The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Lee Pro 1000- Opinions

j1132s · May 24, 2006, 09:29 PM

I just bought 2 Lee Pro 1000s in 9mm and .45ACP, and in fact turned out my first ammo on the 45 last night. This is my first time reloading, so I really didn't know much and here's a complete beginner's first impression:

(In case you don't finish reading and decides to buy a Pro 1000, I highly recommend you zero your press according to lee's web site's instructions)

-----------
Setting Up:
-----------

When I unpacked the presses, I was amazed at the small amounts of instructions that came w/ it. It had maybe 6 pages (including the front and back cover). To make matters worse, each component (dies, powder measure) had its own little bit of instruction. I'd much prefer a complete set of instructions w/ my press kit; and the instructions needs to be in more details. Additionally, I found several typos in the instructions. I would not have been able to set it up w/o the Internet FAQ and videos on Lee's web site.

The auto powder disk measures included w/ the press determines the amount of powder it can dispense and comes in certain increments. You cannot pick an arbitrary amount of powder. I think this is very limiting.

The press kit came w/ case feeder, but I didn't attach it since my volume is very low.

After spending something like 3 hours setting up the first press (which included destroying several brass cases), the second one took < 10 minutes. This, again, points to the lack of clear instructions.

-----------------
Ammo Production:
-----------------
Well, once the press is setup, I decided to load 1 cartridge. The 1st station was sizing and decapping. I lowered the arm, which raised the shell plate and crushed my brass case.

Turns out, it is very easy to not fully seat the case into its shell holder on the first stage because there's no tension spring to hold the case positively in the holder like the other 2 stations. I followed instructions and let the case feeder push the brass into the shell holder and it did not seat correctly.

I decided to just stick the next (2nd) brass case into the shell hold by hand and bypass the black plastic case feeder (figure I'll come back and examine it later). Once the brass is seated correctly in the shell holder, I was able to decap and size it easily w/ a pull down of the arm.

After that, on the up stroke of the arm, my case moves to station 2. I pull down the arm again and I see powder being dispensed into the case. I'm pretty happy at this point, figuring everything is running smoothly (just you wait).

Next, I bring the arm up and my case goes to station #3, bullet seating stage. I put a bullet on the case and pull down the arm. Everything feels good... Pull up on the arm and see the following problems:

1. bullet is pushed _way_ into the case. Opps, didn't adjust the bullet depth. So, back on Lee's web site and viewed the video on bullet die's depth adjustment...

2. the cartridge didn't automatically eject. I manually pull it out of the shell holder and noticed that it does _not_ have a primer on it! My cartridge is now leaking powder and there's powder on the shell plate and in its mechanisms.

Ok, so I made the bullet depth adjustment. Then I examined the primer feeding area. It turns out the primer flipped to its side and didn't go on the ram. I figured that I probably didn't pull in a smooth enough fashion, so I didn't make any corrections there.

Manually putting the 3rd case into the 1st station, I sized and decapped ok. Then moves to the 2nd station I tried to see that the primer is feed (but it is difficult to tell because I didn't know what to look for _yet_). Everything looks fine, so I pull down the arm and put powder into the case.

Moving right along, I put a bullet on the case and seated it. It looks great! I'm about to get my self-made ammo! Then, this cartridge fails to eject from the shell plate again. I now noticed powder in the press and have a feeling that there's no primer on the cartridge... yeap, there's no primer again.

So, I decided to have a detailed look at the primer feeding subsystem. It's really a simple system, the case (when moving from station 1 to 2) triggers a little lever that pulls the primer ram down below the level of waiting primers. This feeds a primer onto the ram. When the case finally moves to station #2, the ram is moved up (because the lowed shell plate pushes on the ram's rod from the bottom). In slow motion and manually indexing, I'm able to trigger this entire flow by pushing on the level between stations 1 and 2 with my finger. Everything looks fine.

So, in goes brass case #4. I paid a lot of attention to the primer feeding mechanism and noticed that with the case there seems to be a timing problem where the primer doesn't have enough time to slide fully onto the ram. When this happens it gets pushed back onto the feeding ramp.

Well, I thought this is a real problem and I was about to just pack up the press and return it to Lee for servicing. I lowed the arm for some reason and put a bunch of powder into this case. I was so disappointed that, without too much care, spilled the case full of powder on my press when removing it.

If it wasn't so late already, I'd have called Lee up. So, back on the Internet... and on Lee's web site, I found instructions on how to _zero_ my Pro 1000!!!! This instruction wasn't on any of the manuals included!

Long story shorter, after zeroing my press works completely except for the automatic case feeding plastic thing that some times would not push the case all the way into the shell holder of station 1.

This press seems very cheap, everything about it seems like it may break or get out of zero easily. If I can do it all over again, I would not purchase this press. But since I have it already, I'll be gentle with it and keep a sharp eye on its operations.

May 24, 2006, 09:29 PM	#5
j1132s Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 2006 Posts: 223	I just bought 2 Lee Pro 1000s in 9mm and .45ACP, and in fact turned out my first ammo on the 45 last night. This is my first time reloading, so I really didn't know much and here's a complete beginner's first impression: (In case you don't finish reading and decides to buy a Pro 1000, I highly recommend you zero your press according to lee's web site's instructions) ----------- Setting Up: ----------- When I unpacked the presses, I was amazed at the small amounts of instructions that came w/ it. It had maybe 6 pages (including the front and back cover). To make matters worse, each component (dies, powder measure) had its own little bit of instruction. I'd much prefer a complete set of instructions w/ my press kit; and the instructions needs to be in more details. Additionally, I found several typos in the instructions. I would not have been able to set it up w/o the Internet FAQ and videos on Lee's web site. The auto powder disk measures included w/ the press determines the amount of powder it can dispense and comes in certain increments. You cannot pick an arbitrary amount of powder. I think this is very limiting. The press kit came w/ case feeder, but I didn't attach it since my volume is very low. After spending something like 3 hours setting up the first press (which included destroying several brass cases), the second one took < 10 minutes. This, again, points to the lack of clear instructions. ----------------- Ammo Production: ----------------- Well, once the press is setup, I decided to load 1 cartridge. The 1st station was sizing and decapping. I lowered the arm, which raised the shell plate and crushed my brass case. Turns out, it is very easy to not fully seat the case into its shell holder on the first stage because there's no tension spring to hold the case positively in the holder like the other 2 stations. I followed instructions and let the case feeder push the brass into the shell holder and it did not seat correctly. I decided to just stick the next (2nd) brass case into the shell hold by hand and bypass the black plastic case feeder (figure I'll come back and examine it later). Once the brass is seated correctly in the shell holder, I was able to decap and size it easily w/ a pull down of the arm. After that, on the up stroke of the arm, my case moves to station 2. I pull down the arm again and I see powder being dispensed into the case. I'm pretty happy at this point, figuring everything is running smoothly (just you wait). Next, I bring the arm up and my case goes to station #3, bullet seating stage. I put a bullet on the case and pull down the arm. Everything feels good... Pull up on the arm and see the following problems: 1. bullet is pushed _way_ into the case. Opps, didn't adjust the bullet depth. So, back on Lee's web site and viewed the video on bullet die's depth adjustment... 2. the cartridge didn't automatically eject. I manually pull it out of the shell holder and noticed that it does _not_ have a primer on it! My cartridge is now leaking powder and there's powder on the shell plate and in its mechanisms. Ok, so I made the bullet depth adjustment. Then I examined the primer feeding area. It turns out the primer flipped to its side and didn't go on the ram. I figured that I probably didn't pull in a smooth enough fashion, so I didn't make any corrections there. Manually putting the 3rd case into the 1st station, I sized and decapped ok. Then moves to the 2nd station I tried to see that the primer is feed (but it is difficult to tell because I didn't know what to look for _yet_). Everything looks fine, so I pull down the arm and put powder into the case. Moving right along, I put a bullet on the case and seated it. It looks great! I'm about to get my self-made ammo! Then, this cartridge fails to eject from the shell plate again. I now noticed powder in the press and have a feeling that there's no primer on the cartridge... yeap, there's no primer again. So, I decided to have a detailed look at the primer feeding subsystem. It's really a simple system, the case (when moving from station 1 to 2) triggers a little lever that pulls the primer ram down below the level of waiting primers. This feeds a primer onto the ram. When the case finally moves to station #2, the ram is moved up (because the lowed shell plate pushes on the ram's rod from the bottom). In slow motion and manually indexing, I'm able to trigger this entire flow by pushing on the level between stations 1 and 2 with my finger. Everything looks fine. So, in goes brass case #4. I paid a lot of attention to the primer feeding mechanism and noticed that with the case there seems to be a timing problem where the primer doesn't have enough time to slide fully onto the ram. When this happens it gets pushed back onto the feeding ramp. Well, I thought this is a real problem and I was about to just pack up the press and return it to Lee for servicing. I lowed the arm for some reason and put a bunch of powder into this case. I was so disappointed that, without too much care, spilled the case full of powder on my press when removing it. If it wasn't so late already, I'd have called Lee up. So, back on the Internet... and on Lee's web site, I found instructions on how to _zero_ my Pro 1000!!!! This instruction wasn't on any of the manuals included! Long story shorter, after zeroing my press works completely except for the automatic case feeding plastic thing that some times would not push the case all the way into the shell holder of station 1. This press seems very cheap, everything about it seems like it may break or get out of zero easily. If I can do it all over again, I would not purchase this press. But since I have it already, I'll be gentle with it and keep a sharp eye on its operations.