Dillon 550 vs Lee Pro 1000 questions

COREY

COREY

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Hello All,

I have two Lee Pro 100 presses right now that I picked up quite cheap; for what I hjave loaded, they have served me well. I am noticing that they will not stay timed anymore; I adjust them and then they fall out about 50 rounds later. I made a call to see what two more presses without all the extra gear would cost me (dies, powder dsipnser are new on this gear) and found out that they would cost about $60 less than buying a Dillon 550 with one conversion.

I am planning on kids in the near future and have come to the realization that the only way I am going to easily be able to continue to shoot is to have all my reloading gear purchased per rug rats and it will have to last to a while.

I bought two Lees at the time since they were super cheap; I have not had to change the shell plate in the bottom for a new caliber, so I do not know how hard it is. How easy is it to change from 9mm Luger to 38 Special and 357 Magnum on the Dillon?

When the Lee was working well, I would place a bullet and pull the lever and not have to worry about much for about 100 rounds at a time. Do you find that feeding both the cases and the bullets, and indexing causes a reduction in speed? In all honesty (not the Dillon website), how many rounds can you produce in 1 hour?
 
I've had both Dillon and Lee. The Dillon is hands down the better, I sold the Lee and kept the 550. It is not that hard or time consuming to change calibers if you have the extra die plates with the dies already set up in them, (probably 10 minutes or less).
If you have the primer tubes preloaded and position your bullets and brass properly it is not hard to load 500+ per hour.
 
Okay, that answers those questions; thank you very much stang. If I were to come across a used one in a different caliber (different case head and primer size), what would I need to buy to get it up and running in the calibers above?
 
I assume you mean that the indexing on the lee is off. The shellplate doesn't line up with the dies, etc.

The solution is a very simple change of a plastic 'bearing' under the shellplate. This controls the indexing and wears. Why they don't use steel here is beyond me.

It is a dirt cheap part to get from Lee and they might just send you one for free. Phone and ask. Buy a few if you have to as they need changing every 3 to 5000rds.

There are now PDF instructions on the Lee site. Very easy to change out as you just loosen one allen bolt and push the shell plate off the central arm using the press lever and a block of wood. You pull off the old damaged plastic bearing. Lube and push on a new one. Reassemble and life is back to normal.

The lee is a nice unit but has its quirks. Once set up, it can run really nicely for a bit as you know.

Jerry
 
The only thing you need to switch calibers on a 550 is a set of dies and a caliber specific 'conversion kit'.

The conversion kit contains a shellplate, a powder funnel (for fitting inside the powder thrower) and three brass buttons that hold the shell at each station. Coversion kits cost about $50 each.

That's all you need to convert calibers. However, if you REALLY want the hot ticket, buy a Deluxe Quick Change kit - comes with a new toolhead, toolhead stand, and powder dispenser. That way, you just slide the old head out, and plop in the new one and the conversion kit, and you're ready to go!

I can change from loading .45ACP to .308 within literally 10 seconds. The baseplate is the same for both calibers. :)
 
what you need to do is look at the INSTRUCTION MANUAL for the lee 1000- there are examples of 1000's that are over close to 30 years old ( mine are at least 20) - i have 3 - and replace what you need , not BUY NEW PRESSES
you're spending at least a couple of hundred per to replace 4.50 worth of parts in the extreme- that's a set of rachet hexes(3) a new bolt( which you can get at any hardware store) 1'4x20x11/4 and a new rachet gear- that's all that's in the carrier- a whole new carrier is only about 75 bucks--
your part numbers for the ratchet hexes are 90108, and tr2432 for the large gear-
 
yes, higgenson powders - he's got most of the stuff unless you need the oddball then it can take a while
 
last time i ordered direct from lee i got dinged with a hefty shipping charge- it's no longer the 4 bucks extra for canadian orders- that's why i suggested higgy - and he should have the parts you need in stock- they're pretty common- i have 4 cards of those ratchet hexes on a nail in my reloading bench
 
:D
COREY said:
Is there any place in Canada where you can order parts for these on the Canadian side?
Click to expand...

Corey Higginson's is only about an 1 hour and 15 min from ottawa so the shipping isn't nessicary if you can get there. He's open till 1 on saturdays.
But Beware! make sure you bring your will power.

Just bought a pro1000 and I like it! Bought a few spare gears too! Just to be safe!
 
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Hi Corey

I had the same problem with the Pro 1000 and all I did was center punch the plate below the timing screw, to secure it tighter. I put a black mark on the screw and I noticed it had turned, so I placed three center punch marks in the plate along the screw to tighten it up, 1/8 inch apart. I have never had any more issues with the press timing.
 
Another thing to check on the LEE is the hex shaft and the nut it runs through. If you have any "play" between the shaft and the shell plate nut, you will have problems with indexing. I ran in to the same problem and ended up changing the hex shaft and the nut that it runs through. This solved my problem.
 
Buy a dillon and throw the pro 1000 out the nearest window.They do not prime shells worth a s##t
 
well i've got 3 1000 and they all work, all the time PROVIDED YOU KEEP THE TRAY FULL- that means recharging when the tray gets empty so you always have about 10 or so in the feed tray, not the primer tray- that's the big round one that you can take off- and my last one i got 1990 - the only caveat i have against the 1000 isn't the fault of the press, but it's a lack of capacity in 223- i had to put a dillon powder measure in there- i was recharging too quickly even with the double disk kit- and i have the dillon 550 as well- use the 1000 for 9mm, 223, and 45acp- the dillon is reserved for 308 as it's too much trouble to change heads and dies - and i'm no fan of the dillon manual index
 
Well, after getting my gun room done in the basement, I decided to see about getting the Lee Pro 1000 running again by replacing the plastic ratchet gear that was recommended. I also bought a primer feeding replacement kit; the kit was about $2 more than just buying a new feed tray (mine were worn out). So I replaced the gear and the primer feeding system (al of it), and then timed it back up; it works flawlessly now. I was talking with the previous owner who told me that he had never replaced a single part on it in the time he had it and he said he loaded a very large amount of ammo. Next task is to do the same thing to the 9mm press.
 
I have a Dillon 550 that I bought Dec 18 1990 and it still runs great and the only part that was ever replaced was the Roller Bracket Shell Platform because in a stupid move I broke it off and they still sent me a new one for free. I can't recommend the Dillon higher but it is the latest trend to slam the Dillon by the non owners.
 
latest trend, nothing- i stand by what i've said- the 550 sits in the other room , doing next to nothing b/c of that stupid manual index and the complication of changing the shell holders- it's fine for 308 because that's what it's set up for, but i even use my old turret press than try to change shellholders on that thing- and that's to go to 338 from 308- everything else is lee and i'm thorghly satisfied with it- but it'll be a blue day it heck before you see me buy another 550
 
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