Lee 6000 Case Feed Problem

[eddiememphis]

I got the press on Friday and took a few hours to set it up.

As I am trying to feed the shells (9mm), the slider block binds as it gets near the shell plate. The rear of it is lifted by the spring and it gets stuck.

It either stays in that position, short of the case being fully inserted by an eighth of an inch, or it will suddenly release, shooting the case across the plate.

The arm the slider rides on had a few rough spots so I sanded it with 600 grit wet/dry. Didn't help.

I have tried 5 different lubricants on it to no avail. I chamfered the edges of the block and polished them shiny and it still binds. I also tried adjusting the screw that holds the two halves together- no help.

I removed, cleaned and reinstalled the plate but the slider is not making contact with it. It will still bind when the plate is removed. It does occasionally contact the small case retainer but the retainer moves out of the way.

I know there are many on here that have this press but I can't find any reference to this issue, including having read much of LiveLife's write upon the press.

Any suggestions?

 

[Tilos]

I got the press on Friday and took a few hours to set it up.

As I am trying to feed the shells (9mm), the slider block binds as it gets near the shell plate. The rear of it is lifted by the spring and it gets stuck.

It either stays in that position, short of the case being fully inserted by an eighth of an inch, or it will suddenly release, shooting the case across the plate.

The arm the slider rides on had a few rough spots so I sanded it with 600 grit wet/dry. Didn't help.

I have tried 5 different lubricants on it to no avail. I chamfered the edges of the block and polished them shiny and it still binds. I also tried adjusting the screw that holds the two halves together- no help.

I removed, cleaned and reinstalled the plate but the slider is not making contact with it. It will still bind when the plate is removed. It does occasionally contact the small case retainer but the retainer moves out of the way.

I know there are many on here that have this press but I can't find any reference to this issue, including having read much of LiveLife's write upon the press.

Any suggestions?

The orientation of the spring can be critical for the case feeder to work properly.
There are detailed instructions, with pics, in the manual.
https://leeprecision.com/files/instruct/SixPackPro.pdf
If that spring checks out to be correct, nevermind...
Edit:
""The slider block binds as it gets near the shell plate. The rear of it is lifted by the spring and it gets stuck.""
The case may be catching on the case retainer plate that should be installed for 9mm.
"IMPORTANT: The BP5353 small case retainer must be removed when reloading cases with a rim diameter greater than .430".
Check for proper installation of the case retainer plate.
That's all I've got for now,
.

 

[eddiememphis]

I was in contact with Lee customer service. He said it is a spring problem as well, without any recommendations how to troubleshoot the issue.

However, the block catches and binds while being moved by hand without the spring attached.

Frustrated with Lee's responses, I reached out to one of the many vendors on Ebay that 3D print these blocks. The guy I emailed said he has sold hundreds of his blocks to guys that have had the same issue.

After our conversation I happily purchased his product. It should arrive early next week.

 

[Tilos]

I was in contact with Lee customer service. He said it is a spring problem as well, without any recommendations how to troubleshoot the issue.

However, the block catches and binds while being moved by hand without the spring attached.

Frustrated with Lee's responses, I reached out to one of the many vendors on Ebay that 3D print these blocks. The guy I emailed said he has sold hundreds of his blocks to guys that have had the same issue.

After our conversation I happily purchased his product. It should arrive early next week.

"However, the block catches and binds while being moved by hand without the spring attached."

Post back and let us know if the new block fixes your problem...

.

 

[GW Staar]

Wish I could help, I load 9mm and only had minor problems due to couple of samples with rough case head surfaces not sliding causing a hang...... I have 3D printed parts that connect my electric collator to it so my small problem may not be what you are experiencing, but maybe something is related......waiting to hear and see what your new part does. That said DO check your brass for rough spots where the embossed lettering is....I just filed the rough spots smooth and it hasn't repeated. Good luck with yours.

The video that follows is how mine works.....and shows the problem cases messing perfection up!

 

[eddiememphis]

I filled one tube with random brass, about 22 pieces. (9mm)

Every two or three were either failing to fully insert into the plate by stopping short of fully seating. Enough to jam the plate from rotating. Or they would stop and then, as the block released, shoot across the press.

The errant cases were set aside. I then placed them in the feeder tube. Some fed, some didn't. It seems completely random.

The block is the problem. It will stop moving regardless of having a case in front of it. I remove the shell plate and the block still stutters along its path.

 

[Gillie Dog]

I filled one tube with random brass, about 22 pieces. (9mm)

Every two or three were either failing to fully insert into the plate by stopping short of fully seating. Enough to jam the plate from rotating. Or they would stop and then, as the block released, shoot across the press.

The errant cases were set aside. I then placed them in the feeder tube. Some fed, some didn't. It seems completely random.

The block is the problem. It will stop moving regardless of having a case in front of it. I remove the shell plate and the block still stutters along its path.

Could very well be a bad slider. I have had many over the years and none with this problem.
Maybe loosen the screw holding the slider together and see what happens. Might point to bad slider molding or some such.
Sounds like a unique problem.

GD

 

[LiveLife]

block catches and binds while being moved by hand without the spring attached.

It will stop moving regardless of having a case in front of it. I remove the shell plate and the block still stutters along its path.

Frustrated with Lee's responses, I reached out to one of the many vendors on Ebay that 3D print these blocks. The guy I emailed said he has sold hundreds of his blocks to guys that have had the same issue.

After our conversation I happily purchased his product. It should arrive early next week.

That may not help if the case slider bar is bent to bind the slider block.

If you cannot slide the block freely by hand without the spring, I would call Lee customer service back and tell them "Cannot slide the block freely by hand without the spring." ... That should help them troubleshoot/identify the cause of the problem of either faulty block or bent slider bar.

Since you already purchased the 3D printed block, you could try and see if that addresses the problem.

Can you try putting a ruler along the top and sides to see if the slider bar is straight?

 

[Tilos]

That may not help if the case slider bar is bent to bind the slider block.

If you cannot slide the block freely by hand without the spring, I would call Lee customer service back and tell them "Cannot slide the block freely by hand without the spring." ... That should help them troubleshoot/identify the cause of the problem of either faulty block or bent slider bar.

Since you already purchased the 3D printed block, you could try and see if that addresses the problem.

Can you try putting a ruler along the top and sides to see if the slider bar is straight?

So, yes..
I just read thru this thread and it's seems this slide sticking problem is right of the box and the OP's 1st attempt to reload.
So yes, the slider bar could be bent as you stated...
good catch,
.

 

[LiveLife]

I can't find any reference to this issue, including having read much of LiveLife's write up on the press.

Because I did not experience the same problem.

Regards to case feeding issues, I did experience loose shellplate that affected case sliding into station #1 as alignment of shellplate where case rim slides into was not in the same plane as the case slider bar. And shellplate rotation/indexing was also affected if case not fully inserted into station would jam up with shellplate rotation (Listed under "Troubleshooting & Solutions) - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-oal-consistency.911743/page-18#post-12564292

• Case feeding is not smooth and/or ejects cases (DIY tightening of shellplate to index shaft)

And improperly set up case feeder will also hang up case mouth with case rim of case above. There should be a penny's thickness of gap above the case mouth (And let's remind ourselves that there's resized case length variance so measure some resized case lengths and use average/median length to adjust the gap ) and gap between the press frame and case feeder should also be penny's thick.

But these are not your issues as your case slider block is not even sliding freely on the slider bar without the spring.

 

[eddiememphis]

Can you try putting a ruler along the top and sides to see if the slider bar is straight?

One of things I checked.

I used to build engines and worked as a mechanic on motorcycles, atvs, cars, boats, forklifts... and anything else that broke. I have HVAC certification. I am an R5 building code inspector.

What I am getting at- While I am not an engineer, I have a pretty good idea of how mechanical objects and systems work.

 

[GW Staar]

Then the only thing left is the slider......probably need to check that for binding and perhaps get Lee to send you another. I'm sure you checked it manually sliding it on the rail? Have to ask.... and also did you try deburring the rail edges? I remember with my APP's rail was sluggish, and I just used 0000 steel wool on the corners, then burnished powdered graphic into it, and the sluggishness went away.

Also does the spring bend too much.....IOW's does it not "thrust" enough?

 

[eddiememphis]

I have sanded, chamfered, deburred and polished both the rail and the block.

I asked the character I was dealing with at Lee if I should buy a new block. He said it was the spring.

To answer your question- Yes the spring does bend too much. Because the block is binding.

The spring is causing the block to bind because of excessive clearances between the two components, in my opinion.

I will wait for the aftermarket block to arrive. As I stated in an earlier post, the guy I purchased the new blocks from said he has heard from many guys that have had the same issue.

It seems odd that the character at Lee has never heard of this problem before.

 

[LiveLife]

One of things I checked.

Thanks for the pictures.

So we can rule out bent case slider bar.

When you slide the block by hand, can you see where it is binding?

And to better replicate lateral force applied by spring on the block, can you try moving the block by the screw?

 

[eddiememphis]

I have tried to post a video of the slop.

If you were to see it, you would understand why it binds up with the lateral and vertical tension applied by the spring.

I sent videos to Lee but the guy I was dealing with could not understand what I was describing despite the videos.

I wanted to see if this was normal or if I should purchase a new block- I wasn't crying warranty of looking to get something for free.

Once again, the guy I bought the new block from said he has sold hundreds of them because other users has the same issue.

I am not disparaging the product. The few rounds I did load made me very excited to get this thing to work. But when I have to hand feed every fourth or fifth round, it slows the process and is very frustrating.

I ended up with a double charge at one point, as I was messing with the case feeding. I bought a cheap LED to light it up and it was easy to see in a 9mm case, but at that point I quit.

 

[eddiememphis]

Tried to remove the primer slider and it broke.

Getting frustrated with this thing.

 

[LiveLife]

Tried to remove the primer slider and it broke.

There are four (4) hold down tabs built into the primer slider channel/trough (See bottom picture) to prevent slider from lifting up. To remove the slider, it needs to clear the tabs by sliding out of the channel/trough or will break, as you found out. Slider removal was covered in "New Priming System" of my unboxing thread.

New Priming System - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-oal-consistency.911743/page-18#post-12564292

Part 2 - New priming system detail and small/large primer guide removal

Cross bar at the end of slider bottom hits a protrusion in the primer slider channel/trough to keep it from sliding off (And this end needs to be lifted up to clear the protrusion for removal of slider)​

​

Bottom of primer sliders on the right shows vertical "block" meant to keep sliders from sliding off the trough

Primer slider trough on the right shows "protrusion" that "vertical block" on bottom of slider will need to lift over for removal (A little lift to clear the protrusion and slider will continue sliding out of the trough) and four (4) hold down tabs that prevents slider from lifting up.

 

[LiveLife]

If you were to see it, you would understand why it binds up with the lateral and vertical tension applied by the spring.

FYI, I checked the case slider on both Six Pack Pro and 2023 Pro 1000 breech lock head presses and I was able to slide the block without spring by hand freely without binding (Block felt loose on the slider bar).

BTW, I moved the block with the screw.

 

[Tilos]

Tried to remove the primer slider and it broke.

Getting frustrated with this thing.

Could you have run the primer pin up thru the shell plate without a small or large primer guide installed??

The manual has this warning:
""Important! Do not operate without a small or large primer guide installed into slider.""

I'm guessing, if you put both pieces of the broken slide into the trough, without a primer guide, and push it all the way forward. the break will line-up with the trough hold down tab closest to the shell plate.

.

 

[eddiememphis]

No. I was removing it to inspect the track it rides in. I guess I lifted too high, although I have removed it before with no problem.

Lee says every part is warranted for two years. We will have to see if they stand by it. They didn't with the block.

 

[LiveLife]

Lee says every part is warranted for two years. We will have to see if they stand by it. They didn't with the block.

Because they have to determine first whether the block is defective.

That's why I suggested you mention that when calling Lee customer service in post #8 - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/lee-6000-case-feed-problem.921570/#post-12686709

If you cannot slide the block freely by hand without the spring, I would call Lee customer service back and tell them "Cannot slide the block freely by hand without the spring." ... That should help them troubleshoot/identify the cause of the problem of either faulty block or bent slider bar.

Since you already ruled out bent slider bar (By checking with straight edge) as the cause, then we can suspect faulty block. Email Lee customer service linked to this post and they should arrive at the same conclusion that block may be the issue.

 

[eddiememphis]

I did just that, repeatedly, although through email.

I sent videos of it catching and jerking. The guy said it was the spring.

So I ordered a new one, just as I did with the primer slider. They are not expensive parts so when Lee tells me to go jump in a lake, I am not too upset. All the metal parts have worked fine, although I have only loaded 100 rounds.

 

[IALoder]

My pro 6000 did this every once in a while as well, doesn't sound like as much as yours though. I took a piece of wire from a wire clothes hanger about 3/8" shorter than the spring when it's all the way compressed, and slid it inside the spring. It no longer does it. I did the same to the primer slider spring.

 

[GW Staar]

My pro 6000 did this every once in a while as well, doesn't sound like as much as yours though. I took a piece of wire from a wire clothes hanger about 3/8" shorter than the spring when it's all the way compressed, and slid it inside the spring. It no longer does it. I did the same to the primer slider spring.

So then that is caused by the spring flexing. My APP conversion to my RCBS Summit required an inch longer spring than the APP, and that gave me flex problems (shuttle would not travel to the end) . I thought of sticking a wire or stick inside, but I had this rigid tubing that I just placed around the spring before connecting it and it worked great even with the 6" long spring. So that's another option. So far I haven't had the problem with the 6000, that polishing the rail and the inside of the shuttle didn't fix. But if I ever do I have another 30" of the tubing I used.....picture of it below.

Quick video below shows it working......

 

[eddiememphis]

Follow up-

Lee did warranty the primer feeder.

I bought a new case block from Ebay. It works fine. As I was messing with it last night, I looked down the hole and saw the Lee block is far from centered.

There is a lot of slop as well. I think this is why the cases never line up correctly.

The new 3D printed block.