lee has a new single stage press coming out Lee APP

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Ponchh, thanks for sharing that info on case feeder and collator. I sent Titan and email to see if those could be added since mine has not shipped yet.
 
I knew the arm hitting the web between my fingers on every down stroke would get old in a hurry.
I changed the handle again, from 1/2 to 1 in dia. Made it twice as nice and soon as my buddy brings me some
1 1/2 in. I'm going to see if it will make it 3 times as nice.


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Tried to load a video of it in action.
Can't pull it off.


Your new handle will create a lot of twist that the original handle did not. Especially with the handle being that much longer. Your second handle picture appears the handle is out of line from the first picture. Press being twisted?
 
Your new handle will create a lot of twist that the original handle did not. Especially with the handle being that much longer. Your second handle picture appears the handle is out of line from the first picture. Press being twisted?


It hasn't twisted as far as I can tell, but if it does, I have a cure for that.
 
Did anyone notice on the package for the X-press shell holder that it states that these are not to be used for sizing cases?.......thoughts?
 
Did anyone notice on the package for the X-press shell holder that it states that these are not to be used for sizing cases?.......thoughts?
Makes sense, less is gripping the rim so more likely to damage case. I have a shell holder set so not terribly concerned but one more thing to remember.
 
Did anyone notice on the package for the X-press shell holder that it states that these are not to be used for sizing cases?.......thoughts?


The instructions say rimless bottlenecks not recommended. I saw a video of 308s being resized without any problems. Maybe the thicker base makes it possible, but i tried 223 just because i can and got very poor results regardless of any lube I tried. As far as straight wall brass, its a piece of cake, no lube used.
 
223 cases would sometimes fall over as they landed on slider. The bounce of landing and the bounce this caused of the cases above in the tube would cause the cases to fall over and some of the cases above to fall out of tube. Added “fingers” to end of case tube to hold the case in place as it settles down from the bounce. Ran a few hundred cases more after adding fingers and no cases fell over. Now to come up with something permanent that can also be used with case feeders on ABLP, Pro 1000, and Loadmaster.
 

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I'm watching this thread intently. I'll bet Lee is watching it like a hawk watching a chipmunk.


Speaking of Lee. On another site there was a comment by John Lee or somebody representing his name, on the problem of nicked brass not going into the shell holder. The fix for now on present version of shell holder is to remove the detent so the shell holder can rotate. There will be a new version of shell holder coming out in the future that prevents the detent from applying pressure to shell holder so it can rotate freely.
I haven't had that problem as of yet but if it comes up i believe a solution would be to countersink the underside of shell holder so that the detent won't put pressure up but would still help keep the shell holder in place.
I'm not sure how a shell holder that's free to move will help boogered up brass slide into the shoe but maybe somebody else might have an idea.
 
I had no idea Lee came out with a new press, but just saw this thread and some vids of it in action. Here's my thoughts:

-The engineering team at Lee is world class. They come up with these great ideas, designs (some simple, some complex) and they figure out ways to manufacture high quality products that work for a very affordable price and still make a profit. I won't say that everything they make is great or works (that hand primer looks terrible and their beam scale looks like a Happy Meal toy).

-As for the press, the decapping part with the case feeder is the most impressive. In the time it takes me to decap with my Lee hand press, this APP press could do triple the amount with less effort.

-The bullet sizing aspect is useless for me and even if I was sizing bullets is questionable. A Lee lube n size kit on their $45 "C" frame press is more than adequate for someone like me who would cast and size maybe a few hundred bullets a year. For hardcore casters who are sizing thousands of bullets a year... okay, I see the time savings here and believe me, I value time because we can't make more of it.

Bottom line of can I see myself buying this press? Yes... maybe. I do decap before I wet tumble because I like having clean primer pockets because... I like clean pockets. For resizing brass... yeah, for .32 or for test loads or specialty loads that aren't going to be made on a progressive, it's one less step for me on the LCT or a single stage press. Heck, for the .32, given I have to use the Lyman M die for that caliber and that M die lacks the powder thru feature, I could also do mouth flaring for all my .32 brass very quickly.
 
TTv2: I agree about Lee engineering. They have a niche in the market, that no one else is willing to pursue....and thankfully, for those of us who aren't made of greenbacks. RCBS just gets more and more expensive, and Dillon always was. Hornady's between market, many are glad for too. That said they all are worthwhile and unique in the business world especially in the service department!

As for this new APP, I like the concept of a single stage affair with a feeder....that makes all the difference. For me, besides the deprimer, I like the swager as I have a 1000 rounds of LC brass yet to swage.

As the video below shows I have that a fairly good tool for that, but as you can see, if the APP works as well as I think it will, all other ways of swaging, including my way, is a slow bottleneck...except maybe the Dillon 1050....but that is not an option for most of us monetarily, nor is Dillon's method great for those of us who are addicted to bling, and the other off-press case prep.

 
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I like the concept of a single stage affair with a feeder....that makes all the difference. For me, besides the deprimer, I like the swager
That is what caught my eye also...plus for less than a Benjamin it was a low cost experiment.

I have the swaging setup for my Hornady LNL AP, but it is limited to .223 and .308. The APP is more versatile and easier to bring into play without switching my LNL over
 
I decapped 7,200 cases this last weekend with the APP press, averaging 2,300 cases per hour. I have it hooked up to my Hornady case feeder. Here is an 8 minute video of one of the session showing the sustained velocity. it's not perfect, but even with it's faults this is faster than any other method.



All 9mm outdoor range brass I presorted by caliber and pulled all the nickel/steel/aluminum. It had also been hosed down, but not really cleaned. Most of it was dry, but some were accidentally stored without fully drying. In other words, this was dirty.

A few things I learned:

1. I recorded and analyzed a few 8-10 minute sessions like the video here. My average rate was 2,316 cases per hour or 38.6 per minute. On long sprints where I had little brass or operator induced errors, that number was closer to 3,120 cases per hour or 52 cases per minute

2. Periodically the cease slider mechanism would stop fully sliding to the shell holder, leaving the case off center. This happens less than 5% of the time. Most of the time, I think it’s due to the dirty or nicked cases. However, sometimes that rate jumps up to 30% or more. I found that if I removed the case slider every 1,000 or so cases and wiped down all the friction surfaces with Hornady one shot, it dramatically improved and kept the problem rate at less than 5%, even with this nasty brass. I’m concerned about the longevity of some of the plastic parts, but time will tell. The jaw mechanism the grasps and moves the cases is petty ingenious and precise - most of the time.

[Related to the case slider, I think I am going to model up and print some kind of quick release fittings for connecting the case feeder tubes for different calibers. While it works well, it is slow to change calibers for the feeder tube.]

3. On the APP Press product page on Lee’s web site, John Lee recommended removing the detent for the shell plate holder if you are using X-Press shell holders. My case slider feed problems dropped dramatically when I did that. He is definitely right - the more freely the shell holder can rotate, the more fluidly the cases can load and unload.

4. This is my first experience with Lee’s breech lock bushings. Most of my dies are on Hornady bushings with Hornady’s lock rings. I tried using the new Spline Drive Lock Bushing, and I love the fact that I can easily remove or install it securely with the Lee tool. However, the little Phillips head screw that Lee provides to vise clamp the die is lousy and I could not get it to stay closed. At several points I found the screw backed out enough that the die was spinning freely in the bushing, and at one point I found the screw on the floor. I’m going to find some small Allen head screws to replace them. I ended up replacing the spline drive lock bushing with a standard lee breech lock busing and a Hornady lock ring to hold the die in place.

5. The press handle is more comfortable than it looks. I varied my position a lot - I stood, sat, used my left hand, used my right hand, offset myself 90 degrees from the press so that I was pushing the handle left with my right arm (think winning an arm wrestling match but without putting your elbow on the table). However, the more I use it the more I miss my Inline Fabrication roller handles. I did reach out to Dan @ Inline Fab with some specific suggestions, not that I have any pull :)

6. A motorized case feeder was key to maintaining velocity. Even the badly engineered Hornady feeder.

All in all I like this press as much as I hoped I would. Worth every penny. I’ll continue to use my LnL AP progressive press for most of my loading operations, but kudos to Lee for doing some legitimate innovation with this press. This is a great value for the money.
 
I decapped 7,200 cases this last weekend with the APP press, averaging 2,300 cases per hour. I have it hooked up to my Hornady case feeder. Here is an 8 minute video of one of the session showing the sustained velocity. it's not perfect, but even with it's faults this is faster than any other method.



All 9mm outdoor range brass I presorted by caliber and pulled all the nickel/steel/aluminum. It had also been hosed down, but not really cleaned. Most of it was dry, but some were accidentally stored without fully drying. In other words, this was dirty.

A few things I learned:

1. I recorded and analyzed a few 8-10 minute sessions like the video here. My average rate was 2,316 cases per hour or 38.6 per minute. On long sprints where I had little brass or operator induced errors, that number was closer to 3,120 cases per hour or 52 cases per minute

2. Periodically the cease slider mechanism would stop fully sliding to the shell holder, leaving the case off center. This happens less than 5% of the time. Most of the time, I think it’s due to the dirty or nicked cases. However, sometimes that rate jumps up to 30% or more. I found that if I removed the case slider every 1,000 or so cases and wiped down all the friction surfaces with Hornady one shot, it dramatically improved and kept the problem rate at less than 5%, even with this nasty brass. I’m concerned about the longevity of some of the plastic parts, but time will tell. The jaw mechanism the grasps and moves the cases is petty ingenious and precise - most of the time.

[Related to the case slider, I think I am going to model up and print some kind of quick release fittings for connecting the case feeder tubes for different calibers. While it works well, it is slow to change calibers for the feeder tube.]

3. On the APP Press product page on Lee’s web site, John Lee recommended removing the detent for the shell plate holder if you are using X-Press shell holders. My case slider feed problems dropped dramatically when I did that. He is definitely right - the more freely the shell holder can rotate, the more fluidly the cases can load and unload.

4. This is my first experience with Lee’s breech lock bushings. Most of my dies are on Hornady bushings with Hornady’s lock rings. I tried using the new Spline Drive Lock Bushing, and I love the fact that I can easily remove or install it securely with the Lee tool. However, the little Phillips head screw that Lee provides to vise clamp the die is lousy and I could not get it to stay closed. At several points I found the screw backed out enough that the die was spinning freely in the bushing, and at one point I found the screw on the floor. I’m going to find some small Allen head screws to replace them. I ended up replacing the spline drive lock bushing with a standard lee breech lock busing and a Hornady lock ring to hold the die in place.

5. The press handle is more comfortable than it looks. I varied my position a lot - I stood, sat, used my left hand, used my right hand, offset myself 90 degrees from the press so that I was pushing the handle left with my right arm (think winning an arm wrestling match but without putting your elbow on the table). However, the more I use it the more I miss my Inline Fabrication roller handles. I did reach out to Dan @ Inline Fab with some specific suggestions, not that I have any pull :)

6. A motorized case feeder was key to maintaining velocity. Even the badly engineered Hornady feeder.

All in all I like this press as much as I hoped I would. Worth every penny. I’ll continue to use my LnL AP progressive press for most of my loading operations, but kudos to Lee for doing some legitimate innovation with this press. This is a great value for the money.

Okay, why is my Hornady case feeder "badly engineered"? I have the brace they added to the mast and the attachment to the case outlet that reduces tipping. I use the paper clip trick on the V-block to provide support at the case head to prevent tripping going into the shellplate. It's working.
 
The new model lock nut from Lee that I received from FS Reloading has a set screw with a slotted head, not an Allen, so maybe the issue of staying secure has been addressed. They work great. I got the plain ones that rely on the sticky O-ring, as well as a few with the set screw (and O-ring). The nifty little wrench makes it very easy to adjust or remove a die in a tight cluster.
 
The problem with Hornady LnL or Lee breech lock bushings is that they are tighter than the die, so in lieu of having channel locks handy and quite awkward in a tight space, the rims of the bushing should have flats or grooves where a special tool provided could grab and turn just the bushing, keeping the die in place. That would be less of a test of a lock ring.
 
Like many others, I was on the fence about buying the Lee APP until finally deciding to buy one on sale. It was out of stock at the time but was finally shipped yesterday after only a week wait. In the meantime, I've been following all the posts and watching the tutorials and already have all the accessories to get this set up and up and running. The one thing that I'm aware of is the fact that Lee presses have their quirks and have their occasional hang-ups but thought it's better than processing brass one by one in a single stage or running it all through my Dillon 650 case feeder before wet tumbling. Can't wait for it to arrive and take it for a spin. :)
 
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Real gun said
Okay, why is my Hornady case feeder "badly engineered"?

I'm wondering the same thing. I deprime on my LNL-AP at about 1400 and hour and I can't out run the case feeder.

Digitalsleet,

I don't think there is a case feeder made that will keep up to the rate you said you were depriming at.
 
Okay, why is my Hornady case feeder "badly engineered"? I have the brace they added to the mast and the attachment to the case outlet that reduces tipping. I use the paper clip trick on the V-block to provide support at the case head to prevent tripping going into the shellplate. It's working.

Fair question. I've been using the Hornady feeder on my LnL AP for about 4 years.I don't think I have had any problems unique to me. I mostly load pistol.

1: Problems with jams from the feeder to the drop tubes. Solved with one of the printed ramp solutions that sits inside the bowl just to the right of the case exit.

2. Problems with cases filling the clear area between the lever switch and the drop, particularly with 45 but also 9. Mostly solved by using a pice of cardboard.

3. Problems with inconsistencey with feeding from the pivot flexing. Solved with the upgraded cam block clamp design, kudos to Hornady for resolving that.

4. Perpetual problems with inconsistent performance in the pivot block . to be fair, the upgraded bracket solved a lot of them but I still have problems. Again, mostly with shorter pistol cases. I fin I have to use aftermarket pivot block inserts/adapters to get more consistent feeds.

5. Most recently, the pivot rod bushing has broken out of the block. I called Hornady and they told me to superglue it back in. It's popped free again. I'm going to call them back - maybe something else got out of alignment in the years before the cam bracket was fixed.

Real gun said


I'm wondering the same thing. I deprime on my LNL-AP at about 1400 and hour and I can't out run the case feeder.

Digitalsleet,

I don't think there is a case feeder made that will keep up to the rate you said you were depriming at.

The Hornady feeder kept up with me. It had it's ebbs and flows, as did I :-D
 
Can anyone tell me if case weight matters with the shuttle? Meaning, can you have too many stacked and it makes it slow down, or incomplete it's move.
 
I decapped 7,200 cases this last weekend with the APP press, averaging 2,300 cases per hour. I have it hooked up to my Hornady case feeder. Here is an 8 minute video of one of the session showing the sustained velocity. it's not perfect, but even with it's faults this is faster than any other method.



All 9mm outdoor range brass I presorted by caliber and pulled all the nickel/steel/aluminum. It had also been hosed down, but not really cleaned. Most of it was dry, but some were accidentally stored without fully drying. In other words, this was dirty.

A few things I learned:

1. I recorded and analyzed a few 8-10 minute sessions like the video here. My average rate was 2,316 cases per hour or 38.6 per minute. On long sprints where I had little brass or operator induced errors, that number was closer to 3,120 cases per hour or 52 cases per minute

2. Periodically the cease slider mechanism would stop fully sliding to the shell holder, leaving the case off center. This happens less than 5% of the time. Most of the time, I think it’s due to the dirty or nicked cases. However, sometimes that rate jumps up to 30% or more. I found that if I removed the case slider every 1,000 or so cases and wiped down all the friction surfaces with Hornady one shot, it dramatically improved and kept the problem rate at less than 5%, even with this nasty brass. I’m concerned about the longevity of some of the plastic parts, but time will tell. The jaw mechanism the grasps and moves the cases is petty ingenious and precise - most of the time.

[Related to the case slider, I think I am going to model up and print some kind of quick release fittings for connecting the case feeder tubes for different calibers. While it works well, it is slow to change calibers for the feeder tube.]

3. On the APP Press product page on Lee’s web site, John Lee recommended removing the detent for the shell plate holder if you are using X-Press shell holders. My case slider feed problems dropped dramatically when I did that. He is definitely right - the more freely the shell holder can rotate, the more fluidly the cases can load and unload.

4. This is my first experience with Lee’s breech lock bushings. Most of my dies are on Hornady bushings with Hornady’s lock rings. I tried using the new Spline Drive Lock Bushing, and I love the fact that I can easily remove or install it securely with the Lee tool. However, the little Phillips head screw that Lee provides to vise clamp the die is lousy and I could not get it to stay closed. At several points I found the screw backed out enough that the die was spinning freely in the bushing, and at one point I found the screw on the floor. I’m going to find some small Allen head screws to replace them. I ended up replacing the spline drive lock bushing with a standard lee breech lock busing and a Hornady lock ring to hold the die in place.

5. The press handle is more comfortable than it looks. I varied my position a lot - I stood, sat, used my left hand, used my right hand, offset myself 90 degrees from the press so that I was pushing the handle left with my right arm (think winning an arm wrestling match but without putting your elbow on the table). However, the more I use it the more I miss my Inline Fabrication roller handles. I did reach out to Dan @ Inline Fab with some specific suggestions, not that I have any pull :)

6. A motorized case feeder was key to maintaining velocity. Even the badly engineered Hornady feeder.

All in all I like this press as much as I hoped I would. Worth every penny. I’ll continue to use my LnL AP progressive press for most of my loading operations, but kudos to Lee for doing some legitimate innovation with this press. This is a great value for the money.



I had the problem of the slider coming up short. I loosened the two screws that hold the slide rail and the problem went away. Loosened the screws until the rail would move, then tighten just enough to stop movement.
The screws on mine were so tight it was pinching the slider between the rail and base.
 
Can anyone tell me if case weight matters with the shuttle? Meaning, can you have too many stacked and it makes it slow down, or incomplete it's move.

I didn't find that to be an issue. When I did those 7,200 9mm cases, most of the time it was with an automatic case feeder keeping the tube full and constantly dropping cases into the tube. Maybe a 20" tube full more or less the entire time.
 
Well, here it is March 9th......it didn't come for Christmas, or New Years, or Valentines day, but this week it finally graced my door step! I gave up on Titan.....I don't have a clue what went wrong with those guys. I canceled that order and got refunded after they used my money for 3 months. Ordered from Grafs, who showed a Deluxe model in stock unlike Titan, and it came in 3 days.

But still I can't get my hands on the swager kit. None anywhere that I can find.

Thing to note: the three shell holders, that came in the deluxe kit, are the new plowed versions made to work right with less than perfectly recessed primers.....but nothing on Lee's site, or any other indicates that these new shell holders have totally replaced the unplowed originals.....so I'm a little hesitant to order the additional #1 for my .357 mag brass.....don't especially want an unplowed version now....maybe if they'd discount them..... I know they must have a thousand of the old ones.....and maybe they'd work fine for most things. I'll add a picture of the new plowed ones tomorrow morning.....got a .40/9mm one and a .45acp/30-06/308 one. The third one fits .223. No .38/.357. I was wanting that one to deprime a bunch those calibers.....more waiting on Lee Precision.....or I could order the old unplowed X-press shell holder.....but only Lee has them....no discounts.

Even though I haven't been able to get any accessories yet, I decided to go ahead and mount it to the bench (ordered a Lee quick mount...all steel version). Then I decided to try using what I already have.....even non-Lee. I have a Redding Grx bulge remover I bought years ago for .40 S&W. for glocked brass, and I wondered if I could make it work on this tool. That's a big yes! It was a great success! Easy peasy. Now I can do it twice as fast, as I don't have to feed 'em one at a time! Smiling! Hmmmmm, wondering what else I can do with it while I wait for the swager, and other tools still out of stock? I have a deprimer....guess that's next......I am loving the case feeder. It is easy to make reliable. Wish my Pro Chucker case feeder was that easy to make reliable......it took a month to make it sing in tune. The Lee mechanism is cheap for sure, but heck it works! Expensive quality parts that aren't reliable out of the box are a great disappointment, and RCBS paid dearly for that.

This post continues on the next page....you know....the pictures and other more interesting stuff......
 
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