Thoughts on Lee Loadmaster?

[theBIGone2087]

So my brother and I are ready to make the jump to a progressive press. We were considering the Hornady l-n-l but started thinking about the Lee Loadmaster. It's a lot less and looks like it has a lot ore features. The one thing we wanted was auto-indexing but we thing the standard case feeder on the lee is impressive. Any thoughts?

 

[tdt91]

LnL, there's a reason it costs more. Once n Done baby.

 

[hvymax]

The Lee can be a little touchy but once dialed in can really crank out quality rounds. The key is consistency.

 

[dj_in_md]

They all do the same thing. Some just better than others.

 

[Warhorse]

Lee Loadmaster Warning

If you are not mechanically inclined, you may want to avoid the Lee Loadmaster. It is VERY touchy about setup initially and will give you fits until you finally get it right.

Once it is setup properly, the biggest problem is the plastic primer feed mechanism. That will frequently jam, install a primer cockeyed, or just plain break. They have redesigned the primer trough but it still jams occasionally and tends to damage the part of the trough where the primer elevates to enter the case primer pocket. Once damaged, there is no recourse but to replace the primer trough. You will never succeed in repairing it.

The last stage of the case indexing where it ejects the finished case into the bin will also cause problems. The biggest pair of these problems is failure to eject into the bin (jamming) and the tendency to knock over the next case from the automatic case feeder. If you don't notice the fallen case, the decapping pin in the first stage will probably get broken when it glances off the fallen case.

The Loadmaster also should probably only be used with straight-walled cases, although with care it can be made to work with bottlenose cases. If you plan to load a lot of bottlenosed cases, I cannot recommend this unit. It will drive you nuts.

That said, Lee is very good about sending replacement parts and helping out with advice for setup and trouble-shooting.

 

[theBIGone2087]

Wow, thanks for the info guys!!
Sounds like its a bitch to set up, but once it's set up it runs nicely.

I was curious too... Are you forced into the Lee flare/powder drop die? I have most of my dies in RCBS so will I need the lee die for powder drop too?

 

[Warhorse]

The Lee powder drop die is, of course, designed to work with either of the Lee powder measures. It is unlikely to work with another companys powder measure. Presumably, other companies have their own powder drop die that will probably work in the Lee press. I have no experience with that.

The Lee powder drop die has a cylinder inside it that is raised by the top of the case during the up stroke. This pushes a rod that is connected to the drum on the powder measure to drop the powder. On the down stroke, there is a chain that pulls the powder drum back to reset it. This chain is a weak link in the design, as it is a little finicky to adjust properly initially and sometimes there is a jam (caused by what I have never figured out) that breaks the chain. This is an easily fixed nuisance, not a calamity.

The Lee powder measures are cheap enough that I bought one for each cartridge caliber for which I reload and leave them on the die turret plate, along with the complete set of dies for that caliber. This makes changeover fairly quick and easy without having to readjust the measure setting.

On another note, any new powder measure should have some powdered mica run through it before putting it into reloading operation. This will lubricate it and reduce the likelyhood of powder sticking to the sides of the drop tube and measure chamber. An alternative is to simply run enough powder through it to let the graphite on the powder granules coat the measure. I did both and it worked quite well.

 

[theBIGone2087]

Can't thank you enough for the info!!

 

[theBIGone2087]

Ok, one more thing...

I am a little confused as to how the powder measure works. Are those disks adjustable or charge weight or are they a set amount? The Lee site doesnt exactly have any info on the disks and how they work.

 

[Kizmit99]

Ok, one more thing...

I am a little confused as to how the powder measure works. Are those disks adjustable or charge weight or are they a set amount? The Lee site doesnt exactly have any info on the disks and how they work.

The disks have varying size holes in them. You adjust the amount of powder that is dropped by picking the appropriately sized hole in the disk. The powder is measured by volume, not weight - so you have to find the proper sized hole that drops the weight of powder you're looking for. Sounds more complicated than it is, and as Warhorse mentioned, if you get a separate one for each caliber/plate you can pretty-much set it up once and never have to fiddle with it again. Just measure the weight of powder it's throwing every so often to ensure something hasn't gone hinky.

 

[midcountyg]

If you are not mechanically inclined, you may want to avoid the Lee Loadmaster. It is VERY touchy about setup initially and will give you fits until you finally get it right.

Once it is setup properly, the biggest problem is the plastic primer feed mechanism. That will frequently jam, install a primer cockeyed, or just plain break. They have redesigned the primer trough but it still jams occasionally and tends to damage the part of the trough where the primer elevates to enter the case primer pocket. Once damaged, there is no recourse but to replace the primer trough. You will never succeed in repairing it.

The last stage of the case indexing where it ejects the finished case into the bin will also cause problems. The biggest pair of these problems is failure to eject into the bin (jamming) and the tendency to knock over the next case from the automatic case feeder. If you don't notice the fallen case, the decapping pin in the first stage will probably get broken when it glances off the fallen case.

The Loadmaster also should probably only be used with straight-walled cases, although with care it can be made to work with bottlenose cases. If you plan to load a lot of bottlenosed cases, I cannot recommend this unit. It will drive you nuts.

That said, Lee is very good about sending replacement parts and helping out with advice for setup and trouble-shooting.

I agree, if you are not extremely familiar with progressive loading and very handy at tinkering, don't take a second look at the Lee. Even if you are experienced and handy, you will break and wear out parts. You will spend hours adjusting it. It is cheap for a reason. I have three, and I will never buy another one.

 

[treehugger]

DILLON

 

[DocAitch]

Loadmaster

My brother is a machinist/mechanic and found the Loadmaster to be a challenge but got his up and running smoothly. I am a physician with a lot less mechanical experience and I found the Lee 1000 to be a challenge (but finally mastered). I moved to a Dillon 650 and have never had an issue that was not easily diagnosed and fixed ,and those issues were rare.
DocAitch

 

[Maryland Hunter]

You won't go wrong with the Loadmaster.
Lee's problems are in their directions. They are incomplete and out of order, sometimes completely bypassing very important info for the set up.
There is a lot of good info on this site: http://loadmastervideos.com/ and elsewhere on the net.
Set it up right and run one piece of brass through for a test run. Keep it cleaned and lubed correctly, sort your brass before you put it in, & keep an eye on your primers, and it should run great. When I'm set up for 9mm, I'm putting out 100 rounds in 9 minutes.

Hope this helps.

MH

 

[hvymax]

Thanks MD hunter. I am handier than most and have always been able to figure things out but that is a great resource. Yes when it is running well you can really produce alot of quality ammo but for 4 times the cost you can do better.