Lee safety prime help/cleaning?

juggernault98 · July 28, 2018, 11:08 AM

Okay, quick question, has anyone disassembled the lee safety prime for cleaning? or just buy one to replace? My safety prime for some reason is sticking. It places the primer just fine but does not fully come back up to reset to load another primer. I have to squeeze and manipulate the black part of the primer for it to reset. Thus has anyone took it apart? Id rather ask before i open it up and a spring shoots out and takes my eye out.

**Unclenick** · July 28, 2018, 02:14 PM

I have not had one of those apart, but if you call Lee and describe the problem to their customer service, I expect they'll have seen it before and will know what to do about it.

juggernault98 · July 28, 2018, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unclenick

I have not had one of those apart, but if you call Lee and describe the problem to their customer service, I expect they'll have seen it before and will know what to do about it.

Good starting point thank you.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

DaleA · July 28, 2018, 04:21 PM

This is certainly NOT an original idea, many, many folk here have suggested it.

When/if you take it apart, put it in a big, clear plastic bag and try to snug the opening of the bag around your wrists as well as you can. If a spring pops out, it's in the bag.

polyphemus · July 28, 2018, 05:57 PM

In answer to your question,I for one have disassembled them a few times.
Two springs, the one that resets the loader used to be a U shaped part they have now I believe a new improved one.In my experience unless it is broken the issue can be traced to alignment or even operating technique.In short, no harm will come to you from disassembly but rather there is a good chance that if you correctly place in the press it will function as designed.

TJB101 · July 29, 2018, 06:36 AM

As Polyphemus mentioned above ... a couple of springs to be aware of. I used a Qtip with rem oil and cleaned the mating parts. And then a dry Qtip to remove any residual oil. Reassembled and it works perfectly. I had the same sticking problem you mentioned.

RickCoop · July 31, 2018, 06:36 AM

This sounds like the same difficulty I encountered. The U shaped spring weakens after a while and won`t push the top piece back far enough to allow another primer to load into position. You should get it touch with Lee and buy a few of their "new and improved" U springs. It is a easy fix and nothing is under a lot of spring tension. Changed them myself a coupe of times and I`m not especially gifted. Btw, since I installed the new designed spring, I`ve loaded thousands of rounds without any reoccurrence of the issue.

goose2w1 · July 31, 2018, 01:14 PM

I've never had a spring go bad on mine, and I've used it for years, but I have encountered your same problem. What I did was fully disassemble the unit and very lightly go over all internal surfaces with a piece of emery cloth, and wipe it completely clean and reassemble. After verifying the mechanism works properly, give it the lightest touch of graphite powder in the front and side.

July 28, 2018, 11:08 AM	#1
juggernault98 Member Join Date: December 1, 2016 Posts: 33	Lee safety prime help/cleaning? Okay, quick question, has anyone disassembled the lee safety prime for cleaning? or just buy one to replace? My safety prime for some reason is sticking. It places the primer just fine but does not fully come back up to reset to load another primer. I have to squeeze and manipulate the black part of the primer for it to reset. Thus has anyone took it apart? Id rather ask before i open it up and a spring shoots out and takes my eye out.

July 28, 2018, 02:14 PM	#2
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	I have not had one of those apart, but if you call Lee and describe the problem to their customer service, I expect they'll have seen it before and will know what to do about it. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

July 31, 2018, 01:14 PM	#8
goose2w1 Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2005 Posts: 123	I've never had a spring go bad on mine, and I've used it for years, but I have encountered your same problem. What I did was fully disassemble the unit and very lightly go over all internal surfaces with a piece of emery cloth, and wipe it completely clean and reassemble. After verifying the mechanism works properly, give it the lightest touch of graphite powder in the front and side. __________________ Without weapons, it's just another airline!

July 28, 2018, 04:21 PM	#4
DaleA Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2002 Location: Twin Cities, MN Posts: 5,313	This is certainly NOT an original idea, many, many folk here have suggested it. When/if you take it apart, put it in a big, clear plastic bag and try to snug the opening of the bag around your wrists as well as you can. If a spring pops out, it's in the bag.

July 28, 2018, 05:57 PM	#5
polyphemus Senior Member Join Date: June 24, 2012 Posts: 1,055	In answer to your question,I for one have disassembled them a few times. Two springs, the one that resets the loader used to be a U shaped part they have now I believe a new improved one.In my experience unless it is broken the issue can be traced to alignment or even operating technique.In short, no harm will come to you from disassembly but rather there is a good chance that if you correctly place in the press it will function as designed.

July 29, 2018, 06:36 AM	#6
TJB101 Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2017 Posts: 498	As Polyphemus mentioned above ... a couple of springs to be aware of. I used a Qtip with rem oil and cleaned the mating parts. And then a dry Qtip to remove any residual oil. Reassembled and it works perfectly. I had the same sticking problem you mentioned.

July 31, 2018, 06:36 AM	#7
RickCoop Member Join Date: August 17, 2013 Posts: 45	This sounds like the same difficulty I encountered. The U shaped spring weakens after a while and won`t push the top piece back far enough to allow another primer to load into position. You should get it touch with Lee and buy a few of their "new and improved" U springs. It is a easy fix and nothing is under a lot of spring tension. Changed them myself a coupe of times and I`m not especially gifted. Btw, since I installed the new designed spring, I`ve loaded thousands of rounds without any reoccurrence of the issue.