This blog outlines the first steps in setting up the Lee Classic Turret Press Kit. Although it’s easy, there are a lot of steps and it’s more than you or I want to cover in a single blog. I’ll present additional blogs covering this topic in the coming days.
The Lee Classic Turret Press includes good instructions. The kit includes the turrent press, the handle, a spent primer catch tube, primer arms, and hardware.
After the turret press has been secured to your reloading bench (you can view the Lee bench plate installation blog here), attach the primer catch tube to the barb fitting beneath the ram.
This barbed fitting on the ram underside captures ejected primers.The primer catch tube attaches to the barb.The primer catch tube installed. It’s nice not having primers falling out. This is a well-thought-through design.
Lee provides a clear plastic bag containing the hardware items you see below.
The handle bolt and fittings, the lock ring wrench, and two primer arms (one for small primers, the other for large primers).The handle attaching hardware.
You can install the press handle to operate the press from either the left side or the right side. I installed mine on the right side. To do this, install the bolt from the left side and the two fittings (one goes inside the other) on the right side of the ram linkage.
Intallation of the handle’s half-inch bolt and the fittings in the ram attach point.
Insert the press handle on through the fitting, and then tighten the bolt.
The handle installed on the Lee turret press.
After installing the press handle, you can operate the press to cycle the ram. Each time you do so by raising and the lowering the ram, the turret head will advance a quarter turn (or 90 degrees) counterclockwise. At this point, it’s a good idea to oil the ram, the ram linkage, and the turret. I used gun oil on my press. Lee states in their instructions that any gun oil will do.
The lower arrow points to the ram. The upper arrow points to the twisted 1/4-inch-square bar that cams the turret 90 degrees counterclockwise with each ram cycle. It’s a very clever design.
I’m going to initially reload 9mm ammo on my Lee turret press, so the next step involved installing the Lee Deluxe 4-die set in the turret. We’ve previously written about Lee’s Deluxe 4-die sets for other cartridges here on the ExhaustNotes blog (we’ll include a set of links below). In my opinion, they are the best dies available from any reloading equipment supplier.
Lee’s Deluxe 4-Die Set in 9mm.Lee’s Deluxe 4-Die Set includes a powder dipper, a shellholder, a resizing/decapping die, a powder through-hole expanding die, a bullet seating die, and the factory crimp die. Lee dies are the best dies I’ve ever used. They are also the least expensive.
I started by installing the 9mm shell holder in the ram. After installing the shell holder in the ram, I raised the ram all the way up.
The 9mm shellholder in the turret press ram.
I next installed the the decapper and resizing die in the turret head. With the ram fully raised, I screwed the sizing die into the ram until it contacted the shell holder, and then locked it in place with the locking ring.
The resizing die in the turret, locked in place by the locking ring.I raised the ram fully, and screwed the sizing die all the way down so that the bottom of the die contacted the shellholder. Then I locked it in place with the locking ring.
After doing the above, I lowered the ram and inserted a 9mm case in the shell holder. I then partially raised and lowered the ram halfway four times. That rotated the turret to position the sizing die directly above the ram again. You can also turn the ram manually. With the sizing die directly over the ram, I raised the ram fully. The sizing die resized the 9mm case, the old primer was pushed out of the case, and the primer was captured by the tube hanging beneath the ram.
A 9mm case in the turret press.Raising the ram to resize the case and push the spend primer out (the decapping operation).When the ram is lowered, the turret is cammed a quarter turn counterclockwise.
The next die, installed one position to the left of the sizing die, was the expander die. After raising the ram, I screwed it all the way into the turret such that it touched the shell holder, and I locked it in position with its locking ring. I then repeated what I had done earlier. I raised and lowered the ram halfway four times to bring the expander die back over the ram. I put the 9mm case into the shellholder and ran the ram up fully. It flared the case mouth perfectly, just enough to allow starting a 9mm bullet.
The expander die locked in place with its locking collar. This die is installed in the threaded turret hole one position to the left of the resizing die.A 9mm, 124-grain plated copper bullet being fit checked in the flared case mouth. I’m not going to seat the bullet yet (we’ll discuss that in a subsequent blog); here, it’s only being fit checked after the case mouth flaring operation.
I then installed were the last two dies. I installed the bullet seating die by partially screwing it into the turret’s third threaded hole, and then I installed the factory crimp die by partially installing it into the turret’s fourth threaded hole. I didn’t attempt to adjust the bullet seating die or the factory crimp die yet; that will come later and we’ll discuss this in subsequent blogs.
The bullet seating die is the third die installed in the Lee turret.The factory crimp die is the fourth die installed in the Lee turret.
Lee includes two priming arms and a lock ring wrench in the clear plastic bag containing the turret press hardware. You may have noticed that the four dies are right next to each in the turret. The lock ring is a clever tool that makes it a bit easier to tighten the four dies’ lock rings.
The Lee lock ring wrench (top view).The Lee lock ring wrench (bottom view).
Two days from now, I’ll cover installing and adjusting Lee’s auto-drum powder measure, and then after that I’ll have a blog on installing Lee’s safety primer feed. Stay tuned, there’s more coming on this awesome reloader.
This is the second blog in our series of three articles on the Lee Deluxe 4-die set. The first blog focused on the dies and their components; this blog focuses on how to set up the dies in a press.
1. Shellholder
As a first step, I inserted the shell holder (No. 11 in Lee’s numbering system) into the press ram. It’s a no brainer, but I wanted to mention that Lee includes the shellholder with their dies, which is a nice touch.
I then raised the reloading press ram, and threaded in the sizing die in until it made contact with the shell holder. After the bottom of the sizing die contacted the shell holder, I lowered the press a bit, turned the die into the press a bit more, and tested it by raising the ram again. I wanted to feel just a bit of pushback on the ram.
The shellholder (lower arrow) in intimate contact with thre sizing die (upper arrow).
Once I felt resistance in the ram lever with the ram fully raised, I screwed the sizing die’s locking ring all the way down to the press head.
Screwing down the sizing die locking ring.
Once that adjustment was made, I don’t have to adjust the sizing die again for future reloading sessions. I can unscrew it by grabbing the locking ring and unscrewing it from the press head. The locking ring’s oring prevents the locking ring from inadvertently moving on the die body. All I need to do is screw the sizing die into the press.
The sizing die locking ring screwed all the way down to the press head.
At this point, I proceeded to size 50 cases. I inserted each into the shell holder and raised the ram fully. This both knocked out the old primer and resized each case.
Sizing .44 Magnum cases and punching out the spent primers.An ejected, spent primer..44 Magnum case with primer removed.
3. Expanding
After completing the resizing operation, I unscrewed the sizing die from the press and partially screwed in the expander die (just a couple of turns at this point). I placed a resized cartridge case in the shell holder and raised the ram fully.
I then continued to screw in the expander die until I felt the cartridge case touching the expander die. I then lowered the ram slightly and screwed the expander die a little further into the press, raising the ram and then lowering it again. I repeated this in minor increments to get the desired amount of flare on the case mouth. I knew I only needed a little bit, just enough to allow a bullet to start in the case mouth. When I do this part of the expander die installation, I check for adequate case mouth flare by taking a bullet and checking to see if it can start in the case mouth.
I used Missouri Bullet Company 240-grain cast bullets for these reloads.The 240-grain Missouri bullets.
I don’t put too much flare on the case mouth. All that’s necessary is enough to allow the bullet to start into the case mouth.
The case on the left has not had the case mount expanded; the case on the right has had the case mouth expanded. Only a small flare is necessary.
Once the bullet could start to enter the case mouth, I knew I had enough flare. At that point, I raised the ram with the case in the shellholder. The case is now in intimate contact with the expander, preventing any expander die rotation. I then threaded the locking ring all the way down on the expander die, locking it in place in the press.
Screwing down the locking ring after the expander die has been adjusted.The expander die lock ring locked in position.
Once I had locked the expander die in place, I proceeded to run all 50 cartridge cases through it.
50 Starline cases that have been run through the expander die. I usually reload handgun cases in multiples of 50.
After completing that operation, I grabbed the expander die by its locking collar and unscrewed it. It, too (like the sizing die) now had the locking ring in the right place, and it would not require adjustment for future reloading sessions (for .44 Magnum ammo; if I wanted to load .44 Special ammo, the shorter .44 Special cases would require making the adjustment described above again).
4. Priming
At this point, I seated primers in all 50 cases. I use an older Lee priming tool that is no longer available from Lee. My Lee priming tool is close to 50 years old, which says a lot about the quality and durability of Lee reloading equipment. I’m not going to spend too much time today talking about seating the primers, as this blog is focused on the Lee Deluxe 4-die set. I may do a future blog on the latest Lee priming equipment.
My old Lee priming tool. It still does a great job.
5. Charging
After priming, I charged the cases with propellant. My load is 6.0 grains of Bullseye powder with a 240-grain Missouri Bullet Company semiwadcutter bullet. You won’t find that load in modern reloading manuals. I have a library of old reloading manuals; this one is from an earlier Lyman cast bullet handbook.
An oldie but still a goodie. I use Bullseye powder for several different handgun loads.An older Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook with a great load for the .44 Magnum.6.0 grains of Bullseye with a 240-grain cast bullet works well in the .44 Magnum.50 Starline cases primed and charged with Bullseye propellant.
6. Bullet Seating
I next seated the bullets using the bullet seating die. The bullet seating die can also be used to crimp the bullet in place, but I don’t crimp with this die. To prevent the bullet seating die’s internal crimping ring from crimping the bullet, I screwed the bullet seater nearly all the way into the bullet seating die (I wanted the bullet seater to reach the bullet before the die’s crimping feature reaches the case mouth). I then adjusted the bullet seating depth by screwing the die body deeper into the press.
A .44 Magnum cartridge about to have its bullet seated to the correct depth. The upper arrow points to the bullet seater adjustment; the lower arrow points to the locking ring.
I adjusted the die deeper into the press until the bullet was seated to its crimping groove. This resulted in an overall cartridge length of 1.600 inches.
Having a good calipers helps reloading enormously.The 240-grain bullet seated at an overall cartridge length of 1.600 inches, but not yet crimped in place.
After I had achieved the desired bullet seating depth, with the ram raised and a cartridge with a seated bullet in the shell holder, I screwed down the die’s lock ring to lock the die in place. I then seated the bullets in all 50 cartridges.
7. Crimping
The last die is the crimping die. Here’s what it looks like.
The Lee Factory Crimp Die. This is a stellar bit of reloading equipment.
To install and adjust the crimping die, I raised the ram without a cartridge in the shellholder. I then screwed the die fully into the press head until the bottom of the crimping die firmly contacted the shellholder. At that point, I backed the crimp adjuster nearly fully out (until I knew it would not contact the cartridge case). I needed to do this step without a cartridge in the press because if I tried to do it with a cartridge in the press, I might have overcrimped the bullet in the case before I had the crimp adjustment correct.
The shellholder in intimate contact with the bottom of the Lee factory crimp die.The factory crimp die locking ring, fully screwed down on the die body.
I lowered the ram, installed a cartridge that had not been crimped into the shellholder, and raised the ram fully. I lowered the crimp adjuster until it contacted the cartridge case (I could feel when it did do by increased resistance on the crimp adjuster as I screwed it into the die body).
The crimp adjuster.
I then withdrew the ram slighly and turned the crimp adjuster in a little bit more. I backed off the ram and examined the crimp. I repeated this process (backing off the ram, screwing the crimp adjuster in a bit more, and examining the crimp) until I was satisfied with the crimp.
A crimped .44 Magnum cartridge. The Lee factory crimp die does a great job.
Once I was satisfied with crimp, I crimped all 50 cartridges.
50 reloaded .44 Magnum cartridges.Reloaded ammo in the cartridge box.
The last step for me was to label my newly reloaded box of .44 Magnum ammunition.
Labeling is critical. If I don’t do this immediately after loading the ammo, I might forget what the recipe was.
I had my 50 rounds of reloaded .44 Magnum ammo; the next step was a trip to the range to see how it shot. That blog will post in about a week. A spoiler alert…this ammo performed magnificently. Stay tuned, and you’ll see.
Keep hitting those popup ads! You’ve been helping us enormously and we appreciate it!
Never miss an ExNotes blog!
For more info on Lee Precision reloading equipment, click on the image below:
