Lee Hand Press life expectency

[Tokarev]

I have used a Hand Press a great deal. Probably more than Lee ever intended it to be. It has worked well. I use it all the time to size and de-prime brass prior to washing. It works fine for handgun and 223 or 7.62x39. I have sized 308 and 6.5C but that can be an elbow killer.

Flex has never been an issue in my use. Screw the die in so there's maybe ¼" gap between the press tab and the little tab on the handle. This should set you up about right to take the flex out of the press and get good contact between the bottom of the die and top of the shell holder when sizing.



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[Torquemada]

was sizing starline 44 magnum brass. them lee pistol carbide dies are fun at times.

i keep it the hand press lubed, but the frame was flexing. Funny thing is i bought it about 3 years ago, have been using it with a breech lock bushing installed permanently because the first one i installed somehow jammed in, and refused to come out. The hand press has been flexing enough that the breech lock bushing has actually unjammed, and randomly releases the bushing and lets it pop out of the press.

im not using one hand to both hold the press up, but to keep the die body and bushing from moving around.

When I primed the cases the following day, the pivot points were jamming up again randomly. IT was crappy experience. IVe been able to sit down and size all sorts of military rifle brass with no issue.

As far as emailing Lee customer service, The only way i can get them to respond is if i send an email to Titan Reloading customer support.

[Torquemada]

I have used a Hand Press a great deal. Probably more than Lee ever intended it to be. It has worked well. I use it all the time to size and de-prime brass prior to washing. It works fine for handgun and 223 or 7.62x39. I have sized 308 and 6.5C but that can be an elbow killer.

Flex has never been an issue in my use. Screw the die in so there's maybe ¼" gap between the press tab and the little tab on the handle. This should set you up about right to take the flex out of the press and get good contact between the bottom of the die and top of the shell holder when sizing.



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only carbide and rifle, same thing really, need the gap in the handle.

I really do need a better press, but i need portable and low weight.

[camsdaddy]

Try giving them a call. I have sent them inquiries several times and they have always replied with an email or a phone call. I would never approach them when I am frustrated with my press so that has probably benefited me.

[Tokarev]

Yep. Give them a call. They will probably take care of you.

I recently broke the little shuttle piece inside my hand priming tool. I sent them am email along with a picture of the broken part. I had a reply within probably 24 hours and then a replacement part in the mail a few days later.

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[willie]

All presses will flex if enough force is applied, but your example indicates a defect. Call Lee. Vaseline on the moving parts performs well as a lubricant.

[Jim Watson]

Yes, but when mung metal products like that start bending, the end cannot be far away.
I loaded for a while on a D550 with a cracked toggle block, wondering why it took more and more push on the handle, until it broke off.

[willie]

Mung metal. I like that term.

[rmfnla]

I had one of those for about 15 minutes.

After sizing 100 rounds of 9mm with carbide dies, off to eBay it went.

Not sure about the tool’s life expectancy, but mine didn’t look too good using that much effort to load mid-size pistol rounds…

[Tokarev]

I had one of those for about 15 minutes.

After sizing 100 rounds of 9mm with carbide dies, off to eBay it went.

Not sure about the tool’s life expectancy, but mine didn’t look too good using that much effort to load mid-size pistol rounds…

Case lube makes a world of difference especially on stubborn little 9mm cases.

I recently used my LHP to size a couple thousand 9mm cases. Brass was unsorted and mixed with Berdan primers, 380 and 40 brass. I had to sort it all anyway so why not size at the same time? I tumbled the brass for a bit in walnut shells to get the range dirt off. Next I tossed a few large handfuls in a gallon zip lock bag and gave them a few squirts of lanolin mixed with rubbing alcohol. Once cases were sorted and sized, they went into the Lyman case washer.

It takes a bit of time to do it this way but I don't have to worry about breaking a decap pin or accidentally loading a 380 case.



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