Adveture with a used Lee Por 1000 continues

[HeavyMetal]

For those who came in late:

a month or so ago I posted some of my experience with a very used and inexpensive Lee Pro 1000.

I had several problems with the unit, even though it performed fair considering it's condition.

At the end of the thread I had decided to do some major work on the press.

Now we continue:

The shoulder bolt on the right hand side of the press was toast, threads in the base were gone and a lot of slop allowed the linkage to actually move the shell carrier assembly side ways when the press was used.

Thinking this was a lot of my feeding issues I called Titan Reloading and ordered a new Base for the Pro 1000, 12 bucks, and Two new shoulder bolts.

I placed the order on a Friday morning and parts were on my desk at work Tuesday afternoon!

I had also ordered the plastic piece that directed spent primers into a hose set up very much like the Lee Classic Cast press.

The press was stripped and the new base brought into play, Imaigine my surprise when I noticed it had no threads cut in either side for the new shoulder bolts!!

A quick call to Lee revealed that the shoulder bolts were self tapping and it was suggested that I thread them in, remove them, clean with solvent and then Locktite the shoulder bolts in place never to be removed again!

This was done, the primer chute installed and a 3/4 inch hole drilled in my mounting plate for the drop tube and the press remounted and put back together. More on this primer chute later in the post!!

I had purchased a new carrier early on set up for the 44 mag, this was called into play once my number 19 shell plate was installed for the 40 S&W case.

At this time I opted to remove the entire priming set up from the carrier, I could never get it to work to my satisfaction and since I plan to run my case's through the machine in several "lots" priming off the press with my RCBS auto priming tool seemed a natural.

The case feeder was set up and I used a .048 heavy card over the case to set height for the case feeder as well as a regular business card between the case feeder head and the top of the press.

Once tightened down I loaded up and proceeded to de-prime cases with a Lee Universal de-priming die.

I instantly had issues with case tipping over for the first few cranks of the handle, this fell off as the amount of case's dropped but picked back up as I switched to a full side of the feed tube!

I cranked a couple hundred case's through the Lee Pro 1000 and finally figured out what was going on: Each time a case hit the slider platform another case would sit on and enter the case mouth of the case on the slider!

As the slider moved the case forward the case would get "caught" on the base of the case on top of it and then flip on it's side!

Playing with several once fired Speer 40 S&W cases it became obvious that the base would fit in the mouth of the case and produce this problem! 38 special won't do this, 45 auto won't do this, 9mm won't do this but the 40 will!

At least until I work my way 1/3 of the way through each tube of case's.

Don't have a cure for this, yet, but I will be tumbling these de-primed cases shortly and then running them through the Pro 1000 again to be sized.

After they are sized and primed I may see some relief as the case mouth should be smaller in diameter after sizing, we'll see how that works soon enough!

Now on to the primer chute, a great idea, because I won't have to unbolt the press to empty all the spent primers out of the base, sadly the press ejects more empty primers out the side of the machine than it directs into the base!

I did form a quick "deflector" out of card stock, cut to fit into the unused threaded hole on the left front of the press's base! Folded at a 90 Degree angle about One inch high this "deflector" kept all the rest of the spent primers in the base area of the press and the chute did indeed act as it was supposed to and they ran down the drop tube into a container I had set up for catching them!!

As time permits I will cut up a piece of sheet metal to perform the same duty!

With the improvements made the press does fell much better when in use, I did grease it will with a Teflon based lube when it was put back together and I do put a little 3 in one oil on the ram when I start using it.

I am now at the 95% successful use point with the press and can live with the tipping of the cases while de priming or sizing.

If sizing cures the feed problem then I am home free!

I have to leave town for a few days on business so this will go on the back burner for at least a week or more but be aware I am not done with this press just yet!

HM

[petroid]

Good writeup. I have a used Pro1000 on the way and am wondering what headaches I will have to sort out as well.

[rbuck351]

I have two used ones on the way and can't wait to get started on what should be a fine and pleasant misery.

[rbuck351]

Well, I finally got one of the Pro 1000s working and it actually works pretty good. There are a few things I learned along the way. These things should be considered a semi finished kit. Every part that touches a case, a primer or powder should have the edge flashing trimmed off then polished then waxed with a hard wax. The powder thru expander die is so rough it causes bits of powder to jump out of the case when the case is pulled out after expanding. Then we get down to the primer spitter jammer thing. I don't like calling it a primer handling system as it doesn't without some work. The main problem is the primer spitter jammer needs to be surgery room sterile to work. It's main jamming problem is bits of powder supplied by the powder spitter that hangs right above it and the rough expander that causes powder to jump out of the case directly into the primer jammer. My temporary cure has been to keep an air hose from my compressor handy to blow the spit bits of powder out of the primer jammer. This actually works pretty good but does slow production some so I'm thinking of setting a fan by the press to blow the spit bits of powder away from the primer jammer. I haven't had time to see what can be done with the powder spitter yet but it would be nice if it would quit spitting powder into the primer jammer. Oh I made a quick fix to the primer dumper tray to make it possible to stick the tray on the ramp without dumping the primers all over the press. I found that it dumps a bunch of primers in the ramp preventing the primer dumper from inserting all they way in the ramp. I drilled a small hole through the primer dumper lid and tray right at the outlet and inserted a bent paperclip through the hole to stop primer flow until the tray is fully inserted in the ramp. Also there is a little stop on the under side of the tray that prevents it from going all the way in the ramp. I cut that off which seems to allow smoother transition from the tray to the ramp. I got it to load 20 in a row without issues yesterday before I ran out of time. I think with another 4 or 5 hrs of tinkering, I can have this beast working really good. I'm going to have to make a new expander die cause if I smooth this one up I don't think it will be big enough to expand the case mouths enough. I now see why so many folks are having trouble with the Pro 1000 and would not recommend one to anyone that is not a very patient tinkerer. I also see why they are sold caliber specific. Resetting one of these up after changing caliber would put most folks over the edge. The design is terrible but it can be made to work and I think probably fairly well. More later Buck

[petroid]

I'm sorting mine out, too. After complete disassembly, thorough cleaning, rust removal, and lubing and reassembly I was able to get it to index properly. After attempting to load some 9mm, I decided to abandon the idea of priming on the press. Every time there was a priming system malfunction (which was a lot), I had to stop production and sort out the issue. This sometimes meant removing the carrier entirely. And since I have never been happy with seating and crimping in one step and would have to run everything through a crimp die in a separate process, I decided to size and prime on my turret, which can be done in one operation per case and then charge, seat, crimp on the pro 1000. I ran about fifty the other day and apart from getting the case to line up in the expander plug perfectly centered every time, I had no issues. I'm going to chamfer the expander plug a little to help it out. I'm using the Lee 38S&W plug for my 9mm because the supplied plug wasnt deep or big enough.

[rbuck351]

The primer jammer and the powder spitter are the two main reasons the Pro 1000s don't work well. The primer jammer probably wouldn't be a problem if the powder spitter didn't spit powder all over it and the powder through die was smoothed up so it didn't jerk when pulling the case off of it. I have three of these things now and they ARE ALL going to work properly before I'm done with them.

I gave up tearing mine apart to clear the mess when the primmer jammer did it's thing (quite often) and just hit the whole mess with the high pressure air hose. It blew primers and spit powder all over the room but it was rather satisfying and cleared the mess up without having to disassemble the whole press again.

[Lloyd Smale]

save yourself some aggravation and give pass it on to someone else.

[35remington]

The primer trough needs to be agitated from time to time to keep it full. Other than that I have no problem with it and I've been using mine since 1988.

If if your expander seems rough check for galled brass buildup.

[rbuck351]

My primer feed tube stays full but when the powder spitter spits powder into the primer tube is when it starts hanging up. The expander/powder through die looks like it was cut with a dull tool. Nothing about the die that can't be polished out or i can machine another one. Brass wouldn't gall on it if it wasn't rough. They are new dies. I haven't started on the powder spitter yet but the top of the part the disk slides on has a light casting line on it that needs removed. I got these presses for the sole reason of seeing for myself whether it was the press design or just folks that are the problem. IMHO it is the powder spitter that is the main problem. This is not aggravating it's a challenge that i'm having fun with. They WILL work when I'm done. It looks like lee has just come out with a powder measure that may put all the powder where it belongs but I think I can get this Pro auto disc to quit spitting powder where it doesn't belong. Oh, I have a Dillon 550b so I know what a quality press is supposed to do and not do. Lee has a lot of good equipment but they also have this PRO 1000 that they send out with a really poor powder measure. The press itself seems to be fine if you can keep the powder out of the works. Anyway, back to the fun.

[rbuck351]

Ok, I solved the powder spitter problem and I was correct, the primer handled now actually handles primers instead jamming up every couple or three rounds. I loaded a couple boxes of 38spl last night without issues. The fix was quite simple. I cut a piece of milk jug plastic that just fits over the primer trough covering all of the open top of the slide and snaps in place top to bottom of the slide. So now I have two of the three running like they should. The Pro 1000 is tedious to set up but once all the delicate little pieces are properly adjusted they work pretty good. The powder measure is still a powder spitting piece of %@&!)^& but keeping the spit powder out of the primer handler makes the press work so i guess a bit of powder to clean up isn't such a big deal. The next press is going to make 32 S&W long. It looks like I will have three reasonably good progressive presses for a total cost of about $300 unless i decide to add bullet feeders. I now understand the name Pro 1000. It means you need to be a professional tinkerer with the patience of 1000 Jobe's to get one of these running properly. But, it can be done.

[rbuck351]

Latest on the three Pro 1000s I bought to check them out. The last one in 32 S&W Long is working good. One other mod needs mention. I removed the piece of light switch chain that is supposed to return the powder measure to its start position and wired about 12oz of lead to where the chain is supposed to fit. Other than the piece of garbage powder spitter and the pita it is to set one up, I am satisfied that the Pro 1000 can work well. Not a Dillon by any means but they can produce a lot of good ammo in a hurry if properly set up. Does anyone know if there is a powder measure that will work on the Pro 1000 that does not leak?

[Norbrat]

Yesterday I trained a new chum to reload, including using the Pro 1000. We had very few problems once he got the hang of it.

I assume your powder thrower is an Autodisk, and it sounds like it's been "upgraded" with the return chain, rather than the original return spring. I tried the chain, and just couldn't get on with it, so I re-fitted the original arm but use a much lighter spring. Still works just fine.

Yesterday we used Tail boss and we did have a little bit of spillage. I call it spillage rather than leakage as powder granules seem to jump out of the chamber hole when the disk emerges from under the hopper. However, this only happens if you cycle the press quickly at this point. Slowing down to allow the powder to drop down the tube largely eliminates this.

Some folks have stuck piece of rigid plastic over where the disk emerges to cover the top of the hole to help avoid this spillage. I plan try this.

If the thrower is truly leaking, this is often due to too much clearance between the disk and the base/hopper. Some careful sanding of the top edges of the base where the hopper sits to reduce this clearance can make a big difference to leakage.

I upgraded mine to a Pro with the larger hopper incorporating the polymer powder wiper; this likely also made a big difference to the leakage.

As I now reload almost exclusively on either the Pro 1000 or the Classic Turret Press, I use only the Autodisk on either machine, and must admit I have not noticed a lot of leakage using any powders. I do get spillage if I hurry the stroke.

[petroid]

I haven't had powder leak from the auto disk except H110 which is so fine it seems to run out like water. Polishing the expander plug helps reduce the amount of jarring that occurs when the case is lowered. I learned this from using the lee classic turret. I do get occasional spillage when indexing as the case snaps into the next position. This would be the priming station, but I have been priming ahead of time. I also use the spring return on the auto disk as it works that way on the turret or the pro1000 and I see no reason to change it

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

rbuck351,

I own several of the Lee Pro Auto Disks and at least two Dillon powder measures. None of them out of the box performed exactly the way I wanted them to. I had to tune all of them.

For the Dillons, this has mostly meant high polishing the interiors and removing a bit of casting flashing here and there. They still leak a bit more than I like, but it's around the charge bar and I'd have to buy an after market charge bar with tighter (read larger) tolerances to eliminate the leaking with very fine powder.

For the Lee Pro Auto Disk, getting them to work properly was slightly different, but amounted to the same thing - tuning, aka mostly polishing. Of course I inspected the powder measures thorougly and removed any and all flashing, then lapped the areas to remove the casting line where the flashing was. This included the base and the disks. For the disks, I used progressively finer grits of sandpaper and a hard flat surface to lap all imperfections causing gaps and tilting between the disks. Doing this caused the three Pro Auto Disks I have to perform very well from an operation and leak standpoint.

I won't comment on the powder through die and expander, as you've already discovered the machining flaws. My suggestion, to save time, money on materials, is to clean up the inside of the die with a sharp fine cutting bit, then polish to a fine polish. The same with the rest of the dies in the Lee set you have.

I just recently purchased a brand new Lee Loadmaster. It came mostly assembled out of the box. I disassembled it and have tuned it thoroughly based on readings/videos on Loadmastervideos.com and Youtube. There is a wealth of information in both areas and you can find resolutions for most any issue you have. At this point, I've got the Loadmaster back together, running smoothly as can be. I'm not operating it yet because I'm in the process of adding modifications I'll post in a later post. I did the same thing with a Lee Classic Turret I bought years ago. I tuned it, figured out how to get the maximum efficiency out of it. I then sold it, because I wanted to try out an RCBS Pro 2000. But it was a great press once tuned.

I totally agree with your assessment the "Lee presses come as a 90% complete kit you have to finish yourself." That said, once tuned, they run really well, have a case feeder built in and are very inexpensive to add calibers to. I urge you to be patient and work with the Pro Auto Disk and tune it. You'll be glad in the long run you did. Hit the two sites I mentioned above as well. I think you'll find the answers in old posts if you're patient (or you can post at Loadmastervideos if you're in a hurry).

I do think though, that with the Lee presses, it's better to think of them as kits and do not try to build ammo on them until you've completely finished the 10% left undone by the factory. After all, they're built to the lowest price point possible to make them affordable to a guy that can't afford the more expensive presses. But I'm beginning to see with this Loadmaster, like I did the Classic Turret, that once fully tuned, these presses are capable of very fine performance.

Here's a couple of links to dedicated powder handling sections of Lee equipment focused forums:

http://forums.loadmastervideos.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=6

http://www.lee-loader.com/viewforum.php?f=20

[HeavyMetal]

Glad to hear I am not the only one that's had to tune these things, LOL!

I have learned a few more things on The Pro 1000 since I started this thread: my issue with the case feeder for the 40 S&W round is case related not the machine!

If you have a few 40's stack two or three on top of each other, fired case's have a case mouth larger than the case rim allowing them to bind rather than slide when feeding causing the case to tip and fall over during the feed cycle.

To prove this I filled the feeder with a full load of 9mm case's, the number 19 shell plate is for both 40 and 9mm, and without making a single change to the press ran two full loads of 9mm brass through the machine to deprime for cleaning without a single malfunction!

since depriming on the 1000 is still faster than using a single stage press I'll struggle with the 40's as needed and hope that when fully sized the issue will go away.

As for the primer feed? pulled it off and do with out it!

As I use a wet cleaning system my case's are run through the 1000 with just a Universal depriming die, then cleaned then run through again with a sizing die with no depriming pin in it.

Case's are then inspected a third time while priming on an RCBS bench priming tool and then, and only then, do I put the die plate with my universal expander die ( which only bells the case mouth) the powder measure and the seating die in the press.

I realize this is a bit of a hassle but my loads are very clean when boxed up and I don't have issues with dirt and junk in most of my dies, one still needs to clean boolit lube out of the seater die once in awhile, LOL!

The end result is my Pro 1000 will then run as it should, if I loaded Jacketed it might be a different story but I don't. removing the primer system might give me a little more work but I don't have loads with no powder or primer in them either!

[44Vaquero]

rbuck351 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?4890-rbuck351), There tweaks that can be done to the Safety Disk powder measure:

1. DaveinFB already mentioned honing the disks and mating surfaces, also on the powder measure's body the "Ears" that support the powder hopper can be honed even this will bring the hopper down in closer contact with the disk. Be careful and go slow, it doe not take much to close the gap.

2. If using the spring instead of chain set up. there is a rib in the underside of the casting that needs to have a groove filed into it. This will keep the spring from pinching or binding.

3. As mentioned earlier the powder drops/belling can be made smoother this will lessen the case mouth popping of the expander. Caution is also advised here, They are intentionally left rough by the factory as a means of insuring all the falls from the tube? The theory being the jerking action aids powder dispensing? YMMV

4. Be certain the press is bolted down solid Lee presses benifit from a rock solid mount/

5. I put a small Hot dog style compressor under my bench. 60 psi really removes the debris! If this is not an option a can Keyboard Air is a quick fix from the computer store.

[rbuck351]

I managed to get the primer feeds working with a simple cover that stops the little bits of powder from entering the primer slide. Last night I decided to see if I could fix the pro auto powder spitter. As you all have mentioned, the discs are not flat on top so out to the shop and a belt/disc sander. This only took a few minutes and almost totally stopped the powder spitting problem. The return chain is a pain so i hung a muffin of lead ( about 12 oz) on the end of the return arm and polished all the up/down slider tube and parts. One of my three is older and has no hole for the chain. I went to SW and looked at a new pro auto powder spitter and it had both the chain and the spring return. I need two more powder throwers as I only have the one. The 9mm is the only one (really short/nearly full of powder) that powder jumps out when it's jerked off the expander. I will polish that one and see what happens.

When I started this project, I decided to see what I could do without seeing the fixes other folks had done. I enjoy a mechanical challenge and this has been a lot of fun. I broke a few of the little pieces getting these going but Titan has everything and they deliver fast. Anyway, I now have three more progressive presses dedicated to a single cartridge each and they will be left that way. They are not the quality of a Dillon and they must be finished before they will work well but I only have about $125 each invested. One of these I bought reconditioned from Lee was $200 with shipping and it was just as bad as the other two except it was all there. So for a person with some mechanical skills and a lot of patience, buying one of these from someone ready to throw it in a pond can get you a pretty good press very cheap.

My final assessment is, consider these a semi finished progressive reloading kit with the end product being what you and your skill set can make of it. I am quite happy with what I ended up with.

Now I'm going to go read all the other folks methods of building their loading kit. Happy tinkering. Buck

[shoot-n-lead]

I gave my last old one to a guy on another forum..conscious wouldn't allow me accept money for something that aggravating.

[oldfart1956]

Rbuck, very much enjoying your posts and glad to see someone with a curious mind and sense of humor. Sounds like you're working out the bugs. Just a note about the pull-chain on the powder spitter. (love that!) The reason for the pull-chain is to act as a safety. Something many seem bound and determined to circumvent. One of the dire warnings about progressive presses is the chance of doubling on powder drops but leave the chain in place and it can't do that. The powder spitter can't return to pick up another charge of powder until the slack is out of the chain. That happens at the bottom of the stroke and the charged case is already moved to the next position. If someone's breaking chains it's not adjusted right. I'm sure you know this but some new loaders might not. Replacing the chain with springs/counter-weights etc. will allow the press to double quite easily. So far about 6K loaded rounds thru my used Pro 1000 and no problem with double charges. Thanks for the tip on the milk jug powder spitter guard over the primer chute! :) Audie...the Oldfart.

[rbuck351]

i haven't loaded a bunch on any of the three yet, about a hundred on each to make sure the bugs were gone . I learned rather quickly that anything but a full pull to the bottom and a full stroke to the top with a push for primer equals a mess. Ya, it took me 4 or 5 chain breaks before I figured out the chain needs about 1 ball loose and not using the spring for the last bit of pulldown on the powder spitter arm. Another thing is the giant roll pin they use for a powder drop tube needs to be polished very smooth as well as that aluminum or pot metal swivel thingy and anything either of them touches needs polished any everything waxed with JPW. One of the safety measures I use is to load only powders that fill at least half full cases. It's really hard to double charge a case if you can't get the boolit in. Another is 100% attention. No tv, radio, no one else in the room, no nothing else going on.

shoot-n-lead
It's easy to understand the frustration and I think Lee should have to put a warning on the outside of the box. Something like "Warning this press could cause psychotic behavior in it's new owner. Do not approach new owner until press is fully functional or is at the bottom of a deep pond." If some one had approached me at the wrong moment in the last few days they could have been wearing a Pro 1000 as a hood ornament. In the end my tinkerers curiosity overcame my desire to punch out some Lee engineers. That and the fact that I'm too cheap to throw out something I paid good money for.

Now for the final kicker. I would accept one more of these evil possessed machines that is headed for a deep pond and promise not to hold the current owner liable for anything destructive that it or I may cause while it is in my possession. Anyone else want to get rid of a future boat anchor real reasonable?

44Vaquero
Ya, an air compressor is essential for cleaning the spit powder out of the machine once in a while. It's either that or disassembling the whole thing to clean out the junk. It also is an easy way to put all the primes back in the primer tray if you are careful. That and the hole i drilled through the lid and exit of the primer tray. Carefully blow the primers back where they came and insert a bent paper clip through the hole. Remove primer tray and hit the press with the air hose. I started by just firing primers and spit powder all over the loading room which was kinda fun but then I had to clean up the mess. I haven't had this much fun with a press since I resurrected an old Star Universal. It's also a very complicated press but very well built. Anyway it has been fun.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

rbuck1,

On reading your method of lapping, I would suggest another methodology for two reasons: 1. You're working with soft plastic, it's easy to remove material and 2. You can pretty much eliminate the powder leakage if you're patient.

Here's the method I suggest:

1. Go to the hardware store and pick up several sheets of wet/dry sandpaper. Why? Because plastic will clog sandpaper and you can rinse the dust clear with wet/dry and re-use.
2. Find a flat, hard surface to polish/lap on . A big tile from the big box outfits or a bondo mixing steel doo dad from Harbor Freight works good.
3. Start with a fairly coarse grit, around 400. hold firmly in hand and work back and forth. Do a few strokes and check the part you're working with. When it begins to look close, stop with this grit.
4. Next, use 600 grit to get that last little bit of rough material, casting flashing, etc off. Again, do a few strokes, check the part and when it looks close, change grits.
5. Next, use 1000 grit and do the same thing as steps 3 and 4, you're getting close now. Start checking against other disks and the base to see where you're at each time you stop. When the scratch lines from the previous grit are gone, quit.
6. Finally, use 1200 or 1500 grit (or both, if you want the best fit) to do the final fitting work.

Do the same thing with the aluminum base, but there, start with a flat bastard file, double cut and remove the rough flashing. Then use a flat bastard file, single cut and smooth the lines to where they're almost invisible.
Next, use a coarse grit, 400 to smooth down the casting lines to the point you barely see them and you can't hang a finger nail on the lines as you drag it across the surface.
Finally, repeat the sandpaper process I described earlier.

Notes: If you own them and you have a tight area, this can be done with stones as well.
If you're using sandpaper in tight areas, wrap it around a square piece of wood or something similar.

This may seem like a lot of time and effort, but it really isn't all that much and goes pretty quickly if you follow the methodology I suggest. Remember, you only have to do it once to have a really nice working Pro Auto Disk/Dillon/RCBS/Hornady/Lyman powder measure.

And yes, this methodology of tuning will improve all of them.

Finally, I agree with Vaquero44 about leaving some machining lines in the Lee dies. But they don't have to be nearly as big as what Lee leaves them. Not even close. Also, for a smoother machine, polish your brass with Nu-Finish car polish and to raise that to a new height, use some lube on pistol cases, especially 9MM and .30 carbine.

[rbuck351]

I realize you don't know me, hence the lesson on polishing. I use plate glass and wet or dry paper followed with crocus cloth if I need a real smooth finish. This plastic stuff Lee uses polishes very well using a disc sander and worn out 320 sand paper. You just have to be careful not to get it too hot. I haven't polished the aluminum base yet and my not as the leakage with W231 is down to maybe 1 speck every 20/30 rounds and yes it is coming from the bottom side of the powder disc only. After polishing and waxing the slide tube and related parts, the powder hopper now returns to the bottom very nicely and reliably. I just ordered two more of these from a fellow here that have the older spring return as well as the chain and if they work well with the spring I will convert the one I now have to spring return instead of the lead weight I put on it. I'm installing powder baffles as well and I may put one of these on my old Lyman AA turret press as well. Has anyone messed with the micrometer charge bar? Do they leak powder and can that be polished out as well. I have one of those coming so I can check that out. My next steps will be bullet feeders and collumater (sp). Do they work well?

[Cowboy_Dan]

I use the charge bars in my 2 Pro Autodiscs. Got both measures second hand, so they may have already been tuned up, but the bars are new and haven't leaked yet, even with AA #7. Haven't tried one with 296 yet, that probably will leak. I have noticed, however, that the charge bars' settings are not interchangable. Close, but a few tenths of a cc different. I just note to which measure the setting corresponds.

Just remembered, there is a thread about tuning the bars, maybe here, maybe elsewhere, I don't recal at the moment. I haven't done any of these yet but may in the future.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

rbuck, Answers in red in the quote.


I realize you don't know me, hence the lesson on polishing. I use plate glass and wet or dry paper followed with crocus cloth if I need a real smooth finish.
I don't know you, but the lesson is as much or more for folks that may not have a power tool or the skills (and you know how much time it takes to develop the skills without overdoing things on plastics and delicate metals) or experience to know non-powered alternatives are available and how easily affordable. Specifically, a young man just starting out in his shooting/reloading career.

This plastic stuff Lee uses polishes very well using a disc sander and worn out 320 sand paper. You just have to be careful not to get it too hot.
Yep, plastic is nasty when it starts to melt. BTW, the stuff is ABS plastic and there's now plumbing piping made of the stuff and plumber's ABS glue. The glue is a mixture of acetone and dissolved ABS plastic. Can be very handy when dealing with busted/cracked car farings and slightly damaged Lee disks.

I haven't polished the aluminum base yet and my not as the leakage with W231 is down to maybe 1 speck every 20/30 rounds and yes it is coming from the bottom side of the powder disc only.
You might want to go ahead and do that and I'll tell you why. When you start reading into Lee Loadmaster and Pro 1000 primer issues, you see lots of stories where powder buildup has caused jams over time. If you're like me, once you stop tuning it, you'll start using it and it'll be difficult to stop, clean it up and finish tuning. If you get it over with now, it's done and you don't have to do it twice.

After polishing and waxing the slide tube and related parts, the powder hopper now returns to the bottom very nicely and reliably. I just ordered two more of these from a fellow here that have the older spring return as well as the chain and if they work well with the spring I will convert the one I now have to spring return instead of the lead weight I put on it.
Isn't it just amazing how just a bit of tuning in the right places will turn a pita into something worth having? I was amazed the first time I tuned my first Pro Auto Disk up and how well it responded to the tuning.

I'm installing powder baffles as well and I may put one of these on my old Lyman AA turret press as well.
I apologize, I can't remember where, but I recently read a thread where a fella added powder baffles to a Lee Pro Auto Disk and compared with/without baffle powder measurements. In his tests, which were fairly extensive, the baffle didn't do a whole lot, leaving me to doubt if they're worth investing in the time/money to make or buy them. The gentleman that did the research did a good job and I was impressed with his data.

Has anyone messed with the micrometer charge bar? Do they leak powder and can that be polished out as well.
I own several. I've had to tune some, some not. I like them and they do well for me within the ranges they work well in. You can also tune them with JB weld to adapt them to specific applications. That's the beauty of the Lee Pro Auto Disk measures. They're really inexpensive new or used, so you can set one up to a specific application, with either a disk or a charge bar, make load notes on the side, tape over them and keep that measure on that turret/die plate/tool head for that specific application. Their downfall is the fairly small powder hopper. I wish they made a bigger hopper. But they're great for cartridges that don't need a lot of powder, like the .380 and 9MM.

I have one of those coming so I can check that out. My next steps will be bullet feeders and collumater (sp). Do they work well?

I've done extensive reading/watching videos the past two weeks on Loadmasters on two Lee forums and youtube. The bullet feeders need tuning and modifications, but can be gotten to work well for specific applications. Most experienced Loadmaster and Pro 1000 ownersadvice against using the bullet feeder until you've loaded significant quantities of rounds with the basic press, then add/tune/mod the case feeder, then add go back and add the bullet feeder later. I do know there is a pretty good video on youtube on how to set it up and make it run pretty decent.

I suggest doing a lot of reading on youtube, Loadmastervideos and Lee Loader forums. Lots of good threads there and here also with a search.

[rbuck351]

Dave
Sorry if I sounded a bit arrogant. It's one of those things I have to watch. Your advice is all spot on and I realize you have had a lot more experience on these machines than I have.
As for case feeders, I probably started backwards as the case feeder is where I started. I managed to get each of them working well fairly easily. The 32 kept tipping over cases as they fell on the feed area until I got it away from the tool head. The other two were just the opposite. Now, trying to adjust dies with a shell plate full of cases was a serious mistake. This puppy doesn't back up worth a darn and it turns every time you pull the handle and you can't just pull a case off the press anywhere you like. This is where the Dillon 550 is way ahead. Two of the ones I have I set up in 9mm and 32S&WLong. These will remain set up as they are without plans of changing anything. The third I set up in 38spl as that is the shell plate that was in it when I got it. It will be converted probably to 7.62x25 as my 38s are loaded on a Star Universal. If I find another for the right price it will get set up in 32/20. None of these take a lot of powder and the hopper is easy to load so the small hopper will be ok. All of my lg primer pistol rounds will be done on the Dillon.
Yeah, I think waiting on the bullet feeder is probably a good plan although the position of the case ready for a bullet is a little annoying.
It's good to know what glue works on the Lee parts as I'm sure something will get broken sooner or later. I think it's a good idea to go ahead and smooth and polish the bottom of the powder measure as well before it causes trouble. I have come to the conclusion that the powder spitter is the main reason these presses have gotten such a bad rep. The second thing is they are not real easy to get adjusted correctly. It's easy to see why Lee recommends changing the entire shellplate carrier and the die plate assembly as a group when changing calibers. Who in their right mind would want to reset up all that after getting it right. Also the parts are pretty reasonably priced. Once the powder spitter problem has been fixed, I think I'm going to like them.
Anyway sorry for sounding like a butt, it wasn't what I intended. After reading what I posted though I realized it didn't sound good.

[dikman]

I just found this post, most interesting. I have two used Pro 1000's, and I have spent a fair bit of time getting them working (including making an off-set handle so it doesn't have to drop down as far when cranking). The second one is quite old, as it came with the cast alloy handle. While it may look nice, I couldn't replace the handle without first replacing the toggle arms for the later ones. I replaced the case slide on one with one made from aluminium.

I have two problems, which I'm still working on. Occasionally a case won't push all the way into the carrier plate slot, so I'll probably have to smooth down the "ramp" that the case slides on, and, of course, there is the primer feeder. It has a habit of turning a primer onto it side, which is not good when you try to seat it! I saw somewhere (might have been youtube) where the chap taped the small vibrator from a mobile phone to the primer chute. Every now and then he would turn it on briefly to shake the primers down the chute. I used a (small) motor from a battery operated hair clipper, taped that to the chute and made a power supply to drive it. I found that I need to keep it on all the time while loading, and while it's a bit annoying it has almost stopped the feed problems. I say almost, because last time I still had a couple of jams. I had changed from Trail Boss to Winchester 231 (loading 38 sp), and as has been mentioned I noticed some powder had accumulated around the primer push pin so looks like I'll have to look into it.

One thing I have found is not to try and go too fast when using them, it's better to use a nice methodical rythm.

[rbuck351]

Make sure when the primer punch drops when a case hits the release that it does not stick above the end of the primer slide. If a primer hits the punch as it transfers from the slide to on top of the punch it can flip it up on its side thus causing a jam that is not fun to clear. Yeah a nice smooth pull push on the lever works much better than trying to go too fast. Does yours have the old primer tray with the outlet off center? If so, I would get a new one. Does the pin sticking out the side of the primer slide rub on the grooved shaft on the right rear of the press. It should shake the daylights out of the primer tray without having to add anything. Powder leakage is a real problem as any powder that gets in the open top of the primer slide will cause problems. Read post 21 by Dave. He explains well how to stop the leakage. Also take the primer slide apart and clean up any flashing lines and then a bit of JPW on the inside of the slide. There are a lot of folks that have made silk purses from these sows ears but it does take time and patience. I haven't read them yet but apparently the fix for any of these problems has been laid out on a couple of different places.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

rbuck1, in red again,


Dave
Sorry if I sounded a bit arrogant. It's one of those things I have to watch.
Don't sweat it, I'm prone to the same tendency, so since I've gotten old as dirt, I recognize it and forgive/forget/ignore in others and my posts can be kinda snooty too. It's just life on the internet. Black and white words don't show you the other person's feelings/thinking at the time of their post.

Your advice is all spot on and I realize you have had a lot more experience on these machines than I have.
I have some experience, but my real advantage is I read/write/type very fast (gift from God), so I can research several years worth (7 to 10) of postings from several forums in just a couple days, make notes and assimilate the experience of others. Add that to 10 years of my career as a technical writer turning somebody else's experience work into a useable book is what helps me.

As for case feeders, I probably started backwards as the case feeder is where I started. I managed to get each of them working well fairly easily. The 32 kept tipping over cases as they fell on the feed area until I got it away from the tool head. The other two were just the opposite.
I can totally relate. I'm done fine tuning the press and am working getting the feeder, which appears to have been originally designed for pistol cases, to feed .308. I'm getting close, but I've had to add three modifications so far and am looking seriously at two more, one of which support and leads to longevity of the carrier where the case feeder bolts on to the carrier and the other two prevent the cases from tipping forwards or backwards once they're in front of the case "pusher."

Now, trying to adjust dies with a shell plate full of cases was a serious mistake. This puppy doesn't back up worth a darn and it turns every time you pull the handle and you can't just pull a case off the press anywhere you like.
I betcha that wasn't fun, but was definitely an adventure. The good/bad thing about the case feeder is, when it's adjusted properly, it's very positive and really moves the brass quickly on the shell plate.

This is where the Dillon 550 is way ahead.
Yes, but it's a mindset change to go from manual advance to auto advance. Things happen quicker when you're adjusting things. The good news is, if you're patient and work through each die and get the mindset of how it all works together, the auto advance with case feeder is WAAAAAAY faster with the same amount of effort coming from you operating it. Funny thing is, the best production on an auto advance comes from going slow and getting into the rhythm of that press. The reward is when it's up and running, an auto advance smokes a manual advance. The irony is the "slow down to go fast" bit.

Two of the ones I have I set up in 9mm and 32S&WLong. These will remain set up as they are without plans of changing anything. The third I set up in 38spl as that is the shell plate that was in it when I got it. It will be converted probably to 7.62x25 as my 38s are loaded on a Star Universal.
Please keep me/us informed on setting up the 7.62 X 25 and the quirks of reloading that cartridge. I sold a pistol a few years ago I have missed since because I didn't have time to work through casting and reloading for it. Regretted it ever since. That cartridge was wickedly fast and I've always wondered since how it would do with lead boolits out of the pistol I had. If I can find a well cared for Tokarev without that ridiculous government mandated safety, I'll get another pistol, though I miss the CZ I had a great deal, mine was like a new pistol, but had not been rearsenaled.

I'm jealous of the Star, always wanted one, but life dictated money spent elsewhere. I like the idea of having a press set up for each caliber, just add components and go. I may do that with a couple Loadmasters. I like the price of the

If I find another for the right price it will get set up in 32/20. None of these take a lot of powder and the hopper is easy to load so the small hopper will be ok.
Yep, perfect for those loads and cheap enough to have one for each press.

All of my lg primer pistol rounds will be done on the Dillon.
I'll be interested to see, if after loading on the Pro 1000's, you decide to pick up more Pro 1000's for the large calibers.

Yeah, I think waiting on the bullet feeder is probably a good plan although the position of the case ready for a bullet is a little annoying.
Can't help you with that one, as the Loadmaster I am working on has a different handle mechanism. You could perhaps change the handle angle with bending and move the position of where you sit?

It's good to know what glue works on the Lee parts as I'm sure something will get broken sooner or later.
I used it to repair a grill on my Ford F150 when the bumper got bent real bad. It had three mounting bosses broken off and that glue, along with using a butane powered soldering iron as a "welder" allowed me to repair the grill. It was a part you couldn't by without buying a 300 dollar assembly, so yeah, it saved me a bunch. 20 bucks for the butane soldering iron kit, 8 for a can of butane, 5 for a can of abs glue, add tax from Home Depot and I was in business to fix that plastic grill/bracket. So 265 back in my pocket. Not a bad deal. A skilled hand could use it to fill a gap, then sand over it to increase smooth function.

I think it's a good idea to go ahead and smooth and polish the bottom of the powder measure as well before it causes trouble.
Sure saved me a lot of headaches long term and I was amazed at how well those little plastic measures performed with the complete set of mods/tweaks. They actually do better than my Dillon measures. They just lack capacity.

I have come to the conclusion that the powder spitter is the main reason these presses have gotten such a bad rep.
I agree, They are at least 50% to 75% of the reason. The majority of the rest is Lee meeting a price point for beginning, inexperienced reloaders and the presses needing to be treated as a reloading press do it yourself "kit" rather than a reloader right out of the box. Puts a big burden on the very new reloader who's just bought one and is in a hurry to crank out cartridges.

The second thing is they are not real easy to get adjusted correctly. It's easy to see why Lee recommends changing the entire shellplate carrier and the die plate assembly as a group when changing calibers. Who in their right mind would want to reset up all that after getting it right.
Absolutely true, but once adjusted, they run pretty well and load good ammunition.

Also the parts are pretty reasonably priced. Once the powder spitter problem has been fixed, I think I'm going to like them.
Affordable is always good. I was surprised on how few parts were suggested to me as spares for the Loadmaster when I asked. I expected a long list, but most parts suggested seem to be long term wear items, not easy break.

Anyway sorry for sounding like a butt, it wasn't what I intended. After reading what I posted though I realized it didn't sound good.
I didn't sweat it and I think this thread is a good one for new reloaders and new to forum folks on how to have a discussion and share information. I've certainly learned a lot about the Pro 1000 from your posts. I just with they'd come out with a Classic Cast version of the Pro 1000 with four die positions. (I like a seperate crimp die for pistol.)

[rbuck351]

One of the main problems I have found reloading for the 7.62x25 especially loading cast is the barrel size vs the throat size. Both my original Russian Tok and my cz52 have barrels needing a .312/.313 boolit but .310 is about as big as you can get to chamber without turning down an already thin neck. I have an old Swag-o-Matic that i made a .3105 die and top punch for that makes a nice 85gr half jacket swc using the cup from spent 50BMG primers as the jacket and a 75gr .257 boolit as a core. I'm thinking it should load fine on a pro 1000 but i need to get a set of lee dies or at least the powder die. And yeah, the cast boolit forum is loaded with talented folks willing to help anyone that asks. I hope my posts will help keep someone from throwing their pro 1000 in a pond.

[44Vaquero]

DaveInFloweryBGA,

I have to say this comment made me smile:

"Affordable is always good. I was surprised on how few parts were suggested to me as spares for the Loadmaster when I asked. I expected a long list, but most parts suggested seem to be long term wear items, not easy break."

Having owned my Load Master since 1992 (The debut year) have replace 2 case sliders and slider cranks along with the upgraded primer systems. That's it! Not counting fingers for the bullet feeder which I consider a consumable.

I should also note that 1 case slider and 1 crank slide were destroyed during testing of the Pneumatic Case Feeder you and I have been talking about!

The LM really is deceptively simple and that may be part of the problem people have when trouble shooting it's performance.

As far a the Pro-1000's Lee have quietly and quite effectively improved the finished product over the years! The newer units may look like the older ones but function has improved greatly. Compared to some of the older units that I have rebuilt the current production is a dream come true!

Now the introduction of the new powder measure shows real promise of moving both the LM and Pro-1K's performance up another notch!153798

[ez4545]

What a great thread with good info. I have a couple of the 1000s I picked up from a fellow member a few years back.When I got them I had just opened the boxes and took a look and and I made plans to mount them on my bench and start tuning them up. They came with the auto disk powder measures and I have to tell you they are totally foreign to me.
They ended up on a high shelf due to just not enough room and other circumstances

I'm hoping i can get them running as smoothly as my loadmaster did

One thing I have noticed in a lot of threads about progressive presses is they require a feel or a bit of finesse. that's no big deal to me.

My first vehicle was the same way. It was a 1951 ford panel truck and it didn't like being revved up put in gear and then have the clutch dumped like I just got the green lights at the drag strip for the big race. It would stall out. When I drove it like it was supposed to be operated it ran great.

I'm sure my 1000s will be the same way. I just hope I can figure out the crazy looking auto disk powder measures

This thread is a goldmine of good tips for sure
I cant wait.

I'm going to set them back up with the dies they came with. The previous owner who had set them up was a hand loader with years of experience and he may have already worked out some of these minor issues.

Heck they may be ready to go. I do like to dream :veryconfu I want to see how the powder measure handles the small 3+ grain pistol loads. I'm guessing they will be consistent

Yeah I dream a LOT

[dikman]

Rbuck, it's a new primer tray because the "newer" press didn't have one, it only came with the primer chute. Yes, the pin sticking out the side rubs against the column but it really has very little effect.

After reading all this I'm pretty sure that the occasional problems are due to powder leakage getting into and around the primer pushrod area. Once I've got my new shed finished and can move my reloading gear into it I intend to strip the press - again - and have a closer look, armed with this new-found information.

[rbuck351]

Yeah, once I stopped the bits of powder from getting in the primer tray the primer system started working pretty good. The one exception was one press had the primer punch that didn't drop quite far enough and the primer would hit it and roll up on it's side causing a nasty jam. I also found a bit of flashing at the exit of the primer tray and scraped that away with a pocket knife. Everything on these presses that touches powder, primer or cases needs checked very closely for flashing, burrs or rough spots. Scrape, polish, sand, file, or whatever it takes to smooth every thing. Then wax (JPW) everything that slides unless oil will work. One of mine even had a couple of what appeared to be galled metal spots on the ram. All the plastic and aluminum pieces are cast and have flashing and rough spots that need addressed. Even the stamped steel arm that operates the powder measure needs smoothed up. There is a world of difference how much smoother they work when everything has been polished up.