Dang

[flyingmonkey35]

Stuck 30-30 case.

Yes I lubed it up poor press.

I'll give Lee a call http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/03/05/f3a34d5da9d5bb666b0310dac4deb397.jpg

[country gent]

Ouch, That hurt. it didnt feel hard or stiff going in? Getting the die out isnt a issue turn shell holder with pliers so thet rim cuttout and ram cut out are same direction,/ Raise the decapping rod if possible and tap lightly pry free and unscrew the die. The base of the press is a diffrent story there though.

[Hannibal]

I tried Cabela's brand case lube. I'll be nice and simply say I was 'under-whelmed'. If that's your first bottle, you might want to make it your last. YMMV.

[MT Chambers]

Lee dies, Lee press, recipe for disaster.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Some thoughts:

1. Get a stuck case remover, brand doesn't matter or make your own even.
2. Replace the case aluminum basic Lee press you have with the Lee Classic Cast Single Stage. Excellent press priced right.
3. Use Imperial sizing wax for single stage resizing.

[Motor]

A very informative post OP thanks. Now I know that there is a limit to what this press can handle.

I have one. I got it free for buying their reloading manual or maybe I got the manual for buying press for free I can't remember. :)

I use mine for sizing cast bullets and other light duty stuff. For this purpose its great.

I did try it once for sizing but stopped after one or two cases. After using a Rockchucker for nearly 30 years it was just tooooo weird feeling. No feed back and well just weird.

There is nothing wrong with Lee dies and I've never seen anything bad about their classic cast press either.

Motor

[fouronesix]

What happened is pretty obvious. A sturdy press will cost more but it won't do that! So where's the bargain?

Get something like a Rockchucker and don't look back. Also, there are a pazillion case lubes, case lube marketers and case lube advisors out there. Both RCBS and Imperial case lubes work well as do other similar lubes. Then learn when a case is being sized too much (it can be felt during the sizing stroke) and learn when to back off and start incrementally sizing a small amount at a time.

In any case (no pun intended) once in a while a case will get stuck. A good press will simply pull the rim off. At that time re-assess your lube prep and the amount of sizing done with one stroke. Then of course the case will have to be removed from the die…. without damaging the die.

1st try-- only if the decapping pin and neck expander are not stuck in the case! It's one of the reasons I remove the decapper/neck expander from many of my dies and do those jobs separately--. Take the die out of the press, heat a little with a torch, apply Kroil to both ends of the case, put in freezer 'til cold, put die in good vise (using suitable jaw pads of course), insert the largest brass punch that will fit into the case, hit hard a few times with a heavy mallet.

If that can't be done because the decapper is in the case or if it doesn't work, get a stuck case extractor, read the instructions carefully and hopefully that should do it.

[Lead Fred]

My 1952 Lyman, 1971 and 1973 RCBS presses are all made of solid cast iron. They aint never breaking.

Id like to say get a Rock Chucker, but they break too. If I was in it for the long haul, Id find a RCBS press from the 60s-80s. Either a Rock Chucker or a JR. Before the Chinese were making them.
Ive never seen a Lee or Dillion press Id own.

[shoot-n-lead]

Ive never seen a Dillion press Id own.

That certainly is not something to brag about...denotes poor judgement.

[Janoosh]

Best cheap advice, put die with case in freezer (brass and steel have different expansion rates), loosen expander nut prior, mount cold die in press, smack expander with hammer. This works with Lee dies.

[EDG]

That little press is now a hand decapping tool.

Those presses were among the first designed by Lee and I am sure he did not have a clue what he was doing when it comes to stress and fatigue analysis or life time testing. Had he set one of those up at the sizing pressure for a machine gun fired .30-06 case sized in a small base die and cycled it 10,000 times he probably would have broken a press or 10 in testing and would have beefed up the design.
I have one of those presses that I inherited from a friend. I think it would work ok for sizing .357 Mag and smaller rounds.

Lee seemed to have learned his lessons with cheap frames and linkage when he designed the Classic Cast press.

[jmort]

I see the Hornady Unique lube in the background. Far better choice.

[rbuck351]

Don't forget to lube all the moving parts on the press as well. A dry ram will increase handle resistance a bunch.

[lightman]

Wow! Thats going to give the Lee haters something to talk about. Sorry your press broke. I don't know anything about that lube, but most spray lubes have a learning curve. Most need to be shook up well and they need time for the carrier (alcohol) to evaporate before use. When resizing cases, anything you can do to reduce friction is good. This includes lubing inside the case neck and also lubing the moving parts of your press.

What are you going to replace your press with?

[flyingmonkey35]

For a update Lee is replacing it free of charge.

Niels:

Thanks for sending in the photo. We'll get a replacement sent out to you in Monday's mail.
Have a terrific weekend!


Thank You,

Laine
Customer Service

Lee Precision, Inc.
4275 Highway U
Hartford, WI 53027
phone:*262-673-3075
fax:*262-673-9273*

[ascast]

wow that explains why so many old Pacific presses etc are still in use after 60,70, maybe 80 years

nice of Lee to make good, now- just to be sure this don't happen again, you better send over that 30-30

lol

[s1120]

Glad to hear that Lee is stepping up. I have no issues with Lee at all, I have a old Challenger press and like it. Also Im used to lighter weight presses. My other is a old Trueline Jr... But I gotta say Lee really should have had a little more alloy in that press. That base is pretty thin. Might want to put the new one on light duty use, and grab a little more HD single stage one for forming jobs. As I said... I have no issues with Lee... pretty much any of their other presses, eaven the alloy ones would probably do the job well for many years.

[flyingmonkey35]

Thank you all for the tips

I was able to get the case out of the die with a little elbow grease.

This was just one of three presses I own. I have two load master but prefer the single stage for rifle.

I'm going to keep a eye out for a rock chucker or such. Something a little more hard core.

I have a coworker just starting out he may get the new one.

He just dose 40 sw. So no issues.

[fatnhappy]

Sometimes you get what you pay for.

[jmorris]

You don't need a stuck case remover with Lee dies. Just a 1/2" wrench and a brass punch or hammer.

[jonas302]

Yep you get what you pay for you can have 5 of those presses on the bench for the cost of a rockchucker and he gets a free replacement to boot everything has a breaking point read the threads here and see every brand broken

I dont like spray lube the unique or mink oil works soooo much better and cleaner easy on the skin too(:

[sparky45]

I would get a Lee Breech Lock press (I have two) for all your rifle needs, I just processed a box of 338 Lapua Mag. Brass yesterday with mine, worked very well with a liquid Lanolin lube.

[troyboy]

I've had that press in use of and on since 96'. It was never meant for resizing rifle brass as you have clearly illustrated. Customer service did the right thing and that is what matters. Everything will break, it is how a company reacts that is important.

[HeavyMetal]

I'm impressed that Lee replaced that for you! Obvious you exceeded the stress levels of the matrial it was made of!

Just how big a pipe did you add to the handle to increase leverage, or did you? just curious.

As for breaking things it can be done on anything! I once saw a Small Block Chevy head with the entire bottom section of bolts broken off. The "mechanic" figured it was "stuck" when he removed 4 of the 5 bolts per cylinder on the small block and stuck an EIGHT foot bar in the intake runners and pryed the head off the car.

After words he did state that it was the most unusual sound he'd ever heard!

Don't feel bad anybody who claims they haven't broken anything is: misinformed!

[r1kk1]

I'm glad Lee did you good on replacing the press. Was the base where it broke seem porous or lots of air gaps? I had a powder measure body fail and it was very porous. On page 19 of Richards book he was very optimistic of the press and its uses. 30-30 is not a hard case to resize. I've done quite a few plus variants of the case in .22 caliber to .35 caliber on a Lee hand press. You may have received a bad casting.

I have not seen broken frames in any thread on COAX, Ultramag or Champion. The Champion is the only steel frame press in my collection. I think the cast iron base on the Summit may fail or it may not, too early to tell as I've doing case forming operations on it from .405 Winchester brass as well as 444 stuff.

I have never used Cabelas lube. I shake spray lubes before use. I do experiment with different lubes. I have had linkage failure from the Challenger press back in the 80s, listening to Richard, it could do anything too. 1st failure was 7tcu case forming. Easy case to form. He sent another linkage and it failed on another full length sizing task of 43 Egyptian. It went back with 30 day money back guarantee and told him to keep it. They has since upgraded the linkage on the Challenger to steel linkage. Too late.

I would full size in smaller bites if need be, nothing says you have to do it all in one shot. Removing the decapper assembly helps too if needed.

take care

r1kk1

[flyingmonkey35]

So.

I really just used my own strength. No cheater bars.

I figured the 3/4 inch pine board would snap before the press would.

Yes I shook it and waited a few to let it dry.

But on the other hand I smelted 58 pounds of ingots today out of wheel Weight s.

[firebrick43]

Those recommending a new rock chucker seen a new supreme model? Pretty sad really. Lee sold that little press and weather he over hyped it or not it's a bullet seater or decapper at most. Yet lee makes a classic cast that beats a newer rock chucker(and IMHO an old one as well due to the primer catcher and superior safety prime) and is a great value and a strong press. Of course there is the Cadillac reddings and Forster

[fouronesix]

Hmmm. I started reloading using an old cast iron C press that cost near nothing. Bought it for maybe $5 in decent used condition. 40 years ago I moved up to compound leverage and have owned 2 RCBS RCs and 1 RCBS #5 (smaller cousin of the RC). All have been in good used condition when purchased or traded for. The RCBS presses have run between $20-75 each. Have done a lot of reloading with all of them, including the ancient cast iron C press, and at times have tested their strength limits. Funny thing, never broke one.

Cadillac Redding eh? About 4 years ago a friend was bragging about his brand new big Redding. Not 2 weeks later he broke one of the link pins during simple 30-06 resizing. But they do handle spent primers well :)

[Green Frog]

If you want a heavy, virtually unbreakable press that can also substitute as a medium sized boat anchor, you might look for one of the Herters' Super U presses... of course they use special shell holders, but even that can be overcome with an adaptor. An old machinist friend of mine had me find one for him after he broke his Rock Chucker sizing bullets. Yes, I was smart enough to keep one for myself. 8-)

Nothing against Lee's presses, they are well built for the way they are intended to be used. I just decided I needed to own one press that was OVER-designed to take whatever abuse I could dream up. Fortunately, there isn't a big market for them around here since Herter's is no more and folks are looking for equipment that is green, orange or red. ;)

Froggie

[r1kk1]

Cadillac Redding eh? About 4 years ago a friend was bragging about his brand new big Redding. Not 2 weeks later he broke one of the link pins during simple 30-06 resizing. But they do handle spent primers well :)

I was listening to a Personal Armanent podcast a few years ago. They were interviewing Redding. What I found interesting is they have one guy who's only job is to fit rams and final assembly. At that time the guy was at Redding for 25 years. I doubt seriously my Redding would fail sizing 30-06 cases, I do much larger stuff than that on the Ultramag. Now I'm doing some case forming duties on the Summit to see what it can do and the maximum case length I can use.

The fit and finish on all four of my single stages are very nice. Four companies, four different design presses, each a pleasure to own.

take care

r1kk1

[r1kk1]

Froggie you have a picture of that press?

thanks

r1kk1

[Green Frog]

It's on loan to a shooting buddy right now, but I'll try and get a picture of it to post.

Froggie

[twc1964]

+1 on the imperial sizing wax. I have sized thousands of lc 556 brass using this wax and graphite neck lube and havent stuck one yet. They go thru the sizer like butter. Not as fast as sprsying em with hornaday one shot, but darn sure easier on the shoulder muscles, lol

[45-70 Chevroner]

That certainly is not something to brag about...denotes poor judgement.
He probably has never used a Dillon. I own two, an RL 550 B And a square deal, I have loaded thousands and thousands of rounds on both of them. I had another 550 but I gave it to my grand son. When I ever had a problem, Dillon either guided me as to how fix the problem or sent me a new part to fix the problem at no charge.

[Motor]

I've had my RCBS RCII since 1985. I'm not sure of the round count but have kept records on component use and its seen a lot of action. You would have to do some serious abuse to hurt this thing.

I put a last word indicator on the top of it one day to proove a point to some idiot who claimed they flex. I put as much pressure on the ram as I dare (without ripping off the bench) and got it to flex around .0002" or .0003" inch.

I have no doubt it has at least a couple life times left in it.

Motor

[OverMax]

Oops!! Looks like a dandy (Strong like Bull) job done to it. Consider (Green) the next time you buy.

[bruce drake]

Folks, this shouldn't be diverted into a LEE versus other press bashing session as the issue really is the case lube. I still have the Lee C press I bought 20 years ago and I used it for rifle reloading up to 30-06 for many years.

The principle behind spray lubes versus the lubes like LEE's tube of toothpaste lube, Hornady Unique and Imperial Sizing Wax should be the consideration here. Using the proper lube will allow that C Press to do many years of good service. I tried spray lubes when I first started and got several stuck cases. Since that time and my switch over to Imperial and its generic version (Kiwi Mink Oil), I haven't had a stuck case in nearly a decade.

That LEE C Press will probably be handled over to one of my sons along with the LEE Challenger and the RCBS JR3 presses that I own. Properly used, these presses will last a lifetime. I'd hate to see what normal pressure is considered if this press is standard and not a defective one-off from the aluminum casting line. Glad to see LEE is replacing the press. All the Press makers honor their products quite well in my experience.

[flyingmonkey35]

As a update,

Went back to using my tub of hornaday unuiqe. Using my load master I sized and trimmed 50 cases with 0 zero issue's.

[josper]

Did anyone mention "use carbide dies and forget the lube" Didn't see the "stuck 30-30" was just looking at the brass in the op's picture. Yes in that case a better lube is needed.

[largom]

I own and use two RCBS Rockchucker presses. I also have a Lee Classic Cast press which I received as a gift. That Lee press is one STRONG press and half price of others.

Larry

[RogerDat]

You do get what you pay for... as long as you don't mind paying the cost of diminishing returns. Of course cast aluminum is not as heavy duty as cast iron, which is not as heavy duty as cast or forged steel. However at some point along the path to the "best" one starts paying many more dollars for each unit of "better" or "stronger". Twice as strong cost 3 times as much, the next 25% increase in durability is 3 times more expensive than the first increment.

One should not expect a $35 aluminum C press to have the same level of durability as a $100 cast iron O press, which itself won't be as heavy duty as a $350 premium O press. It is your money but if the $35 press came up short I would be looking at the $100 press not the $350 press as a replacement. Don't figure the extra $250 for 20% of additional "durability" is worth it.

Presses from the 70's, 80's and 90's have little relationship to the manufacture of products one can buy new today. Anymore than a 1971 Ford Mustang and a 2014 Mustang do. Now if one was saying go find a 1970's model blah blah press because mine has been great that would be different. But figuring that 45 years later your getting the same thing is not reasonable.

One other thought, the mounting board. If I'm not mistaken the press gains some structural strength from what it is bolted to. The base becomes part of the units structure. Have to wonder if there might have been some give in that board. Enough possibly to set up a fault line or weak area for the break to start from. Has me thinking because I use a board to make my turret press portable.

[jmorris]

Of course cast aluminum is not as heavy duty as cast iron, which is not as heavy duty as cast or forged steel. However at some point along the path to the "best" one starts paying many more dollars for each unit of "better" or "stronger". Twice as strong cost 3 times as much, the next 25% increase in durability is 3 times more expensive than the first increment.

Aluminum costs more than cast iron but is not as strong.

[flyingmonkey35]

Lee maidbgood and sent me a replacement base.

Got it assembled. Works good for the decaping / resizing I normally do on it.


Good thoughts on the mounting borad. Many to much flex

[r1kk1]

I own and use two RCBS Rockchucker presses. I also have a Lee Classic Cast press which I received as a gift. That Lee press is one STRONG press and half price of others.

Larry

Not half the price of RCBS single stage presses or others with the exception of the three other presses I own. It is half the price of a COAX, Ultramag, and Champion.

Take care

r1kk1