Lee 1000 quirk

fshfindr · September 23, 2013, 02:50 PM

I've had my 3 hole Lee Pro 1000 press for many years of good service. Lately, while loading 38 Specials there is a minor but annoying problem. When I raise the shell into the sizer (first die) it seems to be slightly off center to the right, a gentle push with my finger and a tiny click as it centers into the die and all is well. It happens with about every fifth or sixth shell. It only happens with the sizer, the other dies are fine. Like I said it is annoying but no big deal unless it leads to something worse. If anyone else has had the problem and knows how to correct it, I'd appreciate your advise. Thanks.

trixter · September 23, 2013, 04:50 PM

Check your timing. There is a video on the lee site that will show you how to set it.

fshfindr · September 25, 2013, 08:53 AM

The timing is ok for the other two positions, if I adjust it by one click, it is too far. If I call Lee, they'll say send it in but I don't want to do that. Thanks

Sevens · September 26, 2013, 04:17 AM

If you are certain it's not the timing, I'd be wondering if the shell plate hasn't gotten warped or otherwise corrupted, but on just one of the three positions.

Do you do caliber swaps or has your Pro-1000 been set up for .38 Special all this time and never changed to anything else?

fshfindr · September 28, 2013, 09:34 AM

Since it was only one position, I was certain that it was not timing. But I went ahead and checked the videos and retimed it correctly. It was fine for about 50 rounds but then started doing it again. I reload 38 Spec. and 380. Now I'm thinking that it is a timing problem since the timing did not hold.

LE-28 · September 28, 2013, 11:27 AM

Take the carrier off of the press and dismantle it. Clean all the unburnt powder and primer grit off the plastic gears and give the whole thing a good scrubbing out.

Inspect the plastic gears for damage check the square in the small gear for rounding out.
Put it back together and only turn the timing screw to make the shell plate go the direction of the normal travel of the carrier. Don't back it up, you will leave backlash in the timing mechanism.
If you need to back it up, back it up a lot and then turn the screw to make it go in it's normal direction of travel again.
While turning the screw hold back on the shell plate so the ball and detent don't help click it into place. Advance the shell plate with the screw until you know that the shell plate is in it's correct home position. You want to listen for the click but want the carrier to move the shell plate there, not the ball and detent.

Mine is 22 yrs old and is loose and worn out but I have yet to use the spare plastic gears that came with it when it was new. It's loaded all my .357mags for that period of time.
I quit priming on mine a couple years ago because my priming mechanism is worn out and jams a lot, I'm to cheap to replace it. I prime with a Lee Auto prime on a SS press and just took the decapping pin out of the resizing die, works much better that way.

Heavy Metal 1 · September 29, 2013, 12:45 PM

Make sure the case slider is pushing the case fully ahead. You can bend the Z rod some if necessary if it isn't pushing the slider ahead enough. Check the shellholder slots to make sure there is no crud preventing the case from going fully into the slot.

Another thing to try is to loosen the bolts on top of the pillars, having a case in each position, run them up to the top of the press stroke, then snug up the bolts.

keeping the primer tray full and the primer arm clean will go a long way to avoiding priming problems. Even though the directions say to put no more than 100 primers in the tray I put probably 150 in there at a time.

JKP · September 30, 2013, 01:28 PM

I've had this problem before. Take the dies out of the 3 hole die holder and move them all 1 hole. After you find the hole that works well with your sizer, mark it and continue using this set up. This works when you have problems after timing has been adjusted properly.

fshfindr · October 3, 2013, 06:33 PM

JKP, I'm gonna try it.

September 23, 2013, 02:50 PM	#1
fshfindr Senior Member Join Date: February 19, 2013 Location: South Jersey Posts: 188	Lee 1000 quirk I've had my 3 hole Lee Pro 1000 press for many years of good service. Lately, while loading 38 Specials there is a minor but annoying problem. When I raise the shell into the sizer (first die) it seems to be slightly off center to the right, a gentle push with my finger and a tiny click as it centers into the die and all is well. It happens with about every fifth or sixth shell. It only happens with the sizer, the other dies are fine. Like I said it is annoying but no big deal unless it leads to something worse. If anyone else has had the problem and knows how to correct it, I'd appreciate your advise. Thanks. __________________ Richard L. Last edited by fshfindr; September 25, 2013 at 08:54 AM.

September 25, 2013, 08:53 AM	#3
fshfindr Senior Member Join Date: February 19, 2013 Location: South Jersey Posts: 188	The timing is ok for the other two positions, if I adjust it by one click, it is too far. If I call Lee, they'll say send it in but I don't want to do that. Thanks __________________ Richard L.

September 26, 2013, 04:17 AM	#4
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,756	If you are certain it's not the timing, I'd be wondering if the shell plate hasn't gotten warped or otherwise corrupted, but on just one of the three positions. Do you do caliber swaps or has your Pro-1000 been set up for .38 Special all this time and never changed to anything else? __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

September 28, 2013, 09:34 AM	#5
fshfindr Senior Member Join Date: February 19, 2013 Location: South Jersey Posts: 188	Since it was only one position, I was certain that it was not timing. But I went ahead and checked the videos and retimed it correctly. It was fine for about 50 rounds but then started doing it again. I reload 38 Spec. and 380. Now I'm thinking that it is a timing problem since the timing did not hold. __________________ Richard L.

September 29, 2013, 12:45 PM	#7
Heavy Metal 1 Senior Member Join Date: January 17, 2012 Posts: 247	Make sure the case slider is pushing the case fully ahead. You can bend the Z rod some if necessary if it isn't pushing the slider ahead enough. Check the shellholder slots to make sure there is no crud preventing the case from going fully into the slot. Another thing to try is to loosen the bolts on top of the pillars, having a case in each position, run them up to the top of the press stroke, then snug up the bolts. keeping the primer tray full and the primer arm clean will go a long way to avoiding priming problems. Even though the directions say to put no more than 100 primers in the tray I put probably 150 in there at a time. __________________ The blood runs free, the rain turns red, give me the wine, you keep the bread.

September 23, 2013, 04:50 PM	#2
trixter Member Join Date: February 27, 2011 Location: Where E. Pine St. crosses I-5 Posts: 51	Check your timing. There is a video on the lee site that will show you how to set it.

September 28, 2013, 11:27 AM	#6
LE-28 Senior Member Join Date: September 24, 2012 Location: North Carolina Posts: 759	Take the carrier off of the press and dismantle it. Clean all the unburnt powder and primer grit off the plastic gears and give the whole thing a good scrubbing out. Inspect the plastic gears for damage check the square in the small gear for rounding out. Put it back together and only turn the timing screw to make the shell plate go the direction of the normal travel of the carrier. Don't back it up, you will leave backlash in the timing mechanism. If you need to back it up, back it up a lot and then turn the screw to make it go in it's normal direction of travel again. While turning the screw hold back on the shell plate so the ball and detent don't help click it into place. Advance the shell plate with the screw until you know that the shell plate is in it's correct home position. You want to listen for the click but want the carrier to move the shell plate there, not the ball and detent. Mine is 22 yrs old and is loose and worn out but I have yet to use the spare plastic gears that came with it when it was new. It's loaded all my .357mags for that period of time. I quit priming on mine a couple years ago because my priming mechanism is worn out and jams a lot, I'm to cheap to replace it. I prime with a Lee Auto prime on a SS press and just took the decapping pin out of the resizing die, works much better that way.

September 30, 2013, 01:28 PM	#8
JKP Member Join Date: May 3, 2010 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 90	I've had this problem before. Take the dies out of the 3 hole die holder and move them all 1 hole. After you find the hole that works well with your sizer, mark it and continue using this set up. This works when you have problems after timing has been adjusted properly.

October 3, 2013, 06:33 PM	#9
fshfindr Senior Member Join Date: February 19, 2013 Location: South Jersey Posts: 188	JKP, I'm gonna try it. __________________ Richard L.