I have used the Lee Auto Prime for years, but recently broke the lever. I figured, no problem, I will just order a new one. Since they were only like $3 for the lever, and they are made out of very cheap pot metal, I thought I would plan ahead and order 3 of them. NONE of them fit the connecting rod! All of them are way too tight and the connecting rod has to be forced into the slot on the lever and has no play at all. And Lee doesn't even have an email address on their website to complain.
Suggestions on a replacement? I am pretty ticked off, I know they are cheap, but I gave them 3 chances to ship a part that would work.

quote:

Originally posted by 2ndtimer:
I have used the Lee Auto Prime for years, but recently broke the lever. I figured, no problem, I will just order a new one. Since they were only like $3 for the lever, and they are made out of very cheap pot metal, I thought I would plan ahead and order 3 of them. NONE of them fit the connecting rod! All of them are way too tight and the connecting rod has to be forced into the slot on the lever and has no play at all. And Lee doesn't even have an email address on their website to complain.
Suggestions on a replacement? I am pretty ticked off, I know they are cheap, but I gave them 3 chances to ship a part that would work.

info@leeprecision.com

or

4275 HIGHWAY U
HARTFORD WISCONSIN 53027
262-673-3075 Voice
262-673-9273 FAX

I just went to

http://www.leeprecision.com

and burrowed down to find their contact information.

My experience with the techs at Lee Precision has been pretty good. Usually a one-day turnaround on getting answers and only two or three cycles to get a satisfactory answer. (Sometimes it takes a while for me to explain myself clearly.

They are VERY good once they understand what you are asking.

To answer your specific question: I have an RCBS bench primer, RCBS Hand primer and Lee Hand primer. I never use any of them. I prime on my press.

My RCBS Rock Chucker has plenty of leverage, and, while some say this down not allow them to "feel" the seating of the primer, I found the fingertip control gives me excellent "feel". I just use my fingers on the lever rather than my whole arm and body weight.

On my Pro-1000 Lee Presses (which are in the process of being retired in favor of my Lee Classic Turret) it did not make any sense to prime off-press. They are progressives, after all.

The same applies to the Classic Turret. It makes no sense to pull the case off the press just to prime it when there is a perfectly good priming system right there. I adjusted the lever so that the primer seating takes place while the handle is right near the top of the press. Again, using my fingers, the seating is very easy to feel.

Good luck.

Lost Sheep

quote:

Originally posted by 2ndtimer:
I have used the Lee Auto Prime for years, but recently broke the lever. I figured, no problem, I will just order a new one. Since they were only like $3 for the lever, and they are made out of very cheap pot metal, I thought I would plan ahead and order 3 of them. NONE of them fit the connecting rod! All of them are way too tight and the connecting rod has to be forced into the slot on the lever and has no play at all. And Lee doesn't even have an email address on their website to complain.
Suggestions on a replacement? I am pretty ticked off, I know they are cheap, but I gave them 3 chances to ship a part that would work.

Try reversing your connecting rod right to left. The lever and the connecting rods on some have a tapered interface.
I suspect that all of your replacements will work fine.After you get the new fitted to the old apply a little grease. Seating about 50 larger primers in tight primer pockets will loosen up the fit.
I say this assuming you have the zinc die cast connecting rod. If you have the steel connecting rod you have a better set up that might take a file to make the new levers fit.
What you need to keep in mind is that the tool has been in continuous production in one form or another since the late 1960s. There are bound to be some design revisions along the way that result in miss-matched parts.

Thanks for the replies. I do have a tapered interface but none of the 3 new levers I received would fit the steel rod. I had to file them quite a bit to make them fit. They couldn't even fit half way in as they arrived from the factory. Even after filing them enough to fit all the way into the lever, they required additional filing to be able to function. I guess I will just use the priming arm on my Rockchucker Press. I get tired of the Lee levers breaking on tight primer pockets.
Thanks again for the replies.

The Hornady unit is satisfactory.

I switched to the RCBS universal hand primer. Pricey, but very nice. Lee's newer model XR autoprime has a larger square tray, but it does not easily detach from the handle and lay flat on the bench for easier loading. The UHP does not need shell holders either (good match for Forster Co-Ax, since it doesn;t either). They are a bit of a pain to switch primer sizes, but my wife bought me a second one so I can keep one set up for each size. The trays are interchangeable, so I can load up two trays of either size and go to town hand priming.

Andy

quote:

Originally posted by 2ndtimer:
Thanks for the replies. I do have a tapered interface but none of the 3 new levers I received would fit the steel rod. I had to file them quite a bit to make them fit. They couldn't even fit half way in as they arrived from the factory. Even after filing them enough to fit all the way into the lever, they required additional filing to be able to function. I guess I will just use the priming arm on my Rockchucker Press. I get tired of the Lee levers breaking on tight primer pockets.
Thanks again for the replies.

Interesting that you have broken the lever.
I have several of the old style tools with the screw in shell holder. I have used them exclusively since they first came on the market.
I have never broken one. I take a little time to the the primer aligned with the pocket. Some do take a bit of force but never enough to break anything.

quote:

Originally posted by 2ndtimer:
Suggestions on a replacement?

Sure, ANOTHER Lee Autoprime. And buy 2 or 3 complete units this time. Set one up for small and the other for large primers, that will save you having to fiddle when switching primer size. Should one unit fail, you still have a functional device, and can afford to wait for spare parts or replacement units. These devices are so cheap, it is not really worth worrying about one breaking. And in all fairness, they do last a long time, and they do work well.

- mike

that would be my answer

quote:

Originally posted by mho:

quote:

Originally posted by 2ndtimer:
Suggestions on a replacement?

Sure, ANOTHER Lee Autoprime. And buy 2 or 3 complete units this time. Set one up for small and the other for large primers, that will save you having to fiddle when switching primer size. Should one unit fail, you still have a functional device, and can afford to wait for spare parts or replacement units. These devices are so cheap, it is not really worth worrying about one breaking. And in all fairness, they do last a long time, and they do work well.

- mike

I have 4 auto primes on the bench have been using them from the time they came out.

I have freind that lives near lee every few years I give him all my broken parts he takes them to lee and they give him new parts.

They work well but do wear out.

I think I have only paid for two of the 7 or 8 I have worn out lee has always replace the broken parts for free. I hav reloaded 10s of thousands of rounds with them

I've been using the RCBS Hand Priming Tool. I have the priming kits for both Redding presses and my RCBS press but the Hand Tool is the most convenient especially with a couple of extra shell holders. I've considered the Universal but I have everything I need right now. If I break or wear somthing out I might get the Universal but I'll probably go with another of this one since I have the holders. Since you have to take the unit apart to change shell holders I don't know if it's worth having one in large and one in small.

I haven't broken anything yet on the Lee hand priming tool and I've been using one for 29 years.

I bought a second one in thee mid 90s because I got tired of switching between large and small primers.

I did like the other poster. When they first came out, I bought three. One for Large primers, one for small primers and one as a back up since at the price, you couldn't expect something that you were gonna hand down to your children. Well, number three is still on the shelf, unopened. And Lord only knows how many K of primers I've pumped thru the other two.

aps bench model, or rcbs hand primer ...

What Jeffe said... anything built of pot metal is eventually going to fail. I used Lee for a while but found out early on it was cheaply made.

quote:

anything built of pot metal is eventually going to fail. I used Lee for a while but found out early on it was cheaply made.

True, and True.

However, neither fact makes the Lee Auto Prime anything other than the very best bargain in a precision priming tool available. Keep the friction/camming parts coated with a little petroleum jelly and the Lee tool will eventually break or wear out, but not before you do. If you should be so lucky as to outlast the Lee, just buy another one (for one-quarter the price of the competition) and you're still money ahead.

Like both Sam and Jeffe above I have and use the RCBS Hand Primer.

It uses the newer RCBS shellholders or the Redding that I have. It is kind of in the middle qulaity wise. The tool works great when it and you are in rhythm. You have to hold it and shake it a bit just right and it seems to go. It has good feel . It can also be fussy. I have had the tray open and the anvil not return. It also has some little plastic bits on the feeding sleeve.

I also have the Sinclair priming tool. It works great - but I did have to send it back as it arrived and would not accept the Lee shellholders it uses. The tool is tight dimensionally anyway - but it was super tight. The tool head had some machining burrs that were not polished out. Sinclair fixed it right up. On the down side it only handles one primer at a time and its more expensive too. But it's unlikely to ever wear out.

So it leaves me priming several ways. Interstingly enough my Redding Big Boss 2 seats rifle primers very well. I use it for a few, the Sinclair on rifle if I prime them ahead (20+), and the RCBS for 38's etc.(50+).

And the Dillon for more than 250 .

RCBS Universal Hand Primer.

What Rusty said!
I have no Lee stuff and can't see the reason to have 2 separate shell holders for every cartridge I load for. Also, as far as I'm concerned, I buy something, I want it to last & not have to be replaced because of wear every few years.
Bear in Fairbanks

Lots of good tools out there but I haven't been able to wear out my Lee Autoprime, either.

I bought it in 78 or 79 and I can't begin to imagine how many primers it has installed. Just out of curiosity, what did the primer look like after the thumb lever broke? I've had to ride hard on many thousands of small rifle primers into worked over military 5.56 brass that didn't quite have all the pocket crimp removed. Some looked pretty flat and ugly but fired. Wore my thumb out long before I had any chance of wearing out the tool.

But as Stonecreek said, there is a tiny bit of routine maintenance (about once a year for me) involving lubing the lever to keep them in good shape. Small price to pay for a life-time tool.

I have my original Lee Primer tool. Have not broken a lever yet.

If I could find it I would send you my Lee--I never could figure why people like them, the seperate shellholder thing put me off from the jump, and they are just poor quality to me. The RCBS universal is the ticket for me--I have two of them, one for small rifle, one for large and magnum.

I also have a sinclair hand primer, super high quality, but feeding primers one at a time by hand ain't my thing...bought it when I still had a job and was in my 'experimenting' stage of reloading equipment purchases....

Check this thread. Same question.

http://thefiringline.com/forum...posted=1#post4263323
or if the link does not work, paste this into your browser
thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4263323&posted=1#post4263323

Lost Sheep

quote:

Originally posted by mho:

quote:

Originally posted by 2ndtimer:
Suggestions on a replacement?

Sure, ANOTHER Lee Autoprime. And buy 2 or 3 complete units this time. Set one up for small and the other for large primers, that will save you having to fiddle when switching primer size. Should one unit fail, you still have a functional device, and can afford to wait for spare parts or replacement units. These devices are so cheap, it is not really worth worrying about one breaking. And in all fairness, they do last a long time, and they do work well.

- mike

+ another....I hated switching back n forth between large and small !!!!

quote:

Originally posted by 2ndtimer:
I have used the Lee Auto Prime for years, but recently broke the lever. I figured, no problem, I will just order a new one. Since they were only like $3 for the lever, and they are made out of very cheap pot metal, I thought I would plan ahead and order 3 of them. NONE of them fit the connecting rod! All of them are way too tight and the connecting rod has to be forced into the slot on the lever and has no play at all. And Lee doesn't even have an email address on their website to complain.
Suggestions on a replacement? I am pretty ticked off, I know they are cheap, but I gave them 3 chances to ship a part that would work.

I got fed up with the Lee pot metal Autoprime tools about three years ago. I had two of them, one for Large Primers and one for Small Primers.
I replaced them with Sinclair's priming tools, made from steel. I'll never go back to the Lee's. Time is not an issue for me, so handling every primer is a non-problem using Sinclair tools. Primers get seated correctly now.

RCBS hand primer....



.....or buy several Lee primers.

I've used both & broken one of the latter (sorry Claude) on Wolf LP primers & .45ACP brass - not really the tool's fault.
The RCBS is MUCH more ergonomic & places less stress on ageing hands when priming large numbers of cases.

I have an old Lee hand Primer (20 plus years old) It worked fine until I tried a WSM case which would not fit through the pot metal opening. So rather than grind out the opening I bought an RCBS universal primer. I like it better.

I prime on the press. And I refuse to mess with small primers, so I only buy large primer calibers. Works for me.

quote:

RCBS Universal Hand Primer.

Me too. Once you get the feel for it, it's very easy and smooth to use. I bought two and set one up for large primers and the other for small so I didn't have to switch it out. Got that idea from someone here, but I don't remember who.

LWD

After 20 years of use, the handle didn't break on my Lee Auto-Prime, the gray link between the body and the handle broke. I planned on ordering an RCBS hand primer, but when I was at Cabela's I saw they had the new Lee Auto-Prime XR on sale, and I already have all of their shell holders, so what the hell I bought it. It works very well, much better designed than the old one, separates the shell from the rest of the primers, square tray and all the rest. In the end, buy either the RCBS or the Lee, whichever you like, but quit trying to fix the old primer tool. You'll be happier with a new one.