ljnowell
Member
Lee is cheap because of bare minimum engineering and low cost materials. Aluminum, plastic, and poor quality steel. I used to work for a steel mill that produced the steel used in Lee dies and equipment.
Lee also caters to the beginner and low volume market. You won't find many small commercial loaders running Lee equipment. Why? Because it won't hold up. Many competitive shooters load tens of thousands of rounds each month and they sure don't do it on a Lee.
For the casual handloader they are great. For anything serious I'd look elsewhere. Their collet dies are very good and overall their price point for their dies are great.
Freak, I agree on a lot of that with you. They do not use the quality of raw materials other manufacturers do, however, Lee products usually are good enough. The question therein lies: How strong does it need to be, or can you afford to pay?
I load quite a bit of ammo, last year I probably loaded at least 5K rounds on one of the lee 26 dollar bench mount single stage presses. I have used it two years now and probably loaded just over 10K on it. Most people would lead you to believe that little press wouldnt take it. In fact, there is no appreciable difference between when it was new and now. I recently got a new Auto turret from lee, and am looking to at least double my ammo output. I trust the equipement, but wouldnt run a business with it
I am a mechanic by trade. I think craftsman tools are good, but my toolbox is full of snap-on. Same situation.
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