Lee Loadmaster question

[Guesser]

This is directed at experienced Loadmaster operators. Have you ever had the carrier crack at the primer rocker arm pivot bolt???
I had this happen 3 times in the first couple of years I was using my LM. I replaced them with new carriers from Lee and had to study on the problem for a while before it "flashed" on me what I was doing that caused the damage. i no longer use the LM because I am retired and prefer to load on single stage presses but I do have a spare carrier on hand.
I want to hear from other users as to the prevalence of this failure and what the perceived cause is.
Thanks in advance for all reports and opinions, please don't slam the LM, just give me experienced tech reports.

[RobS]

Guesser:

I own two LM's and have never had any problems with the shell plate carrier cracking at the primer arm pivot bolt. Actually after thousands and thousands and thousands of rounds reloaded between the two I have never had any broken parts other than the occasional primer sliders because I short stroked the press.

I'm interested on what you were doing and what you discovered in figuring out the problem so that way I know what to look for.

[Guesser]

What I found out was that berdan primed cases cause the Lee decapping pin to slide up and after a series of trying to seat primers in berdan and boxer cases with the spent primer still in place it puts a lot of stress on that arm and it cracks the carrier. I talked to Lee about it, even talked to Richard Lee one time and it is known that this will happen but, and I agree whole heartedly, it is the operators responsibility to sort his brass. I learn slow and hard; but eventually I conquered my vertical learning curve and went seven years without breaking another one.
I was loading about 2000 rounds of 9MM a month at the time as well as scattered other calibers.
I don't use the LM any more as I'm out of competition and am retired and load only for myself on single stage presses.
Thats my story and I'm sticking to it!!!!!!!

[RobS]

Well that would explain the cracked shell plate carrier for sure; a little more pressure than was originally intended:bigsmyl2:. I didn't think it would be from normal use as I have not had any problems with this after reloading the numbers or reloads I have done on my presses.

Rob

[Guesser]

Rob, no its not normal use, its from not paying attention and my inability to follow all the operations at once, just like having cleaning media in the priming system, thats the operators fault. I've commited just about every mistake that can be commited to a LM. They are good machines and just need to be understood. I had no problems after approx. 2 years experience.

[DLCTEX]

I have not experienced problems with berden primed brass but did run into a similar problem with some of the 45 ACP brass with SP primers. I did not put enough pressure on them to crack anything, but it did mess up a few loading sessions. I solved that by sorting all outside source brass no only by brand, but by headstamp.

[Storydude]

Interested in selling the Loadmaster?

[zomby woof]

I've never had that happen. I've had my over 15 years. You get a feel for the press. Every operation you can feel on the arm. I know when something has gone wrong.

[Guesser]

Zomby, yeah, I just took longer to develop "THE FEEL" than most people, once I found it; end of problem!!!!

[Guesser]

Storydude: PM me!!!

[prs]

I picked-up a LM used years ago and it was a wreck. Lee was very helpful and supplied parts free of charge that they did not have to and gave lots of help in restoring the machine. But for the first two years, primer seating depth was very erratic. Then, during normal operation the primer pivot pin's hole in the carrier gave-out. Upon examination, it looked to me that it had been cracked through for a long time. I put a new carrier on it (came with the pin and spring and primer lever pre-installed) and its been great ever since.

I dunno if the previous owner had any military cases, but by looks of the original priming parts he seems to have experienced lots of troubles with double primes and such. Bent primer punch, chewed-up nylon parts, bent ejector and lots of screw-ups. There is a Loadmaster sight that is great with many videos on how to set up ans such:

www.loadmastervideos.com

prs