Lee disappoints......

[Joel Chavez]

So, after many weeks of scouring for parts to complete my 3hole turret press I ordered the last remaining missing piece, the plastic ratchets. The lady I spoke to said the machine that makes the plastic part has been down for some time, but she was able to source (2) ratchets at .50 a piece plus $8.00 for shipping. I received the (2) ratchet parts today and headed to my reloading area to try them on the 3hole press. Well, what do you know, the first ratchet lasted just 20 pulls of the handle before it stripped. After weeks and weeks of anticipation to finally use my 3holer in auto index mode I’m just lost for words. The least expensive part of the entire press(probably a few pennies to make) is also the weakest link. Oh well, I’m just hoping the 4holer I ordered last week lasts longer........

[CraigOK]

I'm sorry man, thats very frustrating. Does anyone make an aftermarket one, or could it be 3d printed?

[Joel Chavez]

I'm sorry man, thats very frustrating. Does anyone make an aftermarket one, or could it be 3d printed?

Not that I’m aware of. Fleabay has the ratchets for like $5 each but I’m not playing that game. I’ve been using the 3holer for nearly 20yrs and its by far my favorite press. I just wanted to try the auto index feature to which my surprise didn’t last long at all lol.

[CraigOK]

Not that I’m aware of. Fleabay has the ratchets for like $5 each but I’m not playing that game. I’ve been using the 3holer for nearly 20yrs and its by far my favorite press. I just wanted to try the auto index feature to which my surprise didn’t last long at all lol.

It would be less of a deal if you could have purchased 2 dozen I'm sure, but its still concerning that they only lasted that long, errr, short. Maybe they had been sitting on the shelf a long time and were brittle. If someone on here prints them they could probably make you some for cheap.

[onelight]

The part was defective or There is something going on with your press , or operator error .
If all is working as it should that should last many thousands of rounds .
If you manually turn the turret when the ram is in the wrong position you can break that piece. The turret should turn with a light touch when all is correct.

[Joel Chavez]

The part was defective or There is something going on with your press , or operator error .
If all is working as it should that should last many thousands of rounds .
If you manually turn the turret when the ram is in the wrong position you can break that piece. The turret should turn with a light touch when all is correct.

yeah, I was extra cautious with turning the turret as i placed it in place. It worked fine for the first couple of cranks then at about #20, it would only turn the turret halfway between the dies. I’m not gonna attempt the other ratchet and save it for later. I did inspect the auto index rod for any abnormalities to which I saw none.

[hollywood63]

https://www.titanreloading.com/lee-precision-reloading-equipment/lee-service-parts/turret-press-parts/turret-press-square-ratchet

[Joel Chavez]

https://www.titanreloading.com/lee-precision-reloading-equipment/lee-service-parts/turret-press-parts/turret-press-square-ratchet

That’s for the 4holer. The 3holer ratchet is white and it has teeth.

[Martin Luber]

I have one but manually index it. well that's after the indexer moves it partway

[Joel Chavez]

I have one but manually index it. well that's after the indexer moves it partway

yeah I’ve been manually indexing it for nearly 20yrs, but i wanted to try out the auto index feature. I’m thinking the white plastic just isn’t as robust as Lee thinks it is. Oh well......

[VariableRecall]

So, after many weeks of scouring for parts to complete my 3hole turret press I ordered the last remaining missing piece, the plastic ratchets. The lady I spoke to said the machine that makes the plastic part has been down for some time, but she was able to source (2) ratchets at .50 a piece plus $8.00 for shipping. I received the (2) ratchet parts today and headed to my reloading area to try them on the 3hole press. Well, what do you know, the first ratchet lasted just 20 pulls of the handle before it stripped. After weeks and weeks of anticipation to finally use my 3holer in auto index mode I’m just lost for words. The least expensive part of the entire press(probably a few pennies to make) is also the weakest link. Oh well, I’m just hoping the 4holer I ordered last week lasts longer........

I've got two Lee Wrenches and mine have been staying strong.

I think the key to using them is to make sure that you don't try and bite into the area that has the screw portion. That, and make sure whatever you're going is hand-tight, and don't yank the thing too hard. Is this the wrench you're looking for? They look like they are still in stock on Midway USA.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1021759797?pid=101497

[Joel Chavez]

I've got two Lee Wrenches and mine have been staying strong.

I think the key to using them is to make sure that you don't try and bite into the area that has the screw portion. That, and make sure whatever you're going is hand-tight, and don't yank the thing too hard. Is this the wrench you're looking for? They look like they are still in stock on Midway USA.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1021759797?pid=101497

This is what I’m referring to bud. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210309/c3b61879c4bf4de8963d0dd4d17e3abb.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cwtebay]

My first one lasted 20 years, I ordered another one and they sent it along with a spare in less than a week. I believe I'll keep it stuck to the under side of the press with duct tape until I need it. Lee has always been amazing for me to deal with (other than when I asked them to rebuild my worn out 30-40 Lee Loader sizing die..... but that's another story).

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[trails4u]

I understand it's supposed to be a weak point on the four hole turret...so when I got mine 12 years ago I ordered extras. I'm guessing 10-12K rounds later, I've yet to need a spare. Could break tomorrow....we'll see, but it hasn't yet.

[VariableRecall]

This is what I’m referring to bud.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Whoops! Guess that Lee makes so many things out of plastic that I got mixed up a little. My bad!

[abunaitoo]

I've never had to change one on my turret press. 3 hole.
Got it in the 80's.
But I don't use the auto index that much.
Does the Pro 1000 have one in it????
If so, I've never changed that one since I got it in the 90's.
Might have been old stock part, or something wrong with the press.

[Joel Chavez]

I've never had to change one on my turret press. 3 hole.
Got it in the 80's.
But I don't use the auto index that much.
Does the Pro 1000 have one in it????
If so, I've never changed that one since I got it in the 90's.
Might have been old stock part, or something wrong with the press.

The press and index rod are flawless. I’m starting to think the plastic part was either defective from the onset or possibly old, thus brittle. I received email confirmation today that the 4holer should arrive on Monday of next week. Hopefully the index feature on that press will last more than 20 cranks lol.

[Bird]

I guess I got lucky. Mine has held up since the late '80's, and just how many 10's of thousands of rounds, I don't know. Maybe the plastic is not of the same quality.

[Coopaloop86]

I have loaded several thousands rounds of 9mm on my 4 hole and just recently had to replace the ratchet.

[Livin_cincy]

I have yet to replace the ratchet on my indexing turret press. I read the directions carefully so I do not damage it by improper use. If you are damaging the ratchet it is your technique. Review your setup & method.

[Martin Luber]

I would bet the originals are Delrin and the replacements just plastic. My original lasted 20 years, the replacement, one week.

[Joel Chavez]

I have yet to replace the ratchet on my indexing turret press. I read the directions carefully so I do not damage it by improper use. If you are damaging the ratchet it is your technique. Review your setup & method.

lol, my technique? I suppose I need to sit down when cranking down on the lever versus standing up? Or perhaps I should listen to Raygay music instead of Oldies? Or maybe, just maybe I should chew gum, sit down and listen to Cuomo while attempting to reload ammo?

[Targa]

Yeh....not much technique in pulling the slot machine handle and turning the turret plate. I like Lee and the majority of my reloading equipment consists of Lee products but they do have “throw”away parts but the parts are cheap enough to replace and I just keep extras.

[onelight]

I had a 1000 from when they came until a few years ago and had spare parts but I must have included them with my 1000 when I gave it away if still had them I would send them to you but no luck I know I had a few and don't think I ever replaced the one that came with the press . All the parts I have now are for the LCT and ABLP .
Maybe some one else has some hiding in a corner :)

[Joel Chavez]

Maybe some one else has some hiding in a corner :)

So to load 1k rounds I would rhetorically need 140 ratchets at $8.50 shipped for (2) which would bring the total cost of approximately $595 in plastic ratchets lol. Yeah, the lady at Lee said their machine that makes the part has been down for some time now and didn’t know when it would be back online. I’ll just leave it be and hope the 4hole Classic will auto index longer than this 3holer did

[onelight]

Having used a press with the same indexing system for more than 20 years I know they will work better than what you have experienced but if you have a 4 hole turret coming then it does not matter much . I find the 4th station very handy and the classic cast turret is one of my favorite presses to load on , 0 problems with mine only mod I have done on it is a rubber band to keep the primer feed tilted away from the press :)
Hope it works good for you.

[Joel Chavez]

Having used a press with the same indexing system for more than 20 years I know they will work better than what you have experienced but if you have a 4 hole turret coming then it does not matter much . I find the 4th station very handy and the classic cast turret is one of my favorite presses to load on , 0 problems with mine only mod I have done on it is a rubber band to keep the primer feed tilted away from the press :)
Hope it works good for you.

Yeah I’m gonna set up all my rifle dies on the 3holer and manually index it like i have been doing for the last 20yrs or so. The 4holer will be set up for my pistol dies. I’m looking at those bullet feeding dies for it too.

[gwpercle]

There is a lot to be said for manual indexing ... the least of which is ... no ratchet required !
Gary

[Soundguy]

Pattern one out of aluminum.

I don't count on lee indexing. I pulled my rod on my 4 hole the day I got it.

[jim147]

Pattern one out of aluminum.

I don't count on lee indexing. I pulled my rod on my 4 hole the day I got it.

I think my wife bought me a four hole around twenty years ago. I've loaded more .45 both ACP and LC than I can count. 9 and .38 got run for a bunch of rounds a few times.

I have always loaded more in my single stage presses but I'm a rifle shooter. The four hole works the best when doing 200-500 plus. I go stready on the handle and it indexs everytime.

[John Boy]

Been manually turning the 3 hole plate for over 20 years. Never even considered using a ratchet

[GregLaROCHE]

Maybe Lee knows there’s a problem and that’s why their machine making them is down, until they solve the problem.

[Soundguy]

Probably a 3d printer....

[onelight]

I have never run my Lee turret manually except when adjusting the dies in the turret.
I clocked 50 rounds of 44 special on it one time after refilling powder and primer feed .
Not trying to go crazy fast , but at a quick pace the 50 rounds took 16 min , that is priming on the press and using the auto index . I consider that pretty good for a single stage press.

[William Yanda]

I wonder how that part, if made of powdered metal instead of plastic, would hold up.

[Joel Chavez]

I wonder how that part, if made of powdered metal instead of plastic, would hold up.

well, it couldn’t be worse lol......

[Soundguy]

I still think some aluminum billet and cnc magic or even brass and casting sand and some hand polishing would be light years ahead of the plastic jobbers.

[Joel Chavez]

I still think some aluminum billet and cnc magic or even brass and casting sand and some hand polishing would be light years ahead of the plastic jobbers.

questions is how to even start lol.....

[Soundguy]

Pattern one. Casting sand and low temp melt is easy. Even use tin.. Pattern, melt, pour. Set, cleanup.

[1hole]

I wonder how that part, if made of powdered metal instead of plastic, would hold up.

Lee makes some plastic parts, not to be cheep but to be the weak link that strips or breaks to avoid damage to other more costly parts. That's not a bad thing, some reloaders can (and do) damage steel and cast iron parts.

Lee molds some plastic parts but they don't make the plastic itself. If they have a batch of brittle parts I'd bet it's because their plastics supplier sold them a bad batch.

[dbosman]

STL is here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3501652

QUOTE=CraigOK;5138966]I'm sorry man, thats very frustrating. Does anyone make an aftermarket one, or could it be 3d printed?[/QUOTE]

[dbosman]

The plastic ratchets are intended to be sacrificial parts. They are meant to tell us to slow down and figure out what the issue is.

[kmw1954]

The plastic ratchets for the 3 hole press are the same part for the Pro1000 press.

Titan reloading also shows them out of stock.

Might try placing a wanted ad post in the buy/sell/trade forum.. Just maybe a fellow member here has a few they can spare.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

yeah, I was extra cautious with turning the turret as i placed it in place. It worked fine for the first couple of cranks then at about #20, it would only turn the turret halfway between the dies. I’m not gonna attempt the other ratchet and save it for later. I did inspect the auto index rod for any abnormalities to which I saw none.

I have owned 4 of the Lee 3 hole turret Presses, I bought them all used. Two of them came with the index parts. I bought a Index kit and tried to install it the third Press that didn't have those parts. I never got it to turn as freely as the two presses that came with the index parts. Once the ratchet slips, it never works well afterward. Oiling the rod made it worse...which is weird, because I oil the rod on my 4 hole press to make the 4 hole index system cycle easier. While I think I am pretty handy, I gave up on trying to make the index work on that third press. I wrecked 6 ratchets trying to make it work. When I acquired the fourth Lee 3 hole turret press, it also came without the Index parts. It also had other problems, I replaced a lot of parts on it with New Lee parts, this was back when Lee still stocked parts for these. Anyway, I attempted to install the index kit on the fourth Press, and it worked flawlessly from the get-go. The only thing I can think of, is adjusting the height/length of the index rod. Maybe there needs to be a certain amount of slop...and when I was trying to make it work (and failed) with the third Press, maybe I didn't have that adjusted to have the correct amount of slop.

PM sent with more info.

[Joel Chavez]

At this point, I’m just gonna manually index the 3hole and test out the 4hole this weekend.....if it arrives on Friday according to USPS tracking info

[Joel Chavez]

The plastic ratchets are intended to be sacrificial parts. They are meant to tell us to slow down and figure out what the issue is.

Trust me I was extra cautious cranking on the lever. My guess is that the plastic material was inferior thus failing prematurely.

[AntiqueSledMan]

Hello Guys,

I have only two complaints about Lee Precision,
1. My 32-40 decapper expander, the expander is held in place with a collet and sometimes it slips.
2. On their Web Page, they used to list all the components in a Die Set under Replacement Parts.
For example a 45 Colt Carbide Set 90514 consists of a Sizer 90533, Expanding Die 90586, Seating Die 91192.
They no longer list the separate components.
I know it's not much of a complaint, but I did find it interesting information.

AntiqueSledMan.

[GasGuzzler]

I have the 4-hole and my ratchet collar lasted about 7 years and 30K pulls. It's a fuse link in the mechanism so if you short stroke the press or do not have the turret seated properly it will break. If you got only one part from Lee it would have been free plus shipping. They only charge for items if you get more than one.

[bedbugbilly]

Sorry to hear the problem you had - frustrating I know. I usually get my Lee stuff from Titan - I would give Dennis a call and explain what your issue is and just see if he happened to have the part you need.

I'm like one of the previous posters and I'm sure many others. I ordered my 4 hole Lee classic turret probably 15 years ago and at the time - ordered the spare plastic parts figuring they were probably a "weak link". I have reloaded thousands of rounds on it and it is still going on all the original parts.

Don't know if you have done this or not - but maybe put a WTB in the Sell/Trade section here and who knows what someone might have laying around - maybe someone who sold a 3 hole turret but still has those parts laying around in their parts and pieces.

[1hole]

Hello Guys,

I have only two complaints about Lee Precision,
1. My 32-40 decapper expander, the expander is held in place with a collet and sometimes it slips.

Lee's collet nut holds their unthreaded decap rod better centered in a sizer than any other design but we have to use it correctly.

First, take the rod and collet nut out of the die and clean them of all oil or grease. Then, using the proper size end wrenches that most of us already have, put it back together very tightly and all will be well.

[Joel Chavez]

I have the 4-hole and my ratchet collar lasted about 7 years and 30K pulls. It's a fuse link in the mechanism so if you short stroke the press or do not have the turret seated properly it will break. If you got only one part from Lee it would have been free plus shipping. They only charge for items if you get more than one.


Correct, the first ratchet was free the second was .50¢. However shipping was still $8 lol.

[Conditor22]

I'd take the press apart, clean, look for problems that might cause binding, lube. It might not be the fault of the plastic part you might have a binding/friction problem elsewhere.

[onelight]

Correct, the first ratchet was free the second was .50¢. However shipping was still $8 lol.
Yup I always do a little shopping to get all on the order I can . Problem now is they are out of a lot of things.

[jetinteriorguy]

You’ll love the four holer. I’ve loaded well over 10000 rounds on mine and still haven’t needed to use one of the spare ratchet pieces. This press is truly one of the best designed pieces of equipment you can get, it just works without any headaches and can produce some extremely good ammo. I even use it for .223 and 7.62x39 plinking ammo and it easily makes sub 2 MOA ammo. I’ve just recently started using the double disc setup in the Pro Disc and it is the most consistent method I’ve found for powder dispensing. It’s also fairly easy to play with the disc combinations to usually get what you need, and with Accurate 1680 is the only way I don’t get powder leaking all over. I also modify cavities with a tapered reamer for customizing for my standard pistol loads.