Lee turret press wearing out after 1500 rds loaded

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D.B. Cooper

D.B. Cooper

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SO I decided to just start a new thread for this.

I have a Lee classic turret press that is about 10 months old. I have loaded about 1500 rounds of 44 special on it. (Based on the fact that I just tonight opened my third 500 rd box of projectiles.)

Quite a while ago, the turret became misaligned. For some time now, I have had to finish indexing the turret a fraction of an inch with my left hand after operating the ram to turn the turret most of the way around to the next station. It just stopped making it all the way to the detent on its own.

Now (tonight) it has stopped rotating completely. I can still index the turret completely by hand (manually), but moving the handle has no effect on rotating the turret. (Sometimes, if I move the handle very slowly up and down, it will turn the turret.)

It took over an hour to load 30 rounds.

Additionally, it seems like the primer tray will no longer stay mounted on the track. The track is separating, and the tray falls off.

I am pretty miffed by this. I know I didn't buy top of the line (probably bottom of the line), but I bought what I could afford at the time.

So at this point, I'm looking for the cheap, easy, quick fix (I need 300 rounds loaded by tomorrow.), or should I just upgrade?

The other serious thought I'm having, and just discussed it with the girlfriend a few moments ago, is to just top competing/shooting/reloading for a while. I'm spending a lot of money on this right now, and if I have to start buying tons of commercial/store bought ammo, or a new press, I may just call it quits for a while. (Or. I could just double down. Alaska PFD checks, $1600 this year, come out on Thursday lol.)
 
Ok. So, drband commented in another thread that it' the "ratchet" (a little black plastic square). Took it apart and found that broke on one of the corners. They're 50¢ each from Lee. Ordered 10. As well as a back up clamp/holder for it with the screw.

I'm going to try to super glue the track together on the primer feeder, unless someone has a better idea. I can buy those locally anyway.

Now I just need to figure out what's going on with the indexing.
 
If you’re tearing out the ratchet that quickly, either it was a fluke and you just happened to get a bad one, or you’re running the press WAY too hard and fast on your up strokes. If you’re short stroking (especially when skipping die positions), that can also cause premature wear/damage to the ratchet. It’s a sacrificial piece, no big deal, no other damage done, but it’s an operator error.

As a similar experience, when I taught my wife to load on the LCT, she tore out a ratchet in about 400rnds. I’d ran the same ratchet about 25,000rnds before that. She was skipping one die position, and wouldn’t fully stroke down past the indexing spiral quite far enough for the rod to go slack, so it was binding JUST A LITTLE BIT every time she indexed, and that poor little piece didn’t hold up long. I trained her up on how to properly use it, and the second ratchet in that press is something over 10,000rnds again now.
 
^^^^This^^^^
The ratchet is definitely your problem!

You must “learn” the press a bit. Full strokes on the handle. Don’t manually move the turret unless you’ve pulled the handle far enough to disengage the ratchet (about 1/3 stroke, the ram has to move above the twisted portion of the index rod—experiment with this, you’ll see when the rod releases and the turret will move easily by hand).

When you install the new ratchet piece, the thicker portion is on top. Cycle it a few times and note die alignment. If it’s not perfect, adjust the index rod/turret alignment. There are YouTube videos.:)

Don’t be discouraged. This press will run quite smoothly. I would guess that most of your frustration came when the ratchet was going bad. As it cracks, alignment starts to suffer and it is not immediately obvious what is going on. (Voice of experience)

You will see what I mean when you install the new ratchet. And, as noted a few posts ago, there should have been an extra with the press when new.

Glad this came up—now it’s obvious what the real problem is!
 
I have the exact same problem with my LCT, after about 2000 rounds...but I have definitely been short stroking the ram and skipping a station. Just received a few new ratchets and hope to get one in soon. No doubt that will fix the issue
 
Yeah mine did that, kept adjusting the bolt and dealt with it awhile then got a new auto-index clamp and rod and that fixed it.

Lee replacement parts are free, you pay $7 shipping/handling So Load up on the parts you need. (If you go thru replacement parts tab it shows a dollar amount but zeroes out at checkout)

I’ve loaded over 20k on my Lee turret, maybe more

THEN, get the inline fabrication setup with the reverse auto index :) Worth it:
https://inlinefabrication.com/products/case-ejector-for-the-lee-classic-turret-reverse-rotation
 
As noted & stated the ratchet square is worn out. So problem solved.

The Primer Track is a separate issue. I am guessing you have the current gen 3 ( I think ) version. So it could be a design issue. But that is doubtful. The Track idea is not new.

I think you are just using to much force when operating. This press does not need much force to manufacture 44 Special.
  • The Primer system is only light finger pressure to load a primer into the cup. Some call it a 'Pez' dispenser.
    • You need to stop push the dispenser gently to align with primer cup then light pressure to get the feeder to dispense.
    • It is a child's Pez Toy level of force.
    • Seating the Primer at the bottom of the stroke is not a hard slam. You push it gently into the primer cup.
  • The indexing is a smooth effortless pull of the lever.
    • Full strokes using the full range of motion of the arm.
    • The limits of the stroke should not be hard slams to a stop.
    • It should resemble a smooth flow of energy.
  • Be sure that you align the index rod and turret, aka timing, when you set up.
    • This misalignment can cause issues.

Watch some YouTube's and watch how the press is being used. A Straight Wall pistol case is no effort to size on this press due to the design.
 
The timing can be adjusted, and it seems you have solved the indexing problem. I've loaded approximately 12,000 on mine and replaced the indexing gadget one time, and have several replacements on hand.

Have a blessed day,

Leon
 
Most ratchet damage is done when installing a turret. Move the handle back and forth a little when installing a turret, and if resistance is felt in side to side movement that is when the ratchet is taking damage.
 
I think it is about time for a nice Dillion 550B. I have been using the same one since the 1980's. The basic problem I have had with all Lee equipment is, you get what you pay for. Lee equipment is not built for those who do a lot of reloading. It is built for those who get into the sport for a short time. It could be worse. I have seen a number of fellows who bought a $20,000 bass boat, used the heck out of it the first year, occasionally the second, but by the third year, squirrels had eaten all the electrical wiring and the motor rusted shut.

I have had good luck with Lee dies, they have held up, but much of anything else breaks.
 
Slamfire said:
I think it is about time for a nice Dillion 550B. I have been using the same one since the 1980's. The basic problem I have had with all Lee equipment is, you get what you pay for. Lee equipment is not built for those who do a lot of reloading. It is built for those who get into the sport for a short time. It could be worse. I have seen a number of fellows who bought a $20,000 bass boat, used the heck out of it the first year, occasionally the second, but by the third year, squirrels had eaten all the electrical wiring and the motor rusted shut.

I have had good luck with Lee dies, they have held up, but much of anything else breaks.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, not arguing the point at all. I’d like a Dillon 550 for myself...
But my LCT just runs and runs. I load 5 calibers on it and actually enjoy using it. Everyone has to figure out the price point they are comfortable with and make their own decision. :cool:
 
I loaded 10K rounds on my LCT before I upgraded, and I broke several of those plastic ratchets. If you're using a Lee Safety Prime, you might also consider ordering some spare springs. I broke two of those. You might also order the plastic piece that surrounds the ratchet too, have it all shipped once.

Regarding the plastic ratchet, make sure you never manually index the press with the ram at the bottom of the stroke or you risk stripping them. If you move the ram somewhere to the center of its stroke, the ratchet won't strip. It will still eventually fail, so having a handful is a good thing.
 
A little oil in the area where the turret plate rotates keeps moving friction down too. A drop on the spring loaded ball in the press' turret ring doesn't hurt either.
 
kidneyboy said:
This is, of course, nonsense
I'm at about 30,000 rounds through my LCT and have replaced 2 (two) parts. The little part on the indexing rod and the spring in the primer.
Click to expand...

I lost count of the number of Lee auto primers that I have broken. The top comes off above the shell holder, the arm breaks, the plastic primer trays wear. Then Lee made "improvements", which were only worse, and got worse, each iteration. If you have having a good experience with your Lee classic turret, then be happy. I am still using the same Dillion 550B I purchased in the 1980's, I have no idea how many tens of thousand if not hundreds of thousands of rounds I have loaded on the thing. Parts have worn out. The compound leverage block actually broke, and Dillion replaced that for free. Dillion has a real "NO BS" lifetime warranty, Lee, what's it down to now, one year, two years?
 
I have never messed with the auto-primer on the LCT. I used mine to support my USPSA habit, as well as all my other shooting needs, for many years. I still use it for everything but my gamer loads. I have many, many tens of thousands of rounds through that thing. I'm still on the original ratchet, which is supposed to be a wear item! I love my Dillon 650. I also love my LCT. I'm not ditching either one.
 
Slamfire said:
I lost count of the number of Lee auto primers that I have broken. The top comes off above the shell holder, the arm breaks, the plastic primer trays wear. Then Lee made "improvements", which were only worse, and got worse, each iteration. If you have having a good experience with your Lee classic turret, then be happy. I am still using the same Dillion 550B I purchased in the 1980's, I have no idea how many tens of thousand if not hundreds of thousands of rounds I have loaded on the thing. Parts have worn out. The compound leverage block actually broke, and Dillion replaced that for free. Dillion has a real "NO BS" lifetime warranty, Lee, what's it down to now, one year, two years?
Click to expand...

Different animals and Dillon obvi makes good stuff. Sure some parts wear out faster, but the parts that wear out on a Lee are warrantied too. They are free, you order online and they ship next day. That's pretty good customer service I'd say. I didn't have to call anyone and my stuff is in the mail in less than 24hrs.
 
20K-30k+ rounds (lost track) on my old Lee 3 hole turret and it still works fine.
I bought an LNL progressive but still use the Lee for small batches.
Think I paid $100 for it so .0033/per round press expense, I feel I have more than got my moneys worth out of it. ($.16/ a box for press expense and dropping.....)

A little TriFlow on the turret lugs works wonders.
 
The other serious thought I'm having, and just discussed it with the girlfriend a few moments ago, is to just top competing/shooting/reloading for a while.
Click to expand...

Sounds like frustration, been there, done that and my suggestion is to quit messing with anything at that point because your going to be driven by emotion more than rational. When I was a kid, before I knew how to walk away and “regroup” it caused the permanent destruction of a few things.

If you enjoy shooting and competing just go buy enough factory ammo to have fun while you figure things out.

FWIW my wife bought me my first 1050, after I started competing, so we could have more snuggle time. Just saying Christmas is around the corner...
 
So, in response to several comments here, you get ONE free plastic replacement part from Lee. The rest cost money. So I ordered free ratchet and clamp plus 10 more ratchets. Put the order in last night at midnight, got an email today that they had already shipped.
 
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