After breaking two of the Lee Autoprimes, I learn to clean the pivots and keep them lubed. I have three of them. But these days prefer my RCBS Bench Priming tool.
For future reference it would be good to know if there is a viable hand priming tool alternative though.
This. I cling to my Lee tool mainly for nostalgic reasons, it was one of the last things my Dad gave me a long time ago right before he died. When the squeeze handle broke 10 years ago I was mortified and tried several repair methods, none of which held up. I was advised that the "new" Lee parts wouldn't fit the old tool but I bought a new lever anyway to see for myself, and it dropped right in and works to this day. (I put a dab of grease on the friction points periodically to forestall future breakage.)
