Lee Load Master Fail

D

danv

Regular
Rating - 97.4%
112   3   0
Location
Ontario
Bought this press new less than a year ago and this happened tonight while loading 9mm. Powder and projectiles went everywhere when it broke. Somehow got a nice chunk out of my finger when it broke too, last lee product i ever buy.

 
Last edited:
danv said:
Ya the press was mounted solid. Always cleaned and lubed. It ran fine for the 5k rounds or so other than the odd primer issue.
Click to expand...

then i guess your out of the reloading game for good..... every company has had a press break. the deciding factor should be when you email lee with pictures of the broken press and how they respond.
 
call them, send some pictures, I bet you get everything replaced. sorry about your finger.

edit ^^^ spawn_inc beat me to it..

when they offer to send you full replacement of the parts, buy all the other stuff you want and they will put it in the shipment!
 
Spawn-Inc said:
then i guess your out of the reloading game for good..... every company has had a press break. the deciding factor should be when you email lee with pictures of the broken press and how they respond.
Click to expand...

How am I out of the reloading game for good? All I said was I'm not buying another Lee product. I didn't say other company's have never had presses break. I'll give Dillon or Hornady a chance this time. I love my lee turret but not buying another Lee press after basically having a pound of powder and 100 plus projectiles thrown in my face.
 
sk8snwmx said:
call them, send some pictures, I bet you get everything replaced. sorry about your finger.

edit ^^^ spawn_inc beat me to it..

when they offer to send you full replacement of the parts, buy all the other stuff you want and they will put it in the shipment!
Click to expand...

I already called, they did not want pictures. They said they will replace it but I'm paying shipping to them plus the duty on the way back. So its going to cost me at least $100 out of my pocket to fix a press that's 8 months old. I told him that's not going to cut it and he said someone would call me back tonight. Since no one called, I'll call them back tomorrow and see what happens.
 
Last edited:
danv said:
I already called, they did not want pictures. They said they will replace it but I'm paying shipping to them plus the duty on the way back. So its going to cost me at least $100 out of my pocket to fix a press that's 8 months old. I told him that's not going to cut it and he said someone would call me back tonight. Since no one called, I'll call them back tomorrow and see what happens.
Click to expand...

if you put that in the OP i wouldn't have said anything, it sounded like something broke and now you don't like the brand.
 
Since it has to be done, I will do it. My Dillon 550 has been mounted on my plywood top reloading bench since 1990, it hasn't broken yet, doubt it ever will and it has reloaded a ton of ammunition over the years. Dillon fanboy out!
 
hmmm I own 4 Different Lee Presses including a Lee Pro 1000 that I bought in 1992 which has loaded thousands upon thousands of rounds.. Currently they are all mounted to 1x4x12 oak plank that get C clamped to the desk.. from the pics it seems you are loading 9mm. In over 23 yrs of reloading 9mm I have no idea where you would be required to use enough force on the handle which would generate the tourque required to break that press like that.
 
I thought Lee Loadmaster has a cast iron frame? If the frame was made out of cast aluminum, it is indeed a casting flaw. I agree with you by not budging to pay for the taxes when they return the unit back to you. Not your fault, so why pay for that cost. I am still using my Lee Classic Cast Turret. A little slow, but reliable. Under 10K loaded with only the plastic indexing square bushing replaced. I am looking forward to a progressive press as an upgrade with a Lee Loadmaster being considered. Keep us posted on how they handle your claim.
 
There was a guy a few weeks back that broke a mounting lug off his RCBS press. It pretty much came down to being mounted on too flexible a base.

I'm willing to bet that this was your problem as well. You'll want to harden up the bench top and/or run closer spaced supports to the floor before you mount another press in the same spot.
 
oops said:
I would love to see a pic of the table you had it mounted on.......
Click to expand...

Here is what it was mounted on. Two 1/2 inch sheets glued and screwed together mounted on 2x4s. The whole thing is also screwed into the wall. The three 1/4" bolts were going through 1/8'' steel flat bar on the bottom side.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom