

Post #2 pretty much covers all I could say about it.

Gear

[wallenba]

I've graduated to other presses but still use my 1000. It really shines as a dedicated decapper. I have just a Lee universal decapping die in it. With the case collator and feed tube installed, just fill it, shake it, and decap all your range brass in a flash. Then into the ultrasonic cleaner.
I have carriers for all my pistol cartridges now, takes just a minute to swap out.

[histed]

seagiant - that looks like it could be the answer. Not progressive, but way faster than single stage. I suppose this system would also work with .223. I checked some of the suppliers and it appears that, set up as it is in the video, the price would be close to the 1000, but much more versatile. What about the RCBS Piggyback? Any experience with this as opposed to the 1000?

[44Vaquero]

The Lee Classic Cast Turret is a fine choice and capable of producing copious amounts of ammunition. My turret is easily capable of 300 rph without much effort on my part, covering most of my shooting needs.

Today's Pro-1000 is a much improved unit as compared to the older models. I run one and Lee Automator (Piggyback version of the Pri-1000) both are capable of 400 to 500 rph easy. To make running a Pro-1000 as pain free as possible a separate carrier for each shell plate (caliber family) is the way to go. This solves the most finicky part of the Pro, leaving the shell plate timed and set up for either large or small primers.

[seagiant]

The Lee Classic Cast Turret is a fine choice and capable of producing copious amounts of ammunition. My turret is easily capable of 300 rph without much effort on my part, covering most of my shooting needs.

Today's Pro-1000 is a much improved unit as compared to the older models. I run one and Lee Automator (Piggyback version of the Pri-1000) both are capable of 400 to 500 rph easy. To make running a Pro-1000 as pain free as possible a separate carrier for each shell plate (caliber family) is the way to go. This solves the most finicky part of the Pro, leaving the shell plate timed and set up for either large or small primers.

Hi Histed,
44 Vaquero is the Man around here on LEE equipment and knows more than I. If I was starting out with LEE equipment,I would follow his lead! I don't really own any Lee stuff now but have always thought the "Classic Cast" Turrent model to be pretty nice and as it is or can be set up auto or manual advance,along with the primer issues, I would MUCH prefer it over a Pro 1000!

Remember if you load ACP cartridges you need four stations on your loader as the ACP cartridges 9mm,40sw, 10mm,45acp, MUST have a taper crimp (or LEE Factory Crimp) as a last operation!

Oh yea, the RCBS Piggyback is mucho bucks,Amigo!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbOMxxAsduw

[fryboy]

entry level ? lee stands alone ( it is what it is [shrugz] ) unlike many i actually like the pro-1000 ( yes ,even more than the loadmaster ) 4 stations would be nice but not really needed ,a good upgrade yes but not essential , for ease in primer feeding smooth operation is a must ,while stated lube with carbide dies isnt needed a lil bit goes along ways ( and i mean a looooooong ways ) to helping it run smoother as does keeping the primer trough full ( they depend upon the weight from those above to feed ,remove weight introduce a feeding problem ) the best upgrade they could make to it however is a cast iron base aka geargnasher's version :P
for those whose idea of fixing things is a bigger hammer or laying the blame on something else the lee isnt the best press

[220]

Ive got a lee and LNL-AP, don't have a case feed for the LNL so my production rates on the lee are 50% higher.
It does take a little babying to keep running smoothly but for the price nothing else compares.
If my pro1000 starts playing up while loading I now stop loading completely, strip it down clean reset and start again. Found this is the quickest and least stressful approach and it will usually run sweetly for the next 2000rds.

[375supermag]

Hi...
I bought a Lee 1000 years ago when they first appeared on the market.
I was shooting in 2 handgun leagues and needed to step up my production rate over my single stage press.
I worked with that press for quite a while (months) trying to get it to feed primers correctly and dump repeatable powder charges.
I finally gave up on it and put it in a box where it remains to this day well over 20 years later.
Someday, after I am retired and have time to waste on substandard tools and equipment I may take the time to try to make it work again.

In the meantime, I went back to reloading on a single stage press. Not as fast as a progressive, but the primer is always seated and the powder is always dumped properly.

[Buzz64]

For pistols and straight walled rifle (all I have used on it) the Lee Classic Cast Turret suits me fine. One timing problem when I jammed it but a quick twist with a crescent wrench fixed that. Over 8,500 rounds loaded so far and still runs perfectly. 325 to 375 per hour with 9 / 38/357/40/44/45acp & lc - .380 a little less as those pills are harder to pickup! Extra heads to hold all the dies and it takes less than a minute to switch calibers. Switching primer sizes takes less time than that!

[44Vaquero]

Hey Seagiant, I happen to be one of the 36% that do not use the "Carbide Factory Crimp Pistol Die" so the lack of a 4th station is not really an issue on A Pro-1000. I do seat and crimp my .45ACP in separate operations on my Load Master, my Springfield Armory 1911 seems to prefer them that way. I only use a standard Taper Crimp die in station 5 not CFCPD.

375Supermag, Lee has refined and improved the shell plate carriers on the Pro-1000's, I have found that newer production units function much better right out of the box. Having rebuilt several older units in the past I can understand your misgivings. Dig it out of the box and I promise you together we can get it working!

[histed]

Well, gents, I do appreciate all the information. 44 - sounds like the Classic is a little more versatile? I load 357/38 and 9mm right now for handguns and want to do .223 somewhat faster. Since you seem to be the acknowledged expert on Lee here and my choice is now down to one of these (classic or 1000) what's your top recommendation? I can tinker and my frustration factor is usually fair (I teach high school [smilie=l:) This is something I want to buy this summer, so what "add-ons" should I be looking at? Always learning and this place is good for education.

[44Vaquero]

And the winner is:

102726

For versatility and future growth The Classic Turret is where I would be looking at up-grading to. 3 turrets with dies and powder drops set up and ready to go , changes over will be measured in seconds! Production rates will increase as your skill and confidence grow, as I said earlier 250 to 300 rounds per hour is not impossible or even difficult.

I really view the Pro-1000's and Load Masters as dedicated machines (Even though technically they are designed to be changed over). Unless I am planning to do 500 to 1000 rounds at each run, I find change overs annoying.

[OBIII]

For those of you who have problems with Lee Pro's, or just want to know if they will fit your needs, check out this website. Cowboy T has been my go-to guy for videos on setting up, adjusting, and cleaning my Lee Pro 1000. Check him out.

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

OB

[seagiant]

For those of you who have problems with Lee Pro's, or just want to know if they will fit your needs, check out this website. Cowboy T has been my go-to guy for videos on setting up, adjusting, and cleaning my Lee Pro 1000. Check him out.

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

OB

Hi,
He also has vids on the Classic Turrent press! I did not realize how beefy that press is compared to the earlieir LEE presses! Once again the Turrent press to me has more going for it including now the robustness of the press. Also it has 4 stations which for me shooting mostly ACP type cartidges IS a deal breaker! Big and heavy is GOOD in my book. I'd actually like to have one of these to play with so to speak!

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

[44Vaquero]

As aside note: Cowboy T was once an semi-active member here on Castboolits. He did quite a few videos, all of them are pretty good, some are a bit long though.

[44Vaquero]

He has not posted since 4/13 though?

[Jesse Early]

I'm pretty happy with my Lee 1000. I got it for about 100 a year ago. The primer feed is a pain though. I prim and resize all my brass on a single stage and keep them in a ammo can. I could never get the lee 1000 primer to work for me and got tired of taking the thing apart. Now the only problem I run into the is the timing getting out of tune and the casing not feeding into the shell plate. I would have to say Im happy with it. Cranks the ammo out, its just that primer system.

[Boogieman]

I've used a Lee Classic Turret for years. Got it when they first came out. Works for 32H&R to 45/70. With an extra turret[ about $14.00] changing calibers takes about 1 min. The autodisc powder measure works well for hand gun cals. The auto index feature can be disabled for working up loads. it's not quite as fast as a full progressive but you can load 100+ rounds in the time it takes to change calibers on a progressive

[histed]

Again, my humble thanks. The level of experience on this site never ceases to amaze me - and the fact that so many are willing to share so freely.

[VHoward]

I've used a Lee Classic Turret for years. Got it when they first came out. Works for 32H&R to 45/70. With an extra turret[ about $14.00] changing calibers takes about 1 min. The autodisc powder measure works well for hand gun cals. The auto index feature can be disabled for working up loads. it's not quite as fast as a full progressive but you can load 100+ rounds in the time it takes to change calibers on a progressive
It only takes you 10 minutes to load 100 on the turret?

[Boogieman]

It only takes you 10 minutes to load 100 on the turret?
How long does it take to set up a Lee 1000 or a Dillon 550?

[1911cherry]

Got a Pro 1000 in 45 acp this weekend, new press 8 lbs of powder and 1000 primers for $350 not a bad deal. I loaded 200 230 grn Xtp's to get used to the operation-took a lil getting used to, kinda jerky on the down stroke. I don't prime on the press, heard too many stories about it jamming up, but with preprimed brass I loaded over 200 rounds in like 30 minutes. Only had to stop to reload the case feeder and hopper with powder, this is my first progressive and after getting it "timed" it works great, no complaints here.

[VHoward]

How long does it take to set up a Lee 1000 or a Dillon 550?

I have a Dillon XL650 with case feeder and it takes me less than 10 minutes to change calibers.

[44Vaquero]

1911cherry,

the jerky action on the carriers down stroke can be fixed. Lee has a habit of leaving the "powder through expanding" die rough. The case mouth sticks and pops off the belling plug. Disassemble the expanding die and remove the plug and gently polish it with a fine grit wet sand paper. Not heavy! It is a result you want to sneak up on. Re-assemble and test your results. Lee will tell you the plugs are designed this way on purpose this way to prevent powder bridging! It's A BS excuse, polish the expander!

1911cherry, now that you have started using the press you can graduate to using the on press priming too!

Now as for on press priming: Take the priming trough apart and inspect for burrs/flashing on the parts and trim with razor as needed.
Tips for simple operation:

The trough needs to remain at least 75% full to work correctly!

Be certain the steel pin/agitator is in contact with the right rear support column.

Keep an eye on the tray/trough for primers jamming

Is the press bolted down securely? If the press is bouncing around too much so will the primers on the priming pin.

Timing can also be an issue with on press priming? When operating the press empty as the shell plate snaps into position and the carrier bottom's out the priming pin needs to be in the center of the opening.

It is my opinion that Lee has greatly improved the function of newer shell plate carriers and if a user takes time and sets things up correctly the Pro-1000 is very easy operate. Remembering the most important rule of progressives: If it does not fell right STOP! Inspect and Clear any apparent issue. Do not Pull/Push harder on the handle.