I came up with a tool to align the shaft tube with the threaded hole in the base and may improve it even further so that it will thread and lock into the base when installing the tube. The base warped ever so slightly and yes, could be machined flat, or a cork or rubber sheet glued to the bottom would take up any difference between a bench and the plate and would keep from marring the bench. If I get real fancy, I could bore the shaft tube after it is all welded but since I am not a machinist it would take a little planning or research.
Right now, I am working on plans to add bushings or bearings, including possibly doing a bushing for the shaft to pass through.
The cheap lee presses are just steel or aluminum parts with steel pins..........nothing precise. A number of other presses seem to nothing more than shoulder bolts, so this press would be quite robust for high usage. My dillon 1050 on the other hand, is built like a truck with big parts and bearings to handle the load/wear points.
It might only be a small price increase to add the bushings/bearings and depending on my schedule may not take long to come up with an improved version 2. Since I am a perfectionist, I would rather not make copies of version 1 just yet, and as a customer it sucks when you see a new improved product just after you purchased the previous model.