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Posted: 11/2/2008 8:19:33 PM EDT
| I broke my damn Lee challenger press for the 2nd time tonight decapping .223 brass. God damn metal bracket that holds the handle broke(both pieces). Shopping for a RCBS Rock chucker. I'm still going to call Lee tomorrow and see if they will replace the parts. I'll probably just set it up for seating and neck sizing. Real pain in the ass though. Just though I'd bitch about it here. |
| How much pressure are you putting on that thing? I have a Challenger that I bought back in '85. I have formed brass from on caliber to a different cliber with it and it is still going strong. It sounds to me that you are not seting your dies correctly and making up for it with more pressure on the handle or not using enough lube. |
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I like Lee hand presses... I think I might grab one to take to the range with a powder dispenser for on the spot reloading. I use one for brass prep. Plop down in front of the TV and decap and bell, then prime. Later, when i have time, all I do is charge the case and seat the bullet with no distractions. |
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Wait. So are you saying you broke the press 2 times tonight? If so, I think there is something wrong. [>:/]
Or was this the second time that it has broken since you bought it? Either way, how come the fix for it the first time won't work this time? If you happened to buy the press from Midway, you should contact them as well. They seem pretty good at making things right when the manufacturer wont. At the very least, you might get store credit from them to use towards your next press. 
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I have used my Challenger to reload for20 years and it works great. I can't imagine how much force you are applying to break the linkage.
You can either go out and spend four times as much and get a press four times as big, or take some time to figure out why you seem to need to use so much force. Sizing .223 brass should not take that much force to be breaking linkage. The Challenger press is plenty strong enough to size any rifle brass the proper way. |
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I broke my damn Lee challenger press for the 2nd time tonight decapping .223 brass. God damn metal bracket that holds the handle broke(both pieces). Shopping for a RCBS Rock chucker. I'm still going to call Lee tomorrow and see if they will replace the parts. I'll probably just set it up for seating and neck sizing. Real pain in the ass though. Just though I'd bitch about it here. I use a Lee universal decapper on all my .223's and when I get a crimped primer I use a hard rubber faced hammer to hit the top of die and use medium pressure on the press handle. If I was a young man I would buy RCBS Rock chucker that's a press you buy one in a life time, but you can break them with over pressuring the press handle. Mike |
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I bought the Lee Classic Cast press and do not have any trouble loading .223, .308 or even .30-06. Keep the dies and brass clean and well lubed.
I will say thats its easier with the press and board clamped to my workbench vs... the portable Workmate bench that I use for the TV room (man cave) reloading sessions during the football games. I had a Rockchucker years ago and its a very well made press too.... Also, Lee customer service is 2nd to none. I had to call them today for a lever on the Auto prime that I broke over the weekend. Somehow, 1 piece didnt get the primer pocket swaged and I forced the issue, resulted in a broken lever. They said no problem, and will send a replacement out in the mail. 
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I broke my damn Lee challenger press for the 2nd time tonight decapping .223 brass. God damn metal bracket that holds the handle broke(both pieces). Shopping for a RCBS Rock chucker. I'm still going to call Lee tomorrow and see if they will replace the parts. I'll probably just set it up for seating and neck sizing. Real pain in the ass though. Just though I'd bitch about it here. Lee has upgraded components that replace the old cast junk with steel parts. Costs about $14 for all the parts. E-mail Lee, they will give you the list. |
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I broke my damn Lee challenger press for the 2nd time tonight decapping .223 brass. God damn metal bracket that holds the handle broke(both pieces). Shopping for a RCBS Rock chucker. I'm still going to call Lee tomorrow and see if they will replace the parts. I'll probably just set it up for seating and neck sizing. Real pain in the ass though. Just though I'd bitch about it here. Lee has upgraded components that replace the old cast junk with steel parts. Costs about $14 for all the parts. E-mail Lee, they will give you the list. Yep. The die cast connecting links on the Challenger Press, Progressive 1000 and the Turret Press have been re designed and are now a one piece steel construction. The connecting links are installed exactly the same as the die cast links, however, there is now a top and bottom to the connecting link.
When you install it be sure to install the short legs to the press and the long legs to the toggle. If the link is installed up-side-down, it will prevent full travel of the ram. Return the broken parts to the factory for free replacement, or order one part #TP2129 (steel connecting link, $5.00), and two part #TP2118 (shoulder bolt, $1.00 each). It is in the FAQs at http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/faq/index.cgi |
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Quoted:
I broke my damn Lee challenger press for the 2nd time tonight decapping .223 brass. God damn metal bracket that holds the handle broke(both pieces). Shopping for a RCBS Rock chucker. I'm still going to call Lee tomorrow and see if they will replace the parts. I'll probably just set it up for seating and neck sizing. Real pain in the ass though. Just though I'd bitch about it here. I like most of the Lee products and still use most of the stuff I bought ten years ago, but thought the Challenger press was a little light weight for most rifle work. I found a Rock Chucker on e-bay for a good price and never looked back. I use the RC for resizing most rifle cases and larger pistol cases. I still use the Lee for most of my pistol work and seating bullets in everything because the light weight and shorter throw works better for this then the RC. |
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