Lee primer arm problem

[deadeye dick]

I have a Lee turret press and am having a lot of trouble with the primer arm dislarging from the ram after setting the primer. On the down stroke of the ram the lip of the primer cup catches on the lip of the shell holder and dislodges it from the pin in the ram and it winds up on the floor. I tried lubing it to no avail. Is this a design flaw or am I doing something wrong? I get a lot of excersize bending over to pick it up but it's a pita. any help would be appreciated.

 

[RustyFN]

I haven't had this problem myself but have seen a couple of threads like this. For some reason the primer arm isn't hitting the base soon enough. I have heard of people putting a little hot glue or solder on the press base so the lever will hit it and be pushed under the ram sooner. I would also recommed cleaning the arm and ram and running the lever dry. Also try sanding the arm a little to smooth it out.

 

[lturford]

I hit mine with a file and some lube - it hung up a good bit when it was new but after getting rid of a little lip that was on if from when it was stamped out it's been fine -

 

[deadeye dick]

Rusty, The arm dislodges after the primer is seated and pops out on the down stroke of the ram.

 

[RustyFN]

Sorry I thought the primer cup was hitting the shell holder on the way in and knocking the primer out. Sounds like you have the deluxe turret. I am not familiar with that press, I have the classic turret. The lever can't come out of the ram as long as the shell holder is in place.

 

[jfh]

cleaning.

In the ram slot, and on the sides and back side of the primer arm. I use both gunsmithing swabs and / or pipecleaners to do this. Also do a thorough job cleaning the shell plate hole.

There's also a chance you have a small burr on the arm--that can happen if the arm made a bounce onto the floor; it's fairly soft metal. For that problem, clean it up with a file and / or some emery cloth--e.g., make sure the edges are good.

For me, it appears to be caused by the grunge in the depriming operation getting on the arm.

Jim H.

 

[awgrizzly]

I'm betting you have the regular Lee Turret Press with a high base. The primer cup is rubbing against the edge of the hole in the shell holder. It sticks in the hole when the ram is raised and then falls out. The culprit is that the shell holder is not aligning perfectly with the primer cup... it goes in too far. I think you'll find it works fine if you move the shell holder out just a bit so they align, but of course it won't stay there when you insert the next shell. You might be able to fix it by sticking something in the front portion of the slot in the ram for the shell holder... a bit of tape or a small bit of solder.

The way I fixed it was to exchange the press for a Lee Classic Turret Press. The primer cup still sticks sometimes, but the primer arm can't fall out (and it actually catches your old primers).