Lee Pro 1000 Problem

ds1300 · April 20, 2008, 01:17 AM

First off, yeah I know I'm cheap for not spending more money to get a better press. That said, I'm having trouble with inconsistent bullet seating depths. If there is a case at every position the problem is not as bad. If there is not a case at every position such as when first starting, then the variance can be as much as .015". I've checked the bolt that clamps the carrier to the ram and it is tight. Can someone help please?

Sigma 40 Blaster · April 20, 2008, 01:53 AM

I had the same problem with mine. I found that one of two things was wrong:

1. Your decapping die is set too low. When you push the handle down the ram should top out and the top of the toolhead should not move up. So if you have a case in that station you will really see some variance depending on how much the toolhead is "bumped". Adjust the seating die as low as you can without causing the toolhead to be bumped at the top of the stroke.

2. Your seating die is DIRTY. Take a light and look inside your seating die, you very well might see some gunk built up at the very point of the seating stem or around the crimping area on the die. Some Q-Tips will make quick work of that stuff.

TexasSeaRay · April 20, 2008, 07:50 AM

My fellow Texan pretty much nailed it.

I've been loading on a Pro1000 (in .38 Special, 9mm and .380 ACP) for over twenty years with no complaints and over 100,000 rounds. It's like any other press, including my blue machine--set it up correctly, keep it maintained (don't wait for something to break or screw up--take care of it before it gets to that point) and it will do you right.

Only other things I might add to Sigma blaster's suggestions is to make sure your auto-disk/powder measure is not over hanging your bullet seating die. Depending on bullet/seating configuraton, if the powder measure ends up "tapping" the bullet seating die on the downstroke, this can also affect your bullet depth.

Also, check your crimp--especially if you're using mixed headstamps. There is a lot of junk brass out there that doesn't flare as well, and as a result doesn't allow as "easy" seating of the bullet.

I've been running into this with some .38 range brass I picked up.

What caliber are you loading?

Jeff

farmall · April 20, 2008, 10:25 AM

Ds 1300, the Texans know what they are takling about. It's nice to see people respond with answers to your question without the bashing.
I, too load on a pair of 1000's and have noticed some difference in oal. I think it may be from vertical movement of the die holder in the press. Somewhere on the web I saw sombody had modified a press with setscrews th hold the die holder tighter. IMHO, the variance will be at its worst with only one case in the shellplate, as this will side load things badly.
Don't give up,
Andy

ds1300 · April 20, 2008, 12:55 PM

I will look at all these things. Thanks for the help. I noticed this problem when I switched to the .45ACP toolhead. With the .40 I didn't notice it.

ds1300 · April 20, 2008, 01:04 PM

I have it set up so that the powder through expanding die is in the first station with a Pro Auto Disk and adjustable slide bar, bullet seating in the second station without crimp set, and a factory crimp die in the last station so that I can crimp separately. I deprime/resize on a single stage and then prime on a Lee hand prime. Seems to work better this way.

April 20, 2008, 01:17 AM	#1
ds1300 Member Join Date: September 10, 2004 Location: Oregon Posts: 50	Lee Pro 1000 Problem First off, yeah I know I'm cheap for not spending more money to get a better press. That said, I'm having trouble with inconsistent bullet seating depths. If there is a case at every position the problem is not as bad. If there is not a case at every position such as when first starting, then the variance can be as much as .015". I've checked the bolt that clamps the carrier to the ram and it is tight. Can someone help please?

April 20, 2008, 07:50 AM	#3
TexasSeaRay Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 810	My fellow Texan pretty much nailed it. I've been loading on a Pro1000 (in .38 Special, 9mm and .380 ACP) for over twenty years with no complaints and over 100,000 rounds. It's like any other press, including my blue machine--set it up correctly, keep it maintained (don't wait for something to break or screw up--take care of it before it gets to that point) and it will do you right. Only other things I might add to Sigma blaster's suggestions is to make sure your auto-disk/powder measure is not over hanging your bullet seating die. Depending on bullet/seating configuraton, if the powder measure ends up "tapping" the bullet seating die on the downstroke, this can also affect your bullet depth. Also, check your crimp--especially if you're using mixed headstamps. There is a lot of junk brass out there that doesn't flare as well, and as a result doesn't allow as "easy" seating of the bullet. I've been running into this with some .38 range brass I picked up. What caliber are you loading? Jeff __________________ If every single gun owner belonged to the NRA as well as their respective state rifle/gun association, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in today. So to those of you who are members of neither, thanks for nothing.

April 20, 2008, 12:55 PM	#5
ds1300 Member Join Date: September 10, 2004 Location: Oregon Posts: 50	Thanks for the responses. I will look at all these things. Thanks for the help. I noticed this problem when I switched to the .45ACP toolhead. With the .40 I didn't notice it.

April 20, 2008, 01:53 AM	#2
Sigma 40 Blaster Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2007 Location: East Texas Posts: 997	I had the same problem with mine. I found that one of two things was wrong: 1. Your decapping die is set too low. When you push the handle down the ram should top out and the top of the toolhead should not move up. So if you have a case in that station you will really see some variance depending on how much the toolhead is "bumped". Adjust the seating die as low as you can without causing the toolhead to be bumped at the top of the stroke. 2. Your seating die is DIRTY. Take a light and look inside your seating die, you very well might see some gunk built up at the very point of the seating stem or around the crimping area on the die. Some Q-Tips will make quick work of that stuff.

April 20, 2008, 10:25 AM	#4
farmall Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2004 Location: Beatrice Nebraska Posts: 613	Ds 1300, the Texans know what they are takling about. It's nice to see people respond with answers to your question without the bashing. I, too load on a pair of 1000's and have noticed some difference in oal. I think it may be from vertical movement of the die holder in the press. Somewhere on the web I saw sombody had modified a press with setscrews th hold the die holder tighter. IMHO, the variance will be at its worst with only one case in the shellplate, as this will side load things badly. Don't give up, Andy

April 20, 2008, 01:04 PM	#6
ds1300 Member Join Date: September 10, 2004 Location: Oregon Posts: 50	I have it set up so that the powder through expanding die is in the first station with a Pro Auto Disk and adjustable slide bar, bullet seating in the second station without crimp set, and a factory crimp die in the last station so that I can crimp separately. I deprime/resize on a single stage and then prime on a Lee hand prime. Seems to work better this way.