* What to buy:

1. Deluxe APP - Includes shuttle mechanism for adding the universal case feeder. Std version you will be placing cases one by one otherwise. Lee # 90933
2. Universal case feeder - includes the 4 tube dispenser that attaches to the APP. Lee # 90242
3. Collator - get the one on eBay if you plan to use this for rifle cartridges. Made by American Accurate
This is the basic system to get you up and running.

* Lee APP and APP accessories instructions: https://leeprecision.com/instructions.html

* To order spare parts: https://leeprecision.com/deluxe-automatic-processing-press-app-parts/
Set up an account with Lee. They will honor the first item at no charge with up to 10 items per order. There is only a shipping charge. I just ordered 10 parts at one time. Any more than 10 PN's gets charged the listed price.  

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Setup the APP press this weekend and thought it would be good to get input from other folks on their experiences using it and capture it in a thread.  

So far I've used a Lee universal decapping die to get a feel for the press and decapped around 800 9mm and 500 40SW. I also have the Universal case feeder/collator added to the press. Initial setup was easier than anticipated.  



Ran the cases dirty to see how the press would handle them. With plenty of dirt on them and even some small rocks that would jam case in the feed tubes, the 9mm fed pretty good, but 40SW not so much. Learning a lot about removing cases that are nested (9mm+40SW) in the mechanism. Think I'll wash cases first before running them in the future to reduce stoppages and scratching of the plastic surfaces. The plastic components have a very limited actuation force applied by the spring mechanism which isn't always enough to overcome friction of the dirt and debris. Metal components using a cam mechanism instead of the spring would be ideal on this press for more reliable feeding, but I digress...    

Starting a list of tips and tricks to improve function of this press. Some from my limited experience with it and some from web posts and videos. Will add more T&T's as the learning continues...  

1. Wash cases to remove dirt before running through the press. Dirt causes the shuttle mechanism to bind more frequently. I wanted to see how dirt would effect the system and used some dirty 223 cases to discover this.    

2. Car wax on the slide rail helped reduce friction and smoothed out the mechanism. WD40, paste wax and graphite caused more binding in my experience. One source said to use mineral oil or silicon spray (haven't tried that yet). Edit: Tried mineral oil and it seems to work the best so far.

3. Added a sleeve of heat shrink tubing over the actuator spring, but didn't heat it. Using it to add some more rigidity to the spring because it would bend easily when any friction in the sliding mechanism was encountered. We don't want the spring too stiff because other things happen and the spring works like a fuse does in an electrical system. It folds in half before something breaks.

Edit: Adding a piece of thin coat hanger inside the spring seems to work the best. Without this I couldn't get 45acp to feed reliably. Length of wire needs to be exactly 3.750".
Discussed here: https://www.ar15.com/forums/Armory/Lee-APP-tips-and-tricks/42-510869/?page=2#i5427622

4. 40SW cases catch at the shell holder. The same shell holder is shared with 9mm. 9mm feed reliably for the most part. Solved!
Edited to remove what didn't work and provide step-by-step of what did work to get 40SW to feed as reliably as 9mm..

Case was not only catching, but also lifting off the feed ramp as it travels.


Used dremel tool with small diameter cutting wheel and small flat files to flare the lead in more on one side of the 9mm/40SW shell holder. I tried to just touch the top ridge but it kinda got away from me a couple times.

Before:


After:


Noticed the jaws had only 4 points of contact with the 9mm or 40SW case. Used a dremel stone sized larger than a 9mm case and smaller than a 40SW to slightly round out the inside of the jaws so it would have more contact with the case.


Before and after:


Modifying the jaws made the biggest difference in removing the stoppage with the 40SW. Once I removed the shim I had put under the shell holder to raise the shell holder height, it allowed for more play in the shell holder which is intended in the design according to Lee.

I tested the shell holder turned in both directions and found the modified end functioned better than the unmodified lead in.  

--Here is a link to a U-tube possible fix if you have a 3D printer. The earlier LEE presses (before Feb 2020) have X-PRESS shell holders that sit slightly above the slide rail and is what this guy is using. My press received 5/1 has the shell holder recessed slightly and the problem still existed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdfI9QXgBow

5. Adding 1/2" Pex tubing inserts to the top of the collator to prevent 9mm cases from entering the tubes base up. Haven't tried this yet, but its been discussed in a video as a fix. I get between 10-15 case inverted out of 1000 9mm. Since I do several calibers, adding the Pex sleeves would be more of a hassle to remove than just dealing with an inverted case when it comes up.

Edit: After using this collator for about 20k brass so far, it doesn't seem worthwhile to do this modification. It's easy enough to pull a case out of the jaws if its inverted and just throw it back in the collator.  

6. On the universal bench plate - using a couple thin washers to span the gap between the bottom of the press mounting bolts and the base plate mounted to the bench eliminated all flex of the press.
ETA: Made a storage rack to hold the APP when not in use. Laying the APP down with the case feeder attached seemed to get the shuttle mechanism out of alignment. With it stored upright, no bending of the plastic parts occurs.

Attached File

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7. Use coffee can lid to modify collator to work with 223 cases. @ 1:25 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCqUKxVXGsQ

Edit: I bought a new style collator off ebay and it works much better than the above. New Design American Accurate Collator for Lee PRO 1000 and Loadmaster Press
Review is here: https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Lee-APP-tips-and-tricks/42-510869/?r=5445115&page=3&anc=5445115#i5445115

ETA: The new black collator is good with rifle brass but not pistol brass. Too many pistol cases upside down compared to the red collator that Lee sells.

8. Reduced wobble in case feeder/collator by replacing short screw in center of lower rotating base with a longer screw with a washer.



9. Getting 7.62x39 cases to drop and slide to the shell holder properly. See post below.  https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Lee-APP-tips-and-tricks/42-510869/?page=1#i5410823

10. Less flex in the press if the die height is set so the press handle is parallel with the ground when bottomed out. If the handle goes further down the press has more flex to it.

11. Insert the bottle on the press to determine proper clearance before mounting press on bench. If the press is mounted too close to the bench the bottle may not fit.  



12. Add a rail to the front of the bench to hang Akro bins. Position a bin on the right side of the press to catch the cases. You can stack a 1" x 1/8" steel on top of a 1/2" x 1/8" steel flat bar to make the hanger. Recess the heads of the sheet rock screws and spray paint everything before mounting to the bench.  
 



13. Add roller handle to press.

The standard handle doesn't rotate and I was holding the handle with the metal arms between my 2cd and 3rd fingers. After sizing over a couple thousand cases in one sitting my hand would begin to get sore between those fingers.

Some people make their own or buy a Inline fabrication handle for $19 and make it work. I thought about making my own roller handle, but figured the time and effort wasn't worth it when you can buy one made for this press for only $25. It positions your hand between the metal arms and has no flex in that position. Its sturdier than I expected.  



14. Getting 223 to feed reliably.

Turn around the shell riser so the side with the plastic circle normally used for bullet sizing is being used to catch 223 cases when they drop. Use dikes to cut the circle to form a C and sand the inside edges that were snipped smooth.



A rapid motion with an abrupt stop at the end of each stroke seems to work the best.

Adjust the claws so when the case drops it cradles the base of the case. If too wide, the case falls out. If too close the case doesn't travel to the bottom.
For 223 the claws a slightly open as shown below.


The adjustment screw is at the rear of the carrier.  



It seems the one modification that was needed to get good feeding was to grind the claws to contact the 223 base without a gap. This was also necessary with 40SW and detailed in #4.



Here is a 7.62x39 case in the claws where you can see an imperfect fit. The case tends to lean forward when full contact is not achieved as shown here.



15. To adjust shuttle position to be directly under the the case falling from the feeder tube adjust the height of the die. The higher the die is set, the further to the left the shuttle will be located when the next case falls to the transfer bar. Screwing the die in further will move the shuttle to the right.

Die located where the handle is about level with the ground.


Die screwed down which raises the height of the handle and centers the dropping case to fall inside the open jaws.




16. Cases spilling out from the drop tube.

After not using the APP for a couple months and laying it down flat when not in use, I was having 223 cases feed several at a time from the tube. Never had this happen before.

I thought perhaps the plastic tubes were taking a bend because the unit had been laying on it's side, so I made a small shelf for the APP to be stored uppright. See #6 above.

Cases were coming off the top of the shuttle and not landing between the jaws. The case looked to be coming out at an angle and glancing off the front most jaw which started the avalanche of cases coming out of the feed tube.

I changed the shuttle mechanism out with a new one and the jaws open wider after that. Seems these shuttles have a lifespan. I had the other one adjusted to open the jaws fully even to the point of removing the plastic screw, but the jaws would only open partially and not enough to allow the next case to drop without hitting a jaw.

Looking from the side it appeared the case feeder was not perpendicular to the top of the shuttle mechanism. Then discovered the case feeder assembly was not plumb, so I got out a level to check why it was off.

Attached File

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I had put a washer under the plate the APP is attached to remove any flex when using the press, but I removed it and that helped level the shuttle somewhat, but the mounting plate still isn't level.

Attached File


The tubes on the feeder were still not plumb as you can see in the picture below.
Attached File


I bent the top portion of the bolt slightly that holds the feeder to the APP to bring the tubes closer to plumb. The unintended consequence of this is the cases are not dropping in the center of the shuttle because of the offset this created. This is set up for 223 and the height causes a larger offset than with a shorter case. It would really be best to have 2 bolts holding the case feeder mechanism to the APP frame so the alignment isn't solely depending on this one bolt. Anytime I change cartridges it has to be realigned again and it's not process I want to deal with long term.

Attached File


Recap:
1. Plumb the case feeder and make sure it's perpendicular to the top of the shuttle.
2. Change out the shuttle if the jaws aren't opening wide enough to allow the next case to drop in.

When I get some time I'll put more effort into this, but for now this is working good enough.

Edit to add:
Numerous times a case flings into the finished case bin that have not been processed. To manage this I now only process one tube worth of cases before emptying the bin. It limits the number of repeats that have to be done because I can't be sure of which case was missed.

17. Bulge busting on APP

Always FL size the case first and BB after that. It's the method Lee recommended when I passed emails with their CS folk. I just leave the lube on the case from when they were sized and that's about all that's needed.

40SW and 45acp
Using the APP bulge bust kit and a Lee FCD is all you need. What's nice is the case can have the base up or down as it drops from the tube and the push rod is just long enough to clear it through the die...most of the time. If not, the next case clears the previous case from the die.

9mm

The punch used in the 308 bullet sizing kit is needed along with a Mak FCD. This punch is small enough to fit inside the mouth of the 9mm so the brass can be run through the FCD either base up or down so the case feeder can be used like normal. The punch is the same length as the punch from the APP BB kit and pushes the case clear of the die most times.

Use the 380 bushing supplied with the APP BB kit to span the gap to the die works with 9mm cases.  

380

The 308 punch should work for this caliber as well, but I haven't tried it to confirm.

556/223

Sizing die bought from LG Outdoors: https://www.lg-outdoors.com/Product/Details/5814886?fs=1

Just received a custom punch made for this purpose by someone I connected with on the metal working forum here. Used the 380 collet that came with the APP bulge bust kit.

https://youtube.com/shorts/XB7rl5BAefI

Left - Punch from 308 bullet sizing kit / Second from left - APP bulge bust kit punch

Third from left - came with LG Outdoor case head sizing die / Right side - custom made punch 1 3/4" long. Same diameter as LGO punch.

Attached File


18. Swaging primer pockets

If you have cases sticking on the lower swage head in the Lee APP swage kit. Loosen (screw out) a quarter turn at a time until you get proper release. At this point double check with a go/no-go gauge or by priming a few cases and then removing the primer. You should have arrived at the proper adjustment for the swage head. Just be aware that the downforce required may be lighter than expected.

19. Extending the handle

There's not a lot of leverage with the APP handle and many times I find myself using two hands to minimize hand strain when sizing and bulge busting. dryflash made this mod to his APP for sizing 357 cases one handed.




Good job with this thread, I'm going to set the Archive toggle to keep it out of the Archives.
Any time OP is in the Reloading Forum he can click on the MY TOPICS button and this thread will be there. No searching for the OP.
Everyone else set your bookmarks. dryflash3

If using this to swage .223, having the bench level makes a difference. You must decap using the decapping pin that came with the swage set as it slightly opens the neck. Even so, if the bench is not level, the pin that pushes the case down on the staging button will hang up. Often. It's a pain and almost caused me to return it. A couple of flat washers took care of it.

You can add extensions to the feed tubes doubling their capacity with some masking tape. Makes the assembly about eye level on my set up. Works great and I can get about 19 .223 cases in each tube without it turning into a Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I am subscribing. Just got my APP yesterday.

Thing to note, Sizing 22 cal bullets is not easy on this thing. Barely faster than normal sizing, if not slower due to the malfunctions.

First modification I have made was to open the 22 cal hole in the tube holder thing up so that .230" presized bullets can actually pass through into the jaws with a 1/4" drill bit.

My next mod will be to fabricate a bracket that closes the jaws to about 90% as they come under the tube. When the jaws are wide open, the bullets fall onto the slider and fall over. But, if I hold the jaws closed almost all the way with my fingers, the bullets can't fall over and it works fine from there.

I have not tried sizing any other bullets yet. I am hoping I wont have similar problems.

My contribution to the thread....

I'm solely using mine for processing 223 brass so far, and have been pretty successful after a couple mods. Will attempt 308 eventually.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Dedicated-Brass-Processor-from-Lee/42-504857/&page=4

I’m using mine quite a bit for depriming 9mm and 223.

Like any press, there is a rhythm that has to be acquired.

I sort brass then put handfuls in the collater.  Over filling then collater will result in more upside down cases.

Dirt will build up, but I used a compressor to get dust off the rails and add spray dry lubricant.  CLP tends to gum it up.

I love this little thing for depriming.

Thanks to all for your input so far. This little press seems to have a lot of potential.

Added #8 to original post. Small change of adding a longer screw and washer made a noticeable difference to the rigidity of the case feeder. Now it doesn't lean and flop around so much when filled with cases.

Still struggling with getting 40SW to feed to the shell holder. Used the dremel to open up the lead in on one side of the shell holder and polished it with a wire wheel, but it made no improvement in function. Still catching somewhere...  

Ran about 100 40SW through a carbide sizing die w/o using any case lube. The press didn't struggle in the sizing operation, just feeding. 40SW feed seems to be a known issue with the press. Even with having to touch each case to get it to center, its much faster that with a single stage.  

I've got about 4k clean decapped 9mm I'm going to size with a carbide U-die next. I'll time the process to get some throughput numbers and post them up.

Great thread man! The APP has caught my attention because i think it would help really speed up resizing cast bullets.

I just need to find the Collator/tubing/ rotating unit at a decent price before i plunge into buying yet ANOTHER reloading press.

There is a  screw at the back of the slider mechanism to adjust the jaw opening. See page 4 of the APP manual. I've been able to adjust the screw so the jaws don't open at all. Not sure if you already installed the 22cal jaws on the slider. Please disregard if you already tried these.

@Blowout

Thank you so much. I haven't had much time to do anything with this press, much less get past the initial set up instructions.

But, you just saved me time and effort! I adjusted that screw. Jaws close to about 90%. Had 2 malfunctions in about 60 or 70 bullets. I think the hole in the tube holder thing is still just a bit small. May need to open it up just a tad more.

Again, thank you. That's what these threads are for!

I found some 9/16" OD rigid thin wall tubing in 36" lengths at an aquarium supply store for $5ea. Currently on back order so I'll have to wait before extending the tubes. Great idea!  

Tonight I sized 430 40SW cases through the APP with RCBS carbide die in 18 minutes before there was a stoppage at the feed tube. I set a stop watch and didn't really try to go fast. Once it gets going its kinda hypnotizing and you just keep going faster until a hiccup occurs. Much better after modification #4 in the first post. Sizing 24 cases/minute includes the time to feed cases into the collator.  

There were still a few (3-4) double feeds I had to deal with, but to size that many cases in such a short time was pretty amazing to me after using a single stage for so long.

Glad it worked out for you!

I  have afew misfeeds when the feed tubes got almost empty on 223 cases and have resized 223 and 300bo cases lubed with homemade spray and i worked great but i am  having  trouble with sizing 30 cal. Boolits .they are nose first and there a slot under the slider that the spring attaches to and the Boolit point gets hung in it and gets jammed.

Just sized 2000 9mm using a U-die tonight. The first 1000 took 29:00min. This includes time to fill the collator and deal with any hiccups. Second 1000 took about the same at 28min:40sec.

Did have a about 4-5 double feeds out of 2000 cases.  

Used lanolin + alcohol lube before sizing and there is hardly and effort required to pull the handle. 9mm cases run through this contraption nearly 100% reliably.    

One thing that would be nice is a roller handle. Wouldn't be very difficult to make one to fit.

Lee already has a roller handle. It is not available yet.

https://leeprecision.com/app-roller-handle-upgrade-kit.html

Thanks for pointing this out and the link! That's definitely going on my list of must have's.

Just did a short run of bulge busting for the first time with 40SW. Feeding them mouth down was slower than feeding base first. The cases tend to want to flip base first because of the weight. Case mouth first also eliminates the benefit of the collator. All cases have to be hand fed if they go mouth down.  

After using lanolin/alcohol lube they size so easily I don't believe it will damage the cases being fed this way. I full length size first which helps a lot.



I know this is backwards from what Lee recommends so I sent them the information to get their input.

Response from Lee tech support:

Andy @ Lee Precision
Staff - 05/15/2020 12:35 pm

The secret is the full length sizing and lube.  Without it, the press would be damaged trying to push those through.

Sincerely,

Andy

Lee Precision, Inc.
4275 County Road U
Hartford, WI 53027

@lokifox

Thanks for providing this input! I just got around to decapping 223 and the cases were tipping over and launching across the room before cutting the ring per your picture below. Still getting a few misfeeds, but its much less frequent with this adjustment.

Attached File

the pointed 30 cal boolit sizing nose down feeding problem i was having is that there is a slot on the rail of the APP that operates the jaw opening and closing and when the handle is lowered all the way down the slider moves too far back and exposes the slot and the pointed boolits get caught in it. my redneck fix was a clotheshanger wire stop attached to the bottom of the slider arm to stop the feeder/slider from going too far left and it works great. now i can size my LEE .310 160gr. boolits for my 300BO and im happy.

Used a Lyman M die on the APP to expand the necks to load frangible 223 bullets. Saved a lot of time over using the rock chucker.

I might just leave this M die set up with the 223 mandrel and buy another die body for other calibers. I'm pulling the expander ball out of the sizing die now I've tried an M die.  



I might try to find slightly smaller tubes to fit inside the current tubes on the feeder. With the stock tubes the 223 cases tilt just enough so they occasionally drop from the transfer bar at an odd angle and launch out of the jaws.

I sized about 2,200 9mm cases with a U die on the APP. The X-press shell holders sit the case deeper than a standard shell holder and the case doesn't get sized at the base of the case.

I'm using a Makarov FCD in the APP with the bulge bust kit to size at the 9mm base. It seems to take forever to hand load cases mouth down in the 4 tube case feeder. I'm trying to source another ram pin for the bulge buster kit from Lee. I'll turn its diameter down so that it will fit inside a 9mm case in order to push the case through the die base down. I'll keep the ram pin I have for 40SW and 45acp.

I've got about 6,600 9mm case ahead of me to prep.

Edit: Lee responded that the carbide insert of the Makarov FCD will split if used to bulge bust 9mm. Read a few posts about this too.

Lee also responded that 380 needs to be fed mouth first which essentially means you have to hand load the tubes mouth down. They don't sell the ram separately.

"Cases need to be feed case mouth first, into the  carbide factory crimp die.  We do not sell the push rod separately, it is part of the kit, 91572.

Sincerely,
Andy "

I'll try shaving down the height of the Xpress shell holder to get the sizing die further down the case.

After you hand feed cases in that single tube for a night, you might convince yourself to get these for it: 90242 and 90667. It works pretty good for such a simple design.
https://www.titanreloading.com/lee-universal-case-feeder?search=90242
https://www.budgetshootersupply.ca/product/lee-case-collator-funnel/

I forgot the roller handle was now available... I just placed an order for one too.

Just add these bushing adapters and use std dies: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012825974

Got a feeling you'll find some other uses for it once you add the case feeder.  

If you have an electric case feeder you can also so the following....




Much more expensive than the manual case feeder but well worth it imo.



A dillon 750 paired with a lee app is a great combo.

The deluxe APP has a single tube feed. You need that to get the feed ramp mechanism. Then add 90242 and 90667 to get the rotary 4 tube mechanism and funnel.

I just resized about 2200 9mm tonight with a Lee U die in under 2 hrs. I did a short video to show how fast this press can size when dialed in. With the rock chucker it would have probably taken me 10+ times as long.

 

Edit: Looks like you figured it out. I was messing with the utube app to figure out how to post this video. Glad to help...

Thanks so much for sharing that video!! Im sold.

If I had a Dillon, I would definitely pair their case feeder with the APP for 223 or other rifle cases. If your only doing short pistol cases I'm not sure it would be worth the effort if you have the 4 tube case feeder already.

I always lube the cases first before sizing on the APP. The press is pretty lightweight and lubing reduces the force required. Not sure how many lube cases first using a Dillon case feeder and if it would gum it up any. Maybe I'm over thinking it... I tend to do that.  

I haven't tried the APP with rimmed cases like 38spc yet. That's on my short list of cases to try next.

7.62x39 brass have been the most troublesome to get to function in the APP so far.

Some of the issue is the brass itself. The rim is oversized and won't fit in the #12 shell holder meant for this cartridge in some instances (~5%). Some are expanded at the base just above the rim which increases the likelihood of them sticking in the feeder tube assembly. There are also some primers protruding and or cratered. I bought 750 once fired cases at only 10 cents each and want to decap them with the APP before wet tumbling.  

1. First thing I noticed is that most of the cases would not reliably fit through the base of the case feeder assembly that connects to the upper rotating 4 tube assembly. The cases are just too fat and get stuck.





There are 2 ways to mount this base to the APP. Mounting in one direction, the clear plastic tube aligns with the smaller hole for the cases to drop through. When mounted 180 degrees, a larger hole is used. The large hole has a small piece of plastic that slides in to completely bock it when using the small side. There is nothing to block the small hole when using the large side. I suppose it's expected a larger case will not start down the small side when its used. I tried mounting with the larger hole and soon discovered the case was small enough to drop into the small hole and block the rotation of the mechanism.

So I opened up the small hole slightly with some 400grit emory wrapped around a bolt. Made the through hole just big enough to get the cases to drop through. I still need to open the small side up some more as the cases were still getting stuck occasionally.  



Edit: opened up the passage more with some 150gr sandpaper and followed up with 400gr. Picked one of the more expanded diameter cases to use to judge the amount of sanding needed to get it to pass through easily. After that cases aren't catching up anymore.

2. Just like the 40SW cases, the X39 are tipping as they reach the shell holder. I opened up the channel slightly in the shell hold as was done with the 40SW and described in the OP. I also polished the areas after grinding with the 400grit emory paper.

What I learned from getting the 223 case to function is that the shell holder needs to be loose in the base that holds it. The shell holder for the X39 case fit much tighter than the 3 other shell holders that came with the press. I discovered this one was not machined as deep on the underside where the spring loaded detent pin indexes and holds the shell holder in place.

With the shell holder being hardened steel, I had to break through the case hardening with a masonry drill bit first before making any progress with a HS drill and grinding.

Left is the 9mm shell holder that allows cases to feed correctly. On the right is the X39 shell holder. As you can see, the left is machined deeper and wider. I still need to work this deeper, but it did have make a noticeable effect to feeding after it was drilled out some.



After some drilling and grinding.



Edit: Used a conical grinding stone in the drill press and went a little deeper. Since the hardened layer was cut through previously it went very quickly. Video at the end of this post shows how much wiggle the shell holder needs to function properly with this press.  

3. Issue with the primer slightly out or cratered. This shell holder doesn't have a channel machined down the middle like the others to handle this type of issue. I'm thinking the flat bottom on this shell holder also doesn't allow as much room for the cases to tilt and contributes to the feeding issue. I polished the flat section to help minimize sticking and remove some of the machining marks.

4. The plastic jaws don't have full contact around the case. This we know contributes to the case tilting. I did a little forming of the jaws with a grinding stone, but I'm kinda afraid of making too much adjustment for this cartridge because the 223, 9mm and 40SW function so well with how the jaws are formed now.

There is a free program for 3D printing a new set of jaws, but I don't have a 3D printer. I wasn't planning on getting one either, so I'm still scratching my head on this one. I'll reach out to Lee to see if they will sell the jaws separately.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4257106

I'll keep editing this post until I can get the X39 case feeding properly...

Edit: have it running much smoother now. I think I can live with it. I don't load X39 as much as other cases and for decapping its good enough.

This video shows how much wiggle is necessary with the shell holder for it to function properly in the press. I may have just got a shell holder that wasn't machined properly, but it works now.  

I kind of want an APP just to decap and swage with. How is the swaging 5.56 going for everyone? I saw on the OG thread someone had modified the rod with goes into the case, as apparently Lee wants to to bell the case neck. No way I am wasting time and neck tension doing that. Has Lee changed that design at all?

Haven't tried to swage so unfortunately I can't provide any hands on feedback for those... I've read that it does slightly expand the case neck.

I ream the primer pocket with an RCBS tool and its pretty fast so I'm not planning to go down the swage path.

@monkeypunch

I tried swaging 5.56 cases without much luck. I have one of the primer pocket go-no go gauges from Ballistic Tools and many if not most would not pass after swaging. Also seems to put a lot of stress on the press. I have some crimped 9mm brass that I will try the swage die on at some point.

Still trying to get everything dialed in for smooth operation. Just found this thread and will try some of these tips. Been decapping and then resizing 5.56 brass using the collator. One issue I am having is that the brass will sometimes fall over causing 2 or more cases to fall through. Found that one of the smaller tubes in the collator kit will fit inside the case feeder hole. Cut a short section and stuck it in the hole which causes the 5.56 cases to not tilt as much and this reduces  cases falling over and double feeds. Am going try modifying the riser as shown in a photo in this thread to see if that helps. I may also need to adjust the jaws closer together. Still, even with the issues I am having, it is much faster than using a single stage press so I am happy with it. If I can get it dialed in a little better it will be awesome.

I see that OP added a sleeve of heat shrink tubing over the actuator spring to stop the spring from collapsing. I was having this happen a lot at first, so I cut a piece of a coat hanger wire and inserted it into the spring. That solved the issue and has been working well for a while now. Was also having an issue with the shuttle not traveling all the way forward which caused the case to not be in the right position. Tried using graphite on the slider which only made a mess on the floor. Will get some mineral oil and try that. I thought maybe the spring was a hair too long so I shimmed it at the top with a piece of wood. It seems to be working better now. Part of it may just be technique. Seems that you have to get the right rythm going for things to work smoothly.

Anyway, I'm glad I found this thread. There is a lot of useful info here. I will keep checking back and will try some more of these tips. Thanks OP!

To my knowledge it hasn't been fixed.

My mods from the old thread have been holding up well.

I'm thousands of 223 cases and several hundred 308 cases deep in swaging. Getting the feeder to work with 308 took some tinkering. I will post up results eventually.

Added #11 to OP as mounting instructions.  

Just received and mounted the roller handle on my press yesterday. Like the way it feels. With the old handle I would hold the metal armature between my 2cd and 3rd fingers which wasn't very comfortable.

I'll add the roller handle to the OP as #12 #13.

@montyw42
I added #14 to the OP for 223 that may help.

For me one of the most important modifications was to grind the claws to have good contact with the base of the shell. I used a circular grinding stone in a dremel tool. Once this was done, the case didn't lean forward while moving in the shuttle mechanism. If it's leaning forward, it doesn't align with the shell holder and you get a stoppage.

I'd found a program for a 3D printer to print new claws, but I would have to buy a printer. I can't see buying one just to print the claws for different calibers. Lee sells the case inserter assembly for $10. https://leeprecision.com/app-case-inserter-assembly.html
I'm going to order a few to have around and modify to fit a particular case size.

The shell holder needs to fit very loosely in the base. If its too tight the cases lean forward as it contacts the base of the shell holder and won't insert completely to the center position. The shell holder being loose seems to function as a misalignment feature with this press. I initially tried to tighten the shell holder up and it seemed to make case feeding worse. Then read that Lee says the shell holder needs to move freely.  

I also tried graphite and it made the shuttle stick more. Mineral oil seems to work the best so far.

Edit: When I ordered 3 of the inserter assemblies they only charged for 2 and the third was free. Shipping was almost $10 so I guess you can say shipping free if you buy 3?

I recently purchased the APP and have decapped and decrimped about 2000 filthy pieces of 556 LC brass.

Ran it right out of the box. The carrier track eventually got dirty enough that it was hanging up.

Overall I love it. I did however bend the decapping rod in the APP kit.

Which leads me to what I don't like and it's not related to the APP at all.

Lee is the only place with the flare/decap rod right now and they wanted nearly $25 to ship 5 pins to me.

10mm should be the same as 40S&W to get to function. See #4 in the OP.

Getting the jaws of the case inserter assembly to contact the circumference of the case as shown in the pic was one of the biggest improvements to proper feeding.

Are you using a Lee universal decapper? I replaced the Lee rod/pin with one of these: https://www.squirreldaddy.com/Decapping-pin-s/336.htm They are hardened steel. So far I've decapped at least 6 thousand cases with one and no issues.

I have both the universal and the decap/flare die that came with the APP decrimping tool.

The decap/flare one is nice as it will round the case mouth if it is out of round and makes it easier to run through the decrimping process on the app.

Ahh, gotcha. I don't have the swage kit and not personally familiar with all the components included.

What's odd is that the Lee website indicates a 22 and 30cal decap and flare die included in the swage kit, but I don't see it in the product breakdown photo or instructions. https://leeprecision.com/app-swage-kit.html  
https://leeprecision.com/files/instruct/4410_2021.pdf

Seems the process is decap/flare first and then set up to swage on the second time through the press. Instructions don't cover the decap/flare step or that die.  

What am I missing?

Not sure why some folks have complained the flare would screw up the neck tension since the case still needs to be sized after decapping. Any flare would be removed and neck tension would be reset by the sizing die.

I opened up the lead in on one side of the shell holder with a dremel tool with a cutoff disc. A smaller diameter disc seemed to work best to flare the lead in.

The shell holder also needs to fit loosely in the base to allow for some misalignment correction as the base contacts the shell holder. At first I tried to shim the shell holder so it wouldn't move freely and discovered that was the opposite of what is needed for smooth case feeding.

The spring limits the amount of force available to insert the case. Adding the shrink tubing to the spring increases the force slightly but not enough to break something if a hard stop jamb occurs. Haven't tried to insert a piece of coat hanger as another post indicated. Not sure what the effect would be on a hard stop jamb. Might spend more time straightening the wire than just tapping the carrier forward like your doing now.

You can also try some mineral oil on the slider mechanism. It helps... other lubricators I've tried made things worse.

Yeah that is not the swage kit I received with mine. Which when I look up the part no it takes me to the one you posted, looks like a new version.

Once I used a round grinding stone on the shuttle jaws, the case was held more secure when it travels through the shell holder. Otherwise the jaws only contact 4 small points on the case and allows it to tip and bind in the shell holder.  

Once the jaws went from this:


To this:


The cases fed much more smoothly and I didn't have to touch the shuttle for them to index to center in the shell holder.

I found the travel of the handle needs to be abrupt at the end of motion. Seems the added vibration in the mechanism helps bump the shuttle to center.

I was having the same issue. It was almost as if the spring did not have enough tension to pull the shuttle in that last bit. I put a piece of wood on the upper part of the spring to shim it and put a little more pressure on the spring.

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This along with the coat hanger wire inside the spring and an abrupt movement at the end seemed to solve the issue. Have not had any problem with the coat hanger bending and still have not gotten any mineral oil so have not tried that yet, but  have not needed it after making these changes. Also have not had to modify the jaws or shell holder yet.