Lee Pro 1000 Z-Bar Trick?

autotech6 · January 21, 2009, 09:58 PM

Lee Pro 1000 Z-Bar trick? Has anybody heard how to make the Z-Bar work smoother?

Voyager AL · January 22, 2009, 06:30 PM

Lots of experience with mine. Lots of swearing. lots of bending, lubing, etc. Call Lee, they talk ya thru it, like pros! I LIKE my lee, but I have more squib loads with it, than i care to. Now, my Dillon 450, thats never thrown a squib. its like the difference between a Scion and a Lexxus. Both are good, and if i have the money, its a Dillon next time I need another setup. If i am poor, a Lee will do.

Starvingboy · January 22, 2009, 07:17 PM

Well said sir. I get annoyed when people rag on the lee stuff for being tempermental, and then comparing it to a press costing 5x as much. For us guys on a budget, they have good stuff.

ForneyRider · January 26, 2009, 03:35 PM

Lee offers a special z-bar for .45ACP. It is bent a little differently to fit around the cases.

4K's of Lee Progressive press maintenance:
Keep it clean,
Keep it full,
Keep it lubed,
Keep it adjusted.

If it being temperamental, stop and see what the issue is, forcing it will cause those little plastic pieces to break.
One guy on YouTube, uses STP oil treatment for his Lee Press.

McClintock · January 26, 2009, 03:58 PM

I'm assuming you've watched the video on the Z-bar trick from Lee, right? When my case feeder starts acting up, I tweak it using the Z-bar trick and it usually settles back down. What caliber are you loading with it?

+1 on the 4K's, ForneyRider. I actually use a very light film of bearing grease to keep mine lubed (be careful you don't get any in the primer feed/seating area or Very Bad Things will happen). Yes, I agree the Lee's are temperamental, but if you follow the 4K's, you should be fine.

EyeBallChief · January 26, 2009, 04:36 PM

Where exactly do I need to lube the Lee pro 1000? I have problems with my primers tipping and I have zero adjusted the index so many times, i have taken it apart, cleaned the primer track and used powdered graphite but i still cannot use the primer feed without readjusting my lever. everything else works except the primer feed. I gave up on fixing it I just ordered the Lee hand primer from midway.

aerod1 · January 26, 2009, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Well said sir. I get annoyed when people rag on the lee stuff for being tempermental, and then comparing it to a press costing 5x as much. For us guys on a budget, they have good stuff.

I'm with you. I am retired and operate on a fixed income. For me, Lee makes great equipment that works and I load some good ammo on my Lee presses.
I have no problems and see no need to own anything else. My Lee presses serve me well!
No, I am not an employee of Lee Precision.

McClintock · January 27, 2009, 12:05 PM

EyeballChief, the only place I lube the Pro 1000 is the back of the shell plate, and the advancing rod, with the occasional smear of grease on the ram itself. I don't use graphite or anything else on the primer feed, I swab it with alcohol to clean it, and then leave it that way.

I've attached a text file from a fellow's blog that I found online, and I pretty much use this guy's instructions. Can't remember the exact site it was on, which is why I saved it as a text file. Hope it helps. If you do a google search on "cleaning Lee Pro 1000", I think you may be able to find his exact blog.

ForneyRider · January 28, 2009, 09:57 AM

I use the Hornady spray on the press.

The primer chute can use some dry graphite. I had a burr in mine that messed up the flow, so I cleaned that up and ran some old gunpowder up and down it. Worked pretty well after that.

.22-250 is just a bit longer than .308 family and worked fine. I've heard of a guy that puts 270 Win in his, but not sure how, unless he disabled the advancing.

Mostly, I did .45ACP, .41Mag, .223, and the .22-250. W231, Power Pistol, H110, Varget all did okay in the Lee Auto Disk.

dlb435 · January 28, 2009, 10:43 AM

I had a Lee press and smooth is just not in the cards for this press. In fact, propper opperation of the press depends on a lot of vibration, (Notice the little grooves cut on one of the supports?) Keep it clean and use very little lube. I used to blow it down with compressed air every 100 rounds or so.

Voyager AL · January 31, 2009, 05:15 PM

McClintock, thanks for that bit of info. I tore mine apart, and greased up like the article. It perform smooth as butter now.. Thanks again, VA

January 21, 2009, 09:58 PM	#1
autotech6 Junior Member Join Date: January 3, 2009 Location: Colorado Springs Co. Posts: 12	Lee Pro 1000 Z-Bar Trick? Lee Pro 1000 Z-Bar trick? Has anybody heard how to make the Z-Bar work smoother?

January 26, 2009, 03:35 PM	#4
ForneyRider Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2007 Location: Forney, TX Posts: 725	Lee offers a special z-bar for .45ACP. It is bent a little differently to fit around the cases. 4K's of Lee Progressive press maintenance: Keep it clean, Keep it full, Keep it lubed, Keep it adjusted. If it being temperamental, stop and see what the issue is, forcing it will cause those little plastic pieces to break. One guy on YouTube, uses STP oil treatment for his Lee Press. __________________ When all is said and done, there is a lot more said than done.

January 26, 2009, 03:58 PM	#5
McClintock Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2008 Location: The Bald Prairie of Southern Saskatchewan, Canada Posts: 305	4K's I'm assuming you've watched the video on the Z-bar trick from Lee, right? When my case feeder starts acting up, I tweak it using the Z-bar trick and it usually settles back down. What caliber are you loading with it? +1 on the 4K's, ForneyRider. I actually use a very light film of bearing grease to keep mine lubed (be careful you don't get any in the primer feed/seating area or Very Bad Things will happen). Yes, I agree the Lee's are temperamental, but if you follow the 4K's, you should be fine.

January 28, 2009, 09:57 AM	#9
ForneyRider Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2007 Location: Forney, TX Posts: 725	I use the Hornady spray on the press. The primer chute can use some dry graphite. I had a burr in mine that messed up the flow, so I cleaned that up and ran some old gunpowder up and down it. Worked pretty well after that. .22-250 is just a bit longer than .308 family and worked fine. I've heard of a guy that puts 270 Win in his, but not sure how, unless he disabled the advancing. Mostly, I did .45ACP, .41Mag, .223, and the .22-250. W231, Power Pistol, H110, Varget all did okay in the Lee Auto Disk. __________________ When all is said and done, there is a lot more said than done.

January 22, 2009, 06:30 PM	#2
Voyager AL Senior Member Join Date: January 18, 2006 Location: Pittsburgh,PA Posts: 221	Lots of experience with mine. Lots of swearing. lots of bending, lubing, etc. Call Lee, they talk ya thru it, like pros! I LIKE my lee, but I have more squib loads with it, than i care to. Now, my Dillon 450, thats never thrown a squib. its like the difference between a Scion and a Lexxus. Both are good, and if i have the money, its a Dillon next time I need another setup. If i am poor, a Lee will do.

January 22, 2009, 07:17 PM	#3
Starvingboy Member Join Date: September 17, 2008 Posts: 74	Well said sir. I get annoyed when people rag on the lee stuff for being tempermental, and then comparing it to a press costing 5x as much. For us guys on a budget, they have good stuff.

January 26, 2009, 04:36 PM	#6
EyeBallChief Junior Member Join Date: January 8, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 2	Where exactly do I need to lube the Lee pro 1000? I have problems with my primers tipping and I have zero adjusted the index so many times, i have taken it apart, cleaned the primer track and used powdered graphite but i still cannot use the primer feed without readjusting my lever. everything else works except the primer feed. I gave up on fixing it I just ordered the Lee hand primer from midway.

January 28, 2009, 10:43 AM	#10
dlb435 Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2009 Posts: 654	I had a Lee press and smooth is just not in the cards for this press. In fact, propper opperation of the press depends on a lot of vibration, (Notice the little grooves cut on one of the supports?) Keep it clean and use very little lube. I used to blow it down with compressed air every 100 rounds or so.

January 31, 2009, 05:15 PM	#11
Voyager AL Senior Member Join Date: January 18, 2006 Location: Pittsburgh,PA Posts: 221	McClintock, thanks for that bit of info. I tore mine apart, and greased up like the article. It perform smooth as butter now.. Thanks again, VA