Lee Classic Turret 3 hole set up

Mister said:

WELCOME TO THE FORUM.
We hope you like it well enough to stay, chat it up with everyone!

Glad you didn’t think this was too stupid a question to ask! Its not! Getting started, well there’s a steep learning curve and it’s best and safest to ask any question!
Hope you invested in a good caliper, bullet puller too (Your gonna goof eventually) .

So to answer your question. She holders and Rams are universal in their installation. Not at all like tech wars between Apple and Android where each one has their own proprietary charge cable.

The best way to answer your question is with a few simple pictures.

let’s start with your she’ll holder.
View attachment 24517
notice the red circle…..this is what is going to lock your shell holder in place


View attachment 24518
Now….on your Ram you’ll see the groove for it As seen here

View attachment 24519
Place the shell holder in the groove. Its not all the way in and seems like it won’t go in.
Thats because there’s a retaining clip there. This expand as you give the shell holder a stiff push. You’ll definitely feel it snap in place.

View attachment 24520
your shell holder is now secure in place!
Important notes: Sometimes new shell holders can seem a lil sharp at their top opening; and to compound this, the ram retaining clip can be a bit stiff to on new units. For the most part it depends entirely who made the shell holder.
If Things are so stiff that your thumb starts to hurt….take a stick like a dowel, or something equally soft and give it a stern but calculated push.
I have use the end of a small wrench to do this. You’re just pushing, that’s all.
If that doesn’t work, then take a small block of wood and a lil hammer and tap tap tap in in. I’ve only had to do this once in the last 40 years. In which case, getting em out is a bit easier But a pain in the butt. But I threw that particular shell holder out! If they’re so Tight that you need a tap tap tap from a hammer every time, then they weren’t made right.
Be patient with learning reloading for safety sake and ASK QUESTIONS . Better safe than sorry at the range.
Hope this helps bunches!
Were here to help you succeed in your new hobby.

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gwpercle said:

You might want to post a bunch of clear photo's of your Lee Three Hole Turret Press ... all the ones I've seen are 4-hole turret presses .
Contact www.leeprecision.com to get a instruction manual / parts sheet for your particular model ... it has diagrams , correct part numbers and set up instructions and photo's ... a PDF is available for downloading ... Lee can help you .
Gary

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bgarrison54 said:

That sounds like the path to take. For me , all these parts just look like "parts", no 3 hole or 4 hole parts. Thanks.

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bgarrison54 said:

That sounds like the path to take. For me , all these parts just look like "parts", no 3 hole or 4 hole parts. Thanks.

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bgarrison54 said:

I

I can't seem to post pictures with my phone. I have them, can't load them .

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bgarrison54 said:

That sounds like the path to take. For me , all these parts just look like "parts", no 3 hole or 4 hole parts. Thanks.

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gwpercle said:

Parts is Parts right ... are you sure you got ALL the parts ...
Parts diagram is going to be your friend . I don't have a Lee Turret or the instructions that would come with it ... My Lyman All-American turret press and it's instructions would be no help at all ... Sorry .
Gary

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Mister said:

Take some similar pictures as I did and lets see things .
until then….take a look at this video. You’ll be able to see his setup to compare.
at close to the 7min mark you’ll see him correct an oversight by snapping in the shell holder. No, it doesn’t matter if his turret is a 4 hole . You can buy a 3 hole turret and put it in its place.

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bgarrison54 said:

I

I can't seem to post pictures with my phone. I have them, can't load them .

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Mister said:

Ok, the video is not a representation of the “classi press“ and as such what you’re looking at is part of the bells and whistles of different model. But they share the universal element of installation of shell holders.

this is your classic press; and you can clearly see the ram and how the top of the ram where the shell holder fits looks like mine. View attachment 24631
If yours doesn’t look like that, then you need to find a way to upload pictures, so we can assess yours better.

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Mister said:

Not certain if you’d be interested in seeing my setup and knowing how I use it and why (I’m willing to risk it 😉)
This is a Lyman press with a 6 hole turret.
I know what you’re thinking…..”6 HOLES! What on earth for?“ 😳
Flexibily, my friend.
I actually have five 6 hole turrets. Each one set up with dies for a different caliber. I hate changing out dies and taking the time resetting them. Thats a bit of wisdom you might want to hold on to if you decide to expand your hobby to other calibers.
But why 6 holes?
Honestly I’ve never used all 6 unless you wanna count where I store the turret turn handle when not in use.
But the number of dies I use is determined by the caliber and case length.
For short cases like 9mm only 4 dies are required.
1st stage: De-prime/de-cap and resize. Generally this only resize the upper half of the case. A full length resize is usually not necessary, but as cases get more used “A LOT” you’ll find that some will not eject properly (usually stove piping). Stove piping if you’re shooting reloads, usually is caused by putting too little powder in a case. But once you have a good load worked up, everything shoots fine, reload the same brass dozens of time and things start stove pipe’n , time to full length resize.
Eventually you’ll want a full length resize die for stage 2. You won’t need this for a long time if you’re starting from once fired brass. If you end up like me, picking up unknown brass from the range, you’ll definitely want to be safe and full length resize those.

2nd: case mouth expander. That can be tricky set up. Start small, stay small. If you can get a bullet barely start a bullet by hand, give it an 1/16th or 1/8th of a turn more and Thats your happy place. Otherwise to start cracking the case mouth.

Now prime your cases. I like to do mine by hand in front of the tv.
I then put the primed cases in a case tray of 50 Rnds.
Add powder. I generally start a new caliber with 10% over the minimum load and shoot test a dozen, work my way up more loads until you find one close enough to maximum Thats also accurate.
Now top off with new projectiles.

3rd: Bullet seating. Depth is critical, theres room to play, but not much. This is why I hope you have a caliper. Too deep and you increase pressure when rounds are fired. Too long and you won’t fit em into a magazine (Or cylinder
for revolver)

4th: Crimp die. This keeps the projectile from compressing into the case when cycling into battery. Unless you plan on shooting cowboy or otherwise with lead bullets, forget using a roll crimp. A tamper crimp on copper plated or copper jacket is all thats required. Setting this can be a bit tricky. Too much can build up unwanted pressure. Too little and …well I explained that. I do mine where I have to strain my eyes to see it. It doesn’t take much.
If you have a bullet puller, you can dink around with uncharged rounds by pulling the bullet and looking at the small dent in the bullet.

Now we’re does the 5th die come in?
On rifle brass. The first stage merely resizes the upper half and mouth You need an independent full length resize die that also resizes the neck.
Long winded and boring, ain’t I? Thats reloading in a nutshell once you get a good understanding and proficiency established in a couple years. But there’s a never ending supply of learning. I still ask questions!
View attachment 24527

Thanks for the help.

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Mister said:

Ok, think I’ve got this figured out!
From your description, your ram has nothing but a hole at the top, which got me to thinking that “hey, I don’t have a Lee press, The single stage press I had, had single one piece ram, no different than the Lyman I currently have”.
View attachment 24685
One piece!
But you got me to thinking and I did some digging.
If I were to buy a replacement ram for your press this is exactly what I’d get.
View attachment 24686
why the heck is the top flat? That ain’t right…….then further down the parts list I went and boom….there it is.
View attachment 24687

Now I can absolutely understand why you described “a big hole”. Why they do this…..well it’s complicated to explain, But once we get you going, I have no doubt you’ll understand why, but suffice to say, look in the pile of parts in your kit and see if you can locate this piece.
I’m totally taken back that it’s not mounted on the Ram. It should be done at the factory.
Looks to me Like it would be a nightmare to install it anyway. But I’m not there to get a closer look see. Close up pic’s videos might help.

First things first. See if that part is even in the kit.
2nd: I hope have some kind of proof of purchase still. (Just in case)
Keep us posted on what you find out.

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Mister said:

Ok, think I’ve got this figured out!
From your description, your ram has nothing but a hole at the top, which got me to thinking that “hey, I don’t have a Lee press, The single stage press I had, had single one piece ram, no different than the Lyman I currently have”.
View attachment 24685
One piece!
But you got me to thinking and I did some digging.
If I were to buy a replacement ram for your press this is exactly what I’d get.
View attachment 24686
why the heck is the top flat? That ain’t right…….then further down the parts list I went and boom….there it is.
View attachment 24687

Now I can absolutely understand why you described “a big hole”. Why they do this…..well it’s complicated to explain, But once we get you going, I have no doubt you’ll understand why, but suffice to say, look in the pile of parts in your kit and see if you can locate this piece.
I’m totally taken back that it’s not mounted on the Ram. It should be done at the factory.
Looks to me Like it would be a nightmare to install it anyway. But I’m not there to get a closer look see. Close up pic’s videos might help.

First things first. See if that part is even in the kit.
2nd: I hope have some kind of proof of purchase still. (Just in case)
Keep us posted on what you find out.

Click to expand...