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Lee hand press

epj

epj

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I am needing to start loading limited quantities of .45 Colt. Every time I add a caliber to my Dillon 550, it seems to cost north of $100, even using Lee carbide dies at around $30/set. Caliber conversion is $40+, need another tool head, $20+, etc.

Anyway, I'm wondering about the Lee hand press. Looks like a pretty good tool, but with large cases it might take a lot of force to operate it.:eek: I had a Lyman 310 years back and wasn't altogether satisfied with it. It neck sized only. Also looks like some sort of additional priming tool is required? If I have to buy much more, I may as well go ahead with the Dillon set-up and buy a .45 Colt to up my usage. That would be a good excuse to "need" to buy a 625 Mountain Gun in .45 Colt. This sounds better all the time.:D
If anyone has experience with the hand tool, I would appreciate a review.
 
You are correct about the large cases requiring extra force, and the need for a seperate priming system. My biggest problem with the hand press is the way it was designed, they didn't leave enough room for my big hands to use it without busting my knuckles up. I eventually went to their cheap "C" framed Reloader press clamped to a shelf with C clamps.

For priming, I used the Lee Auto Prime II, which is a press mounted version of their hand priming tool. It worked alright as long as I didn't shake the press too much and used a paper clip to feed the last dozen or so primers manually.
 
I have a Lee Hand Tool, which mostly stays in the box.
As an alternative I would suggest getting one (or two) of Lee’s Reloader Single Stage press (es). They cost less than $30 and are plenty strong enough for handgun ammunition. Anything less than 100 rounds of the same load I can do faster than setting up a progressive. If fact if I want to try a load of different bullets, powder, etc. I use the single stage even if the progressive is set-up for the same caliber.
All you need is the die set; you get the shell holder with the dies. You can hand prime a few cases lickety-split.
 
We have been using Lee Hand Presses for at least 15 years. Never had a problem with needing excess force, even with bottlenecked cases, like 7X57, 8X58, 7mm08, 308, certainly not with 45 Colt (which we have loaded a few thousand of, at least. Once those 45 Colt cases get workhardened, meaning 10++ reloads, effort to full-lenght resize does go up lots from that required for new brass.

Never had a problem with banged up hands, but, I have small hands.

Get carbide dies if you want to miss lubing. We use a RCBS hand primer, which needs RCBS shellholder to work. Busted two Lee hand primers before I got smart and bought RCBS hand primer.

Niklas
 
I use the Lee hand loader for resizing pistol brass or seating and crimping rifle bullets in the evening when it is to cold to work in the garage where my C-press and Turret presses are located. I find it takes too much effort to full length re-size rifle brass. I also use a RCBS priming tool. I think the Lee hand loader is worth the price and convenient. I use a factory crimp die as there is a little too much flex for roll crimping with the handloader.
 
Lee Hand Press

I've had a Lee hand press for years, also have RCBS RockChucker. The Lee Hand Press is the best thing going for Lee in my opinion. I use it for .38, .357, .30 carbine, .40 S&W, .41 mag.,.44 mag. and .45 colt. Use carbide dies, Lee, RCBS, Lyman, the only time I use the RockChucker is for rifle calibers. Sit in front of TV and resize your brass, use a Lee hand priming tool, Lil Dandy or other measure.

Seriously, for pistol calibers if you're only loading for 50-100 or so at a time, it's the best thing for reloading I've ever found. Years ago Midway sold them complete with Lee carbide dies for $24.95 or so. I've got two of them, resize a batch of brass for future use whenever, prime them at your convenience, when you're ready to reload just drag out the powder, scale, measure and crank them out. My bench press gathers dust, my hand press gets a lot of use. Try one, you'll never regret it.
 
The 310 Tong Tool 'primer die- tool handle' works great when using a Lee hand Press. If you still got your 310 kit seems you pretty set to go with a Lee Hand Press. A little case lube eases the large case friction (even with carbide cies) and force needed.
 
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I use a Lee hand press all of the time. I load alot of 38 SPL and use the hand press to deprime and size while I'm watching the football game. That way I don't have to keep changing the dies in the single stage. I at one time used the hand press to form brass for a 357 Herrett. I would not recommend doing that again but I did get it done with the hand press. I also use a hand primer for priming and this too is usually while watching the football game. Portable has it's advantages.
 
epj said:
The more I think about it, the better adding a caliber to the Dillon sounds.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's why just about everyone does it. I'm not happy with the cost myself though. Try searching for used conversions on the internet. I had no luck and found nothing but new conversions on ebay costing more then if you got them through Dillon.

Another cost is dies. Since owning Dillons I've learned that to be successful you need Dillon size dies. The problem I have with RCBS is the decapping pins keep coming loose.
 
Joed49 said:
Yes, that's why just about everyone does it. I'm not happy with the cost myself though. Try searching for used conversions on the internet. I had no luck and found nothing but new conversions on ebay costing more then if you got them through Dillon.

Another cost is dies. Since owning Dillons I've learned that to be successful you need Dillon size dies. The problem I have with RCBS is the decapping pins keep coming loose.
Click to expand...

While I have used a lot of RCBS and Lyman dies in the past, I now am using Lee carbide dies exclusively. I have loaded tens of thousands of rounds on my Dillon press with the Lee dies, without difficilty. Only problem I ever had was breaking a decapping pin. That was my own stupidity. Small rock inside .45 case. Should have realized it was taking too much force and investigated. Also the Lee decap pin is held in by a collet that is supposed to be loose enough that excess force will push the pin up rather than breaking it.

Mine was much too tight. Replacement from Lee, $2.
 
I'm a longtime fan of the 310 Tool School of Reloading, and the Lee Hand Tool and 7/8" dies is a logical extension of 310 "Handloading."

Unfortunately, the Lee Hand Tool handles are not ergonomic for me, and I stopped using it the 80s and bought a Huntingdon "Compac" Hand Press:

compactool.gif


Sorry for the small image, but it was the only one I could find.
 
I retired my Lee single stage press and now use their Hand Press with a Lee hand prime tool exclusively. I love it. I wish I would have discovered it years ago.
 
I use a Lee hand loader to reload .45 & 9mm, I love it and have no problems. I'm not a competition shooter needing hundreds of rounds for the next match, I like to take my time and experiment with different loads so it works well for me. Got a C frame press to reload rifle but haven't done it yet.
 
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