Oh my goodness!! Something I NEVER thought I would hear, LDBennett saying anything good about anything LEE (but the FCD). The world is truly near the end!

 

The world is truly near the end!

Are you on record saying that the apocaLEEypse is near?
Wonder where you stand on being a:
pre-millennialeesm
post-millennialeesm
or just plain amillennialeest
pleease tell me it aint'so!

Kidding LD. You're input is value added as usual.

 

gdmoody:

Their latest products seem to be from a different designer. I still don't trust their dies (other than the FCD), but all my LEE die experiences are with older dies. Maybe they have changed too???? Almost any LEE die I have is at least 20+ years old. This experience, fueled by our limited budget for my son's reloading equipment, was a learning experience for me. I will still buy mostly RCBS dies and use my 30 year old Dillon RL550B and love it. There is no LEE equipment in my future if I can help it. But LEE has not totally turned the corner. That powder scale harkens back to the LEE of old and it is a newer design.

LDBennett

 

I have said this more than once - it is only the powder handling equipment that I hate about Lee.

 

it is only the powder handling equipment that I hate about Lee

Same here, George.

 

Sounds like the turret pres is being used as a "semi-progressive" press. I never had any of the problems mentioned, but I was not charging or priming on the press and did not try for semi-progressive reloading. The little plastic thingy is a "sacrificial" part which will break before any major damage when there is binding or something that obstructs the indexing. I have an old style Lee turret that I removed the auto index feature three days after I set it up. I continuse th hand index for mebbe 25 years and many thousands of rounds of reloads from 9mm through 30-06 and 7.62x54r with no problems that could be attributed to anything Lee. The old Lee has been retired and replaced with a Forster Co-Ax which is slightly better that the old guy.....

 

My main press is Lee's old three-hole turret press. I had trouble getting the indexing to work, so removed it. Better for me, as I am an old batch-processing mainframe programner, and prefer doing one operation on the entire batch of brass at once. I prime with the old square Lee hand primer tool. I deprime off the press too. Just my style.
My old Lee beam scale works fine, is accurate and reliable. Maybe they changed the design?

 

The 10's is a ball bearing that sits in a set of depressions. The units are observed in a window as you slide the counter weight. It is the tenths that are miserable. The selected one is brighter than the adjacent ones (??). Sometimes I could see that and other times not so much. The act of adjusting for the weight can upset the unit and the tenths if you don't have steady hands (neither me or my son posses such an advantage). Even replacing the pan can upset the counter weights. I looked at the fulcrum and it is crude at best. While trying to set it up we had it all zeroed and it somehow instantly lost zero. The instructions gave zero help in the dilemma of how to read the tenths.

I had an old Dillon balance scale years ago which was miles better than this LEE scale. I just hated waiting for the beam to stop swinging and swinging even though it too was magnetically dampened. When Dillon introduced the digital scale I bought it. The latest one is different than mine. Mine will drift so I zero it for every measurement to be sure. I have calibrated it using the Lyman weight set and it is within 0.1 grain up to 100 grains.

LDBennett

The model is Lee Safety Magnetic Powder Scale 90681.

I load Dillon RL550B progressively for everything including all 30+ caliber, both pistol and rifle. My son wants to try using the auto advance. It may work fine for him. It seems to move correctly and has a good detent for each stop. We'll see once we really start reloading (waiting for the digital scale).

LDBennett

 

Try the new auto-drum powder measure. It works decent from my side of the fence and is accurate. Does better than my Hornady on extruded.
-
The Lee scale I have is accurate but I won't use it. Takes too many revolutions to settle down. Also if you want to weight something and try to move the window bar - forget it unless you are a surgeon who can do micro movements.

 

The primer delivery system is unique and seems to work OK but the powder measure bumps into it every revolution (this is the latest one with the triangular primer tray).

Get a Lee Precision Auto Disk Riser and the banging of the primer thingy will go away.

 

The long one

 

Here are a few of my thoughts, which go along with Mikld, drymag and Mr. don’s suggestions/ideas.

1- get the riser to raise the powder measure.

2- it already sounds like you have the auto-drum measure? But if not I highly recommend it.

3- the plastic indexing “ratchet” is plastic for a reason. While it may not be the best material for the job, it’s definitely the safest.
If you were to load a cartridge longer than what’s suggested in the instructions when you try lowering the ram on a loaded cartridge the round is stuck. (Trust me, I know from experience)
If the “ratchet” wasn’t plastic there would be some bigger issues caused than just replacing an inexpensive part.

 

Gotta agree with the opinion of the scale. I shot mine. As to the powder measure hitting the priming s6stem, Lee has a two piece riser set, one for pistol and one for rifle. I would suggest these.

 

I actually have 4 Lee Auto Drum powder measures on my Dillon, two more on the Lee Turret...works for me! I tossed the primer stuff in the trash early on, and if I load on the Lee, it is either primed on Dillon, or hand primed by the Lee Universal hand primer.

 

The kit comes with the LEE Auto-Drum powder measure. Years ago I tried both the Auto-Disk and the Lee Perfect Powder Measures and both were plastic junk, and happily discarded.

On this Classic turret press we have mounted the powder measure on the riser and the triangular primer tray still hits powder measure as the turret revolves but only on the very tip of the primer tray. The whole primer assembly is lose enough that it moves out of the way when hit. The previous model primer system used a round tray that would not have hit the powder measure but getting the last primers out of the tray would be difficult, so they tell me.

We were well aware of the reason for the plastic ratchet parts, the regular breakage, and hence, we bought three replacement sets of the bottom part and the square drive. We are covered!

For me, and remember this is my adult son's reloading equipment, not mine. I HATE auto indexing. My Dillon RL550B is manual indexing and I think that much better than auto indexing. I have owned two former presses with auto indexing over the years and that mechanism was alway troublesome and a pain. For that reason I would never own a Hornady LnL progressive or the Dillon RL650. Of course, this Lee Classic Turret press can be set up without the rod that does auto indexing. I suggested this to my son but he wants to try auto indexing. That OK with me because I don't have to use this press!

To be clear, I wrote this review trying to be as fair as possible, regardless that in general I hate LEE products. If it would have been junk my position on LEE products would have been reinforced but it wasn't...SO FAR. We will start reloading tonight, hopefully, as we got the digital Hornady powder scale yesterday. That's another story.

I ordered it on PRIME Amazon Sunday about noon and it was on my front porch Monday afternoon and I live 50 miles outside of Los Angeles in the High Desert . WOW!! and it is reported (??) Amazon is contemplating or working on (??) their own shipping company to get faster better shipping service. Who knows, maybe as I think it, the part will appear in my hand??? If the local gun store even had the scale (highly unlikely) I could not have had it any sooner.

LDBennett

 

I love my Lee classic turret. Also love the auto drum. The scale is dang accurate, but it is a pain to use. I used it for almost a year because its what I could afford. I later bought the hornady scale you mention, and like it. Still double check it with the LEE beam scale.

Amazon is GREAT! I bought my press through them since the LGS didnt carry reloading equipment until I requested a few things, now they have two aisle full of equipment!

 

There is nothing really wrong or inaccurate about a balance beam scale made correctly. This LEE one is not that case! The fulcrum is sketchy. The weights move too easily and can unknowingly be upset. The tenths readings and adjustment is ambiguous. Exactly what you do not need when reloading ammunition.

I have owned several different balance beam scales though the years. None suffered the above maladies. The only reason I switched to digital some 20+ years ago was my impatience. I hated waiting for the beam to quit swinging back and forth. I currently have a new (never actually used for reloading) top of the line RCBS beam scale with the dial tenths knob no longer offered by RCBS. I bought it on a dealer clearance (moving sale) as a backup. I have never had to use it! The Dillon scale just keeps on working. It drifts off zero but I always zero it before each measurement and it holds the zero for many minutes before requiring a re-zero. This is no problem for me. New scales may be better yet (we'll see with the Hornady one we just bought for my son). I do check it occasionally with the LYMAN set of test weights and it is never off more than a tenth of a grain from zero to the max the LYMAN set allows.

LDBennett

 

Talking about junk scales; I have a Lyman/Ohaus D5 that jumps the 1/10 poise heavier when the pan is removed "too" fast. I have to constantly look at that little poise to make sure it doesn't move a notch or two heavier!

My RCBS 5-10 is really hard to roll that tiny drum to the exact 1/10 grain adjustment, very small in diameter and too loose. I go over then under, over then under, and it takes several seconds for me to get that wee drum hash mark lined up.

My older Redding, while accurate is waaaay too messy as I have to fill the damper with oil each time I get it out and remove the oil when I put it away...

Not looking for solutions, just sharing all my troubles with these terrible beam scales...

 

mild:

Think Digital! But don't go cheap!

LDBennett

PS: I have not been reloading on my own long enough (a mere 30 years) to have ever owned an oil dampened scale but I did use a friend's back in the 1960's. Left in the open all the time, the dust gathered on the surface in an ugly mess.

 

OK...let's get this straight! I still hate LEE stuff and I still love my Dillon RL550B and my RCBS dies.

This LEE Classic Turret Press is for my destitute (not quite that but cash limited) adult son who is a single father raising two teenagers. Dillon stuff is expensive or I would have guided him that direction. With the LEE stuff he can afford to reload for the eight calibers of guns he currently has. In about 14 months it will be hard to by ammo in California and I won't be here forever to reload for him. A Californian will have to buy a license (have to renew it every few years) and register every cartridge they buy. Dealers already have to add staff just to sell ammo as it has to be handled totally buy them until you walk out their door. Ammo costs will go up! So he decided he had to get set up to reload. This he can afford and a Dillon he cannot. Its that simple.

I tried to be as fair as possible and put aside my LEE hate. But that does not move me off LEE hate. They are getting better, it seems but no where near Dillon or RCBS! As I always said, LEE makes inventive stuff but often fails to use the right materials or have the highest quality control. That is why their stuff is cheap. Nothing has changed!

LDBennett

 

OK...let's get this straight! I still hate LEE stuff and I still love my Dillon RL550B and my RCBS dies.

This LEE Classic Turret Press is for my destitute (not quite that but cash limited) adult son who is a single father raising two teenagers. Dillon stuff is expensive or I would have guided him that direction. With the LEE stuff he can afford to reload for the eight calibers of guns he currently has. In about 14 months it will be hard to by ammo in California and I won't be here forever to reload for him. A Californian will have to buy a license (have to renew it every few years) and register every cartridge they buy. Dealers already have to add staff just to sell ammo as it has to be handled totally buy them until you walk out their door. Ammo costs will go up! So he decided he had to get set up to reload. This he can afford and a Dillon he cannot. Its that simple.

I tried to be as fair as possible and put aside my LEE hate. But that does not move me off LEE hate. They are getting better, it seems but no where near Dillon or RCBS! As I always said, LEE makes inventive stuff but often fails to use the right materials or have the highest quality control. That is why their stuff is cheap. Nothing has changed!

LDBennett

eh, you rich people are so biased!!! Lee stuff makes ammo that works just as well as your dillon!!! For a whole lot less

 

Is my time and frustration worth anything? It is worth it to me to have good reliable reloading equipment to save time and avoid frustration. I have had LEE stuff that was always a problem to use. I learned over 30 years what works and what does not. Dillon and RCBS work.

Also there is volume to consider. When I worked I would load thousands of rounds at a time over a week's vacation several times a year because that is all that my work schedule allowed. Also I have 30+ different calibers I reload for. I tried the LEE Progressive years ago and it literally broke every time I used it. I have the same Dillon press I bought some 30 years ago, re-built for free by Dillon twice, and provided free parts by them when I broke something on the press.

If I reloaded for a few guns for hunting and occasional plinking I too would not have bought a Dillon but I don't and I got the Dillon in my retirement and will use it regularly. I am not rich but an enthusiast who wants and needs more in reloading equipment than LEE offers. The LEE Classic Turret Press is a perfect fit for my son's need and that is why we got it. The above review says it all.

LDBennett

 

I agree the Lee progressive is not good. If I did mass volume like some of yall, id have a dillon. I was just jerkin ya chain man.

 

Can't be any equipment that get's slammed more than Lee. Some have used them for many years and have nothing bad to say. Other's may have had one and has nothing good to say. Who's right and who's wrong? I somehow thing a lot of the nay sayer's have never used a Lee but are passing on what they heard. Other's did have a problem and many of those blame it on cheap equipment. I don't care for the progressive press's of any kind. Had one, a Dillon Sq Deal and never did figure out how to work it well. It was in 9mm and I finally sold it and got a set of dies for my Rock Chucker. Doesn't mean the Dillion is bad, just that I couldn't make it work! I have several set's of Lee dies and never a problem one with them. I also have a couple collet dies and they work great. If I was to get another turret press I'm sure I'd get the Lee press. Nothing can be as bad as they are given credit for!

 

Digital scales; BTDT. Several problems and "uncomfortable" items about digital scales so I only use them for weighing bullets. First digital was a Jennings. Good scale for about 11 months and then the "Tare" function quit and then I was unable to calibrate it. Second digital was a El Cheapo fro Frankfort Arsenal. I worked well if I sat it under a 100 watt light bulb to warm it up (my shop temp. drops to high 30s in the winter). When working it was difficult to "trickle up" on as the read out would jump 3 thenths unless I went realllllly sloooow and tapped the side of the scale. Some times if I removed and replaced the pan, w/powder, the weight would change. The one I have now is a "jewelry scale" and is only used for simple, not exacting weighing.

FWIW, my post about junk scales was in sarcasm, sorta pointing out that every tool can have it's detractors, some one can find something wrong with every tool made...

 

I have the FA digital scale, and it works fine. It does seem to go through batteries quicker than it should.
Both my Lee presses - 3-hole turret and single-stage O press - were bought when I was younger and needed to keep costs down. I rarely do large batches, and even then space it out over time.
I load 21 calibers, and the majority of my dies are RCBS. I hate Lee's "pop goes the weasel" decapper pin and o-ring locking that tends to slip.
The turrets for each caliber make it a "plug&play" system.
I have separate turrets for .38Special and .357Magnum, and also separate turrets for 9mm Luger and 9X21. Minimises having to change settings.

 

Frankly, LDBennet is being flamed because he doesn't like Lee..Cool it! He's entitled to his own ideas, and I really enjoy his posts. If you don't agree with him, fine, just don't go nuts because someone doesn't like stuff that you do....Sheesh, be adults around here.

 

I'm frankly surprised that it has taken LD's son so long to start reloading. He's had access to a very valuable source of info and teacher for a very long time.

 

mild:

My Dillon Digital scale is at least 20+ years old. It always had a slight drift problem but other than that it has worked perfectly fine for all that time. It lives in my house reloading room in a controlled temperature environment. BUT....at the time it was not cheap. I recollect it was well over $100 and closer to $150. With inflation in today's money that is 1.6 times more. Sometimes you get what you pay for. Today there are lots of cheap digital scales on the market. When we got the Hornady one I purposely rejected the cheap ones. At just under $100 I think it will be durable and long lasting. ******(review coming)******

I too had a Dillon Square Deal in the beginning in 9mm. It worked fine but I hated the auto advance because it made press screw ups a real pain to fix. After using it for a year Dillon offered to upgrade me to the RL550B with full value back on the SQ Deal. By this time I was reloading rifle rounds and the Sq Deal of course would not do that nor would the LEE progressive I bought in that time (about 1987) without breaking every time I used it.

I base my likes and dislikes on personal experience. My LEE experiences have not been very good. The LEE FCD I tout as being better than sliced bread was not perfect when first released. My first one galled internally because, as always it seems, LEE used the wrong material for the sliding parts (similar metals gall when run against each other as any mechanical engineer knows). Since then I have not had any trouble with the newer LEE FCD's I have used.

I feel compelled to offer my experiences to others because I had to learn reloading from the ground up with NO help from anyone. I learned quickly from my mistakes and I would not like others to do the same. But if anyone wishes to not heed my advice, it is not a problem for me. I offer it with NO expectation of anything back or any personal gain. I WILL defend my choices for me.

LDBennett

 

For the record, I wasnt trying to flame ya man, just jerking your chain. Use what works for you!

 

soundguy:

"Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free"

As little as he shot in the past I just gave him my reloads. I'm getting OLD and he now realizes that I won't be here forever and my faculties are already impacted, especially my eyes. And even if I am still here I may not be able to reload if I loose my eyesight which is one possibility (OK for now but AMD is not a stagnant disease).

Also his life was consumed by off-road motorcycle racing. He had to give that up after 25 years after a bad crash messed up the mobility of his shoulder. He still rides but not competitively.

LDBennett