Lee App mini review

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  • lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    So I got mine early last week and had a chance to set it up and play with it a little on Friday. I got a Lee quick mount with it, to mount it to my reloading table/workbench. Typical lee quality, not sure there is much more to say (some pot metal, lot of plastic). I can see the parts some reviewers have mentioned broke or wore out also being a concern long term. As they said, they broke or wore out either A) intentionally being used wrong and/or B) after many, many thousands of rounds. And generally the press continued to work with a little bodging.

    Anyway, Lee sells all their parts on their website. I plan at some point to pick up a spare for a few of the plastic bits since all it'll cost me is $20-40 and then no worries about something breaking and the part being out of stock or waiting a week or two to get.

    Anyway, I set it up to resize 9mm. It took me about 90 minutes to install the mounting plate and setup the press. Yes, the instructions say "DO NOT USE FOR RESIZING". Everyone I can find on the internet is using it for resizing.

    The cases were getting stuck in the pass through shell holder and marking the rim (but not destroying it). About 3 in 5 cases were getting stuck. Since several people mentioned lubricating all cases, I tossed a couple handfuls in a large plastic bin and sprayed them a bit with some Hornady One Shot. Tumbled around a bit, waited 2 minutes and loaded it back up. First few got stuck still, then ran pretty smoothly after that. Somewhere between 1 in 10 and 1 in 20 are still getting stuck and I am having to tap it light downward to get it loose and ejected with the next case in position. Tapping it to the side works too, but then it gets ejected across the room, rather than dribbles out of the press.

    To do this effectively, you need to be keeping an eye on it as you work the handle and tap the case. It makes it hard to use your other hand to keep feeding the case feed tube as you work the press. You can kind of sort of do it, but not well. The tube fits, IIRC, 22 9mm cases. I could generally run about 30-35 cases before I'd need to stop and then refill the tube all the way up again as I couldn't keep up with how fast I was working the press and topping it off, with the occasional tapped out case.

    Having a bin mounted to the press or on your bench is good. I used one of my large bins I have for storing components sitting on the floor and most cases fell in to it (but louder, and some still missed meaning after 200 or so cases, I had to chase the dozen that missed out from under my bench and around the room). I got a DIN aluminum rail off Amazon and over the weekend mounted it right next to the press with one of the small Akro bins and it is positioned perfectly (for $5 and change, plus the cost of the bin which I already had). Catches them every time (well, maybe not if it launches one, I only ran another 30 cases to check function).

    After using it for about 200-250 cases for resizing, I swapped out the die and ran them all through the expander. There it was rare any got stuck (no new lubrication, but I didn't clean off what was on there). I think I had half a dozen total that needed the light tap and off they went. I did have maybe 4 or 5 cases that fell out of the feed tube and turned sideways jamming the press and needing to be cleared.

    I think a combination of adjusting the feed tube position and being more careful that I am FULLY moving the press arm through a complete stroke will fix that issue. I was working it really fast and that was usually when it happened. Not when I was a bit more methodical.

    I have not tried 45acp brass, or any other pistol or rifle calibers. I say 45, only because I have seen universal positive reviews of running 45 on the press and most of the negative comments I've see are about 9mm.

    One thing I will note about the pass through shell holders, the tolerances are kind of loose. Which likely is allowing it to work pretty well (I had no cases hung up trying to enter the shell holder). But it also means less contact with the case rim, which is allowing that pressure on the up stroke to bind the rim on to the shell holder with 9mm. 45, the case to shell holder fit is slightly tighter and certain much more rim contact with the much larger case rim.

    I've seen no complaints about sizing rifle cartridges.

    If I had done a more careful job lubing cases that might have also prevented any issues. Rifle cases I carefully place them in a case tray all nice and upright and spray each one holding the can at a 45 degree angle and do a quick pass on one side, then rotate the tray 180 and do another quick pass, wait 2 minutes and start sizing brass. This time it was litterally just through the 9mm brass in a medium/large bin, a light squirt of lube, shake it up, another squirt. Rinse and repeat a couple more times. Let sit 2 minutes, and run them.

    I'd imagine if I had been more careful it would have run better. But, meh. I don't have the time in my life with pistol brass to carefully lube all of the cases taking several minutes to set them all up and spray them. This worked well enough.

    I ordered the lee collator and feed tube assembly based off many reviews. I haven't done it, but several have recommended cutting a short section of 1/2 PEX to insert in to the collator to get 9mm to feed properly base down every time. A lot of people have provided the feedback though of "it usually feeds them properly, even with 9mm so I never modified mine. It is easy to spot and pull out an upside down case running the press".

    So not sure if I will do that or not. The collators are like $12 from Midway, so if it happens a lot I might just buy another and modify it.

    All in all I am very happy with the press. Even with all of the added goodies I have bought, I think I am in no more than $150 (Lee App, the 3 extra shell holders I needed to cover all of my calibers (it covers 32acp, 38spc, 9mak, 9x19, 45acp, 7.62x25, .223, 6.5G, 7.62x39, .308 and .30-06), extra set of 4 breech lock die holders, collator and bullet feeding tube for collator).

    Compared to running this on my Lyman T-mag, just now, getting used to it and with hiccups for resizing and expanding I am running cases through at a MINIMUM of 2x faster. If the collator/feeder works out and tweaking setup and stuff works out it'll probably be more like 3-5x faster. Even taking in to account lubing pistol cases, which I don't do normally. I could see sitting down with 1000 cases and running them through resizing and expanding all of them in less than 2 hours from the time I walk in to my gun room to the time I am flipping the lights back off.

    I did also order some stuff from In-line fabrication to help my organization. They have a replacement roller handle that is cheaper than Lee's roller handle and has excellent reviews. So I got that also. I can absolutely see the complaints that the handle that comes with the App is going to raise blisters if trying to run it for many hundreds of rounds in a sitting.

    Anyway, if you've got a progressive, this might not be worth it for you. At least with my workflow, I don't really want a progressive. In no small part because a lot of my brass has crimped pockets and I run a lot of range pickup brass. So all of that needs to be processed first at a minimum. I also prefer using a hand primer (though the Lee Acp primer press modeled after the App is intriguing, but I'll probably pass).

    I was not able to get the Lee swage kit for the App. I certainly will as soon as I can. So sadly for now, it is swage/ream pockets by hand. TBH I am mostly going to set aside brass that needs that done and just use the brass that doesn't required it and save it till I have the swage kit and can just quick run it all through the App.

    This would probably not be worth it if the press was many hundreds of dollars. I do have concerns about long term durability.

    But I am still in for no more than $200 if you include the roller handle I just ordered and swage kit. If it eats a $8-20 plastic part every several thousand rounds, *shrug*. I'd prefer it not, but that ends up being fractions of a penny a round (and several people have said they've run well upwards of 10k rounds on one without breaking anything yet).

    For those that shoot a lot of lead, this also looks rather useful for resizing bullets in volume.

    I'll try to update when I've had a chance in the next couple of weeks to run .223 through it as well as more 9mm.
     

    PowPow

    Where's the beef?
    Nov 22, 2012
    4,712
    Howard County
    If it eats a $8-20 plastic part every several thousand rounds, *shrug*. I'd prefer it not, but that ends up being fractions of a penny a round (and several people have said they've run well upwards of 10k rounds on one without breaking anything yet).

    You may end up needing to 3D print those plastic parts at some point if things continue on their current trajectory.

    Thanks for the review. I'd been eyeballing the APP to speed up the deprime before wet tumbling. Right now I do that all by hand while sitting in front of the tube.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    You may end up needing to 3D print those plastic parts at some point if things continue on their current trajectory.

    Thanks for the review. I'd been eyeballing the APP to speed up the deprime before wet tumbling. Right now I do that all by hand while sitting in front of the tube.

    It would probably work really well for that. Especially with the add on collator and tube assembly.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    I have one, waiting on the stand for it.

    My plan is to use it to decap mil brass, and swage the primer pockets. I have a bunch of 9mm and 5.56 brass to process.

    I did find on eBay a larger and supposedly better collator for the feed tubes. I have not ordered it yet.

    There was an adapter to use soda bottles to collect the primers. But the thread does not match the APP. I messaged the seller, got no response, so left a negative review.

    ------EDIT

    I heard from the vendor about the soda bottle adapter. He thinks there was some shrinkage of the plastic due to the filament he used. He is doing me a replacement and sending it for free. If it fits properly, I will remove my negative review.
     
    Last edited:

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    OK, I got mine set up and running for decapping 9mm now.

    A couple of things. The rotary case feeder and collator work well. Surprisingly the collator works quite well. 1 - 2 cases per 4 tubes of cases are upside down. It is easy to see them and turn them over. I did find, if the cases do not drop in cleanly, rotate the assembly slightly so the cases drop a little closer to the press.

    A couple things I have found. First is a mod. Put a piece of heat shrink (don't heat it) over the actuator spring. The design uses the spring to push, so it often bends and the slide does not move. The tubing adds just a bit of stiffness to help it from bending.

    It helps to lube the slide track. I used some light mineral oil I had handy. Just a bit on my finger wiped on the edges of the track. Smoothed things out well.

    I got the Lee stand, and it nice for a portable solution. I plan on decapping and swaging in my living room watching TV. The stand is designed to use a concrete block for stability. It is not needed for running the APP for decapping. I am hoping it will not be needed for swaging.

    If you buy the stand, you do NOT need to buy the bin and mount to catch the brass. The stand comes with this setup.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Good call on the heat shrink. I am going to give that a shot. Seems like it would help.

    One other thing. I ordered replacement parts for the App from Lee yesterday. Just all the plastic bits and a new spring. Should have been $30+ shipping.

    It rung up as all parts free, just paid shipping. Fingers crossed it ships. Just an FYI
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    I may have to try that.

    I think I need to lube it again. And maybe a better lube.

    I have processed about 1000 9mm to decap, and the slide does not want to slide back on the downstroke. If I bump it with my finger it is fine.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I may have to try that.

    I think I need to lube it again. And maybe a better lube.

    I have processed about 1000 9mm to decap, and the slide does not want to slide back on the downstroke. If I bump it with my finger it is fine.

    Hmm, I didn’t live mine and it runs okay. Any chance it is dirty? Did you tumble the brass first?

    I have to look where I saw it, but I saw several suggesting very specific lube. I want to say it was a small amount of wax, but I just don’t remember well what was suggested.
     

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,282
    HoCo
    so when comparing to your Lyman Tmag turret press (which is what I have for Pistol), you are saying when doing 1000 rounds, you are sizing them all, then expanding them all and its 2x faster than using a Turret press and doing sizing/expanding for each press stroke?
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,818
    Can someone please post a link to all the bits and pieces? I keep coming up with a mish-mash of separate parts. Thanks
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Hmm, I didn’t live mine and it runs okay. Any chance it is dirty? Did you tumble the brass first?

    I have to look where I saw it, but I saw several suggesting very specific lube. I want to say it was a small amount of wax, but I just don’t remember well what was suggested.

    What I saw in one thread was car wax. NOT paste wax.

    I used some light oil and it worked great for a while. This last time, I tried some Mobil 1 grease. And it worked OK.

    No, the brass is not tumbled. So it could be some dirt.

    How many rounds have you run through yours? I am up around 2000.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Can someone please post a link to all the bits and pieces? I keep coming up with a mish-mash of separate parts. Thanks

    Not sure I understand.

    You want to order the APP press.

    If you want, you can also order the Case Feeder and the Collator (they are separate). The press comes with a single tube feeder. The tube holds about 22 9mm cases. The case feeder has 4 tubes, and you rotate to a full tube as you empty one. The Collator fits on top of the feeder. You toss in a hand full of brass, swirl the Collator around, the the brass drops into the tubes base first (mostly).

    For swaging, you need the APP swaging kit. It comes complete. You do not need a bushing for it.

    For decapping, you need a decapping die. You could use your sizing die. But the press is not really designed for sizing. It is mainly for case prep and bullet sizing. For the Lee Universal Decapper, they recommend the Heavy Duty Guided decapping pins. These are caliber specific and better center the case, and also have a taper to reduce the risk of mouth damage. But I have been running the standard Universal Decapper doing 9mm brass without issues. They run about $3.50 each.

    The press comes with one die bushing. If you are going to size and such, you will need more of them, otherwise you will have to swap dies in the one bushing. Since I am only using it for decapping and swaging, I am fine with one bushing.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    so when comparing to your Lyman Tmag turret press (which is what I have for Pistol), you are saying when doing 1000 rounds, you are sizing them all, then expanding them all and its 2x faster than using a Turret press and doing sizing/expanding for each press stroke?

    It is basically a single stage press, with a feeder.

    I am using mine only for case prep of military brass. Decapping and swaging the primer pockets.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,818
    Not sure I understand.

    You want to order the APP press.

    If you want, you can also order the Case Feeder and the Collator (they are separate). The press comes with a single tube feeder. The tube holds about 22 9mm cases. The case feeder has 4 tubes, and you rotate to a full tube as you empty one. The Collator fits on top of the feeder. You toss in a hand full of brass, swirl the Collator around, the the brass drops into the tubes base first (mostly).

    For swaging, you need the APP swaging kit. It comes complete. You do not need a bushing for it.

    For decapping, you need a decapping die. You could use your sizing die. But the press is not really designed for sizing. It is mainly for case prep and bullet sizing. For the Lee Universal Decapper, they recommend the Heavy Duty Guided decapping pins. These are caliber specific and better center the case, and also have a taper to reduce the risk of mouth damage. But I have been running the standard Universal Decapper doing 9mm brass without issues. They run about $3.50 each.

    The press comes with one die bushing. If you are going to size and such, you will need more of them, otherwise you will have to swap dies in the one bushing. Since I am only using it for decapping and swaging, I am fine with one bushing.
    I'm not really sure myself. I go to Lee's sight and I get separate components. I want to see the entire setup.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    so when comparing to your Lyman Tmag turret press (which is what I have for Pistol), you are saying when doing 1000 rounds, you are sizing them all, then expanding them all and its 2x faster than using a Turret press and doing sizing/expanding for each press stroke?

    My Lyman is the T-mag. It isn’t a progressive. So it is size. Rotate turret, expand. Rotate turret, seat. In my case take the case off the press to charge it, not using the powder through expander and automatic powder dropper.

    In practice what I am doing with it is tumbling my brass. Run all brass through the sizer and deprimer. Then rotate the press and run everything through the expander. Then prime everything by hand using a hand primer. Then charge a case, set a bullet in it and seat/taper crimp it. Rinse and repeat till done.

    Turret mostly helps me leave my dies in the turret and they are set exactly how I want them when I go to reload the caliber again. Also a perk when first working things up and run in to a hiccup. Like a case over crimped, or whatever where I can pop the bullet off, re-expand it real fast, charge and seat/crimp it again.

    Lee App wouldn’t be faster if I am only doing a few rounds, like under 50 probably in part because of setup. Changing presses off the bench plate, etc. but it just cranks through cases once you have it set right.

    Definitely the kind of thing where you’d really only want it if you either regularly run through a few hundred cases for prep or every once in awhile you process a huge number.

    Like for me I’ve got about 600 or so .45 cases to process. About 1000 9mm cases. Probably 1200-1500 .223 and 5.56. Probably 800+ .308. Probably none of my other calibers it makes sense to run on it anytime soon because I don’t have a giant pile of spent brass to process.

    Next few weeks I’ll finally try to get it all done.

    If I can get to the range more often to shoot, great. But it’ll probably be 6-12 months before it gets setup again once I’ve got a nice pile of used brass to process. Hell might even be longer than that. I did pickup a 4 pack of bushing breech lock die holders for it since it was cheap. Between the one that came with, that allows me to leave 9mm and .45 resizing and expander dies and .223 resizing in the bushings. Eventually I’ll pickup at least 1 more for calibers I run every so often and just setup the die each time for those calibers (not like it takes a ton of time to do).

    I am looking forward to getting the swage die set once it is available somewhere. Till then mil 9mm and 5.56 is probably just going to sit in bags.
     

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