LEE classic turret setup and impressions

R

Road_Clam

New member
So as many of you know I was looking for a small progressive press to load some occasional larger lots of 556 and .40S&W . I ended up buying a used LEE Classic Turret kit for short money. Spent the past few days doing lots of reading, getting confused , doing more reading and watching You tube vids , and finally I'm up and running nicely making bulk 556 ammo. Things were pretty well documented as far as assembly EXCEPT for the assembly and setup of the LEE Pro auto disc powder measure. This unit is very confusing to properly set up , and initially I kept denting the case mouths when I would run the ram up. Thank god for a very comprehensive you tube vid I found or I would have been getting really pi$$ed off. Second issues is the LEE's cc's to grains conversion chart. It's not even close (at least when I calculated the conversion for Win 748 ball powder). My service rifle load is 25.9 gr of W748, and per the LEE conversion I was told to use 1.69cc's of disc volume. After an hour of testing I ended up with a disc volume of 1.76 . My used press looked to be in storage as the ram action was sticky and I observed some light rust on some parts, so a nice clean up and lube got the press working smooth. I bought some cheap 55gr FMJ cannalured blems and now I found out why the bullets are seconds. The cannalure is too low and I can't get a crimp if I load to the standard COAL of 2.240". I can barely see the cannalure if I load to 2.260" but I might not get reliable mag insertion with the bullets that long. No big deal I just won't crimp. For the short term I simply drilled and tapped 3 holes on my pedestal riser and The LEE press is very comfortable to operate. I do not recommend this press for a new handloader as you need some advanced knowledge of the process to work your way through the setup. Took me about an hour to properly set all the die depths. I like the spent primer drop tube design on the LEE vs. the crappy tray system on my RCBS Rock chucker. So all in all very happy with this press. For only $210 invested I'm loading bulk pretty quickly now. This definitely will be saving me a lot of time.

 
RC, looks like you're off to a good start.

Now you need the lee safety prime that will let you leave the shell in the shell holder. You're apparently priming off-press with some sort of hand primer.

I use my classic turret like that but the addition of the safety prime increases the speed.

Somebody will come along and say you will have to remove each individual shell anyway to trim,,--clean primer pockets,,-- or some other such diddly stuff. When I use mine, it's with already processed brass that's either trimmed of deemed to not need to be trimmed. I never clean primer pockets on .223 anyway. AND I never crimp any bullets, so trim length is not critical.

I also have a .223 tool head set-up on my 650 dillon. I use a Hornady powder measure on the Hornady case activated powder die,(CAPD). That's for when I really want to crank out large quantities.

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Glad to hear that you got a LCT, and have it up and running. Its one heck of a press and, once set up, runs like a champ.
I have well over 40K though mine without any issues.

The Auto prime conversion table conversion is on the low side for all powders, I am not sure why Lee didn't spend more time getting the tables closer to the actual disk/ charge thrown.
 
The Auto prime conversion table conversion is on the low side for all powders, I am not sure why Lee didn't spend more time getting the tables closer to the actual disk/ charge thrown.
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One word,,--LAWYERS! They're the root of all evil.;):eek: It's really simple. You have to consider how stupid some people can be. Some dummy might actually try to reload WITHOUT using a scale. If the CC's were accurate, then this dumma$$ went above to the next hole in the disc, you could have a blown gun.

Then there's atmospheric conditions that can result in differences in how any powder may measure. Then there's variations in the density of powders from one lot # to the next. Best to be on the light side, as long as the next size will fill the bill.

It's not just Lee either. Across the board for powder measures that use a fixed chamber, they ALL throw light charges. MEC the standard of shotshell loaders are famous, (or INfamous), for their powder bushings throwing light charges. (They started with charge bars that simply had a hole reamed in a solid 1" aluminum bar for both the powder and shot.) Hornady 366 progressive shotshell loader has both powder and shot bushings. Theirs has the same lower charge weight for powder bushings as all the rest. Their shot bushings are actually marked for what size shot you're using. So their shot bushings are marked like 7-½ or #8 because smaller shot is heavier for each volume.
 
I can't get a crimp if I load to the standard COAL of 2.240
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It might be because a standard crimp for a 55 grain bullet for 223/5.56 is 2.200.

You will enjoy the Lee Classic Turret Press, I know I do. (for almost 10 years now).

Jim

AS for the powder measure, you need the double disk kit. (which it appears you have.)

 
I didn't set up the priming system because I have about 500 pcs of LC 556 brass all sized and primed. At this time all's I need to do is charge, seat , crimp. As I shoot through the prepped brass then I will add the primer system in the future. I also have about 1K of Hornady 55gr FMJ cannalure bullets, i'll try those and see if the cannalure is in the correct position for spec AR seating depth. On my other 55gr blem bullets the cannalure gets pushed too deep into the neck for a spec crimp.
 
I have had my Lee Classic Turret press for many years and I love it. I load and shoot a lot of ammo and it does the job.

I too discovered the discrepancies in the powder charts for the disks so the first winter that I had it I spent a day in my shop with a heater going and some coffee and I ran all of my powders through each hole in the disks and recorded the values in my own table for future reference.

To this day when I buy a powder for the first time I do the same thing. Crazy? Maybe.

You will really enjoy your new press.
 
Hey Road_Clam,
Sometimes you find that you'll need to adjust for different turret heads
in order for them to index properly. Watch for that.
 
After trying the on press safety prime I still do most of my priming off press as I size and deprime my cases before they go in the tumbler.
I did find the Lee priming system took some tweaking to get it working well.
 
Hey Road_Clam,
Sometimes you find that you'll need to adjust for different turret heads
in order for them to index properly. Watch for that.
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????¿¿¿¿ All turrets should index properly, if one does they all will. If one is out of whack, return it to lee. The square nut on the top of the index shaft fits into the bottom of the turret disc the same in all of them. (I've never found one that doesn't index). And I have over 20 of them.
 
On the statement that the LCT is not recommended for the new reloader, I would say that one simply has to stop and read the directions carefully rather than just endlessly tinker with the machine and get more frustrated. Ask me why I think that.

I decap and prime on mine without any issues, except it doesn't like to dispense that last primer to get to an even 100 and a full box of cartridges.

Be sure to shop InLine Fabrications for all the neat stuff they offer for this machine. Mine is loaded.

I do 13 calibers on mine.
 
Love my Turret, but 4th Hole is a PIA

I love my turret press too, but I rarely use the factory crimp die, so no need for that danged fourth hole! I hate having to manually advance the turret after every finished round. Well, maybe "hate" is a bit strong, as it is relatively minor to just do it quickly in the middle of the last stroke, but still wish I could eliminate it.

Anybody actually have a use for that fourth hole if not using the FCD?
 
I decap as a separate step, I find it is easier on expander on the size die (carbide ball without decap pin) when doing 223/308, so the 4 the hole is used on the turret on those,

When I want to split up the seating and crimping steps on roll crimps it is handy there as well.

So I would rather have a 4 the hole in the turret than not.

As far as advancing the turret with the index rod in, a bout half a stroke works for me,
Just a little more than it takes to turn the turret, but not enough to raise the ram in the die

I'm loading 11 calibers on it. Pistol with index rod in, rifle with it out.
 
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I bought a LCT press about 6 or 7 years ago. Probably have put over 50k rounds through it in a dozen different calibers and never an issue other than fine ball powder leaking a little. Even that has smoothed out now.
 
Mauser, I've mounted a small flashlight in the 4th hole. It helps me see the powder in each case. Just an idea. Otherwise, the 4th hole is annoying having to work the lever the extra step.
 
Day two. Getting more acclimated to loading faster. Takes some efficient component setup and some good eye hand coordination but I'm doing pretty well. Today I connected the safety prime system and loaded some unprimed casings. I'm having and occasional issue with the primer arm contacting the ram when I try to drop the ram to prime. Everything looks to be perfectly aligned so not sure what's up with this. If I rest my finger on the arm as I lower the ram it functions perfectly. The only additional task I need to do is with my Wolf brass the primer pockets are VERY tight so I need to give them a ream and a chamfer to allow the primer to insert without distorting the primer. I used my other Hornady 55gr fmjbt bulk bullets and the cannalure is in the correct spot. I'm loading to 2.220 and crimping and I can just see a tiny bit of cannalure exposed. I adjusted the arm so the throw is shorter and this helps with repetitive arm fatigue. So today I've loaded up about 150 rounds so far.
 
RC, there's no need to crimp .223 As long as the neck tension is good and tight, the bullet will be
held firmly.

The safety prime on my classic had to be tweaked with a second washer under the bracket. Mine works good by pushing straight in to deliver the primer to the seater punch ring, then letting go then dropping the ram. It's the same for small and large primers. Yeah the last one is a beoitch to get to feed.

As for the forth hole, for handgun ammo I always use the seat then crimp approach. That uses the forth hole, which is why Lee went from the 3 hole turret to the four hole. When loading rifle, if you're going to not use #4 all you have to do is raise the ram up until you hear the index rod drop, about half way up, then it'll advance to the first hole. Be sure you do not try to turn the turret unless the ram is about half way up, or until you hear tthe index rod drop/click. Failure to do that will ruin the little square plastic nut that the index rod runs inside of.
 
I spent some time degreasing and cleaning the ram slot where the arm pivots and I think this was my problem. There was a lot of black gunk in the ram slot which I think was making the primer arm sticky and not roll back and fourth smoothly. I cleaned , then loaded another 20 rounds without any contact issues with the primer arm. Do any of you get powder kernel spillage on top of your turret die ? I keep getting powder on top of my turret, not sure where the powder is leaking from ?
 
Do any of you get powder kernel spillage on top of your turret die ? I keep getting powder on top of my turret, not sure where the powder is leaking from ?
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RC, 748 powder is a flattened fine ball powder. The Lee disc measure has enough clearance to allow a few of the flattest grains to slip between the wiper and the hole/chamber in the disc. Be sure the screws are tight that hold the powder hopper . Another problem is with the stacked discs you have to use to get enough capacity increases the chance of a gap that could leak powder.

Just wait til you try to use some H-110 for something, it's even finer. I even have leakage with that powder in my Hornady drum measure, and way back when I had a RCBS measure.
 
I use a 4 hole auto-index turret press to load .223 prepped brass(sized, trimmed, swaged pockets, and primed). First location is powder drop(manual). Second is powder check. Third bullet seat. Fourth is factory crimp die.
This works extremely well and fairly efficiently. I'm using once fired military so there are several intermediate steps that require handling the brass repeatedly. Once prepped and ready to load, it's go time. I load in lots of 100 check weighing powder every 20th drop. The visual powder check is simply to catch low/no powder drop(nothing ruins a day like a squib sticking a bullet in the bore).
 
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