Hand press questions. New and clueless.

Micahweeks · August 29, 2014, 12:19 PM

I saw another thread talking about a "hand press." How exactly do these things work? I just started learning and got the Lee turret press, so that's really my only frame of reference. I can gather from the name that a hand press is probably smaller and more portable, but aside from that how do they work without the leverage to perform all the procedures to complete a round?

g.willikers · August 29, 2014, 12:24 PM

http://leeprecision.com/breech-lock-hand-press.html
There's instructions there.
They take the place of a hand exerciser.

lee n. field · August 29, 2014, 12:45 PM

Quote:

I can gather from the name that a hand press is probably smaller and more portable, but aside from that how do they work without the leverage to perform all the procedures to complete a round?

leverage, yeah. You don't got much, with the Hand Press. And the ergonomics are "suboptimal". IMHO, YMMV.

Lots of videos on them, on youtube.

mikld · August 29, 2014, 02:56 PM

For what it's designed for, the Lee Hand press works great. It is a portable, hand operated single stage press, differing from a bench mounted press. I have had one for several years (19?) and I have done everything with it I have done on a bench mounted press. I have full length sized some 30-30 and .223 brass (really not bad at all), and sized a whole bunch of cast bullets besides reloading a lot of .44 Magnums. I have three other presses so the Lee Hand press doesn't get used much anymore, but it still is a valuable tool...

wogpotter · August 29, 2014, 03:14 PM

Mostly they reduce the need for heavy duty leverage as they only neck size, unlike bench mounted ones which full length resize usually.

jtmckinney · August 29, 2014, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Mostly they reduce the need for heavy duty leverage as they only neck size, unlike bench mounted ones which full length resize usually.

Not sure I understand this. I always thought neck sizing or full length resizing was which die you used. I have done both on my bench press but it is 2 different dies. I have never used a protable press but thought they would do pretty much anything a bench press would do just not as stiff or heavy duty.

Marco Califo · August 29, 2014, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Mostly they reduce the need for heavy duty leverage as they only neck size, unlike bench mounted ones which full length resize usually.

jtmckinney is correct. The quoted post is FALSE. I use the Lee Hand press with normal dies and yes it does full length resizing just fine.

I will add that I use Lucas Lithium Grease as sizing lube and I do full length resize 308 routinely, in the Lee hand press. Sure it takes some arm strength, but not so much as to break the little aluminum press levers. Since I started using the Lithium Grease my Redding single stage press has gotten almost zero use.

Art Eatman · August 29, 2014, 08:03 PM

I went off to college with my Lyman 310 tong tool.

I can tell you that for a .30-'06, neck-sizing is the better side of wisdom. Or you could work up to the title of Mr. Gorilla Grip, I guess.

You can full-length resize, but it's not a tons-of-fun thing. We didn't have silicone in 1951.

So, yeah, the amount of sizing depends on the die, but I wouldn't get all exercised over a small error in knowledge. Gently, politely, courteously point out such errors. Nobody was born an expert anything.

zxcvbob · August 29, 2014, 08:23 PM

If you're trying to load rifle cases with a hand press and they are too tough to full-length resize, do it in 2 passes.

Loosen the die about a half a turn and size them. The put the die where you really want it, and all the sizing will be done at the last little bit of throw where the mechanical advantage is very high.

spacecoast · August 29, 2014, 08:45 PM

You didn't specify rifle or pistol, and I can't speak to the capabilities needed for rifle rounds, but I have used mine for nearly five years to reload nearly 21,000 pistol rounds ranging from .25acp to .44 magnum, using Lee die sets (including the FCD). It works great and definitely helps maintain arm strength.

Micahweeks · August 30, 2014, 01:06 AM

Those PDF instructions really helped. I had no idea something like that even existed. I might have to look into getting one of them. Can you use the same dies as the regular press?

Wrangler5 · August 30, 2014, 01:59 AM

They take regular dies and shell holders. I've had one for decades, and although I don't use it all that often, I've found it to be incredibly convenient in the right situation. Keep learning on your turret press (that's what I started with, too), then if/when you find yourself in a situation where you need/want to do a press function someplace that the turret press won't easily go, think about getting a hand press.

Pond, James Pond · August 30, 2014, 06:37 AM

I am a new convert to the hand-press.

I have reloaded more in the last 3 days than I have all summer. Partly the time I had spare, but largely because, thanks to the hand-press, everything was indoors, readily at hand.

As you'll have seen the hand-press is a v-shaped lever system with the ram sitting between the two handles, and moved up into the die when the handles are pushed toward one another.

The dies are screwed into place as with a single stage press and therefore need adjustment with each change-over. With the Lee, there is the option of the breech-lock quick release system if you have lots of money, little patience, or both!! This works by pressing a little button and twisting the whole die holding piece a quarter turn when the whole assembly lifts out of the press, with the die remaining unchanged.

Use: I've been working with my .44 Mag, Spl and .38Spl cases. They are Lee carbide dies and are a breeze. Resizing/decapping is the stiffest, but not hard. Seating and crimping is easy.

Bottle-necked cases are harder to resize and extracting the case again takes some teeth grating and heaving, hunched over in a corner. Use lube!!

Seriously, they are a great option for those with a lack of spare space, don't need thousands of rounds or want added mobility to your reloading.

Bart B. · August 30, 2014, 07:45 AM

Art, I like your comment: "I can tell you that for a .30-'06, neck-sizing is the better side of wisdom." That's been said for over a century.

Lyman's 310 tong tool and its smaller 5/8x20 dies were made for people to reload ammo that shot good enough to plink with and take game animals. Its dies also fit the original Lyman Truline Junior press for bench mounting whose linkage was more compound than the hand operated 310 tool and handled larger cases easier. While they were never intended to be used for match-winning, record-setting ammo for competition. They were affordable and worked well for their intended purpose and customer base.

The 310 tool and its dies are still made today; not too shabby at all for a 100-plus year old reloading tool. Its origin started with Winchester, then made by Ideal and finally Lyman:

http://ps-2.kev009.com/ohlandl/310/310op/history.htm

Modern hand presses enable one without suitable bench facilities and/or a thick wallet to reload their own ammo. When used within their design and purpose limits, they're very good and worthwhile. They fill a nitch in the reloading tool industry and market very well.

Salmoneye · August 30, 2014, 07:57 AM

I only own one 'press', and that is the Lee Hand Press...

I have loaded thousands of round over the decades with it, and it is still going strong...

I have full length sized everything from .38 S&W to .30-06 and .45-70...I have also formed .30-30 brass to .357 Herrett...

With a scale, you can work up loads right at the bench...

You can decap and size while sitting with the family...

For the amount I shoot, I need nothing else...

lee n. field · August 30, 2014, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Modern hand presses enable one without suitable bench facilities and/or a thick wallet to reload their own ammo.

Every once in a while I run through the exercise of spec-ing out a minimal cost basic reloading setup. You can get set up with a Lee Hand Press for not much over $100, last time I ran through this. It is minimal, and all or almost all Lee hardware, but it is functional.

zxcvbob · August 30, 2014, 07:35 PM

The Lee Reloader bench-mount press is cheaper than the hand press, now that Lee added quick-change bushings to the hand press.

Blindstitch · August 30, 2014, 09:45 PM

For more leverage in extreme cases with the hand press just think thighmaster.

Sometimes having a bench press would be nice for hand press only users but as said it gives the convenience of reloading anywhere or resizing while sitting on the couch which is exactly what I'm going to do in a minute.

jimbob86 · August 30, 2014, 10:03 PM

Quote:

And the ergonomics are "suboptimal".

They are optimal for portability.

If you don't have a bench to mount a press on, they are better than the Lyman tool.

I've loaded thousands of rifle and pistol rounds with mine .... we had a pretty good assembly line going around a picnic table while camping last Father's Day weekend, with one person doing each separate step ......

I was wondering why folks are complaining about the "lack of leverage" but then remembered that most folks today are desk jockeys ...... in which case, they maybe should do ALL their reloading on a hand press- it would do wonders for your handshake!

chris in va · August 30, 2014, 11:29 PM

Quote:

I only own one 'press', and that is the Lee Hand Press...

Same here, thousands and thousands of pistol and rifle. Resizes 223 and 30-06 just fine.

However you do get a bit of an indent in your hand when resizing in bulk. I only wish Lee would make it a bit more ergonomic.

Quote:

it gives the convenience of reloading anywhere or resizing while sitting on the couch which is exactly what I'm going to do in a minute.

Exactly.

spacecoast · August 31, 2014, 12:57 PM

They also offer a nice sense of touch (sensitivity) when priming with the Lee Ram prime.

Hook686 · September 1, 2014, 01:18 AM

I have the Lee Classic Turret Press. I also have the Lee Hand Press. While the Turret Press will put out twice as many hand gun cartridges as the Hand Press, it is not very mobile. When I use the Hand Press for my handgun loadings I use the Lee Carbide Speed die. With my 30-06 I use the Lee Collet die, which is neck sizing only. This works for me as I only have one 30-06 bolt action rifle, and I do not shoot that many each year.

I find both of these presses useful.

August 29, 2014, 12:19 PM	#1
Micahweeks Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2009 Location: North Mississippi Posts: 854	Hand press questions. New and clueless. I saw another thread talking about a "hand press." How exactly do these things work? I just started learning and got the Lee turret press, so that's really my only frame of reference. I can gather from the name that a hand press is probably smaller and more portable, but aside from that how do they work without the leverage to perform all the procedures to complete a round?

August 29, 2014, 12:24 PM	#2
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	http://leeprecision.com/breech-lock-hand-press.html There's instructions there. They take the place of a hand exerciser. __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

August 29, 2014, 02:56 PM	#4
mikld Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2009 Location: Southern Oregon! Posts: 2,891	For what it's designed for, the Lee Hand press works great. It is a portable, hand operated single stage press, differing from a bench mounted press. I have had one for several years (19?) and I have done everything with it I have done on a bench mounted press. I have full length sized some 30-30 and .223 brass (really not bad at all), and sized a whole bunch of cast bullets besides reloading a lot of .44 Magnums. I have three other presses so the Lee Hand press doesn't get used much anymore, but it still is a valuable tool... __________________ My Anchor is holding fast! I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...

August 29, 2014, 03:14 PM	#5
wogpotter Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2004 Posts: 4,811	Mostly they reduce the need for heavy duty leverage as they only neck size, unlike bench mounted ones which full length resize usually. __________________ Allan Quatermain: “Automatic rifles. Who in God's name has automatic rifles”? Elderly Hunter: “That's dashed unsporting. Probably Belgium.”

August 29, 2014, 08:23 PM	#9
zxcvbob Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2007 Location: S.E. Minnesota Posts: 4,720	If you're trying to load rifle cases with a hand press and they are too tough to full-length resize, do it in 2 passes. Loosen the die about a half a turn and size them. The put the die where you really want it, and all the sizing will be done at the last little bit of throw where the mechanical advantage is very high. __________________ "Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth

August 29, 2014, 08:03 PM	#8
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	I went off to college with my Lyman 310 tong tool. I can tell you that for a .30-'06, neck-sizing is the better side of wisdom. Or you could work up to the title of Mr. Gorilla Grip, I guess. You can full-length resize, but it's not a tons-of-fun thing. We didn't have silicone in 1951. So, yeah, the amount of sizing depends on the die, but I wouldn't get all exercised over a small error in knowledge. Gently, politely, courteously point out such errors. Nobody was born an expert anything.

August 29, 2014, 08:45 PM	#10
spacecoast Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2009 Location: Sunshine and Keystone States Posts: 4,461	You didn't specify rifle or pistol, and I can't speak to the capabilities needed for rifle rounds, but I have used mine for nearly five years to reload nearly 21,000 pistol rounds ranging from .25acp to .44 magnum, using Lee die sets (including the FCD). It works great and definitely helps maintain arm strength.

August 30, 2014, 01:06 AM	#11
Micahweeks Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2009 Location: North Mississippi Posts: 854	Those PDF instructions really helped. I had no idea something like that even existed. I might have to look into getting one of them. Can you use the same dies as the regular press?

August 30, 2014, 01:59 AM	#12
Wrangler5 Senior Member Join Date: September 18, 2005 Location: Missouri Posts: 326	They take regular dies and shell holders. I've had one for decades, and although I don't use it all that often, I've found it to be incredibly convenient in the right situation. Keep learning on your turret press (that's what I started with, too), then if/when you find yourself in a situation where you need/want to do a press function someplace that the turret press won't easily go, think about getting a hand press.

August 30, 2014, 06:37 AM	#13
Pond, James Pond Senior Member Join Date: July 12, 2011 Location: Top of the Baltic stack Posts: 6,079	Intro to the Lee hand-press. I am a new convert to the hand-press. I have reloaded more in the last 3 days than I have all summer. Partly the time I had spare, but largely because, thanks to the hand-press, everything was indoors, readily at hand. As you'll have seen the hand-press is a v-shaped lever system with the ram sitting between the two handles, and moved up into the die when the handles are pushed toward one another. The dies are screwed into place as with a single stage press and therefore need adjustment with each change-over. With the Lee, there is the option of the breech-lock quick release system if you have lots of money, little patience, or both!! This works by pressing a little button and twisting the whole die holding piece a quarter turn when the whole assembly lifts out of the press, with the die remaining unchanged. Use: I've been working with my .44 Mag, Spl and .38Spl cases. They are Lee carbide dies and are a breeze. Resizing/decapping is the stiffest, but not hard. Seating and crimping is easy. Bottle-necked cases are harder to resize and extracting the case again takes some teeth grating and heaving, hunched over in a corner. Use lube!! Seriously, they are a great option for those with a lack of spare space, don't need thousands of rounds or want added mobility to your reloading. __________________ When the right to effective self-defence is denied, that right to self-defence which remains is essentially symbolic. Freedom: Please enjoy responsibly.

August 30, 2014, 07:45 AM	#14
Bart B. Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 2009 Posts: 8,927	Art, I like your comment: "I can tell you that for a .30-'06, neck-sizing is the better side of wisdom." That's been said for over a century. Lyman's 310 tong tool and its smaller 5/8x20 dies were made for people to reload ammo that shot good enough to plink with and take game animals. Its dies also fit the original Lyman Truline Junior press for bench mounting whose linkage was more compound than the hand operated 310 tool and handled larger cases easier. While they were never intended to be used for match-winning, record-setting ammo for competition. They were affordable and worked well for their intended purpose and customer base. The 310 tool and its dies are still made today; not too shabby at all for a 100-plus year old reloading tool. Its origin started with Winchester, then made by Ideal and finally Lyman: http://ps-2.kev009.com/ohlandl/310/310op/history.htm Modern hand presses enable one without suitable bench facilities and/or a thick wallet to reload their own ammo. When used within their design and purpose limits, they're very good and worthwhile. They fill a nitch in the reloading tool industry and market very well. Last edited by Bart B.; August 30, 2014 at 07:51 AM.

August 30, 2014, 07:57 AM	#15
Salmoneye Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2011 Location: Vermont Posts: 2,076	I only own one 'press', and that is the Lee Hand Press... I have loaded thousands of round over the decades with it, and it is still going strong... I have full length sized everything from .38 S&W to .30-06 and .45-70...I have also formed .30-30 brass to .357 Herrett... With a scale, you can work up loads right at the bench... You can decap and size while sitting with the family... For the amount I shoot, I need nothing else...

August 30, 2014, 07:35 PM	#17
zxcvbob Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2007 Location: S.E. Minnesota Posts: 4,720	The Lee Reloader bench-mount press is cheaper than the hand press, now that Lee added quick-change bushings to the hand press. __________________ "Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth

August 30, 2014, 09:45 PM	#18
Blindstitch Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2013 Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 2,692	For more leverage in extreme cases with the hand press just think thighmaster. Sometimes having a bench press would be nice for hand press only users but as said it gives the convenience of reloading anywhere or resizing while sitting on the couch which is exactly what I'm going to do in a minute.

August 31, 2014, 12:57 PM	#21
spacecoast Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2009 Location: Sunshine and Keystone States Posts: 4,461	They also offer a nice sense of touch (sensitivity) when priming with the Lee Ram prime.

September 1, 2014, 01:18 AM	#22
Hook686 Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2005 Location: USA The Great State of California Posts: 2,090	I have the Lee Classic Turret Press. I also have the Lee Hand Press. While the Turret Press will put out twice as many hand gun cartridges as the Hand Press, it is not very mobile. When I use the Hand Press for my handgun loadings I use the Lee Carbide Speed die. With my 30-06 I use the Lee Collet die, which is neck sizing only. This works for me as I only have one 30-06 bolt action rifle, and I do not shoot that many each year. I find both of these presses useful. __________________ Hook686 When the number of people in institutions reaches 51%, we change sides.