Lee 6000 Personal Experience

Well I didn't get as far as I wanted. It didn't help to print one of the main parts wrong....so in this "beginning" video I used the prototype made of 3 pieces of thin wall clear tubing and a little quickly printed 3d printed part between.

But it feeds .223..... .308 is next .....then I'll get around to the pistols.

 
Test #2 with final parts and a few bullets in the bullet feeder. Observations: 1. The tall cases jiggle a lot.....maybe a light ball and spring would smooth it out. 2. Most of the cases were sized and expanded but not with an "M" die. I stuck one or two "M" die expanded cases in the mix.....should have put them at the end or the beginning so we'd know for sure....but one or two did "stick" better than the others.....so....guessing that's where they were. UPDATE: Wobble mostly caused by the wrong shell plate see the next video.

 
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Looks like it's running pretty smoothly...even with the .223 wiggle

I have visions of stubby .45ACP cases dropping like sacks of rice
 
9mmepiphany said:
Looks like it's running pretty smoothly...even with the .223 wiggle

I have visions of stubby .45ACP cases dropping like sacks of rice
Click to expand...

Okay, I made a little BIG mistake......I forgot to change out the 9mm shell plate for the .223 shellplate.....so that may be one reason for some of the jiggly wiggle! ;) I'll try it again and see if it makes a difference.....they are pretty close to the same, but not quite.

Dropping .45acp like sacks of rice? Not sure I know what you mean. IME they feed way easier than .223.
 
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9mmepiphany said:
Yes, they'll fall and stay planted in place

One of the reasons I ordered mine in .45ACP, didn't have to worry about the tilting of the taller .38Spl cases
Click to expand...

Okay, I get it....dense enough to test with the wrong shell plate is dense enough to not get your meaning. :) Testing with the right shell plate and expanding ALL the test cases with my RCBS "M" die made a big difference. Sorry John Lee for the acid reflux I caused. Much better. jmorris wouldn't have done that!

 
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Looks good to me. That last one fall off because the bullet column was getting short and not enough weigh the get it to stick in the case a bit?

I haven’t had any time to play with it but I’ve thought about (even ordered a set of) window seating dies and just having a device that drops one in each cycle, not unlike the case feed. Would eliminate the tipping problem and free up a station.
 
jmorris said:
Looks good to me. That last one fall off because the bullet column was getting short and not enough weigh the get it to stick in the case a bit?

I haven’t had any time to play with it but I’ve thought about (even ordered a set of) window seating dies and just having a device that drops one in each cycle, not unlike the case feed. Would eliminate the tipping problem and free up a station.
Click to expand...

Actually, that was the last bullet. So maybe so on the stack needed for stick. If I'd used the RCBS bullet feed die instead of the 3d print it wouldn't matter. RCBS's design doesn't use the stack like MBF and others do....but their rifle bullet seating set (including the "M" die) is $132 at Midway. The 3D print was $3.00. I hope Lee really does offer an "M" expander like they're hinting about.

I use window seating dies mostly now, even if I don't use the windows any more. (bullet feeders instead) they seat without runout. And dropping cases in the window is way better than hand feeding them and pinching fingers as you try to feed them into the bottom of a regular seater by hand. For me the "M" shelf was the answer and allows for the most part enough straight vertical 'stick' to make it around most merry-go-rounds untilted.

More testing is in order to see how RCBS does it. I can drop a single bullet in their feed die, crank the handle, feeding that one bullet, and then remove the case, turn it upside down and shake good, and the bullet never moves. They are tall.....maybe drop distance is the answer....maybe print those 3d printed feeders another inch taller......

The RCBS tube feeder set below:

RCBS rifle bullet feed die.jpg
 

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GW Staar said:
Okay, I get it....dense enough to test with the wrong shell plate is dense enough to not get your meaning. :) Testing with the right shell plate and expanding ALL the test cases with my RCBS "M" die made a big difference. Sorry John Lee for the acid reflux I caused. Much better. jmorris wouldn't have done that!

Click to expand...

I don't see a primer tray in that vid.
Are you pre-priming?
If so, why?
...or just "testing", not really loading.
:confused:
.
 
Tilos said:
I don't see a primer tray in that vid.
Are you pre-priming?
If so, why?
...or just "testing", not really loading.
:confused:
.
Click to expand...

Definitely just testing, but they are primed.....been sized and primed for a year, like 500 more......but the priming system on this press is better than previous Lees.....not perfect, but show me a perfect press priming system.

But these were not "M" expanded until yesterday, just before the test. Bullets were dropped in the "M" pocket, not seated.....no powder dropped.
 
I'm trying to imagine how to get the case feeder to feed cases to Station 1 without interfering with the movement of the press handle.

I'm thinking the collator has to be mounted above the station to feed cases straight down the feed tube...just seems very crowded there. I know my imagination is a bit shaded by coming from a Hornady LNL AP user where Station is all the way across from where the Lee is (about where Station 4 is)...plus the LNL's shell plate rotating clockwise still throws me off a bit when thinking about the Lee rotating counter-clockwise
 
I used the same quickchangeTylerR mount for the APP except that I modified it where the center to center mounting hole to caliber insert hole was closer together required because Lee didn't cookie cutter it to match the APP measurements....which is understandable. I will take some pictures this morning and add them here. Be glad to add the print files for anyone wanting to try it. It does not get in the way of the handle.
 
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Instead of just pictures, I thought another video might be more illustrative:



Parts:
1. Modified TylerR Hanger made to fit the 6000.
2. .223 TylerR Insert with clear tubing pressed in...including small centering spacer on top.
3. Anchor for outer tubing going to proximity switch and collator
4. twist adapter and bigger tubing to connect collator to outer tube vertical.

On the left you can see the bullet collator spring tube going to the 3d printed bullet feed die.
 
Thank you, very slick setup.

I didn't realize that you could run the tube coming out of the collator at an angle to the proximity switch. For some reason I thought the cases needed a straight drop down to the stack. I had visions of incrementally adjusting the collators support to get it to align "just right"
 
9mmepiphany said:
Thank you, very slick setup.

I didn't realize that you could run the tube coming out of the collator at an angle to the proximity switch. For some reason I thought the cases needed a straight drop down to the stack. I had visions of incrementally adjusting the collators support to get it to align "just right"
Click to expand...

Been there. TylerR taught me that spring tubing has usefulness in case collators too. BUT, with the longer pistol and rifle cases there is a limit to that. If it too bendy to fall you ease the bend, but it's still way easier than forcing the exact straight shot as with rigid clear tube. Short cases like 9mm, .40s&w, and .45 ACP fall almost as easy as bullets do.
 
GW Staar said:
...it's still way easier than forcing the exact straight shot as with rigid clear tube. Short cases like 9mm, .40s&w, and .45 ACP fall almost as easy as bullets do.
Click to expand...
Okay, I'm back on board.

I've been cleaning/organizing my reloading area to see if I have room for these additions. Got lucky that Costco has a 25% off sale on 12.9 qt covered bins
 
Yes, just heard about that yesterday. They've been producing "m" plugs for Lee expanders for some time, but not for Lee's powder through versions. Great news! This will save a station on your progressive. RCBS has been offering pistol pwdr-throughs for Uniflows for a number of years.....and separate rifle expanders for just .223 and .308, useful for their 7 station Pro Chuckers, for two years. But of course, as is their way, few know about it from lack of marketing. These are what I use.

Lyman started the idea....even Redding has jumped in.....and DAA for their pistol bullet feeders.

The NOE powder-thru's will sell well if they get the word out. I'd buy them in a heartbeat if I didn't already have it covered. So to be clear......you can buy a Lee expander.....regular or powder-thru, then buy Noe plugs for any caliber to expand an provide an "M" pocket. (NOE has them for more calibers than anyone)

I showed in my videos why to use them in rifle. Same goes for pistol.....and cast boolits as well. For cast boolits they prevent lead shed too.;)
 

Quotes not working on my phone— sorry for the confusion.

So, these are “M” type? And is the kit with spacers needed or just the expander itself— to fit in a Lee die? Was little info on the NOE site.
Very curious!
 
drband said:
Quotes not working on my phone— sorry for the confusion.

So, these are “M” type? And is the kit with spacers needed or just the expander itself— to fit in a Lee die? Was little info on the NOE site.
Very curious!
Click to expand...

Yes they are "M" types. Everything's listed for sale, even the Lee dies..... The info is there...you just missed it.

Go to ------ Home/Shop/Powder Through Expanders/Parts/Page 2 and you'll find the dies, and spacers, and lists expanders again.
 
GW Staar said:
Yes they are "M" types. Everything's listed for sale, even the Lee dies..... The info is there...you just missed it.

Go to ------ Home/Shop/Powder Through Expanders/Parts/Page 2 and you'll find the dies, and spacers, and lists expanders again.
Click to expand...
I see that now!
 
Tom Myers said:
Night Owl Moulds didn't just hint about it. They simply put them out there
Night Owl Moulds
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up. I was told two days ago, but I didn't check it out until your post. I did do you some good too.....I checked out your "Precision Software" site and ordered two products to organize me. Highly recommend it....good job! I bought the labeling software and the "Precision Load Records Software". My records suck.....maybe this is the cure!

btw, I didn't know NOE came from "Night Owl" ..... E for engineering I assume. I didn't see that on their site........good people though!
 
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GW Staar said:
Thanks for the heads up. I was told two days ago, but I didn't check it out until your post. I did do you some good too.....I checked out your "Precision Software" site and ordered two products to organize me. Highly recommend it....good job! I bought the labeling software and the "Precision Load Records Software". My records suck.....maybe this is the cure!

btw, I didn't know NOE came from "Night Owl" ..... E for enterprises I assume. I didn't see that on their site........good people though!
Click to expand...
Just got an email back from Al at NOE! He explained how to choose the proper P/T expander size in a caliber (go .002 over bullet size for the first number listed. The 2nd number denotes the neck tension. He said you might want to go .003 over on the first number if using a progressive with a bullet feeder. )
 
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