New Lee Automatic Processing Press!

[andre3k]

Maybe I just haven't got the hang of this yet, but I'm underwhelmed with reliability on this. Feeding from the case feed tube, I was averaging 2-3 "failures to feed" on each tube of 18 cases. Any case even slightly out of round will slow down the drop of the round in the tube, and frequently causes hang ups where no case drops onto the claw. The claw "misfires" (doesn't open) about once every 20-30 tries, and doesn't feed the case cleanly under the resize die (drops it off short) about the same frequency. All told, in about 1800 rounds, I probably had 200+ issues that caused me to stop operations, manually clear the issue, and restart.

I'm open to suggestions on how to fine-tune this thing to get better functioning, I'd be happy to hear it.

Mine seems to run pistol cases okay but 223 and 308 don't feed very well on my press. The biggest problem is that rim of the brass gets caught on the shell holder which forces me to feed them in by hand.

[willie]

Having tinkered with one Lee progressive taught me to disassemble, clean certain parts, reassemble, and then try again. Using Flitz polish on surfaces helped. I remember that the plastic case tubes were thin and flimsy. One might try realigning them. In one instance, I used a wooden dowel rod to help align two parts. Changing out one shell holder for a different one might work in searching for a solution. Eventually, I used the big hammer approach on my Lee progressive--12 pound sledge hammer swung angrily. I am a Lee fan but would only recommend their progressives to people I don't like. Note that .45 Auto cases and 7.62 Nato cases have the same head. That's why they use the same shell holder. Looking at Lee's video showing app use with rifle cases, I observed that the cases did not fill the tube to full capacity. For this reason I wondered that weight of a full tube might interfere. Too I thought that longer length of rifle cases might cause instability like sideway motion. Why would 45 Auto cases feed well when 7.62 Nato would not?

[mmc45414]

I went ahead and took the tentative plunge. Dunno why Brownells shows it as "Pre-Order" instead of backorder, but I guess this can be like when you order Milt Sparks, you sorta fugetaboutit and then it shows up.



The more I think about it I might use this for sizing more than I was thinking. It can stay setup and I can stroll by and crank out a few sized 223 or 300BO while the other presses are not disturbed. I have been enjoying not expanding until the bullet is ready to be seated, ensuring the neck has not been tweaked during any of the many process steps that are between sizing and charging, but I can put a sizing die in the thing with a SD decap pin instead of the sizer (this also makes a stuck case pretty simple instead of a uuge PITA). ETA: This could free up some 650 tool heads that do not have more than a decap and size die in them...

Lee shows them as being back in stock this week, so that probably means Brownells will have them the following week.



I just keep thinking of handy shit this could do.

[RevolverRob]

And this as a follow up:

"I think I found a problem with this plan.

The APP uses a spring to hold the tool head up, and the spring rides on a third (black) guide rod. This guide rod looks like it would hit the motor as the press is actuated. The fact that they are using a proprietary die lock ring to me says it won't clear off the shelf conventional hex lock rings- which point to point are generally about 1.25". Since our trim motor is 1.655" the rod would hit it.

You could potentially remove the rod and spring, but then it wouldn't rest in the upright position, and you'd probably want to swap it back in for other operations adding setup time.

Sorry."


Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

The center guide rod can indeed come out without issue. If your tool head flops down, take a 7/16” box end and a 7/16” socket and tighten the bolts where the handle interfaces with the press. Too tight and you’ll lock it down, but adjust it a bit and it will use friction to hold up. The spring and guide rod is actually pretty flimsy, it really doesn’t do much.

In fact for my “annealing conversion” - I’m planning to use the guide rod hole and mount an eyebolt that will hold my flex neck pencil torch in place.

Regarding getting the thing to not jam on the case feed - There are so many moving parts, but the first thing I did was spray the plastic carriage and track with silicone spray and wipe off the excess. This provides some much needed lube.

The next tricky part is adjusting the case feed height and using the right riser block.

Then this last part is really important - you need to make sure the case feed tube holder is turned as close to the press as possible, while still allowing the handle to freely move.

If you don’t do that, about 20% of the time the carriage won’t get quite far enough to clear and let the case drop into the claw. Doesn’t hurt to be kind of vigorous with it. Beware that if you jostle it too much on the downstroke and your case feed height is too high you’ll get a “double feed”. Usually this will result in spitting both cases out but sometimes one will bounce and bind up the carriage and you’ll have to unhook the spring. It turns into a cluster.

If you’re getting double feeds, lower your feed height and turn the tube inward (towards the press).

Edit: One other thing to check! On the feed tube side of the track, check the little phillips head machine screw that comes up from the underside of the press. I had some play there and it was introduce wobble in my carriage. When I finally tracked it down and snugged it up tight a BUNCH of wobble went away. Only two screws and a plastic tab hold the track in place. One can be seen just to the right (exit side) of the stage from above, the other is on the feed side underneath.

[RevolverRob]

Futzing around to figure out if I can convert the APP into an annealing "machine".



First the good news, the shell holder head is spring loaded. This allows me to remove the spring loaded cam and...



Here you can basically see I just shoved a 1/4" allen wrench which fits fairly tight and lets me rotate the shell holder with hand pressure. Two challenges here - 1) Definitely need to use some kind of lock nut and threaded rod in here. 2) this can't spin too fast or it will fling the case out.



Here you can see I'm mocking up a way to mount a flex neck torch. This is just a butane flex neck lighter to see if this style will work. If I use an eye bolt and wire the nozzle firmly into place, I think it will work. I may need a slightly thinner nozzle to clear the top nuts (see below). Side note: Magnets are awesome for this kind of mock-up.

[mmc45414]

Soooo, maybe some of you folks that recently bought can help clarify this. @bruceride and I have been circling the drain about if a current purchaser needs to by the Automation Kit, since the Deluxe version comes with the automation kit, and a stack of tubes, but it is not so clear that you have all you need to use the collator?...

I am slightly confused by Lee's offerings.
I see they sell a basic press which I assume is exactly that. The press itself and a handle. No dies, shell holders, etc.
Then there's a kit with the automated kit. This appears to be the sliding case feeder, a couple shell holders and just one case tube. Is that correct?
Seems odd that Lee isn't selling the four tubes and little four tube receptacle as part of the automation kit. Heck even the Pro 1000 includes the four tube assembly.

So I was going to man up and call them, but no apparent customer service number, I will look up their number if none of youse guys knows.

But in the process I notice that Brownells (where I have my pending order) shows the Automation Kit (and the basic APP press) as discontinued by the factory:



Leading me to believe you do not need it?

Anyway, what does the hive say?

[Tokarev]

So I was going to man up and call them, but no apparent customer service number, I will look up their number if none of youse guys knows.

262-673-3075

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

[mmc45414]

262-673-3075

I meant if nobody knows the answer to the question, sorry

I will call in a few.

[mmc45414]

I will call in a few.

I just called, spoke with Jim, who said he thought it should be what is needed would be included, but conceded it is a new product. I got the vibe things may be a bit fast paced and fluid. I will follow up when I get mine.

[LittleLebowski]

Soooo, maybe some of you folks that recently bought can help clarify this. @bruceride and I have been circling the drain about if a current purchaser needs to by the Automation Kit, since the Deluxe version comes with the automation kit, and a stack of tubes, but it is not so clear that you have all you need to use the collator?...

So I was going to man up and call them, but no apparent customer service number, I will look up their number if none of youse guys knows.

But in the process I notice that Brownells (where I have my pending order) shows the Automation Kit (and the basic APP press) as discontinued by the factory:

Leading me to believe you do not need it?

Anyway, what does the hive say?

I bought that kit and I didn't need it, now I have two of everything.