Lee turret holder project

[matworz]

Spent about an hour in my shop yesterday putting a turret holder together. I realized that the lee turrets have a hole in the middle that will take a 3/8" rod and hold it pretty nicely. I found some scrap plywood and put together this:

What looks like one thick piece of plywood is actually 3 pieces. The top piece is drilled with 3/8" holes. (I have room for 6 bolts but currently only have 5 turrets). The middle piece of the sandwich is a 1/4" piece with holes directly under the 3/8" holes that are big enough for the bolt heads (I think for the 3/8" bolts I used, they were 5/8" or 3/4"). The bottom piece is just a solid piece cut to the same size as the other two.

Put the 3 together like a sandwich, putting a 3/8" x 2" - 2 1/2" long bolts in each hole. I used drywall screws to squish it all together.

I threaded a nut on each one down to the length of the threads, and the turrets sit nicely on top of each one.

I also drilled a 5/8" dia hole about 1/2" deep under each turret to hold the correct shell holder. I also drilled a couple of small holes to hold some allen wrenches that I use for the lock rings on the Hornady sets in the front corners.

Seems to work pretty well. It wouldn't work if it was at any sort of angle, it pretty much has to sit flat.

 

[Hondo 60]

Very nice looking holder.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Very nice. I just keep mine in a Sterlite bin.. since it's not bouncing around in the back of a pickup bed and there's not non-stop earthquakes here and I don't shake it around like a paint mixer, I figure it'll just have to do for now.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I've had my Lee turret press for 5 years now, have a dozen 3 hole turrets with dies in a box with a foam pad to store them. I've been thinking of a better way to store them and this is the first time I have ever heard that there was a 3/8" threaded hole on the bottom side of the turret block.
Come to think of it I am not even sure I ever looked to see what the bottom of that turret block even looks like.

 

[1KPerDay]

pretty slick!

 

[rondog]

I've had my Lee turret press for 5 years now, have a dozen 3 hole turrets with dies in a box with a foam pad to store them. I've been thinking of a better way to store them and this is the first time I have ever heard that there was a 3/8" threaded hole on the bottom side of the turret block.
Come to think of it I am not even sure I ever looked to see what the bottom of that turret block even looks like.

There isn't a 3/8" threaded hole in the bottom of them. There's actually a square hole for the nut on the drive rod to fit in, but there's a 3/8" hole cast into the bottom of that square hole. So the 3/8" bolt will just slip into that hole and the turret will just sit on the bolt.

But I like this idea! I have about 14-15 of these turrets myself, and I've been trying to think of a way to build a rack for them. I need like a 3-tiered rack to put say, 5 or 6 on each tier. This is a great idea! I'd been thinking along the lines of great big holes in the boards for the turrets to just drop into, but the tolerances are too close to mess with.

Now, this guy made a rack with what appears to be 2-5/8" or 2-3/4" holes in it. Just big enough to clear the die bodies on the bottom, but not big enough for the turret to fall through, and it looks to work pretty good. This could be made into a multi-tiered rack pretty easily too. And a little nail next to each set would keep the shellholders handy.

 

[Warners]

I was looking for a good way to store mine in the cabinet and ultimately just bought the red plastic boxes that Lee makes for them......work great and keep them from getting dusty and damaged.....but they don't look like a museum display like yours do.


Warner



Like this:

 

[dickttx]

Boy, you all make me feel lazy. I just recently changed from the Folgers cans in the photo below to the small 1#(or less) cans. Everything related to the cartridge (shellholder, loading recipies, notes, case trimmer, etc) goes in the can too.

 

[holdencm9]

That is pretty slick. I just use 3" PVC female coupler fittings. The outside diameter of the turret is like 3 1/8" so it sits inside perfectly, and suspends the dies off the ground. Not that I am too worried about breaking the decapping pin but it is nice and then I can put them all in a tote or something to transport. But at $3 per, it is probably not the cheapest method.

 

[photosaurus]

A real "po boy" solution is to use the discarded 3-inch core from package tape. The turret will fit down into the core but will not fall through, due to the flange around the top. Same with 3-inch PVC pipe (SCHD40) which is quite a bit more durable.

matworz, your caddy is the finest I've ever seen!

 

[budman46]

dicktxx, i do the small coffee cans also...27 and counting. i feel lazy, too; think i'll go take a nap!

 

[dickttx]

Yeah, budman, I am slowly changing over. I am a cheapskate and buy the giant size at Sam's. But I have been buying something a little different in the small cans for afternoon coffee. I only have about eight sets so I will make it before long.

 

[budman46]

dicktxx,
got friends to save the small cans for me while i buy the stuff from sam's, too; i save $$$ so i can afford other shooting stuff.