Hey all, a friend of mine just gave me his Lee Progressive 1000 press. It came with 500 rounds of 240 gr. semi wadcutter hardcast lead bullets, 400 large pistol primers, a lb. of powder, a set of .44 mag dies (I do have a .44 mag), an extra turret, another shell carrier assembly and some other spare parts.

The problem is, he hasn't used this press in about 8 years, with it just sitting in his wood shop, gathering saw dust and grunge... He's getting a bit old and can't remember if he gave me all the parts to make it work.

I've cleaned it up and changed out the shell carrier because the one for the .44 mag was just too rusted. I'll have to take that apart and clean that up.

It seems to function just fine with the exception of the powder feeder and the case indexing. It looks like it should have a chain or an actuating rod of some sort to make it move and feed the powder, but in the instructions, I don't see anything of the sort. And the shell carrier will move around, but it's only going like 3/4 of the way. Is there an adjustment that I'm missing?

Is there anyone living in or near west Tennessee that might be able to help me out? I've tried looking online but 99% of the pictures I can find show the newer Progress PRO 1000 press...

Novel idea: call Lee.

Already planned on that. I just thought I might be able to meet a member that lived in the area and we might just enjoy solving the problem and hanging out.

Go to YouTube and search for Lee 1000 videos. There is a wealth of them covering everything from setup to troubleshooting and uselful mods. I did that with my Lee Loadmaster and it took all the pain out of getting to run right. Plus, there are upgraded parts for a lot of Lee presses that solve early production problems. I needed to upgrade the primer feeders on mine and the whole unit was only $18.99 each for large and small primers.

You will need the instruction manual unles you are a technical wizard. Ask if Lee can send you a set. If they no longer have them I will have a set somewhere.

Good luck. THe Lee Pro 1000 likes to be kept clean for best function, particularly for the primer feed. I now prefer to decap and clean the brass and have far less issues than when the primer residue was all over the place.

You can download the user manual via PDF for free from Lee's website

YouTube is full of information

Actually, what I ended up doing was pouring two fingers of Glenlevitt, walking out to my shop and just sitting, staring and sipping. After one finger, I started to see things on the press that I hadn't noticed before.

By the time the second finger was gone, I had the press functioning and hopefully adjusted. Although that's hard to tell without dies...

But, it does index around, stop where it's supposed to, and the powder hopper shaker thinger moves back and forth when it's supposed to.

I guess until I get the dies and start reloading, it's all academic....

I have 3 of them fairly simple. Look at the owners manual on line have at it.

I've got the owner's manual, but it didn't answer some of the questions I had. But with the aid of some decent scotch, I was able to take care of most of my problems.

Now, all I need to do is find a #19 Shell Holder and some 9mm dies....

I've lubricated my thought process with rum a time or two. Be careful with over lubrication it makes for a rough morning.

As for the topic at hand, my points were already hit.

Well, I have the proper dies, shell holders and other assorted gee-gaws needed to reload and I've actually got the press working fairly well, other than the occasional mis-feed on the primers. I might have to clean the feed ramp better and maybe wax it so the primers feed better.....

Anyone got a suggestion on how to make the primers feed well?

Do yourself a big favor, unload that press and look into a Dillon. The Lee isn't anywhere near the quality. You will thank me in a year.

I wad wondering when this advice would come along

Sorry man, if you can sell me a Dillon press that's only loaded 250 rounds for about $100, then we can talk. Until then, I'll make do with what I've got and consider myself fortunate.

The rounds I've made have gone BANG and I hit what I was aiming at. I can't ask for more than that other than getting it to feed primers a little better....

No worries! My advice was worth exactly what you paid for it.

Well, I got the press all cleaned up, dialed-in and loading properly. I loaded a couple hundred rounds this afternoon and while it might not be as slick as a Dillon press, it's fine for this southern redneck....

Now, what do you suggest to keep the dies and the press parts from rusting in the humidity?

I've sprayed mine with some brake cleaner to get them good and clean and followed that with Hornady One Shot. So far so good, but I think they probably need a refresher from time to time.

Keep your loading stuff indoors with AC to keep the air dry.

quote:

Originally posted by Shof:
Well, I got the press all cleaned up, dialed-in and loading properly. I loaded a couple hundred rounds this afternoon and while it might not be as slick as a Dillon press, it's fine for this southern redneck....

Now, what do you suggest to keep the dies and the press parts from rusting in the humidity?

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
Keep your loading stuff indoors with AC to keep the air dry.

I've installed a 3.5 ton heat pump in the shop and keep it cooled to between 75 - 80 degrees. Think that'll keep things relatively rust free?

Apologies for the long post. I hope some of this helps.

I have a Lee Pro 1000 (3 dies) and a Dillon 450 (not auto indexing).

>The Lee does have primer feed issues, but you can work around that to some extent.
> Keep the tray filled up as soon as the primers drop below the level of the "throat" which fits into the feed channel. You need the weight in there pushing on those in the tube. Don't do it too soon or you will dump primers in the throat and they will be a pain to remove (match stick and chewing gum stuff) and some will tip and flip over.
> When you seat the primer tray, use a flat blade screwdriver to block the path of the primers, seat the tray (the tongue into the throat of the tube - sounds terrible but not sure how to describe it) and slip out the screwdriver and finally seat the tray. This avoids the flipping, or tipping, primers.
> Keeping primer crud off the press has helped hugely, so when I started decapping and tumbling before loading, it helped more than just tumbling.
> It also helped as lots of primers from decapping would stop the press from going right down to seat new primers, as some fall onto the base and not into the holes for spent primers and you may not notice. They can tie up the works. If this happens and you don't seat a primer because of the shortened travel and charge a case, there is powder all over and that is where the real problems start.
> You can get a hang up on the primer seating rod (it sometimes won't move freely, so won't feed one and then again powder all over). Decapping and cleaning avoids this as does some cleaning.
> Keep the press covered so that you avoid unnecessary dust in the primer feed system. I'd not wax it, just keep it clean.
> Use cable ties to keep the primer channel together as it is two parts and if they start to separate there is enough space to flip a primer and the channel becomes rough and feeding unreliable. This was a great fix for me.

Did I say decapping first is the best way to get it to run well?

The Lee press is okay and I've loaded tens of thousands of cartridges in 40 S&W on the same press. When it hangs up it's a pain to sort out, so get a rhythm and don't go too fast as you'll be fast as lightening until something ties up the works and then it takes you longer to sort it out that if you had loaded at a moderate pace. I think 500-600 and hour is achievable. I'd say 400 is easy (I have a case feeder but no bullet feeder). Try to load so that you feel the primer seat and if you don't feel it seat, check before charging the case. Powder all over is the biggest problem with a Lee Pro 1000.

I hope this helps. Some wil ltell you to just get a Dillon and that is partially true, but a Lee is a pretty good alternative for handgun cartridges and I'd say a good bit quicker than any manual indexing Dillon.

I've sprayed something called Tectyl on my dies that are fixed in presses. It is a wax and comes in aerosol form. It works great for that, but keep it out of the work (out of the charging die) and remove things like the powder measure before you do this. The wax will tie up the works with potentially disasterous results. I remove the dies and just spray what is necessary and wipe the Tectyl on the other parts with a cloth. I use it on parts of most of my presses which could be vulnerable to rust, but where the works won't get gummed up by the presence of the wax. It's a once off treatment and I just remove it if it gets dusty and reapply (another reason to cover the press when not in use).

Enjoy your press; it's great when you didn't get to load and need to get to the range. I've loaded a lot the night before on on the morning of a shoot.