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Everyone that has one seems to love it.

I have a question about it. When I loaded at Dad's I found this tool the easiest thing in the world to use.
Mine? It takes a lot of effort to get the primer to fully seat. Is this normal?
I should add that hand strength isn't my forte', but since I didn't have trouble with Dad's I'm curious. (Dad has the same tool, just older.)

Does this particular tool simply require a bit of use before loosening up, or might I have a bad one? I'm wondering if I should contact the manufacturer (Lee).
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I don't know anything about the Lee autoloader. Mine is in the Rock Chucker press. Take it to your dads and see what he thinks.

Dan

Does it cycle without effort when you are not seating a primer? If not then you probably have a linkage issue. I have a couple of them and I do not see how they could require a break-in period.

Houston1944 wrote:Does it cycle without effort when you are not seating a primer?

Are you talking about it cycling through the gun or through the auto-prime's shell holder?
I can usually take it out of the shell holder fine, but if I don't really squeeze the handle, the primer sticks out a bit.

I got mine a couple of weeks ago and when I sat down to use the first time it seemed to be hard to seat a primer every so often. After the first 100 it smoothed out and got a lot easier to pull. I assumed it had a burr on the case holder somewhere or something. Might try squeezing it a few time with just the holder in it and see what it does. I would think the primmer and type of brass would also make a difference.

I was asking if it the piston and linkage move freely when pushing the handle with no primers loaded. It could be the cam portion of the linkage has a burr or is just defective.

If you want a better mousetrap I would recommed the RCBS hand primer. It is easier for me than the Lee. With the Lee primer you are pushing mostly with you thumb. The RCBS primer allows you to use a full hand grip to push the primer.

VP

The Lee auto prime is a great little machine I've worn one slap out. Some things to look at - - - 1. Put a small dab of grease on all the moving parts that don't come into contact with the primers Vaseline or candle wax will do fine for this. 2. Be sure your primer pockets are clean it helps to take the Lee chamfer tool and cut a slight bevel on the primer pocket. 3. If you are using military brass the primer pockets are crimped and the resulting burr MUST be removed. 4. Some brands of brass have primer pockets that are a tiny bit small S&B is the most notable but others like AMERC have been shown to exhibit this same trait. 5. "Wriggle" the shell a little just before squeezing the handle.

Then, sometimes, you may need to squeeze the lever with two hands.

Thanks guys.

MoJo, I'm thinking after reading your post in particular that it's one of three things: 1) it's a new tool, 2) it needed more grease (I added lubricant to the internal parts), or 3) primer pockets were dirty.

I primed about 200 this evening, and lubricating helped a bit.