Lee Precision Warranty Repairs

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Coolray

New member
I Proudly use Lee Handload Equipment. I have found that for the Pistols I load for that The auto Index turret press works great.

I have a second press that the Ram was defective. It would not hold the shell holder right,I sent it to Lee and within 7 days of leaving my house the replacement part was back to me. That's the kind service you can get from Lee. I posted this because in the past some members have Slammed Lee and they're service and I wanted to inform them that the two times I have used Lee's warranty I have had super service.
 
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muzzletalk

New member
Hey coolray,

Im not slamming lee or anything but I had a lee loadmaster. Used it for about 2 and a half years and I then started having problems with it. Every time that I went to use it, I spent 30 min fixing it so I could use it. To me, it started to become very unreliable. If I had to fix it every time that I wanted to use it, what was the quality of bullets that came out of it. I decided to call lee. They said that lee presses only have a 2-year warranty on them and that I would have to pay to have the press refurbished. So I started thinking to myself, I don't even have 2000 rounds reloaded on this press and I will have to pay to have it refurbished. The amount that I would have to pay was 1/3 of what I paid for the press in the first place. To me, and this is just my opinion, (don't want to offend any one) if lee is such a great company and the claim to have such a great product, then why don't they have a lifetime warranty like Dillon does to back up there product? I will give lee one thing though, that press got me started in a great pass time and I learned allot from having that press and what I needed to look for when I moved on to my next press which was a Dillon 550.
 
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Coolray

New member
Muzzletalk,
Thats a very valid position that I had not considered, the only thing I can figure is that the orignal cost is so low that Lee intended to Make thier money on follow up sales and out of warranty repairs. Sounds more like a marketing decision than a product reliability decision. If my Lee presses started to cost me to use them in repair time or Money then I to would replace, and I will move up to the 650 Dillon, but the Lee stuff got me started when I just could not afford much more.
 
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stuckatwork

New member
Muzzletalk,

Sorry you had problems with Lee. I have a Loadmaster, unlike you I reload a minimum of 2000 per month*. Mine is about three years old. I found the Loadmaster a nice and dependable unit. Maintenance is important on all loading presses, that's why Dillon sells extra parts kits for thier presses. The key to any press, is keep them clean and lubed. If you are in a humid enviornment, watch for rust.


*that's what happens when you shoot, your wife shoots, your sister and your mother all got involved. Now, you end up reloading for the whole family. :cool:
 
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muzzletalk

New member
I think that is why I first picked a Lee press. The price is attractive and at the time, all I could afford was the Lee press. I hope that the presses work out for you guys because its like breaking in a pair of boots, once you get them broken in, you don't want to trade them for the world.
 
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biganimal

New member
my best friend bought a dillon reloader and it worked great for the first 4 years then he had a problem with it and sent it back to the factory because the thing has a lifetime warrenty....he got it back 8 months later!!!!I returned a lee load all shot shell loader to lee for repairs and received it back in 17 days. I had to pay a small fee but the thing broke due to my stupidity...I'm pleased with lee service
 
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Andy J

New member
Warranty Issues

Like many here, I use the Lee Loadmaster. I purchased mine on e-bay from someone in CA by the beach. When I received it, it had been stored for some time in a garage. CA near the ocean is not nice to things made of metal. I contacted Lee and told them that I had bought a used Loadmaster and wanted to have them inspect and function test the unit. They said no problem, just send it back. 10 days after I sent it back, I received my Loadmaster with a note saying a function test had been done and all questionable parts had been repalced with new. All at no charge! Based on this kind of customer service, I will continue to use Lee products. Unless I get a really good deal on a Dillon.
 
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MADISON

New member
Lee's Warranty

For some reason, I break the decapping stem out of my Lee dies. They have always replace them QUICKLY.
 
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ATTICUS

New member
Lee is kind of the (1960's)Volkswagon beetle of reloaders. Their equipment is inexpensive, usually works great for many years, and is extremely cost effective for most people. Those who own Porches will scowl at the "bug" people however.
 
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Bogie

New member
HOW do you manage to break the decapper on a Lee die? I've always had 'em back out of the die before they'd break...
 
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Troy

New member
They are *supposed* to back out of the die. The only way to break them is to torque them down so tight that they can't move (i.e., to counter-act the whole intent of the design).

Anyway, I started with the Lee Anniversary kit, which included the O-ring press. It continues to work great. I just got a Loadmaster and have loaded 9mm and .45ACP on it so far. My only issue to date is that occasionally the 9mm cases back out of the shellplate slightly and need to be pushed back into place. This tends to happen with brass that has very thin rims. Still, that's not really a problem for me, and I can load a couple hundred rounds an hour on it, and I'm still new to the press. I plan to try the bullet feeder soon, which should speed things up even more.

I look forward to loading some rifle rounds (just ordered the .223 shellplate, rifle brass feeder, etc.) on it as well. I can't speak for others, but it seems to work as advertised.

Just FYI, I use a Universal Decap Die in the single-stage, clean the primer pockets, and tumble/polish the brass. All other work is done on the Loadmaster.

I haven't had to deal with lubing cases yet (for the Loadmaster), as I've just loaded pistol ammo to date. I know some of you use your tumbler to lube your cases. Exactly how do you do this? Just add a bunch of lube to the media? I'd like to lube the cases as little as possible to keep them from gunking up the feed tubes.

-Troy
 
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