new member - Lee Loader supplies question

[Dave Bulla]

Roger,

Here are the pic's I mentioned in the pm.

Everyone else, these are pic's of a work base I make for use with my Lee Loaders. I use 1/2" steel plate and glue a piece of closed cell foam to the bottom and trim it to fit. This particular one shows two layers but that is not needed. It was a trial and error process and the first piece I used was some 1/4" red rubber used for gaskets. It did not do what I wanted it to do which was allow me to pound on my dies and not make a huge racket. I then added some 3/8" closed cell foam that feels about like a piece of wrestling mat only thinner. Now it works great. This one is about 7" by 6" but 5" by 6" is totally adequate.

I got the idea from watching a youtube video showing Dick Lee loading a round with his Lee Loader kit. I couldn't see what he used for a work base but it sounded like it might have been a slab of steel. Well, one thing led to another and this is what I ended up with. I like it a lot and it works quite well. I can sit and load at the kitchen table and not make a huge racket.

The black foam rubber I used was some scrap piece I got from an estate sale but I am sure that there is a very easy and common alternative. That would be one of the cheap neoprene "beer can cozy's" that you can buy for about a buck at most department stores. Just cut it open, roll it out flat, coat both the rubber and the steel with contact cement, let it tack and stick together. Trim the edges and you're good to go. Just keep the size of your steel plate small enough to not overhang the edges OR cut the can cozy into strips and glue it on like a border and it would work just as well. A scrap piece from a thin ethafoam camping pad would probably work well too.

[uscra112]

Mouse pads would work pretty well.

[RogerDat]

I think that base will work well with what I have planned. Am hitting the thrift and second hand stores looking for a tall four leg stool like a bar stool without a back. A padded plate on the stool would give me a nice solid surface and deaden the sound. Stool will slip under a work table or in a closet when not in use, and is good height for me to work at while sitting in a chair.
I'm even wondering if a press could be mounted on a stool, if some weight was hung off of he bottom leg rails to make it more stable.

I probably have a beat up old pad for under a sleeping bag we used for the kids when they were young hanging around someplace. Recall digging it out for the grandkids to sleep on the floor awhile back.

I'm probably going to work in the basement, setting off a primer in the kitchen would be bad PR for reloading if it happens when my wife is minding her own business reading on the couch and suddenly..... POP! I'm definitely going to be reloading in the basement, but avoiding a bunch of pounding noise will also help with making me a less annoying husband.

[uscra112]

If space is at a premium, there's an effective press that does not need a strong bench. In fact, it doesn't need ANY bench. Not cheap, but you can FL size .30-06 just holding it in your hands.

http://www.huntingtons.com/store/pro...cat=744&page=1

I've had one for maybe ten years. Very tough, light years beyond the Lee "hand press". I take it to the range when I'm developing loads. If I had to cut down to just one press, this would be it.

[double00]

did you ever shoot any of those boolits.

[gunoil]

i would not cut corners. dont buy cheap stuff. Example: buy rcbs pro melt furnace. I would coat boolits instead of nasty lee lube. Buy NOE or accurate molds. You need a brass washer.

[RogerDat]

It has been my experience that when it comes to purchasing equipment buying "cheap stuff" is generally a poor choice. In this case I'm going at it from the opposite direction, how low can I go Essentially it's hotplate and stainless steel pots from thrift store for melting. But am going to order a thermometer tonight since from everything I have read here temp is critical to keeping the good stuff in the alloy and a successful cast. It will be awhile before I can justify $300+ for melting.

I have been looking at NOE molds and appreciate the suggestion to look at accurate. I may want to go that route for 303 British since they offer a wider selection of dia. Will know better once I get an accurate measure of my Enfield bore. For 38/357 or 45 LC not sure the extra mold cost above Lee mold is worth it.

Still mulling over lube options. Some posts/articles suggest moly grease and bees wax mix, and make a good argument for using those two ingredients melted together.

[RogerDat]

Found a round folding stool at wal-mart for $12 not as heavy duty as I would really like, metal rather than wood. For now I'm going to keep hitting thrift stores looking for a stool to use as my reloading "bench". If nothing better turns up I might buy the $12 one.

[RogerDat]

If space is at a premium, there's an effective press that does not need a strong bench. In fact, it doesn't need ANY bench. Not cheap, but you can FL size .30-06 just holding it in your hands.

http://www.huntingtons.com/store/pro...cat=744&page=1

I've had one for maybe ten years. Very tough, light years beyond the Lee "hand press". I take it to the range when I'm developing loads. If I had to cut down to just one press, this would be it.

Appears a lot of folks share your high opinion of this press, it's currently out of stock backorder only.

[Wayne Smith]

Roger, for a lot of years I only shot a couple of calibers. Somehow I got an old sample case and cut foam to fit. In that case I had an RCBS Jr3, RCBS 505 scale, RCBS powder measure, powder funnel, and Lee cartridge trimmers as well as 4 sets of dies. It closed. To use it I would put a towel on the dining room table and clamp the press to the table. The measure mounted to the press under the die. When I was done I took it down and put it back in the case. The clamps were part of my wood working tools. I had two 50 cal. ammo cans in which I kept components. I mostly loaded 30-30 and 44Mag then, but kept dies for .308 and 30-06 as well. This was apartment living as well as our first house.

[RogerDat]

So I placed an order. Lyman thermometer and Lyman Cast Bullet handbook. Figure I have the 1st edition Lee Reloading as a pdf for reading about reloading in general and equipment, if I make or purchase cast bullets the Lyman manual will be the load data I will need, plus information on casting process.

I saw another thermometer that a few people claim was the same as the Lyman for less money but..... how would one know?

[Wayne Smith]

A mechanical thermometer is a piece of mature technology and pretty simple. I'm sure Lyman does not make their own but sources them. That the same thing is available from multiple suppliers at various price points in a mature technology item is not surprising. Knowing the difference? I tend to trust what I read here when the author gives his bona fides. And - have you found one made in America?

[RogerDat]

There are only 5 reviews of this alternative. More reviews are for casting use, not the advertised use in a grill. No way to know the bona fides of the review authors on Amazon. Alternative is made in USA, both are stainless steel. In the pictures it looks like the Lyman has a cast aluminum clip for hanging on the melt pot vs. the spring metal clip of the alternative.

http://www.amazon.com/Tel-Tru-LT225R...ef=pd_sbs_sg_3

[RogerDat]

did you ever shoot any of those boolits.

Not yet, between ice storm, bitter cold, followed by snow up to my knees, followed by sub-zero temps ..... but I am champing at the bit, my neighbor with the range was out plowing his drive while I cleared mine and we talked, it's just a matter of tramping out to the back of his property with a target.

I really do need to get out there and test so I can continue reloading with this recipe provided it shoots well, or try something different if it does not.

[RogerDat]

Found a wood swivel bar type stool at Salvation Army for $13 the base that the swivel mounts on is flat and very solid, taking the chair off I have a nice little work space for going tap, tap, tap. Should be the perfect base for the padded plate Dave describes. Might even be able to clamp a press to it.

[429421Cowboy]

I like Dave's plate for loading, I have either a piece of 3/8" steel for a base that I never thought about putting foam under, but might have to do that now, and my favorite, a 1" thick marble slab that was a cutout for a sink from a countertop I got from the local marble shop for tooling leather, but use for all sorts of things now.

My one suggestion for you in a addition to the loader, would be a hand primer. Much, much better than seating them with a hammer, that method gives me the willies! I use my Lee loaders for a few cartridges, and press for the rest, but I still enjoy using the Lee ones, and they can be darn fast too once you get your motions down. Good luck to you!

[RogerDat]

Is it normal for a brand new still in the package lead thermometer to be pointed at 1000 degree highest temp rather than the 200 degree lowest temp? Went with the Lyman thermometer and when it arrived that is how it was. Should I be sending this one back?

Same order had my Lyman Cast Reloading book and I'm really liking what I have seen so far, just had time to glance through a few pages but can't wait to sit down and give it a read. Just the matching of powder to molds looks like it will be very helpful.

[RogerDat]

Is it normal for a brand new still in the package lead thermometer to be pointed at 1000 degree highest temp rather than the 200 degree lowest temp? Went with the Lyman thermometer and when it arrived that is how it was. Should I be sending this one back?

Some searching turned up my own answer, check calibration with boiling water (adjusted for elevation) and then with known plain lead record temp as it cools looking for a plateau should be at 621 degrees. This may be a case of coming back around to 1000 when at room temps that are much less than 200 degrees. Or it could just be cheap manufacture. We shall see.

I should note the Tel-tru thermometer in addition to being less expensive has a locking nut that allows turning the dial to adjust reading during check of calibration. Lyman you will be able to see if it is accurate and adjust mentally for a high or low reading but not designed to allow changing the dial.

Also on Amazon the Lyman shows a heavy cast aluminum looking clip but arrives with the same spring steel one that is in the picture of the Tel-tru.

[rking22]

I suspect it is wrap around due to being below 200 deg. Put it under hot tap water and see if it moves the right direction, easy sanity check. I load on a block of hardwood scrap , drilled a few flat bottmed holes to locate the shell base and keep other things from "escaping" . Drill a small hole all the way thru in the center of the shell base hole and spent primers can go thru to the bottom catch area. I use a Lee hand priming tool, but have set a lot of primers with 2 taps.
On your lead , the flat plates you have appear to be counterweight material. I have cast bullets for my 45-70 as well as muzzle loaders and plain base 30s for subsonic level loads from that material with no added anything with good success. I did not know if mine had enough/ any Tin in it. I was casting round balls from it and ,on a wildhair, cast some 140 plainbase 30 cals . Had a new mold and curisity ,...well you know. Any way ,the 140 came out well filled and shot well on 6 gr of reddot in my 3030. THe counterweight material I have apearently has adequate Tin to cast a good bullet ,they are SOFT. If plinking or rabbit loads it shoots well. I hope your material is the same . I also tried the counterweight material alloyed with 25% coww and water dropped for pistol bullets and it also worked well there. I point this out as I have a very limited supply of coww and want to stretch it as much as possiable. I have other alloys for hunting ,accuracy bullets but use them only when needed.
Hold your smelting temp down just in cast you get a zinc wheelweight in the pot, it will float and not contaminate a good melt. I sorted twice and still found 2 in the last batch. Probably should have just pitched the little ones I wondered about. but they float so the second level (melt temp) caught them.
Enjoy your new pastime ,so many aspects to explore!

[RogerDat]

Thanks rking22 You pegged it was not past 1000, but way below 200. I tested thermometer clipped to pot of boiling water.Got just over 200 degrees but short of 210.

I was thinking of trying a small batch at 25% cow to see what I got air cooled, water dropped, and maybe heat treated. It's good to know that ratio and wd will probably be suitable for at least 38 plinking loads.

I read several chapters of the Lyman cast bullet hand book tonight, your right, lots to explore.
I have a step-son living down in Tenn. been looking forward to getting down there for a little camping and a visit, you have some pretty country down your way.