New Lee Safety Prime - Ugghhhh

[D Eagle 50]

So I had the old Lee Safety Prime (the round one). It worked GREAT on my Classic Turret press. After 6 years I started having problems and figured it was wearing out. Found out that Lee gives a nice discount (I think 50% off) if you send it back and exchange for the new model. I'm pretty sure I got the newest style (3rd generation) because it was only a month ago, December 2019.

Man, I can't get this thing to work for anything. I drop more primers than actually make it into the primer arm, and those that do are often upside down. Yes, I double checked that I was using the correct Large or Small device. I've also seen posts about "adjustment" but there's not much to adjust.

I use lots of Lee products and respect their engineering at a low price point, so I find it hard to believe that after the "2nd generation" Safety Prime failure their solution would be something just as bad. I've also read some great reviews about the newest primer.

I'm guessing it's my technique and so looking for some help. I've changed my whole reloading process to removing primers on a single stage, cleaning brass, priming on a hand primer, and removing the primer pin from the resizing die. What a pain.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Radny97]

I had an identical experience. Went back to the second gen


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[Targa]

It is about technique, I just about gave up on the thing because of all the primers I would drop. I found that if I make sure the case is fully in the sizing die, I have the priming arm in the correct position, work the priming arm slowly, say a prayer, have a rabbits foot and four leaf clover I can keep dropped primers down to a handful out of fifty or so attempts.
I really do not like the Lee Safety Prime and will most likely start priming off the press.

[D Eagle 50]

Thanks guys. I'm gonna give it one more shot, but not getting my hopes up.

[Real Gun]

I recall that on mine the plastic piece that goes on the press is new too, so the old one has to be replaced. The technique I found is that while the old one had a downward snap to place a primer, the new one is more a push forward, so stay on the stippling and push toward the press, not the primer holder target. Much better reliability for me that way. I still have a catcher though that I was using initially...a plastic little bin screwed to the bench.

[rodfac]

I finally gave up on Lee's priming systems after years of broken parts on both the plastic items as well as the pot metal handles on the auto-prime. YMMv, but I'm done with them. Lee makes good dies and other products but their priming systems on the Load Master as well as the hand priming ones are a royal PITA.

Phone calls to Lee resulted in offers to replace them if I sent the broken parts back...more cost than buying new....I now prime by hand when needed with a Lyman unit that's been 100% reliable and uses standard shell holders. YMMv, and good luck...Rod

[krunchnik]

I also switched from the Lee Autoprime-the old model has zero parts available-now I prime with a Frankfurt Arsenal-it was a little pricey but it works great.

[jetinteriorguy]

I too have switched from the Lee to the Franford Arsenal unit and it's worth every penny. Not dissing on the Lee, with the proper technique it was fine. My wife got me the Frankford Arsenal tool for Christmas and now the Lee is collecting dust.

[wbbh]

I love my Lee dies and I have four Lee presses, but I prime with other tools, so my favorite is a used RCBS Bench prime. The Frankford and RCBS hand primers are good too, but hand primers are hard on hands.

[ShootMeStraight]

I find it faster just to grab a primer by hand from a tray and put it in the priming arm.

[Irish Lad]

Originally Posted by ShootMeStraight

I find it faster just to grab a primer by hand from a tray and put it in the priming arm.

+1 That's what I do too.

[gwpercle]

I bought one of the "new" Lee priming tools because my old round tray tool is older than dirt . I opened the box , inspected it was so underwhelmed ... can we say M-I-C-K-E-Y
M-O-U-S-E... it's still in the box ... I'm afraid to use it .
I hope my round tray tool keeps on ticking...the new one doesn't inspire any confidence.
One tool that does work well if you have hand strength issues is the Lee Ram Prime Tool along with their Hand Press . The Ram Prime came with the Hand Press but I had never used it until the other day, didn't have the old round tray hand primer close by so I used the Ram Prime on the Hand Press to prime a bunch of cases...worked rather well and got me to thinking... this little gizmo set in the Hand Press makes seating primers a lot easier .
I LIKE IT !!!
Gary

[sparkyv]

I too just started using the new Lee Safety Prime. It works great; as good as the round ones. Be sure that the two tabs of the primer tray are properly and firmly inserted onto the two guide rails on the curved arm, D Eagle 50. I'm still using the round trays too; the press still has the old bracket and it works great with both the round ones and the new triangle ones. There's two similar versions of the "new" Safety Prime. Make sure you have the newest one. This vid explains the difference. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pUOq27Jo6nU

[kmw1954]

I started using the Safety Prime on my new ABLP press and had all kinds of problems. Then I figured out the technique like Real Gun. I use the hand place like ShootMeStraight and Irish Lad on my 3 hole turret but still find the priming on the Pro1000 to be the easiest and most reliable.

[Real Gun]

Originally Posted by ShootMeStraight

I find it faster just to grab a primer by hand from a tray and put it in the priming arm.

You should find another way. Using some of these gadgets is a skill one has to learn.

[pete2]

I have found thru the years that a lot of Lee stuff is not up to snuff. I do still use and old Lee hand priming tool(altho the first one broke within a year or 2) for .38/9mm when I'm loading experimental loads but it has loaded thousands of rounds in years past(I now have a 550B). I recently bought a .45acp taper crimp die with the sizing ring in it, it works as advertised. Lee scoops are good.
I bought Lee 45 acp dies, sizer is to large, cases won't hold bullets. A Lee turret press some years ago, would not advance, seemed flimsy. No lock rings on their dies, no lock ring on the bullet seater stems. I use a couple of Lee Lead pots, sent 1 back for leaking valve, they both leak a little but I use them anyway.
Now days I try to steer clear of Lee products.

[Marco Califo]

I never liked on-press priming systems.
I use hand primers from RCBS. The newest one does not need shell holders and works great.
I am not a fan of doing everything possible on a progressive press. Size, clean + polish, inspect, Prime: I do separately in batches before-hand. Then I am ready to drop powder and seat bullets. I do that on a Lyman turret mostly.
I do have the new Lee breech Lock progressive (still in box), but expect to use it the same way for bulk handgun loading. I think I will have a hole for the factory crimp die, and a hole left over (powder through expander, bullet seater, factory crimp). Maybe I can use the fourth hole for my new Lyman M expander.

[10wt308]

Marco
Don’t mean to derail this thread but I load the same way you do and I just started using the lee BLP. I think you will like it. I got the case feeder and auto drum but that’s it. Just go slow and smooth on the way down and I even kinda drag my finger as the case goes by (after powder) and no spills. Nice and smooth press
Oh and I do m die, powder, look in case at powder EVERY time seat in 3 and taper in 4

Edit:
I use the auto drum but I turned the flair out of the expander so it’s just a flat the case pushes against. Works like a charm and believe it or not it is as accurate and constant as any measure I have used.of course I do Not throw any max loads.

[D Eagle 50]

Guys, thanks for all the replies.

I was about to give up when just for kicks I decided to try one more thing. I loosened the bolt on the hanger until I could shift it back and forth with just a little pressure. As you know there's an extruded sort of guide that more or less centers the hanger on the corner of the press, but it can shift slightly when the bolt isn't fully tightened.

Turned it all the way to my right (counter-clockwise) and the feeder would strike the press - totally unusable. Then I shifted all the way left (clockwise) and noticed that's where the feeder has the most clearance below the press. It worked much better that way. Tightened the bolt and kept going.

The alignment with the primer arm is off (not parallel) but as you push it forward, give it a gentle nudge to the right flexing the bar until it lines up and the guide on the feeder hugs the primer arm, then go all the way forward and feed the primer. For some reason that little bit of flex has made all the difference. With a bit of practice I'm now only losing 1 or 2 out of 100 with zero flip-overs, which was also a problem before. Takes a little finesse but working great now.

[D Eagle 50]

This thread is a couple years old, but in case anyone is still struggling with the new version Safety Prime I came across this the other day. (I was still having problems with Large primers flipping over or falling on the floor.)

Came across this the other day... seemed crazy to me but I did it and now both large and small are working almost perfectly without any bending or twisting like I described above. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx1uC6cFyGA

[Unclenick]

We usually discourage responding to old posts, but this is a legitimate reason, bringing closure to the problem. Thanks for posting the video.

It is interesting that the author mentions Lee recommending this fix. Perhaps they have too much money tied up in the injection mold to want to rework it to mold the parts correctly in the first place.

[D Eagle 50]

Originally Posted by Unclenick

We usually discourage responding to old posts, but this is a legitimate reason, bringing closure to the problem. Thanks for posting the video.

It is interesting that the author mentions Lee recommending this fix. Perhaps they have too much money tied up in the injection mold to want to rework it to mold the parts correctly in the first place.

I was thinking the same thing. Funny that this is the "2nd" version of the "new" design, and it still doesn't work right out of the box. The old round one was great. Not sure why they ever changed it.

[Unclenick]

I think all the changes in Lee's priming equipment are to better isolate the supply of primers from the one being seated. This is to avoid the situation where the one being seated goes off and causes the concatenated explosion of the rest, which can be quite dangerous.

[jetinteriorguy]

I must be the exception to the rule, my old safety prime literally works every time. Although when you get down to the last two or three primers you either add more primers or just dump them out and insert them by hand.

[Nick_C_S]

concatenated

I've got six decades in my rear-view. Never heard that word before.

Thanks Unclenick