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Posted: 8/31/2009 12:30:03 PM EDT
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My Lee Hand Primer lever just broke on me today. Since the lever is made out of Pot Metal. I want to purchase a new primer tool, with a little better
quality put into. Would like everyones input on what is the best. And if possible will any of the priming tools mout there work with the Lee priming tool shell holder. Thanks in Advance. |
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Quoted: My Lee Hand Primer lever just broke on me today. Since the lever is made out of Pot Metal. I want to purchase a new primer tool, with a little better quality put into. Would like everyones input on what is the best. The RCBS Universal Hand Priming tool is rock solid, and you would be happy with it. Keep in mind that any brand can break, but if I had to replace one, I would choose the RCBS Universal every time. |
| The problem is hand priming, get a Lee Safety Prime system and do it on the press.... well this requires a Lee press of course but works excellent. I prep the brass and get it all ready to go then priming is my first step in loading, just another small step in the turret press sequence. |
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Quoted:
The problem is hand priming, get a Lee Safety Prime system and do it on the press.... well this requires a Lee press of course but works excellent. I prep the brass and get it all ready to go then priming is my first step in loading, just another small step in the turret press sequence. this is good for pistol rounds which I do on my lnl ap but not so much so for rifle rounds. I use the lee hand primer on my rifle cases and store them primed. This makes it real easy to tell which ones are trimmed and ready to go. The lee hand primer is cheap but it works. Like hand tools craftsman are great for weekend use but show me a pro that uses them everyday. The lee is designed for the guy who makes 2k rounds a year not the guy that makes 2k per day. Buy to your level the more you make the more you have to pay. |
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Quoted:
I was reading the reviews on the RCBS primer tool. It mentioned something about APS strips? There's a very good review of everything APS on Realguns.com. APS primer systems come in 4 flavors. Built-in (as on the RCBS Pro-2000 progressive), Press mounted, bench mounted, and the APS version of the RCBS hand primer tool. There's a lot of misinformation out there about the system. In my opinion it's a God send. I don't have any problems at all with it, that isn't a ridiculously easy fix. (any fix I found was to me...not the system.) Here's the review: http://www.realguns.com/Commentary/comar76.htm |
| I have the RCBS APS hand priming tool. I really like it a lot, although I also have the APS strip loader. I don't think it would be worth it without the strip loading tool, unless you have a store nearby that sells primers in the APS strips. It can be pricey to get both (i got a good deal used on both), but the setup works really smoothly. It has a universal shellholder so you don't need to switch them out. It works well, occasionally the primer hole will be a little off center, but if you rotate the case a little while applying a little pressure it usually slides right in. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
My Lee Hand Primer lever just broke on me today. Since the lever is made out of Pot Metal. I want to purchase a new primer tool, with a little better quality put into. Would like everyone's input on what is the best. The RCBS Universal Hand Priming tool is rock solid, and you would be happy with it. Keep in mind that any brand can break, but if I had to replace one, I would choose the RCBS Universal every time. The first reply hit the nail on the head, I also replaced my Lee Hand primer with a RCBS universal hand primer and couldn't be happier. I would be hard pressed to say it's one of the best hand primers you can buy unless you want to shell out the $ for a Sinclair hand primer. You cant go wrong with anything RCBS makes but the universal feature works great and no more need for shell holders, it perfectly centres the case every time and the quality can be felt as soon as you pick it up compared to a Lee hand primer. I say this and my Lee hand primer never broke or failed to work, the soft metal the linkage is made from did flatten out a spot on the big rounded end though and it lost it's feel for a smooth primer seat, but still worked none the less. Get the RCBS and don't look back... EWP |
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I certainly wouldn't recommend the RCBS hand priming tool that I have. I don't think it's the universal one since it uses the RCBS shell holders. You have to take the thing apart in order to change the shell holder. You can't get the shell holder out until it's in pieces. A real problem if you reloading cases that have been swagged. One under sized case and a half set primer and you have a mess on your hands (yes it happened to me). Very poor design IMO.
My old Lee loader (20 years old) works much better. |
| I had the RCBS hand tool and it wouldn't seat the primers deap enough. I use the RCBS bench mounted press and love it, very fast and heavy duty. I zip tied a couple rubber bands to the primer tubes and hook them under the priming arm to apply downward pressure to the tubes. This and polishing the detent ball that holds the next primer in place made the tool as fast as I dare run it, no problems. |
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Quoted:
After going through 3 $2 replacement parts in 1500 rds with my Lee, I dropped the extra $$ and picked up the RCBS. Wish I would have done that many thousands of primers ago. No more sore thumb! Something is WRONG if you've broken that many levers. Are you using CCI primers by any chance? Because for me.....they just feel harder to seat. Try a different brand and they may seat easier for you, with less chance for breakage. Then again, it could also have something to do with your method of dealing with primer pocket crimps. I've found that reaming gives me consistent results without having to make adjustments (using the swage method). IMHO........the pot metal and breakage might just be a part of the "safety design." So that you don't overstress the tool. You know........forcing a primer when something else is wrong and "bang." Aloha, Mark |
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I was reading the reviews on the RCBS primer tool. It mentioned something about APS strips? RCBS sells three hand priming tools. One uses APS strips; I don't know which shell holder this one uses without looking. One has a universal shell holder. One uses conventional shell holders. The trick with the priming tool that uses conventional shell holders is to hold the handle down while changing the shell holder. Otherwise the actuator arm that pushes the primer seater pin gets unseated and is a pain in the neck to get back over center. It's not hard, it is aggravating. |
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I can't believe no one has mentioned the Sinclair Priming Tool. If you want a reliable priming tool that uses LEE shell holders, this is THE ONE. It is expensive but it will never let you down. Using it is almost as good as having sex (not really, but you get the idea). You'll understand the validity of this comment better after you use one.
Oops, did a page search and it was mentioned by EWP and Beekeeper. Even they agree it's the best. |
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Quoted:
I can't believe no one has mentioned the Sinclair Priming Tool. If you want a reliable priming tool that uses LEE shell holders, this is THE ONE. It is expensive but it will never let you down. Using it is almost as good as having sex (not really, but you get the idea). You'll understand the validity of this comment better after you use one. Oops, did a page search and it was mentioned by EWP and Beekeeper. Even they agree it's the best. For $110 it better work great... |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I was reading the reviews on the RCBS primer tool. It mentioned something about APS strips? RCBS sells three hand priming tools. One uses APS strips; I don't know which shell holder this one uses without looking. One has a universal shell holder. One uses conventional shell holders. The trick with the priming tool that uses conventional shell holders is to hold the handle down while changing the shell holder. Otherwise the actuator arm that pushes the primer seater pin gets unseated and is a pain in the neck to get back over center. It's not hard, it is aggravating. According to the review link I posted in my message above, the APS version of the RCBS hand priming tool seems to have the universal shell holder. The reviewer seems to like the bench-mounted APS unit the best for his type of reloading, but he loves the hand primer for small batches of test loads. |
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I have the RCBS Pro 2000 which uses the APS strips, and I have the press mount APS primer that I have yet to use (picked it up used mostly for the primers and ASP strips that came with it). The APS system is great! I can't imagine pecking at primers with tubes and all that. I loaded up 500 primers in APS strips a couple weeks back, and it only took me about 10 minutes. I know I grumble about loading the APS strips, but it's only really a pain when I'm being hasty and not smooth about every move. After taking a 5+ year break from reloading, the 10 minutes it took to load up 20 strips really made me appreciate the system. This thread is making me want the RCBS Universal APS hand primer for working rifle shells while I watch TV. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I was reading the reviews on the RCBS primer tool. It mentioned something about APS strips? RCBS sells three hand priming tools. One uses APS strips; I don't know which shell holder this one uses without looking. One has a universal shell holder. One uses conventional shell holders. The trick with the priming tool that uses conventional shell holders is to hold the handle down while changing the shell holder. Otherwise the actuator arm that pushes the primer seater pin gets unseated and is a pain in the neck to get back over center. It's not hard, it is aggravating. According to the review link I posted in my message above, the APS version of the RCBS hand priming tool seems to have the universal shell holder. The reviewer seems to like the bench-mounted APS unit the best for his type of reloading, but he loves the hand primer for small batches of test loads. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I can't believe no one has mentioned the Sinclair Priming Tool. If you want a reliable priming tool that uses LEE shell holders, this is THE ONE. It is expensive but it will never let you down. Using it is almost as good as having sex (not really, but you get the idea). You'll understand the validity of this comment better after you use one. Oops, did a page search and it was mentioned by EWP and Beekeeper. Even they agree it's the best. For $110 it better work great... ...and it does. |
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