Why do people dislike LEE products?

Amazing. I guess stupid is as stupid does.

Each company has certain products that are good. You have to be able to discern which ones are good for your needs however.

Of the Lee products, the cast press, Lee Loaders, collett dies and the case trimmers work great for me. I have always liked Redding dies and presses. RCBS pissed me off when they changed the assembly and finish of their dies about 15 yrs ago. Never had much use for Lyman. Hornady is so-so, but their seating dies aren't bad.

In all, I have my preferences. To call down a company that has been around for that long and managed to patent so many designs is stupid. They managed to keep RCBS in check. When RCBS ruled the reloading roost, they almost caused die prices to go through the roof!!!

The 2001 press was made of cheap aluminum, but it reigned in prices. The Lee Trimmer is superior to ANY case trimmer on the market. It is more efficient, easier to use and less expensive than the lathe type trimmers. The collett dies were a great idea. Lee Loaders were (and still are) a smart way to inexpensively experiment with neck resizing.

Redding's body dies and bushing dies were a stroke of genius. Thanks to benchresters of course.

Dillon's progressive presses are wonderful, if a bit overpriced.

Unfortunately, I can't think of anything at this moment that either Lyman or RCBS has done in the past 30 years to warrant a pat on the back. I'm sure that someone will post though, reminding me of what I forgot.
 
Had a Lee pro 1000 press and did not like it! Had a chain-fire in the primer tube! :evil:

Had a Challenger press once that had some alignment issues and the handle welded back on it! :evil:

Lee bullet molds - they feather like crazy due to alignment problems :evil: . I never get that problem with my Lyman, RCBS, or Saeco molds.

Lee lead melting pot - the spout drips like crazy! :evil: My Saeco pot does drip a little but nothing like the Lee!

The Lee Factory Crimp dies do seem to work well. :D

The Lee stuff is economical and as others have stated, helped many people start out reloading who were on a limited budget :D . That being said, I wonder how many people were turned off right out of the gate by their economical equipment? :roll:
 
Lee Comments

Billy The Kid said:
I wonder how many people were turned off right out of the gate by their economical equipment? :roll:
Click to expand...
Not me. I live in a small space and couldn't devote a whole table to my limited reloading needs. So I bought the Lee hand-press and some dies from Higginsons and I'm a happy fellow. I like cranking out a box of 50 any evening I feel like it, then hitting the range on the weekend.
 
Good point. I had forgotten about the handpress. I used to take that one to the range for special loads development.
 
The blue paint symbolizes one thing, quality. Even green, orange and red (Hornady) symbolize quality. When I need to machine the base of a reloader to make it sit level on my bench, nothing but useless. Like I said, considering that Richard Lee is a master whne it comes to reloading, it is a little dissapointing to know that his loaders are garbage.
 
Glock4ever said:
You can produce good ammo on his equipment however his equipment is not really all that tight in terms of tolerances.
Click to expand...

I've used Lee equipment for years, and never had a problem, except with the challenger press as has been stated before. As for Lee dies not being that tight in terms of tolerances, do you see Lee selling small based dies :?: :?: :?: No, because their dies are tight enough not to require this supposed special small base die. If you use the Lee full size die it will do exactly what it supposed to do, with out requiring a different die for the same caliber. As well I also prefer the Lee collet die over any other neck sizing design. I've never had a die that required polishing, where as I have had an RCBS die that has, which I only bought because Lee dies weren't availble in that caliber at that time.
 
I have several pieces of Lee equipment , Perfect powder measure, is the best measure I have ever used,and I own a Lyman and a Hornady also, The only thing I don't like about the Lee dies is that lock ring system with the rubber washer they use.I wish they had the lockrings like the old RCBS or what Hornady uses .
Bearcat
 
Bronco: Small based dies came into existence, not because the original caliber dies were not sizing properly but because users with semi automatics felt it was necessary to size the case head smaller to get reliable feeding. If you are trying to say that Lee dies are more precise then other Factory dies you need to do a little more research on the topic.

Steve: I agree with your analysis but I have to disagree about the case trimmer. First reason is that the case trimmer is:
a.) Limiting - unless your chamber is exactly the same length as the pilot you have to trim to the pilots length. If you want to fit your brass to your chamber you can't with a Lee trimmer. Not bad if you want to trim to the pilot length.
b.) Everyone assumes that you just chuck the case holder in a drill and go. What if you don't have a drill? I used to trim by hand and it sucked with the Lee. Fingers were definitely sore after doing 100 cases... Unless you are going to add the cost of the drill into the price of the trimmer...

As for disliking Lee I don't think I have met ppl who "hate" Lee products but just prefer to use something better. I personally still use the powder dippers from them faster then setting a powder thrower and weighing charges.
 
Glock4ever said:
Bronco: Small based dies came into existence, not because the original caliber dies were not sizing properly but because users with semi automatics felt it was necessary to size the case head smaller to get reliable feeding. If you are trying to say that Lee dies are more precise then other Factory dies you need to do a little more research on the topic.
Click to expand...

My research on the topic comes from experience. In applications where small base dies were recommended I've used Lee dies, and never had a problem. Where as trying RCBS regular dies didn't size the case head small enough, so requiring small base dies. Wouldn't you think, if a small base die was necassary that Lee would make them as well??
 
Steve said:
Unfortunately, I can't think of anything at this moment that either Lyman or RCBS has done in the past 30 years to warrant a pat on the back.
Click to expand...

Apparently the RCBS Chargemaster is the best thing since sliced bread.

Having said that, I use a lot of Lee products for pistol and plinking work. Great value. For precision, I use Redding.
 
Bronco.As for polishing collet neck dies. You dont have to do it but. They sure work better when you do. The only moving part of the die is the collet sliding inside the tapered ring. If you look at it ,it still has the machining marks and a rough surface sliding over another rough surface. If you ask me thats pretty piss poor. 15 minuted in a drill press will fix that issue though. Lube the two adjoining surfaces and you have a better die.
The collet neck die is the only thing i would buy from lee.(IMO the best neck size die IDEA on the market) If RCBS offered the same die i would buy from rcbs because i know their quality is much much better. There is such a thing as taking a bit of pride in your product .Lee doesnt even use hardened steel for their dies. Its all mild steel which is soft and wears fast.
Lee is cheap bottom of the barrel stuff and you get what you pay for.
Also. When you buy a product you should take warranty into consideration.RCBS has a fantastic warranty and great service. I have heard horror stories about the lee warranty or lack thereof.
 
Bronco I am not knocking your experience but you need to pick up a either a reloading manual or an order catalogue. Both will explain small base sizer dies. I shoot ARs and reload using an RCBS FL normal sizing die - ammo functions perfectly so that is my experience talking. HOWEVER, some "match" chambers are slightly tighter in tolerance (ref SAAMI) and as a result will not always chamber properly from a normal SAAMI die (Normal meaning RCBS, Hdy, Lee, etc.) It is not always necessary to use SB sizer dies but sometimes it occurs that a shooter does. If you notice RCBS ONLY makes the small base sizer dies in .223, .308, etc. Semi auto calibers. NOT every caliber requires one - not because these caliber dies are out of spec but a small group of shooters has asked for them (enough to warrant making a regular line of the dies).

RCBS caters to EVERY shooter - if you have an oddball caliber and don't see the die for it in a catalogue, RCBS will custom make it for you (Check out their website explains how they will produce a single die for you). Small base sizer dies did not come into existence because RCBS dies were not "properly" sizing brass. As for Lee not producing a SB sizer die, that is simply because there isn't a huge demand for them - many ppl just don't need them and Lee has probably decided the marked wasn't large enough to warrant making the dies.
 
zedex said:
There is such a thing as taking a bit of pride in your product .Lee doesnt even use hardened steel for their dies. Its all mild steel which is soft and wears fast.
Lee is cheap bottom of the barrel stuff and you get what you pay for.
Also. When you buy a product you should take warranty into consideration.RCBS has a fantastic warranty and great service. I have heard horror stories about the lee warranty or lack thereof.
Click to expand...

I think you miss the advantages of Lee products. They offer economical alternatives to the over priced green and blue stuff. For the average loader these tools work fine. When was the last time you wore out a set of dies because they were not of hardened steel :?: These tools work well enough at a price that is much less than the others would charge. For example.....why should I spend $50 for a set of dies for a caliber that I may only load a few times when I can get a set of LEE RGB dies for about $20 new :?:

I use all brands of loading tools, Lee, RCBS, Hornady, Pacific, Lyman. All brand have their weeknesses. RCBS DOES have a great warranty, and I have used it a few times, but that service comes at a cost (to the consumer) The Lee products I like the best are the case length trimmer, hand primer, universal de-capper. The RCBS equivalent cost about twice as much and doesn't offer anything more than a nice green finish :roll:

SC.....................
 
I love the Lee shell holder idea, for both the press's and the loading tool.
I laugh when guy's are looking for a particular one,just buy the set's and your good for the rest of your life!
Till you set one down and the gremlin's that live under the bench get a hold of'em :oops:
 
For me there was no other choice. Seeing as I dont shoot 1000m benchrest out of a $3000 gun, I figured I could get away with the lee stuff. I was right. I can make "plinking" loads for my .222 that have shot .30" @ 100yds and .95" @ 200yds.

I will admit I have no experience in bench rest shooting way out there and probably never will have the time to really give it a try. So maybe for this kind of accuracy there are some advantages to paying 3 and 4 times the price for equipment.

But...

My guess is 90% of shooters could use lee product and be 100% satisfied. I say 90% because I think the number of people that own guns capable of outshooting the ammo you can produce lee equipment is very small. And even less have the shooting ability or the optics to outshoot lee produced ammo. I know I cant.

Having said that, if I had a couple million $ in the bank I probably would have bought the most expensive stuff I could find, just because I could.
 
SuperCub said:
zedex said:
There is such a thing as taking a bit of pride in your product .Lee doesnt even use hardened steel for their dies. Its all mild steel which is soft and wears fast.
Lee is cheap bottom of the barrel stuff and you get what you pay for.
Also. When you buy a product you should take warranty into consideration.RCBS has a fantastic warranty and great service. I have heard horror stories about the lee warranty or lack thereof.
Click to expand...

I think you miss the advantages of Lee products. They offer economical alternatives to the over priced green and blue stuff. For the average loader these tools work fine. When was the last time you wore out a set of dies because they were not of hardened steel :?: These tools work well enough at a price that is much less than the others would charge. For example.....why should I spend $50 for a set of dies for a caliber that I may only load a few times when I can get a set of LEE RGB dies for about $20 new :?:

I use all brands of loading tools, Lee, RCBS, Hornady, Pacific, Lyman. All brand have their weeknesses. RCBS DOES have a great warranty, and I have used it a few times, but that service comes at a cost (to the consumer) The Lee products I like the best are the case length trimmer, hand primer, universal de-capper. The RCBS equivalent cost about twice as much and doesn't offer anything more than a nice green finish :roll:

SC.....................
Click to expand...

Im not arguing with you. Lee is cheaper in price and quality. End of story.
If you have the mentality"its good enough for my needs" then lee is the answer. For myself. I like a better quality product so that i can blame my poor grouping on my lack of skill rather than blame my equipment.
Its the same with every product under the sun. Go to crappy tire and buy a mastercrap drill. OR. Go to a supply house and buy a makita or millwalkie(spelling). They both drill holes just fine. If you use your mastercraft alot you will be replacing it very soon because the quality isnt there........You get what you pay for..... Not unlike remington. :D
 
I am a Lee Fan I use lots of there dies.Only once did I have a problem & it was with a Lee 243 trim pilot.It was to large.I have many other makes of dies as well. DAN>>> :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom