Help Lee Loadmaster Primer Feed Issues - anyone have a fix?

M

Markit

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I have a Lee Loadmaster and load around 600 - 700 rounds of 9mm for IPSC each week for my wife and I.

Until recently the Loadmaster has been running really well (I have loaded around 5k rounds with it in the past few months with surprisingly few issues and the ammo it loads has been consistent and of good quality) but lately I have begun getting an issue with the primer feed.

It seems the primer feed jams - I think it is feeding a primer and then the next primer in the chute partially blocks the primer feed slide and it gets stuck, with the end result being that several rounds get loaded without a primer before I notice it. This sometimes occurs every 200 to 300 rounds or every second round - it is a very inconsistent issue that I cannot replicate - it just happens. The system is clean so that is not the issue.

As anyone with a Loadmaster knows it is really hard to tell if a primer has or has not been seated as it primes on an upstroke of the press when the shell plate moves upwards. Years ago I had a different press and you could easily tell if a primer had been seated properly just by the way the press felt.

I have replaced the primer feed mechanism even though the original looks fine when compared to the new one - no joy the issue persists. I have polished the plastic components and the operation is very smooth and does not bind at all when manipulating the components without primers.

I have searched the web extensively and see a lot of complaints regarding the primer feed system and a lot of what appear to be bubba fixes - none of which seem to be practical.

Anyone able to help with a fix/mod?

Please dont tell me to buy a Dillon or Hornady (I am between jobs and have no excess funds at this time although a 650 is what I am going to get once I find work).

Many thanks in advance.

Marc
 
Markit said:
I have a Lee Loadmaster and load around 600 - 700 rounds of 9mm for IPSC each week for my wife and I.

Until recently the Loadmaster has been running really well (I have loaded around 5k rounds with it in the past few months with surprisingly few issues and the ammo it loads has been consistent and of good quality) but lately I have begun getting an issue with the primer feed.

It seems the primer feed jams - I think it is feeding a primer and then the next primer in the chute partially blocks the primer feed slide and it gets stuck, with the end result being that several rounds get loaded without a primer before I notice it. This sometimes occurs every 200 to 300 rounds or every second round - it is a very inconsistent issue that I cannot replicate - it just happens. The system is clean so that is not the issue.

As anyone with a Loadmaster knows it is really hard to tell if a primer has or has not been seated as it primes on an upstroke of the press when the shell plate moves upwards. Years ago I had a different press and you could easily tell if a primer had been seated properly just by the way the press felt.

I have replaced the primer feed mechanism even though the original looks fine when compared to the new one - no joy the issue persists. I have polished the plastic components and the operation is very smooth and does not bind at all when manipulating the components without primers.

I have searched the web extensively and see a lot of complaints regarding the primer feed system and a lot of what appear to be bubba fixes - none of which seem to be practical.

Anyone able to help with a fix/mod?

Please dont tell me to buy a Dillon or Hornady (I am between jobs and have no excess funds at this time although a 650 is what I am going to get once I find work).
Many thanks in advance.

Marc
Click to expand...

You are on the right "long term" remedy to your problems.

In the short term, RJ's lee loadmaster priming Systems series of video's on U-Tube may be your friend.
 
Sorry no answers for you. My loadmasters is hanging off the shed wall right now. Would work fine for a long time then go to crap like yours. I really hate that machine! If you can't afford a better machine I hear the 1000 is more consistent than the loadmasters. I remember depriving all the brass in a single stage and hand priming, then running it thought the sizer with decamping pin removed. I love lee but this machine is horrible.
 
What colour primer feed chute do you have? Is it the light gray with the black arm that moves the feeder or the black chute?
The primer system has been upgraded a couple times in the last few years to help improve consistency.
 
What colour primer feed chute do you have? Is it the light gray with the black arm that moves the feeder or the black chute?
The primer system has been upgraded a couple times in the last few years to help improve consistency.
 
I find that mine misfeeds when the arm that holds a case in the shell plate starts to get loose. I tighten them up every time I top up the brass. I also move the decapping/sizing die over to the primer station after removing the decapping pin. I use the universal decapper in the first station. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ those two things seem to have fixed my issues.
 
The priming issue is why I ended up with 2 progressive presses. Now the LoadMaster is just for decap and resize before cleaning.

I should add that I was never able to fix the problem on mine. Before I bought the 650, I was hand priming before dropping them in the LoadMaster.
 
I found that "clean" means degreasing the primer feed path with alcohol on a q-ti and it can't have even a scratch on it. Did that and feed issues went away. Also upgraded to the newest feed.

And as above, made sure the shellplate isn't loose.

A REALLY solid table also helps overall operation and consistency.




My other progressive is a full Hornady setup.
 
Last edited:
Absolutely need a solid mount. Personally I love my loadmaster. I can pump out several hundred rounds of .44 magnum in less than an hour, then in less than 5 minutes i can be loading .45 acp.

The learning curve was steep, but now that I understand how everything works, and have a feel for it, I can crank out ammo pretty fast. To be honest, i can hit 15 rounds per minute pretty easily.
 
I am about to fix my loadmaster priming issue with a dillon 650 press honestly.

I have the lastest priming arm, and for some reason, they just dont prime reliably.
sometimes prime, sometimes nothing, sometimes sideways, sometimes upside down. seriously... I have to check every single case for primer before dropping powder.

Here is my opinion:
The loadmaster works fine to resize/powder/bullet/crimp.
Priming and case feeding are not reliable. IMO.

Some people have it working fine, but it's an endless tweaking, etc. lately my shellplate has became loose. Maybe it's the reason, I don't know, I have to look into this....
I am starting to get a little frustrated at the LM.

BUT, it DOES work fine for everything except priming and case feeding, so we have to give credit to a cheap press that is 100% progressive, 5 holes, and works.
 
I have found I once had all kinds of problems and the solution to mine was make sure the O-ring has plenty of lube.
I'm not talking oil, I'm talking some grease.
I used dielectric grease on mine just because that is what I had laying around and has a low reactivity to most plastics.

OP, this is your issue.

prime.jpg


Note: not my pic, just one I grabbed off the net and put an arrow on it.
 
yup this was an issue to me also, helped when I put some silicon grease on it.

do not use anything else other than silison grease or it will stick even more and be ruined.
but now even my large primer kit is doing that.... I readjusted the timing on the press to a tighter one, maybe it will work.
 
Hi all,

Thanks for the responses.

The new primer system is black with the grey arm.

I too have grease on the oring below the grey arm and have the bolt that holds it in place loose so that the arm swings smoothly with little effort.

I also have the decapping pin removed from a spare sizing die and it is located above the primer station.

I tried the fix shown on RJ's youtube primer video #3 and it seemed to work for about 200 rounds, but then it began trying to double feed primers and jam again resulting in several more rounds being loaded without primers. This fix basically blocks the primer feed block from over extending and should prevent jamming from trying to double feed primers but for some reason only worked temporarily.

Very very frustrating as the press was working really well until just recently.

Marc
 
Markit said:
Hi all,
Thanks for the responses.
The new primer system is black with the grey arm.
I too have grease on the oring below the grey arm and have the bolt that holds it in place loose so that the arm swings smoothly with little effort.
I also have the decapping pin removed from a spare sizing die and it is located above the primer station.
I tried the fix shown on RJ's youtube primer video #3 and it seemed to work for about 200 rounds, but then it began trying to double feed primers and jam again resulting in several more rounds being loaded without primers. This fix basically blocks the primer feed block from over extending and should prevent jamming from trying to double feed primers but for some reason only worked temporarily.
Very very frustrating as the press was working really well until just recently.

Marc
Click to expand...

Same here.
Try to re-set your press timing with the bottom bolt. check the manual.
Also, the trick of priming in the resizing die is fail for me. The priming arm was not dead center to the die. I got better reliability priming with nothing above.

And yes, I did all that, and it still sucks. No clue, really. fastest for me is to resize/prime on a single stage with the lee on press clicker priming tool

then hand feed primed brass into loadmaster station 3...

the dillon kit I want would cost me close to 2000$ with all the accessories, and I am unsure at this point if I want to sink another 2000$ into this, so I keep whining for now.
 
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