Lee Three Hole Turret press auto advance removal question

[oley55]

My very first press was a Lee Three hole turret press I bought in the early to mid 1980s. That little press served me well for many years and I still use it today for specialty operations. I am trying to help a total newbie get setup to reload JUST 45-70 and thought I could get him dialed in with the Lee three hole and a second turret head. (I'm still considering gifting him mine, but........it has sentimental value).

On fleabay I see a number of the Lee three holers, but most are of the auto-advance variety. In my opinion a total newbie has no business messing with auto-advance and I'm only considering the Lee turret because once I set it up for him he will rarely if ever have to remove or adjust the dies. (I am trying to make it mostly idiot proof, no insult intended to my friend...)

To the point, can the auto-advance mechanism/s be easily removed and the press still look and operate normally?

[toallmy]

I used my 3 hole lee since the mid 80s without the auto index , the case holder fits in the top of my ram . But very early on I gave up priming on that press and went to the round top tray hand primer .

[GasGuzzler]

Just take the rod out unless the three holer is different than my 4-hole LCT.

[wilecoyote]

I can't say about the offers on fleabay, but if we are talking about the old alu-base Turret, my answer is yes.
If I've done that by my tinkering only, not by high engineering, for sure anyone can.
I add that the old three holer can be easily converted in a four holer, changing the upper plate support and the related parts.

[ascast]

You are dead on about the new guy and a progressive --bad idea. Pretty sure you just take the rod out. Try it. Make sure it indexes correctly. Maybe prime somehow else. DO NOT CASUALLY HANDLE THE INDEX ROD. YOU WILL LOSE IT. Perhaps duct tape right to the press frame.

[poppy42]

The 3 hole has a nylon gizmo that wears out just remove it. Or the rod. Not a big deal at all. Save the parts for when he has more experience

[mdi]

While not a 3 station, I had an early 4 station turret. I was setting it up when I first got it and it would index when I didn't want it to, do I removed the indexing rod and hand indexed for the next 30 years. I didn't want or need a semi-progressive and hand indexing lent itself quite well to my batch reloading method. I had some extra turrets and a few with an open station so I often used a ram prime on the press. Worked quite well...