Why I disdain Lee Tools

[Fusion]

I have never used a Lee press, powder thrower, scale, etc, but I've used several sets of their dies and love them. I replace the lock rings on the seating dies with Hornady lock rings that run about $2-3 a piece leaving them still a lot cheaper than other brands of dies. I've got a couple sets of RCBS dies and I much much prefer the Lee dies to them. I've had nothing but headaches from both sets of RCBS dies. The .243 resizing die causes big dents in the shoulder, and the .380 seating die cuts into the bullets fairly often. I need to call RCBS about both of them I guess. I've also got Redding dies I do like although I've not used them much.

That said, I love my RCBS press, and other RCBS stuff, it's just their dies I've had issues with. So I really don't see a problem with Lee. What I've used from them has been good. I've also used their primer pocket cleaner and a few other small things like that with success.

 

[Lost Sheep]

I dont think I have seen anyone say lee is the best product out there, but they are without a doubt the best product for the money, and honestly, deer and paper dont know what color your press is, they just know they now have holes in them....

Well, here I am.

Lee makes the BEST 4-Station Auto-Advancing Turret Press on the market today, bar none.

They also make the second best 4-station Auto-Advancing Turret Press on the market.

Of course, Lee Precision makes the only two auto-advancing turret presses on the market today.

Lost Sheep

 

[oldreloader]

I guess I'm weird but the more I use the Lee lock rings, the more I like them.

 

[Hawg]

I guess I'm weird but the more I use the Lee lock rings, the more I like them.

I've been using them for over 30 years and I prefer them. I have some other brand dies because I got them used and cheap but I much prefer Lee. I still use the same Lee single stage press I bought 30 some odd years ago. Lee Rocks!

 

[Rifleman1776]

Just like I am curious what issues YOU have personally had with your lee products?

When their progressive press first came out, I think it was in the 80s, it had many design flaws. Some were downright dangerous. It had the capability of setting off a primer directly into the open powder canister, plus more.
I complained to several consumer protection agencies who forced Lee to rethink their design. Lee would not refund my purchase price. But, they did make changes to the design.
To this day, I am down on Lee because I believe a company that will market something so potentially dangerous has no conscience and I choose to do no (actually very little) business with them.
I do use their moulds because of price. Lymans are infinitely superior, IMHO, but on my very limited retirement income I simply cannot affor them.
BTW, somewhere packed away, I probably still have the file of correspondance about the progressive press. And, no, I'm not going to search for it to satisfy one poster here.
And, yes, I have looked at their current line of presses and belive them to be very flimsy compared to the other name brands out there. I wouldn't trust them for consistent and accurate loading.

 

[Scimmia]

And, yes, I have looked at their current line of presses and belive them to be very flimsy compared to the other name brands out there. I wouldn't trust them for consistent and accurate loading.

I don't know how anyone could look at the Classic Cast single stage press and call it "very flimsy".

 

[Mike Irwin]

"I don't know how anyone could look at the Classic Cast single stage press and call it "very flimsy"."

Simple.

It won't survive a direct hit by comet.

It can't be wrapped in nookulur detonators and compressed into a singularity.

It won't survive being thrown into the fires of Mordor.

Ergo, it's flimsy crap, not worth the money.


My biggest gripe with Lee, something I've discussed with them a couple of times over the years, has been the quality, or lack there of, in their documentation.

Some of its OK, but some of it looks like it was written by drunken monkeys break dancing on the keyboard.

 

[Mike40-11]

Some of its OK, but some of it looks like it was written by drunken monkeys break dancing on the keyboard

YES. I couldn't agree more. Except for the "some of it is OK" part. I use quite a bit of Lee stuff. And like it. But I've had to figure out HOW to use it from alternate sources. Which is odd, because I find the Lee Modern Reloading book to be great, easy to read, and quite informative. Lee, please get those guys to write your tool instructions.

I seriously wonder how much of Lee's problems stem from misunderstood instructions?

I also use Dillon, Lyman and Hornady tools. I haven't really found any reloading tools that I would call "bad". Some are easier to use than others, some are more durable than others.

I'm looking to add a turret to my stable. I really want a Redding T-7, just because it looks like it COULD survive being blasted by a nuclear explosion into the fires of Mordor and still be used by the next three generations of my descendants (maybe with a little repainting). But I haven't been able to talk myself into the money. I may just wind up with a Lee Classic Turret. Which, based on knowledge from several friends that have them, will make perfectly acceptable ammo at maybe 20% the investment.

 

[rebs]

I have mainly used RCBS dies, I do also have a Lee hand loader for 300 savage. I have no problems with any of them. MY last set of dies I ordered is RCBS because they were out of stock on the Lee RGB dies in 223 cal. other wise I was going to try the Lee ones. I like my RCBS press and powder dump, but I have not tried other brands as the ones I have work fine for me.
What I have I am happy with and cannot bash Lee or other brands because I have not personally used them.

Reviews for anything even tires for your truck should be taken with a grain of salt. Products with a rating system of 10 stars will run all the way from 10 to 1 and to me are mainly useless. You cannot bash a product that you have not personally used, read the full instructions and understand them and used them properly. That is where I think some people go wrong, improper use of the product.

 

[Heavy Metal 1]

Equating item cost w/ efficacy of performance can be folly. My $20.00 timex watch keeps time more accuratly than my buddy's $5200 Rolex. My Lee RGB 8mm dies loads rounds that will shoot into 1 ragged hole @ 100 yds from my milsurp Czech Mauser-can more expensive dies do better? I doubt it.

I agree w/ above posters that their instructions are not often the clearest & the Lilliputian pictures do a disservice to the reader.

Take the Lee presses,paint them blue & call them a Lee-to-Dillon conversion kit & sell them to the "Go blue or go home" crowd for a steep profit

 

[dahermit]

Without the cheap, simple, hand loading tools that Lee sold back in the late 60's, I would not have been introduced to hand loading. I wore out several one-at-a-time primer tools with the screw-in shell holders. They were "Junk"...but were cheap to replace and effective.

Thank you Lee, for introducing me to a hobby that I otherwise could not have afforded.

I can afford Dillon now, but I will be eternally grateful to Lee.

 

[jcwit]

Without the cheap, simple, hand loading tools that Lee sold back in the late 60's, I would not have been introduced to hand loading. I wore out several one-at-a-time primer tools with the screw-in shell holders. They were "Junk"...but were cheap to replace and effective.

In what way were they "Junk"? I've purchased a few this last year from the Bay and like using them, have yet to have any trouble with any of them. I use them as decated tools for certain calibers that I take to the range and reload there.

The same as I do with my K & M and Sinclair priming tools.

 

[LOLBELL]

I have Lee, Lyman and RCBS. What I don't like I replace. I have Lee dies because I can build better ammo with Lee dies. The only RCBS dies I have now are 223 and a universal decapping die, I don't use either of those. The decapping pin bent on the 16th case. The 223 bullet seater takes too many other tools to adjust. If you could adjust once and be done with it that would be fine, but in loading 100 rounds of Hornady match bullets i had to make adjustments three times. I have 2 RCBS presses, a Turret and a Rock Chukkar, and 1 older Lee 3 hole turret. All presses work great. Powder throw and scales are RCBS. Case trimmers are Lee ( love those). Lyman takes care of case polishing. I like evrything I have and think it is good quality equipment or I would trade it for somthing that was.

 

[Don P]

My biggest gripe with Lee, something I've discussed with them a couple of times over the years, has been the quality, or lack there of, in their documentation.

Some of its OK, but some of it looks like it was written by drunken monkeys break dancing on the keyboard.

I concur about the documents.
Personally I use all Lee equipment, 5 calibers, 4 hole turret press, single stage is now packed away.
The tumbler and media separator are Frankford Arsenal's.
20,000+ rounds loaded to date and all is good. I did find the lock rings would loosen up during use. I cured that by using a wrench to snug them up and all is good in my Lee reloading corner of the world.
Knowing what I know now about the other brands out there I would still but Lee's reloading equipment. It works and makes home made ammunition to shoot at the range.

The guy shooting in the same match and on my squad can't tell if I loaded my stuff on Lee's or Dillons equipment, can he?

 

[dacaur]

When their progressive press first came out, I think it was in the 80s, it had many design flaws. Some were downright dangerous. It had the capability of setting off a primer directly into the open powder canister, plus more.

A perfect example of someone who tried one product, didn't like it, so is now a lee hater for life..... First off, claiming something has the "capability" of having a problem, therefor is junk, is bogus. You might "think" there is a possibility of it setting off a primer into the powder, but my guess is it never happened, right? Something being "theoretically possible" is different from an actual problem. Get enough people looking at a "potential" problem and it doesnt matter if its a real problem or not. Any company would change its design to to avoid bad press. My guess is if there had been an actual problem, you would have gotten a refund. "plus others".... ALL progressives are finicky, thats just a fact of life.

And, yes, I have looked at their current line of presses and belive them to be very flimsy compared to the other name brands out there. I wouldn't trust them for consistent and accurate loading.

Again, see my first sentence above.... good luck with that. A Dodge Ram 1500could be called flimsy when compared to a ford F650..... I guess all the rest of us that use our "flimsy" lee presses to load consistent and accurate ammo are... what? lucky?.... hmmm... Whats the word for someone that buys something because it WORKS, rather than because of what color it is or how much it costs?

 

[MDB]

I guess I just don't know any better. I bought a Lee 3 hole turret press in 1984. I have loaded 270, 308, 45acp, 9mm, 44 mag, 357 mag and 38 spl. I didn't have any problems with it until last Tuesday. The roll pin holding the linkage on the left side of the base started flexing real bad. The hole was starting to elongate. I called Lee and the nice lady said to send it in and they would take a look at it. She also said that it was possible that I would have to buy a new one. The cost of the new one would be 50% of their retail price. Friday they called and said they replaced the base and the ram. I asked how much I owed them and they said "no charge". They are sending it back on Monday. They told me that they replaced the roll pin 15 years ago with a shoulder bolt. I am sure they know that that press is 28 years old. All of my dies and powder handling equipment is Lee and never a problem. I even use the lock nuts that come with the dies. I do have a RCBS scale. I think that was the only one that I could find way back then. I am happy with my Lee stuff. I have no pros or cons on the other manufactures as I have never used any of their stuff. Oh I forgot that I do use a RCBS hand primer and it works fine also.

 

[jcwit]

When their progressive press first came out, I think it was in the 80s, it had many design flaws. Some were downright dangerous. It had the capability of setting off a primer directly into the open powder canister, plus more.

I have a Ford that has the capability of going faster than the speed limit, there by earning me a speeding ticket if caught. Knew I should have bought a smart car.

And, yes, I have looked at their current line of presses and belive them to be very flimsy compared to the other name brands out there. I wouldn't trust them for consistent and accurate loading.

This is flimsy http://leeprecision.com/classic-cast-press.html

I guess if you say so.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Here is why I don't like lee tools. They break. Usually just when you need them the most.

So I now have 3 sets of them. When two break I ship them back and get replacements at the price of a new one. I just keep a box for broken lee parts and then make a shipment every few years.

I figure a lee primer loader is good for about 10 to 20 thousand rounds then it breaks.

It is interesting that they don't all fail the same way.

 

[Lost Sheep]

When their progressive press first came out, I think it was in the 80s, it had many design flaws. Some were downright dangerous. It had the capability of setting off a primer directly into the open powder canister, plus more.

A perfect example of someone who tried one product, didn't like it, so is now a lee hater for life..... First off, claiming something has the "capability" of having a problem, therefor is junk, is bogus. You might "think" there is a possibility of it setting off a primer into the powder, but my guess is it never happened, right? Something being "theoretically possible" is different from an actual problem. Get enough people looking at a "potential" problem and it doesnt matter if its a real problem or not. Any company would change its design to to avoid bad press. My guess is if there had been an actual problem, you would have gotten a refund. "plus others".... ALL progressives are finicky, thats just a fact of life.

Not quite a perfect example, I think. He had a problem with the press and then subsequently had a problem with the company, apparently over a long period of time. So, his feelings may indeed be justifiable.

I don't have any idea what Lee progressive presses were like at the time, but if it involved an open powder container (as part of the press design, not the user's discretionary placement of his supply), I would agree with him on that point, at least.

On the other hand, I argue that Lee has changed. Nowadays, Lee refuses to market a columnar primer feed because of the danger of a gang ignition should a stray vibration set one off. The complaint was not just about the danger, but the refusal of Lee to provide accommodation or even acknowledge the complaint. (I am reading a little into the post, here.)

I have a Ford that has the capability of going faster than the speed limit, there by earning me a speeding ticket if caught. Knew I should have bought a smart car.

That is a legitimate criticism. If I bought a press whose design (I knew or should have known) placed my gunpowder in a vulnerable location, I would be hard pressed to justify asking for a refund, or bringing in consumer protection agencies to protect me from my own folly.

Whether you decide to come down on the side of the "Nanny State" protecting handloaders from themselves or "Let the Buyer Beware" is up to you. In my mind, either extreme is wrong. The complainant in this case may have been concerned with improving the breed by offering feedback to Lee and been rebuffed, thus starting a chain of rancor. I don't know and I won't assume.

So, this is why I started this thread, to encourage anyone who posts advice against purchase of a product, should give the REAL REASONS behind their advice and opinion.

And I have posted here to add the sentiment that if anyone denies the potential for rehabilitation (of a person or a company) then they reject the possibility that they may someday need or receive forgiveness.

Thanks for reading,

Lost Sheep

 

[jcwit]

Here is why I don't like lee tools. They break. Usually just when you need them the most.

So I now have 3 sets of them. When two break I ship them back and get replacements at the price of a new one. I just keep a box for broken lee parts and then make a shipment every few years.

I figure a lee primer loader is good for about 10 to 20 thousand rounds then it breaks.

It is interesting that they don't all fail the same way.

Sorry to see your bad luck with Lee Priming tools, Did you lube them as the instructions say to do?

Does this make the whole line of Lee Products bad, I think not. I've seen this picture of yours in other forums.

Ya know, back in 1971 I purchased my first brand new car, a Chevy Camaro, worst car I ever owned, was in the shop just about every other week for the 6 months I owned it. It was followed by a 1972 Corvette which I also purchased new, in fact I ordered it in 1971, arrived in January 1972. Was one of the best cars I ever owned, I also ordered a 1972 Chevy Vega at the same time I ordered the Corvette, actually the Vega was one heck of a good car, kept it for over 120,000 miles and the company I worked for way more than paid for it.

The Chevy's line is not all bad, no more than the LEE Precision line is all bad.