Lee Hand Press

[Unqualified]

How do you like it. Know any tricks to speed things up? I’ve used it and since I can’t use my garage for a while it gets the job done. I much prefer my turret press on a bench. I think that I cannot leave out a single step with the single stage hand press so it takes longer and both hands to operate. I get to sit in a chair and do things off press. My wife even lets me in the house.

 

[ss51]

Get the wife to do some of it? Can she run the little Lee Hand Primer?

 

[Unqualified]

You ruin my thread @above

 

[ss51]

sorry, how about the bullets? Do you cast and lube or have you gone to powder paint and bake it on? That saves time.

 

[ss51]

mount the back of the press on an upright board to free up one hand?

 

[Unqualified]

Just got a new mold for paper patching for a very old gun. Appreciate your enthusiasm but...

 

[ss51]

but what? You were asking for a way to speed up the process.
I mounted mine on a strong 2 x 4 upright , it freed up a hand and was faster in use.
best wishes

 

[Unqualified]

but what? You were asking for a way to speed up the process.
I mounted mine on a strong 2 x 4 upright , it freed up a hand and was faster in use.
best wishes

Won’t work for me, nothing to attach the upright to. So have you used it (handpress). You can set it in your lap to free up a hand. Fits well. But you can’t charge the cases there well that way. So I do it on the table I’m using. A lot of die switching too. Helpful but kind of awkward. Hopefully helpful to apartment dwellers and I’m in a bad situation and need it. A good solution if you don’t have a bench. Kind of time consuming and painful.

 

[ss51]

The Lee Prime was a help. they have proprietary shell holders, readily available.

 

[Unqualified]

Oh you mean die bushings. Yah still kind of a pain. Have you ever tried a turret press or progressive press. I don’t reload that much but I stock up sometimes. I like my turret!

 

[Tobyjoe]

How do you like it. Know any tricks to speed things up? I’ve used it and since I can’t use my garage for a while it gets the job done. I much prefer my turret press on a bench. I think that I cannot leave out a single step with the single stage hand press so it takes longer and both hands to operate. I get to sit in a chair and do things off press. My wife even lets me in the house.

Talked to a friend who uses that press. He said its giving up speed for portabilty but you'll get faster the more you use it.

Are you priming on that press? If so, you'll be faster using a hand priming tool. Me, I like the old, original Lee primer, no longer made or supported with parts. It has its downsides but I really like the feel of how the primer seats and its fast. I'll break one every two years but I have six so maybe Lee will come up with a better one before the rapture.

 

[Unqualified]

Yeah I prime on the press but it’s slowness hurts my back and causes my patience to be tested. Ha before the rapture yeah!
I don’t remember that- the auto prime? Sold mine. I like the one one my turret where I can rank out more rounds. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Unqualified]

I haven’t had any energy at all. Have things to do casting shooting. What are you going to do with your second stimulus money. Buy things for the house. Revisited.

 

[ss51]

Dillon 550 here, works great

 

[ss51]

After Lee came out with the Hand priming tool RCBS came out with one that used the standard shell holders unlike the proprietary ones from Lee, not that that is a deal breaker. The RCBS one also hand a projection that kept it in hand better.
Hand Priming Tool | RCBS

 

[Unqualified]

Yeah that sounds like a better feature. I don’t or haven’t lost any but sounds like that should be a Lee innovation thing. They bounce off each other. @ss51. I stay more focused on the task at hand on the press. Maybe a bench mounted would be less stabilizing. Your 550 has everything? Like priming? I’m slow going progressive.

 

[ss51]

so often in this sport I made several steps in purchasing before reaching where I wanted to be, the Dillon 550 is where I don't see myself needing to get anything else, that and I am older and where I don't shoot near as much anymore, grandson is just starting out so we are loading 9mm.

 

[ss51]

Decap, resize, and prime is done on the first stage, powder drop and bell the case on second stage, seat on third and crimp on fourth.

 

[ss51]

here is a basic, it doesn't have the automatic powder drop mechaism, you would measure each charge and pour it in the funnel, I believe it may come with the die set and shell holder plate with pins of your choice.
Looks like you would place each primer in the primer seating holder too, so would be kind of tedious, but then each cartridge would get a lot of attention and you wouldn't crank out a bunch that had a fault like primer feeder out of primers, etc.
BL550, BL 550, 550, Basic, Loader

 

[Unqualified]

Can’t see going any where else myself, until maybe I can’t do it any more. A priming system even off press your saying is probably the thing. Sorry gotta go.
Those two manual things would slow you down all right.