I've had this tool for a long time and have never experienced any problems until just recently. When I try to seat small primers in 223 brass it doesn't seat them deep enough. We use the brass in AR-15s and it would easily cause a "slam fire". Any ideas out there? Should I try another Lee or maybe try an RCBS?

are you using a diffrent shell holder?
Also check the lenght of the primer seater plug, are the pockets clean and , check to make sure there deep enough.
Dave

Check the "ram" for want of a better term. That is made of soft metal and gets flattened.
Peter.

yes,do what peter says,take it apart and check the hinge points for wear, you can get replacement parts from lee, its not a bad idea to slightly grease them .

I had the same problems, they are due to premature wear. They are a result of Lee having clever designs that are poorly manufactured out of substandard materials. They won't stand up to heavy use.
Buy an RCBS tool, preferably one with the universal shellholder and it will be the last priming tool you will need.....................................DJ

quote:

Originally posted by muzzle:
...When I try to seat small primers ...

Hey muzzle, There should have been " 2 " Seating Stems in the Kit. One is for large Primers and one is for Small Primers. If you are using the Large Primer Seating Stem for Small Primer Pockets, it will stop when it touches the Case Head and create the condition you are describing.

The other folks are correct about the Linkage Pin wearing. I found that by putting some grease on it once or twice a year fixed the wear problem for me too.

Best of luck to you.

Yes, you need to put a little Vasoline (not kidding, it makes a good, clean lubricant for lots of enjoyable pastimes) or some other lubricant on the contact point of the cam and the ram. These parts are made of pot metal and will wear out fairly quickly if not lubed.

I can have absolutely no criticism of Lee's manufacturing strategies. Their tools are designed very cleverly and built extremely economically. They work well, and when they break or wear out, just buy another one. When you've gone through your third or fourth replacement, you'll still be money ahead compared to using one of the clunky, expensive tools coated with green paint.

By the way, I own two Lee Auto Primes, one set up for small and the other for large primers. Their economical cost allows me this luxury and convenience. The older must be about 15 years old, and the newer at least 10. They were purchased as replacements for the original Lee single priming tools, which I did wear out (due to inattention) after 20 years or so. I load for over thirty calibers and find the Lee tools indispensable.

You aren't using 1x milsup brass are you? and haven't removed the primer crimp?
As cheap as they are, I keep one Auto Prime set up for small primers and one set up for large primers.

Thanks guys, I did check the length of the ram thing and they were okay. Then changed around the cam dohickey and that was it. I will lube them from now on. I've been using this one a long time and never really thought about having to lube it. Duh!

The ram will still wear out even if you lube it, mine did. I use the RCBS unit because it's a better tool not just because of pricing. For me it's better designed and far smoother to use. Try finding the right shellholder for 450-400 to fit you Lee tool, with the RCBS you just stick them in and prime them just like everything else.
The RCBS cost a little more but not as much more than most think because you don't have to buy shellholders. I also like the idea of not having to worry about my primers being seated deep enough due to tool wear. How many primers did you not seat deep enough before you started noticing the problem? How much is not worrying about it worth to you?...........................DJ

I guess I should check mine for wear. I haven't lubed or checked either of them for the 27 years I have had them.

of course the rcbs lasts much longer. you never want to use it.

After using the RCBS Universal hand primer, you'll never want to use the autoprime again.

I know, I did.

The RCBS is easier to load, easier to use, easier to store, and easier to maintain. They put more effort into the design and manufacture of it, so you don't have to in using it. And my thumb does not get numb after a hundred or two rounds.

Andy

I have owned both the RCBS and the Lee versions of hand-held, magazine-fed priming tools. My RCBS version I sent back to them and declined to do an article about it, as it quite simply did not work well. The primers kept getting hung up where they leave the tray to go into the channel into the ram assembly. I probably could have cured that by rounding the corners of the plastic tray at that point, but I figured most purchasers buying those tools expected them to work from the get-go, not only after having to modify them. Me too. I think the RCBS concept is a sound one, but the early one I bought was not well thought through in manufacture. The result was no faster than a single primer at a time tool like the Sinclair, but was a great deal more irritating.



My Lees also wore out regularly over the years, but I was (and am) loading over 100 different chamberings, so was not surprised. I long ago wrote to Lee and suggested they use a material not so easily subject to denting. I have heard they made that change a few years back, but have not had to buy another one so don't know for sure. I bought two Lees back in the 1970's and use one for large primers the other for small. Lee has replaced the worn parts free of charge each time they failed....not happily, but they did it promptly. If they want to be grumpy about it, that is their problem, not mine.

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
I have owned both the RCBS and the Lee versions of hand-held, magazine-fed priming tools. My RCBS version I sent back to them and declined to do an article about it, as it quite simply did not work well. The primers kept getting hung up where they leave the tray to go into the channel into the ram assembly. I probably could have cured that by rounding the corners of the plastic tray at that point, but I figured most purchasers buying those tools expected them to work from the get-go, not only after having to modify them. Me too. I think the RCBS concept is a sound one, but the early one I bought was not well thought through in manufacture. The result was no faster than a single primer at a time tool like the Sinclair, but was a great deal more irritating.

Canuck, from your description, it sounds like you had the older, round-tray hand primer from RCBS, correct?

The new universal one feeds off the corner of a large, easy to load, square tray, and log-jams primers much less than my Lee did. IIRC, they also sell an update kit to use the new square tray on the older RCBS hand primers that use shell holders (replacing the round tray).

Andy

My Lee will never feed from the magazine.
Even the directions said count 3, bump. Count 3,bump. If i get sick of that I go count 3 shake.