Lee Load Master

[Tony Mig]

I just ordered a new Lee Load Master with the .38/.357 magnum dies, also ordered 3 extra tool heads, a couple of factory crimp dies, the primer blast shield, and the large primer conversion kit...all for $350.00 including shipping from Midway.

I've been reloading on a single stage for too long, and I'm shooting several hundred rounds a week, so it's time to go progressive.....

Now I gotta get casting more bullets, I think I'll be going through them a lot faster......

 

[HSMITH]

Tony, I bought one for a buddy. He is an EXPERT mechanic, and a super tinkerer of the highest order. It took him a couple hundred rounds to get everything ironed out but since then his Loadmaster has been very good to him with no problems. He has attained VERY high production rates also, quite a bit higher than I can get with my Dillon 550's. If you are a mechanical/tinkering sort of guy I think the loadmaster is a viable option. The only downside I have seen is using the Lee powder measures, I have at least one of each type and don't like any of them. The Auto Disk is OK unless you like to experiment.

Please follow up with a report on how it works for you and what you think. I for one would appreciate honest feedback.

 

[Black Snowman]

Like all complex mechanical devices there's a lot that has to be just right. I've loaded about 13,000 rounds on mine. I've replaced a few parts over the years getting there.

A few points of advice:
Mount it SOLID. 1/4" bolts with washers and nuts. I use jam-nuts to keep them from coming loose.

When setting up GO SLOW and get a feel for how each station FEELS. If you encounter resistance, any resistance, that you can't figure out why STOP and figure it out. It may be one of the mechanical process in the press or something might be adjusted wrong. If you figure out what is causing it you can either correct the issue or learn one more part of how the press functions.

Make sure those little fingers are holding the brass as much as they can without interfering with indexing. This is most critical in the priming station. I've killed several primer pushers because I missed checking how it was set.

When intially setting make sure each station is working perfectly before going on and experimenting with the next. Settings from previous stations can effect how subsequent ones need to be adjusted.

When "running up" and "running out" where every station isn't occupied it can throw off the COL. So check this a lot. This is more an issue if the system isn't all "perfect" or if the carrier has a lot of wear and the shell plate can flex.

If you want more options on throwing more charge weights get the Double Disk kit for the Auto-Disk. I can get nearly any charge I need with it and it gives you about 5x as many choices of charges as the stock Auto-Disk and provides enough capacity to throw small rifle and large magnum pistol charges.

If you can't figure out a problem don't let yourself get frustrated. Take a breather and post your question here. I know at least a few of us have Load Masters and are willing to help out.

That's all for now, I need to get to bed.

 

[Tony Mig]

Hsmith, I'm a mechanical tinkerer of the worst kind, so I should be able to figure this contraption out without too much difficulty, and I will post my honest feedback once I get it up and running.

Black Snowman, thanks for the advice, and if I do have any issues with it's function, I will address the question to you. The best advice can only come from another man's experiance with something.

I was told by another Load Master owner, that if I read through the instructions a couple of times, set up won't be a big problem, I'll see on Friday as that's the day UPS says it should be here.....

Thanks guys, I'll keep you posted......

 

[Uncle Don]

I've had mine for quite a while and concur with those that say - mount it solid and read the directions. It's important that all functions occur at the very top of the press stroke. That means setting the primer seating depth to do it's job there as well as all the dies. Make sure you have the index tabs set so that case are not allowed to move outward when the indexing occurs and use full press strokes.

I have replaced a single $1.00 part on mine after nearly 15,000 rounds and I have no regrets at all. I can't possibly feed it at the rate that it will pump out good ammo.

 

[mleeber]

The best piece of advice I ever got for using my loadmaster was to put the sizing die in station 2. I use a universal decapping die in station 1 and my sizing dies (without the decapper) in station 2, this ensures that the case and primer pocket are perfectly aligned when the primer is inserted. I got this advice after a primer that was cocked went off (make sure you have the primer detonation shield too!) the whole tray of large pistol primers went off and plastic chards went everywhere. I have a couple of calibers, 45ACP is one, where I have the carbide sizer in station 1 which sizes and deprimes and then a 2nd sizer (.003 smaller in this case) in station 2.

 

[Tony Mig]

Well gentlemen, after some trial and tribulations, I got this thing up and running pretty good. I did put a second sizing die in station 2, and it does make a big difference. When I changed over from .38 Spl to .45 Long Colt I do not have a spare sizing die for that station, and I seem to be having some primer seating issues with this caliber. With .38's and .357 magnums I do have the spare die possitioned there, and no primer issues, so that is an important piece of the puzzle.
This Load Master does take some mechanical know-how to work out all the bugs, and get it adjusted to perform at it's best, but once you reach that point of having everything set just right, it will pump out a lot of rounds in short order.
This unit came with the latest version of Lee's disk powder measure, and it does meter out all the powders I use with great consistency, but you do have to experiment to find the right disk for the powder charge you want.
The chart lists most every powder, and the charge each disk will give you, only problem is they are not always correct. They were right on the money with the listed charges for Bullseye, but when I switched to either Unique, Herco or 2400, I had to work up to find the disk that gave the proper charge. Once found, they all metered perfectly, and I've been checking them against my beam scale often.

One thing I did find that is dissapointing, I have about 1,000 rounds of Mil-Surp Lake City .38 Spl brass that is a little too heavy for this machine. When you have 5 rounds of this heavy brass working in two different sizing dies, one that's pushing fired primers out, one getting flared while pushing up the powder measure, one pushing a bullet in, and one squeezing a factory crimp around the mouth of this heavy brass, it's just a little more than I want to push this machine right now. I'll have to retire this brass, or just reload it on the single stage, but I think I have enough factory brass to keep me going for a long time to come.

All in all, a Dillon might have been a little easier to get going on, but I'm not dissapointed at all with this Lee Load Master.

 

[mleeber]

Glad to hear everything works! I too thought maybe I should have bought a Dillon but even the 550 is more than what you have in the Loadmaster and the Dillon does not auto index (which in my opinion is asking for a double charge if you are doing any quantity). It is very tough to double charge a Loadmaster becuase of the auto index feature.

Some other hints:
-use a Q-Tip and STP oil treatment to lube the bottom of the shell plate and the end of the rod that advances the shell plate.
-do not overtighten the bolt that holds the rod that the case feeder rides on, the bold will bend the end of the rod and your angles will be hosed.
-when changing from large pistol to small pistol I find that I need to adjust the bolt mounted at the top of the press to get the right depth so I took a sharpie and put a line on the end of the bolt and 2 dots on the frame so that adjusting the primer depth is simple.
-The screws that hold the case guides around the shellplate do not need to be torqued to do their job. I barely snug them with the phillips and the curved washer will provide enough resistance to keep the guides from moving (besides, the carrier is aluminum and these holes are easy to strip).
-Order som extra primer pushers. Inevitably you will chew on up the night before the match where you need 500 rounds of ammo. I get most of mine from Midway.
-finally, Lee is great when it comes to sending out new parts under warranty. If you have something break call them before you order anything. They replaced my entire large primer feeder setup when the primer went off and blew it to shreds.

Good luck.

 

[John C]

The best piece of advice I ever got for using my loadmaster was to put the sizing die in station 2. I use a universal decapping die in station 1 and my sizing dies (without the decapper) in station 2, this ensures that the case and primer pocket are perfectly aligned when the primer is inserted. I got this advice after a primer that was cocked went off (make sure you have the primer detonation shield too!) the whole tray of large pistol primers went off and plastic chards went everywhere. I have a couple of calibers, 45ACP is one, where I have the carbide sizer in station 1 which sizes and deprimes and then a 2nd sizer (.003 smaller in this case) in station 2.

I'm not sure I understand why the primer problem happens when the brass isn't sized twice. I'm interested in this press, which is why I try to read everything I can about them. I reload single stage right now, so I'm having a hard time visualizing why the 2x sizing helps with primer seating. Can someone explain?

Thanks so much!

-John C

 

[Black Snowman]

The issue is primer pocket alignment. In the Loadmaster if the finger that holds the brass in the shell plate isn't ajdusted correctly, or can't hold it in far enough for proper alignment, then you can have issues with primer seating. They'll catch the edge of the primer pocket and rotate.

I had never thought of this solution but it makes sense to me. I've done the same thing but with a belling die when the Lee powder-through belling die couldn't be adjusted to add enough bell. That would have a similar effect.

Using a resizing die in the 2nd station you can't decap there nessecitating the decapping die in the 1st station. Another advantage to using this method is that alignment going into the inital die is less critical as you're not as likely to hang up on anything. But you do have to be careful as it will be easier to miss the primer hole and not notice.

I'm going to go try this setup right now

 

[Black Snowman]

OK, tried the above recomendation. I wasn't having problems with the primers before but this system also seems to have another advantage. The sizing die over the priming station prevents the primer seater from deflecting the shellplate upward. This saves a lot of torque on the carrier and shellplate retainer which should help consistancy and longevity.

With this deflection removed it was seating deeper than it had been and I had to back off the primer plunger depth a little bit.

Another advantage is the case feeder lines up the brass well enough with the decapper that I don't have to stick my fingers in the press to get the case mouths to line up with die correctly. Something I only had issues with my Lee carbide dies. My Hornady and RCBS carbide dies with their radiused mouths never needed coaxing.

Thanks for the tip, it's a real winner!

 

[Rockstar]

Try the adjustable charge bar. It's infinitely adjustable within its parameters and is soooo much better than playing with those disk cavities.

 

[45auto]

Does the Loadmaster prime on the "downstroke", compared to a Dillon which primes on the "upstroke"?.

I can't see from the pictures, but is the priming system more similiar to a MEC style, if you have used them, than the Dillon?

Thanks

 

[mleeber]

Loadmaster does everything on the upstroke. The RAM which has 5 stations raises the shell carrier to the toolhead for all 5 stations. 1 - Deprime, 2 - Prime (primer feeder and primer seater are built into the carrier and primer seater is actuated at top of stroke). Normally the toolhead would be empty in station 2 as the primer feeder and seater is all based in the shell carrier but as referenced before I have a 2nd sizing die here to keep everything lined up properly. Station 3 is flaring and powder, 4 is bullet seating and 5 for me is crimping with a FCD. On the downstroke the carrier is advanced. Makes this press very safe as it is very hard to double charge (the powder measure does not reset until the bottom of the stroke at the same time the shellplate is advanced).

 

[45auto]

Okay, thanks for the info.

Sounds like it could load some good numbers per hour.

 

[mleeber]

Rounds per hour could be huge!

Lee makes an automatic bullet feeder too that would essentially automate the whole process. I tend to move a little slow, putting an eye on the powder charge for safety and then manually inserting the bullet, and I can do 500-600 rounds an hour without breaking a sweat.

I got into reloading because I have a 7 Mag that drives nails at 300 yards with my loads. I am a huge accuracy freak so rounds per hour takes a back seat to consistent loads. I will often spend 40-60 hours formulating a load for each gun. If only I had more talent when it came to holding the gun steady!

The ONLY problem with the loadmaster is that when I load 10mm the delta in the force required to resize from case to case often throws off the consistency of the OAL by .025.