Ian
Notorious member
Some of you know I'm a fan of certain Lee Precision products. Some of you also know I treat their reloading presses like Legos.
Here's the latest fabricobbling job, a THREE hole, auto-indexing, CLASSIC press. You can only buy these in four-hole versions, but they can be converted.
I started with an antique auto-index upgrade kit from the dusty shelf of my local hardware store, they haven't made these kits in probably 20 years and this one has the old die-cast ratchet housing instead of the plastic one that comes on everything now. The cast version is especially neat because it allows rod index adjustment by loosening the clamp bolt and turning the rod guide slightly, whereas the plastic kits require torquing the nut at the top in relation to the rod, which is tricky and often requires permanent threadlocker. If you've had to adjust one you know what I mean and what a pain it is. The kit also came with the old-style, three-hole turret head which has an adjustable, spring-loaded detent and knurled lock nut instead of the later, permanently-staked detent ball which is not adjustable for tension.
The only problem with converting a Classic press to three hole is the columns are about 7/8" longer, and the auto-index rod is too short to work. About two years ago I threw in a <12" x 1/4" hex rod drop in an order from On-line metals, and it's been sitting by the press ever since, waiting for me to get up the nerve to twist it 120°, turn down the top, and thread it a very fat 1/4x20. My dies won't go big enough to be a super-snug fit in the nut, but I have a lathe so I single-pointed the threads to fit tight. A little judicious head from oxy/acetylene and a twist with a 1/4" socket and away we go! It works like a champ and really feels good to get this press going like I always intended it, it's super-handy for three-stage loading that I don't want to do, or can't do, on a Pro-1000 progressive.
The new rod next to the old one:
The press, set up for .458 Socom currently, with a Lyman 55-to-Lee PTE die adapter by Bill/MtnGun44:
Here's the latest fabricobbling job, a THREE hole, auto-indexing, CLASSIC press. You can only buy these in four-hole versions, but they can be converted.
I started with an antique auto-index upgrade kit from the dusty shelf of my local hardware store, they haven't made these kits in probably 20 years and this one has the old die-cast ratchet housing instead of the plastic one that comes on everything now. The cast version is especially neat because it allows rod index adjustment by loosening the clamp bolt and turning the rod guide slightly, whereas the plastic kits require torquing the nut at the top in relation to the rod, which is tricky and often requires permanent threadlocker. If you've had to adjust one you know what I mean and what a pain it is. The kit also came with the old-style, three-hole turret head which has an adjustable, spring-loaded detent and knurled lock nut instead of the later, permanently-staked detent ball which is not adjustable for tension.
The only problem with converting a Classic press to three hole is the columns are about 7/8" longer, and the auto-index rod is too short to work. About two years ago I threw in a <12" x 1/4" hex rod drop in an order from On-line metals, and it's been sitting by the press ever since, waiting for me to get up the nerve to twist it 120°, turn down the top, and thread it a very fat 1/4x20. My dies won't go big enough to be a super-snug fit in the nut, but I have a lathe so I single-pointed the threads to fit tight. A little judicious head from oxy/acetylene and a twist with a 1/4" socket and away we go! It works like a champ and really feels good to get this press going like I always intended it, it's super-handy for three-stage loading that I don't want to do, or can't do, on a Pro-1000 progressive.
The new rod next to the old one:
The press, set up for .458 Socom currently, with a Lyman 55-to-Lee PTE die adapter by Bill/MtnGun44: