Lee Pro 1000

M

maka

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Anybody know of a sight with some good info on fine tuning the pro 1000.

I am new to reloading and started some 9mm today. Works o.k. but there seems to be a little catch on the down stroke in the powder through expander die. Also my primers seem to not flow all that well with some actually turning on end in the primer pocket. I have seen a great video of a guy setting one of these up but I can't seem to find it now. There is also a little scrape on my brass when it comes out of the seating die on one side. It makes good ammo with charge weights and shell dimension remaining very consistent. I would just like it to run smoother with not so muck cluncking

Thanks

maka
 
maka said:
Anybody know of a sight with some good info on fine tuning the pro 1000.

I am new to reloading and started some 9mm today. Works o.k. but there seems to be a little catch on the down stroke in the powder through expander die. Also my primers seem to not flow all that well with some actually turning on end in the primer pocket. I have seen a great video of a guy setting one of these up but I can't seem to find it now. There is also a little scrape on my brass when it comes out of the seating die on one side. It makes good ammo with charge weights and shell dimension remaining very consistent. I would just like it to run smoother with not so muck cluncking

Thanks

maka
Click to expand...

You obviously haven't used it that long. I bought one and used it for a while. I hated the thing. Primers wouldn't feed. Autodisk powder measure started binding up after a while and sometimes wouldn't retract...resulting in low/no charge. Shell inserter/pusher/whatever you call it started binding up about about 6 months. Cartridge ejector system bound up from just about day one. Fine tune it ??? Sure......First, get a hammer and smash the thing into a pile of parts. Next, sell it to a local scrap dealer for 1 cent pound. Oh, and by the way....did I mention that I don't like them ???
 
on the powder through expander die it is meant to catch on the downstroke. It greats a jolt to ensure all powder has been dropped apparently. It is in the manual. On once fired brass it is very noticeable but once you have reloaded them a couple times it isn't as bad.
 
The 1000 is a fine reloader that really doesn't need a lot of tweaking. Some people put more than a box of primers in the tray. Don't put more than a box of primers in the tray!

Also, make sure that the primer tray and tube are clean. And, keep a can of compressed air for periodically cleaning the primer mechanism area.
 
You are right Mel it does say that, thanks for making me have another look.

I feel it is a good machine. Every company has their issues. If I stick with it maybe I will buy a better machine.

The reality is that I bought:

Lee pro 1000 complete and ready to go in 9mm
Lee breech lock kit with .204 dies
univesal decapper
several deiffernet shell holders
lyman tumbler with media
2 lbs powder
2000 primers
hornady, berger, sierra .204 bullets

for less than a dillon 550
 
For Primers.
Ensure that you always have primers in the feed path below the tray. When the tray is empty, refill it. It is the mass of primers & gravity that overcome the resistance in the primer feed arm. When you go low in primers, there is too much resistence in the feed tube which only partially feeds the primer.

Add in that the agitator slots on the post do not really shake the primer tray as much as they could. Put thicker o-rings in the groove if you are assembling, or just use a shoe lace and tie it into the grooves. Primer issue solved for 99% of any issues that do not involve out of size primer pockets.

Should you have a failure to seat a primer the compressed air can is a good idea as powder will drop through the flash hole and otherwise gum up the rachet mechanism.

ENSURE that you fully seat primers else they will not eject and they will jam you up. Can occur due to wear of the steel primer ram against the alloy press casting. Solution? a Couple layers of electrical/duct tape. (Just one or two). This will ensure a firm seating without being too shallow (Good for looser primer pockets).


Case feeding.
This one is the key. With rimmed cartridges it is a non-issue as it becomes a timing only issue which can easily be adjusted. With rimless cases, having cases JUMP from the case slide is a common occurance with incorrectly adjusted case feeder heights. This is where trial and error come into effect.

I had setup my .40 using 6 or 7 cases in the feed tubes and it worked great. Filled it to the top and the added mass of the extra cases caused me grief (Got down to 10-12 in the tube and it worked fine again (the tubes hold just over 90 pcs of .40 brass, add in the collator and you are over a hundred easy.)

Fiddled with it, then it worked perfect. Took about 30 minutes of tweeking. With my Rimmed cases (.38 Special) worked the first time every time.
 
bjhill said:
Dillion is your friend
Click to expand...

I have 3 Lee-1000's and I'd say that Hornady is your friend more than Dillon :)

What press you use has more to do with funds and usage.

I know a Lee-1000 users that has 20K+ rounds on them. The Lee has been paid for many many times over.

I also know a person who bought a Dillon 650 with the whistles and bells. Total loaded in 3 years? 2000 or so rounds.

Which one is satisfied with their press? Both of them.
 
I use the Lee 1000 extensively. The key, for me, is to operate them slowly and deliberately, with a full up stroke and a full down stroke. When it is coming down to seat the primer I watch the tray and slide to make sure that the primers are moving.
I don't even try to achieve 1000 rounds an hour; I am closer to 300-400. However, the extra time that I take to make the rounds is less time spent on clearing jams, sorting out cases with tipped primers and the like. Good advice to fill your tray.
I have found that the tray works best with no more than 150 primers, as they don't jam up at the slide entrance.
 
I have a lee pro 1000 I think it was the most dangerous press i have ever used.Flipped primers crushed primers powder spills double charges from having to remove cases from the sequence when something f@#ked up which was a regular occurrence.Bought a dillon SDB runs like a clock very few F@#k ups if any safety first.
 
BJ.

This thread is just a restatement of dozens of helpful Lee Pro threads all over the Internet.

A careful reading of those threads would have solved your problems. Then, you could have used the hundreds of extra dollars you spent on your Dillon for more powder, bullets and brass.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with a Dillon. It's just that a judicious use of Google can save people lots of time and money with all sorts of things.
 
i'm one of the "guys " approaching about 20k rounds an a 1000- had 3 of them since 1990- 9mm, 45, and 223- it's all got to do with the primer feed- that pin and notched rod assembly simply doesn't have enough vibration to make the primers feed reliably- the 9mm and 45 have the rear bolt built up with washers so there's about a 15 degree forward tilt to the press( that helps a bit with the primer feed, and if you do a bit of a search you'll find the thing about putting o-rings on the primer column- ) i also bypassed the sensor so there's a primer everytime i crank the ram- that was the cause of a good deal of my troubles- no primer- i also use the old style spring on the powder measure, not the phoney baloney bathroom chain- i'm still running on my original set of nylon gears, but i've never changed calibers either- maybe that's the trick to it- the only real mod i've ever done was change the 45acp over to small primer b/c of the winclean stuff
 
I've used mine for 9 and 45 only real problem is with the bullet feed kit on the 9, tried it for 223 and the depriming pin keeps getting stuck in the case had to cut a few cases to get the pin back, gonna get a single stage press for rifle now anyways
 
johnsks said:
I've used mine for 9 and 45 only real problem is with the bullet feed kit on the 9, tried it for 223 and the depriming pin keeps getting stuck in the case had to cut a few cases to get the pin back, gonna get a single stage press for rifle now anyways
Click to expand...

i had something similar with the 1000 and found that the decapping pin was out of round- or the nut that holds it in the die- replaced the die make sure your necks are lubed, and you're good to go- how you can tell is to run it empty- see where the pin lines up- if it's anything but dead centre, thatys your problem- and the bullet feed kit is a pos
 
t-star said:
i'm still running on my original set of nylon gears, but i've never changed calibers either- maybe that's the trick to it- ff
Click to expand...

Never thought of that. I bought a pack of replacements as I had heard it was the biggest wear area.

I to have a press dedicated for .40 and one for .38spec. (I use the same powder & same volume on both loads). Never had an issue in nearly 10K .40 loads with the gears. Nor the 5K on the .38 press.
 
The gentleman I bought the two 1000's off of does not really know how many rounds he loaded; he thinks over 10,000 on one and easily twice that on the other. I replaced the ratchet gear in both, the primer fee systems, and a shell palte carrier on one (my fault for bending it in anger. I paid $80 for both, I had the dies, and about $140 in parts (expected rebuild costs and stupidity). If I had the cash, I would have bought a Dillon 650 with a case feeder, but I probably have less in the two presses I have now than the taxes on the Dillon setup. It all comes down to the amount you shoot; if I put 10,000/year down range I would have a Dillon, but at 2000/year, it is not worth it.
 
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