Lee Pro 1000 Tip & Tricks

[Kenstone]

11 hours ago, SysProg said:

Hello,

 

I'm hoping that this is still active as the last post (before this one) was from 2015.  Recently, I have been having issues with my Lee Pro 1000 .357/.38 press.  I have had it almost 30 years and this  just started occurring recently.  I have it set up to reload .357 and haven't had to make any adjustments in years, other than having had to take it apart and do a deep clean (thanks to CowboyT's videos on YouTube) to fix an issue where the primer would get inserted sideways or upside down.

 

My current issue is that the cases are leaving the first station without the primers getting punched out.  It is not for every case and can happen with the first case or with all three stations full.  I have checked the pin and it is sticking out of the bottom of the die about 3/8's of an inch and isn't loose.  I have made sure that the ram is all of the way up and it looks like the tray is all of the way up.  The last time I reloaded I was able to complete over 200 rounds in an hour.  Now I am lucky if I can load 100 in an hour and 20 minutes.

 

Any ideas?

 

OK sounds like the used primers are sticking to the de-capping pin and being pulled partially back into the primer pocket.

For me, this will happen more with crimped primers and on any press, not just my Pro 1000.

Remove the pin/pin holder chuck it in a drill and spin it, and stone/polish a taper and ball on the end of the pin.

works for me,

[SysProg]

Kenstone - You're suggestion seems to have solved my problem.  Many thanks!!!

 

I removed the pin and simply dragged and rolled the business end on a sheet of fine sandpaper and also sanded a small chamfer on the end.  I then ran 6 rounds thru an empty press (no powder or primers) but did seat a bullet in each.  Every single one was ejected without a primer, which is what I expected.

 

I also wanted to mention - to every one out there - about some parts I bought at www.titanreloading.com.  They have a solution for the base of the press to keep it from having to be removed from the bench in order to get rid of the spent primers.  It only works on Pro 1000's made after 1992 or 1993.  Unfortunately, their web site appears to be broken at the moment or I would post the links.  I think the parts are on the TITAN RELOADING Products page.  (Note that I did notify them of the problem via their Contact Us page).

 

The parts consist of a funnel-like device that inserts into the bottom of the press, a piece of tubing that attaches to the end of the device, and optionally a cap for the end of the tube. You need to drill a hole in your bench to so that the tubing can be attached.  I installed this on my Pro 1000, set up for 9mm, and it works as advertised. 

 

Unfortunately for me my Pro 1000, set up for .357 Magnum, was made before the cutoff date and the part won't fit (the older presses have more support ribbing underneath than the new presses do).

[Kenstone]

On 9/24/2019 at 4:11 PM, SysProg said:

 Kenstone - You're suggestion seems to have solved my problem.  Many thanks!!!

 

I removed the pin and simply dragged and rolled the business end on a sheet of fine sandpaper and also sanded a small chamfer on the end.  I then ran 6 rounds thru an empty press (no powder or primers) but did seat a bullet in each.  Every single one was ejected without a primer, which is what I expected.

 

I also wanted to mention - to every one out there - about some parts I bought at www.titanreloading.com.  They have a solution for the base of the press to keep it from having to be removed from the bench in order to get rid of the spent primers.  It only works on Pro 1000's made after 1992 or 1993.  Unfortunately, their web site appears to be broken at the moment or I would post the links.  I think the parts are on the TITAN RELOADING Products page.  (Note that I did notify them of the problem via their Contact Us page).

 

The parts consist of a funnel-like device that inserts into the bottom of the press, a piece of tubing that attaches to the end of the device, and optionally a cap for the end of the tube. You need to drill a hole in your bench to so that the tubing can be attached.  I installed this on my Pro 1000, set up for 9mm, and it works as advertised. 

 

Unfortunately for me my Pro 1000, set up for .357 Magnum, was made before the cutoff date and the part won't fit (the older presses have more support ribbing underneath than the new presses do).

 

It's good to know that polishing the pins worked for you

 

This spent primer talk reminded me of what I did to avoid drilling a hole thru the bench for spent primers.

I have all presses mounted on a "standard" plate and swap then out to the same location on my bench, so only one press is on the bench at a time.

I put coupling nuts as risers on all 3 mounting bolts, a size bigger so they actually sleeved over the bolts.

This ended up with the press off the bench so I could put a catch container for the spent primers;

Here's a pick:

 

Edited October 2, 2019 by Kenstone

[SysProg]

Wow, that is a great idea.  Thanks for the picture.  I will pick up some coupling nuts sometime soon.  These are cheaper than the solution I found for newer presses.

 

I have a problem where the spent primers get caught in the ram and won't let it move up or down.  I think that your solution will solve that problem.

 

The Titan Reloading site is working again.  Here are the links the I mentioned in my post from September 24th.

https://www.titanreloading.com/titan-reloading-products/titan-primer-chute    $12.98

https://www.titanreloading.com/lee-precision-reloading-equipment/lee-service-parts/single-station-press-parts/lee-bp3064-pvc-tube   $1.50

https://www.titanreloading.com/lee-precision-reloading-equipment/lee-service-parts/single-station-press-parts/lee-bp3127-plastic-cap   $0.50

 

These products work great on my 9mm press (bought it a few years ago).

[thailand]

Hey all,

  I found this forum on a Google search, and although I know its an old thread, I hope its ok to post here and not start a new thread, so we can keep all these great tips and tricks together.

 

  I recently got the Lee Auto Drum, and for the life of me, can't get consistent drops.  I read through all these pages (among other forums), and tried all the tips.

• Cleaned all the parts with soapy water, and air dry
• Lubed with graphite
• Ran pounds of powder through before taking measurements
• Made sure to have full range of motion of the drum
• Tried different "tightness" of the drum screw
• Tried different drums
• Kept motions of handle as uniform as possible
• Wiped with dryer sheet to check for static

  I read that some of you guys are getting as little as 0.1 grain difference.  I'd be happy with 0.2.

  I am loading 9mm with Universal at a target of 4.5 grain.  My drops are 3.9-5.1.  A huge spread.  Not acceptable if I want to use this Lee Pro 1000 as a progressive.  Granted, the extreme high/low drops are not more than 10% of the drops, but that's still way too much.

  Right now, I'm weighing every load, but I want to trust this powder measure...but right now, I just don't.  

  What am I missing guys???

 

Thanks for looking.  I look forward to your replies.

  

Edited January 3, 2021 by thailand
added bullet point

[thailand]

  Ok, so I think I found a solution to the issue.  Time will tell.  I only post it here, since I'd like to keep all the great advice on this thread in one place.   

  I recently bought a new set of drums for the auto-drum.  Since I'm only trying to drop 4.5 grains, I opted to use the small drum, as opposed to the large drum with insert.

  After cleaning the small drum with Dawn and letting air dry, I installed it.  I put about 1/2 lb through to "condition" it, and started seeing 4.4-4.6 grain drops!  I only did about 25 drops, but its progress.

  As an experiment, I tried the same thing, but with the large drum and insert.   With that setup, the cavity for the powder is very shallow, as opposed to the small drum.  And the results were back to inconsistent drops.

  Seems that the lesson is that you gotta use the small drum for the smaller grain drops.  Even thought the large drum will "hold" those smaller grain loads, I'm guessing that the wiper shears off the top layer, and causes inconsistent drops, especially with the cavity being so shallow.  

  Hope that helps someone out there.

[thailand]

Edit previous post...its not fixed...I think it may be a lemon...the drops started drifting again, up to 20%, and no changes were made to the unit.  I am going to seek an RMA for this unit from LEE.  I don't think there is anymore things to try...I can only hope the next unit will be better.

[Kenstone]

On 1/10/2021 at 1:52 PM, thailand said:

Edit previous post...its not fixed...I think it may be a lemon...the drops started drifting again, up to 20%, and no changes were made to the unit.  I am going to seek an RMA for this unit from LEE.  I don't think there is anymore things to try...I can only hope the next unit will be better.

I went back to the disc measure after fussing with an auto drum for way too long.

I hated the stiff spring in the auto drum and not be able to easily throw a test charge.

I use auto discs on all my progressives now, painless, easy-peasy.

If you make an adjustable disc cavity like those further back on this thread you can dial it in to throw the exact charge you need.

Something I've posted before-

Something different I do with the auto disc is NOT use the chain or wrap-around spring.

I use the wrap-around spring ARM and an extension spring like in this pic:

I can unhook that spring, put a case under the expander die push the case/expander up and throw a charge in it to weigh.

I have fabbed a long case that I can throw 10 charges into and weigh it with the scale set to 10x the Target powder weight.

That way It averages 10 throws instead of chasing the variation of one throw.

Long 9mm and 38 10x case:

jmo,

.

 

Edited January 27, 2021 by Kenstone

[thailand]

  Thanks for the idea Kenstone!  I think the disk may be the way with smaller powder charges.

  I did do some more experimenting...spherical powder does a much better job through the drum than flake in my case.

  Lee did come through, they're customer service was great btw, and sent me another disc unit to try, and it seems to work better.  I did notice a small, but significant difference between the one I returned and the new one.  On the "pour" stroke of the drum, there was a shelf on the tube leading to the die.  I think this shelf trapped some powder on the downstroke, and picked it back up on the upstroke, and not leaving any evidence to troubleshoot.  The new drum setup has a more flush feel to it on that shelf, and seems to be dropping more consistent powder.

  Time will tell, since I'm only using spherical powder and haven't tried flake yet.

 

[Kenstone]

On 2/6/2021 at 9:20 AM, thailand said:

  Thanks for the idea Kenstone!  I think the disk may be the way with smaller powder charges.

  I did do some more experimenting...spherical powder does a much better job through the drum than flake in my case.

  Lee did come through, they're customer service was great btw, and sent me another disc unit to try, and it seems to work better.  I did notice a small, but significant difference between the one I returned and the new one.  On the "pour" stroke of the drum, there was a shelf on the tube leading to the die.  I think this shelf trapped some powder on the downstroke, and picked it back up on the upstroke, and not leaving any evidence to troubleshoot.  The new drum setup has a more flush feel to it on that shelf, and seems to be dropping more consistent powder.

  Time will tell, since I'm only using spherical powder and haven't tried flake yet.

 

 

Wow, OK, not again

 

I have found that shelf on a few disc measures and ID'ed it as the tube has not been pushed into the step/shoulder in the bore when it was assembled at Lee.

You could see the gap if you removed the hopper and look down thru the drop tube.

I had a pic of this but it's trapped on my last/broken 'puter.

That gap limited the travel and short stroked the measure too.

I just pushed it against the bench and the tube went into and seated on the shoulder...fixed.

 

This was a problem I identified a few years back and advised Lee about it so they could track it back to the assembly process and correct it.

 

Sounds like the problem is back...

Sorry to hear you had to send it back for exchange, Lee should had done more for you because of the inconvenience.

jmo,

Edit: and you can get the double disc setup for more powder per throw for rifle if needed.

Edit: added pic of were the gap would be on the disc drop tube.

         added pic of pusher to get the last primers to feed, I have since changed to using a wooden skewer instead of that steel rod.

 

Edited February 9, 2021 by Kenstone
Add pics

[Kenstone]

On 2/6/2021 at 9:20 AM, thailand said:

  Thanks for the idea Kenstone!  I think the disk may be the way with smaller powder charges.

  I did do some more experimenting...spherical powder does a much better job through the drum than flake in my case.

  Lee did come through, they're customer service was great btw, and sent me another disc unit to try, and it seems to work better.  I did notice a small, but significant difference between the one I returned and the new one.  On the "pour" stroke of the drum, there was a shelf on the tube leading to the die.  I think this shelf trapped some powder on the downstroke, and picked it back up on the upstroke, and not leaving any evidence to troubleshoot.  The new drum setup has a more flush feel to it on that shelf, and seems to be dropping more consistent powder.

  Time will tell, since I'm only using spherical powder and haven't tried flake yet.

 

OK

Another thread on Pro 1000 that has a lot of useful info:

Lee Pro 1000 Solutions < No Bashing > | The High Road