LEE Bullet Feeder Best Practices Question

03 March 2002, 04:20

Alex Szabo

How many of you have used the Lee Bullet Feeder add-on?

I have refurbished & setup a progressive press for my friend which includes said feeder attachment.

These [of course ] are set up in accordance to te specifications.

Bullet feeding [say for a 9mm] is being dispensed via the single tube (for now).

As process cycles through, case enters the station; however, the 'finger' which holds the bullet does not extend correctly underneath the seating die. At one point, the finger was distorted and damaged becuase of it incorrectly extending.

If anyone has used this device, will you please share your finding in getting the unit to operate correctly? Thanks in advance.

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Best regards,
Alex

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote! - Benjamin Franklin 1759

03 March 2002, 05:18

<Martindog>

I don't have any experience with this press/feeder system, but I do recall reading that Lee had to redsign their seater die to be compatible with the feeder mechanism. New seating dies have a distinct bevel at the base. If your using older Lee dies or some other manufacturer's dies, that might be the problem.

Good luck,

Martindog

03 March 2002, 05:26

Alex Szabo

quote:
Originally posted by Martindog:
...If your using older Lee dies or some other manufacturer's dies, that might be the problem....

MartinDog,

Yes, it is true. The bullet seating die IS the correct version (i.e. Chamfered at the appropriate angle). As a matter of point, I do not even possess such an older version (flat at the bottom of the die).

This angling was designed in order to accomdate the 'finger spreading or splitting' if you will as the ram proceeds in its upward momentum - thus facilitating the seating process once the bullet was 'placed' on top of the mouth of the case.

In this instance, the finger [becuase] it did not extend to its full outward position, it essentially did not place the bullet onto the mouth.

Thanks in the meantime!

------------------
Best regards,
Alex

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote! - Benjamin Franklin 1759

03 March 2002, 09:09

JerryO

quote:
Originally posted by Alex Szabo:
In this instance, the finger [becuase] it did not extend to its full outward position, it essentially did not place the bullet onto the mouth.

Well, I bought one a couuple of years ago. Before I mounted it, I noticed the finger would stick and not slide all the way.

I examined and considered. Decided it was a POS. But, then tried to think of how I could make it work. I ended up with a teflon washer under a longer screw. The teflon let the finger slide.

So, when I finally tried it, I installed it with some .380 dies. MY MISTAKE!!. The bullet seater I had was for longer than 88 grain bullets.

Further, changeing calibers with the bullet seater (which requires removeing the seating die) is a pain, to say nothing of the feeding of bullets with or without a case being present. This is major for me as I sometimes skip putting a case in the machine as I am reloading.

Finally, I check powder level by looking at the powder level as I set the bullet on the case mouth. This is likely to overlooked when useing the bullet feeder.

To top off all this I hate fooling with tubes, be them for bullets, primers or cases. OK, I don't use the case feeder. I feed the cases with my left hand as the right hand works the handle.

So now you know, I never used the bullet feeder to load one round.

I do think mine would now work.

JerryO

03 March 2002, 09:58

Alex Szabo

Jerry,

I understand. I have found this equipment to be quite value-add. From time to time however, I have to actually go out the patent archives to ascertain the type of technical assistance necessary for this type of equipment.

I find the principal of this feeder device to be okay, provided that Jupiter aligns with Mars. And what those conditions are, is anyoneï¿½s guess...

For example, the block, which feeds the case into the shellholder, I was able to get it to function to specifications once I greased it with [believe it or not] plumbers grease. I used this approach for fear of contamination with a petrol-based grease. You see, the slide on which this feeder blocks slides, wears down the paint used. I would estimate that the type of paint used provides a reasonably smooth surface for the resin-based block to slide on fine. But once that paint erodes, forget it! The 360-degree cam-activation hangs on the up-stroke.

Do you suppose that part of the issue is the alignment of the feeder platform (underneath the die securing nut) and the linkage rod to be the culprit?

------------------
Best regards,
Alex

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote! - Benjamin Franklin 1759

[This message has been edited by Alex Szabo (edited 03-03-2002).]

03 March 2002, 14:00

<Shotone>

I bought one to use on my RCBS Rockchucker/Piggyback press. After three days of fiddling around with a home made linkage, I got it to work most of the time. After some searching on the web, I found that quite a few of the Lee press users were having the same problems I was. Namely, the fingers wouldn't fully extend to underneath the seater die. My fix was to remove the auto linkage, attach a small handle to the end of the fingers, and push the fingers in manually. With the four tube accessory, bullet feeding is a snap. If you don't mind an extra step, this might be a very reliable alternative for you.