Lee Bashing.....NOT

[TXGunNut]

Everybody raise their hand whose first mold was NOT made by Mr. Lee.........

(Raising hand) First few were Lyman, Ranch Dog moulds were my first Lee moulds. Still prefer Lyman over Lee but that likeley puts me in a minority around here.

[TXGunNut]

lee makes it possible for us noobs to get in the game without having our lights cut off

That may be true but there's a possibility of false economy if you're buying a tool that eventually has to be replaced with the same or a more expensive tool. Some Lee tools fall into that category, most do not. There's also the possibility that a noob may lose interest or load/cast very little and a tool that wouldn't hold up for a hardcore user would fill the need for an attractive price. As I mentioned before there are some Lee tools that don't work for me but they work just fine for almost everybody else, apparently.
Without a doubt Richard Lee has brought many innovative tools and more than a few new people into this reloading/casting game. I can afford any reloading tool I want, quite often it's a Lee so there's more to it than a great price, IMHO.

[bbqncigars]

There are some things that Lee does well enough for me to use. Examples are: Classic Cast press (used for .50BMG loading), some of their dies (25-20WCF, .50BMG - odd thread size but better tolerances than RCBS), original Auto Prime hand primer. Some facets of Lee's designs are questionable, but I find that true for most reloading tool companies. I started reloading with the original Lee (whack-a-mole) Loader, then quickly moved up to a CoAx press that I still use. A lot of Lee stuff is such that it will keep the average bubba in ammo without breaking the bank.