LEE APP case feeder problems

[jdtopper]

I am having a problem setting up my Lee APP press to process 380 acp brass. I cannot get the brass to feed reliably from the 4 tube Lee case feeder. The brass tend to jam at the bottom of the feed tube. The case inserter cannot feed the case into the shellholder due to the next case in the tube is causing the lower case (in the jaws of the inserter) to tip and bind up the case inserter. I have no problem with 9mm but the shorter 380 case does not work. Does anyone have any ideas on how I might resolve this issue? Thanks

[BigAlofPa.]

Mine has no problems doing .380. .223/556 it has fits sometimes lol.

[onelight]

The things I have noticed that cause feeding problems are the fit of the cases in bottom of the 4 tube feeder , the clearance between the dropped case and the next one in the tube and the distance (the right left swing of the whole assembly ) between the 4 tube feeder and the top of the press .
I am sure you know all this . The right combination works well on mine. Mine usually sets up quick but sometimes I have to mess with it a bit to get it feeding smoothly .

[megasupermagnum]

I'm not sure of what you have tried, or your level of experience, so forgive me if I recommend something you find too obvious. There are multiple heads for that 4 hole feeder. If you are using the large, there will be too much room for the cases to move around. The other thing is how high over the case mouth you have the unit. Lee recommends a coins width. I would try it as tight as possible. If you had a 3/16" gap, that would also allow the case to tip. A picture would help me give you a better solution.

[tomme boy]

First thing, tighten the phillips screw in the center that holds the rotator to the base. Make sure it is tight enough you can still spin it. It has a detent it locks into. If the spins a little bit it will catch the case and not let it past. There also should be 2 different aluminum pieces that the shells fall through. Make sure you have the right one. And make sure you are using the smaller tube inside of the large one.

You can also adjust the fingers to open farther to let the case fall flat against the slide. Other than that make sure the gap is as Mega stated. Use a penny to set the clearance.

[onelight]

This is one of the setups I use for some cases .
I cut the tube holders that came with the APP to separate them to save a little time when changing sizes each got its own bolt , then to avoid the tube in a tube for small cases I mounted the single tube piece under the 4 tube case feeder and wound up with this setup they feed great from the large tubes. I have lots of parts that I have accumulated through the years for Lee case feeders so I can leave some set up for particular cases . This is the smoothest running for 380 on my APP .
272116

[jdtopper]

I followed your suggestion on using the small tube inside of a larger tube. I am using the collator with 3 holes plugged and the single tube feeder. After some fine tuning I am getting the 380's to run somewhat smoothly. I would like to thank you and all the others that responded to my original post.

[tomme boy]

Do not use the feed pieces that come with the press. Just use the 4 tube feed piece that swivels. That is all you need. Also have it set up so the drop is just a hair to the front of the fingers. I don't run 380's but I do run 9mm and even then it still messes up a bit every now and then. Another thing I have not tried yet but have seen is to put a slight dish in the feed block so it slips under the brass that is still in the tube.

Lee has two types of feed tube kits. Which one did you get?