Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles single stage presses...

Is there a noticeable quality difference between lee classic cast and redding single stage presses?


I have a dillon for loading high volume.

Big price difference. Should I buy the lee and spend the $ elsewhere?

The Lee Classic Cast is an outstanding press and a great value. I personally have the Lee Classic Turret press and I love it.

"Is there a noticeable quality difference between lee classic cast and (others) ?"

I don't think so. And the Lee has several nice user features others don't have. Being of cast steel (railroad rails actually) it's probably a bit stronger than any cast iron press. If I were to buy a new press that's what it would be.

I have an old Rock Chucker II which works as smooth as an oiled baby's butt, which impresses some visitors. But they don't know what it was like when new, it took a long time to wear the original roughness out.

ALL new machinery requires a break-in period so don't be too surprised if any new press seems gritty. I speed up a press' break-in with wood dowel lapping rods and fine grit emery paper but time, oil and use will also do it.

the analogy I use - a Chevy and a Benz. Both will get you to the store but over the long haul one will last longer and provide a better ride along the way. The day you decide to get something new the Benz will retain its value, the Chevy, well its a Chevy.

The upcharge for the Redding is more than worth the dollars if you consider my experiences with customer service....or lack there of from Lee.

No valid comparisions of "Chey - Benz" exists here. The Reddings are excellant presses but so is the Classic Cast. Cars are complex devices with thousands of complex smaller parts. Presses are not complex, they're quite simple and have very few parts, the major one of which doesn't even move. They both have a lever, a swinging pivot block, couple of toggle arms, a few fat steel pins, a ram and a stout body to contain it all. I know the Lee is machined on modern CNC equipment. The Redding probably is too... so, I give them an effective draw on "quality."

Lee's lever is fully adjustable; left-right, short-long, and a variable angle. That won't matter to some, to some it will. But the points go to Lee.

If longivity is the criteria I'd bet on the Lee's cast steel (not iron) and larger diameter ram.

Everyone will to pay what ever it takes to feel good but the ammo will never know which press it was made on.

Suspect Lee will do right by anyone with an actual manufactoring defect, but it's not so likely if the problem is from owner misuse. In 44+ years of reloading and with litteraly hundreds of loading tools, presses and die of all colors, I've only needed Customer Service twice and that was RCBS.

RCBS did me right the first time, just a broken shell holder retaining spring. But, years later, after calling and asking nicely to buy what I freely confessed I had messed up in storage myself, the sweet lady refused to sell me a replacement body for a badly rusted .260 FL sizer die. She said it was company policy they would only sell me a new complete die set, at full "suggested retail", but not a seperate die body. ("No thank you," says I, "I'll find another." ??) Not that RCBS C.S. is relivant to Lee vs. Redding but it does show the Customer Service question can have different answers from anyone.

Forster Co-Ax.Rick.

Ditto

Forster is the gold standard IMO, but the Redding is a lot of press.
Not that I`ve heard bad of the Lee cast iron classic, but I would prefer the Redding of the 2 mentioned by the original poster. Customer service if needed, and smoothness of operation are big factors to me.

I bought a used but unabused RC that was already broken in.

No regrets!

I looked at the Lee Press in the store and it just didn't appeal to me. I am prejudiced against Lee because some of thier other equipment has worn out/failed in use. Maybe their cast Iron press is an exception but to me Lee products though often very cleverly designed are not manufactured with as high quality of materials as other manufacturs.

Redding makes 3 presses and all are excellent (I do own these). The turret press is handy if you load for a couple calbers and want to leave the dies setup for use. I like the Turret press since it has the most open area around the ram, it gives you about 350deg access around the Ram.
The Big Boss press is comparable to a Rock-Chucker as an all around press. I prefer it somewhat to the RCBS press because the "O" is offset making it easier for a right hander user to get to the shellholder.
The Ultra-Mag has extra leverage for the big cases. It doesn't have as easy access from the sides as the other presses so you need to work it from more directly in front but the extra leverage is nice for larger cases.

The Bonanza press is the nicest overall single stage press. You're going to spend some coin upgrading die lock rings. It's handy not having to switch out shellholders. There are a couple die sets that it's inconvenient to use with (like the RCBS Match grade dies with extended shellholders), and you need to change out shellplates for some large rimmed rounds (like 7.62x54r) and that's inconvenient.

For general all around the Big-boss IMO is worth the extra few dollars over a Rock-Chucker unless you need the whole kit.

The Bonanza is the nicest of the bunch.

The Ultra-Mag is for large magnum rounds.

The Turret press is great for shorter rounds and seating bullets, I prefer stiffer presses for HD sizing.

Lee stuff is for lighter duty use if you can't afford better equipment.....................................DJ

"I am prejudiced against Lee because some of thier other equipment has worn out/failed in use. Maybe their cast Iron press is an exception but to me Lee products though often very cleverly designed are not manufactured with as high quality of materials as other manufacturs."

Honest man, but the prejudice shows!

Fact is, the Classic Cast is NOT cast iron, it's all steel and that IS the better material. And, it is as precisely made on modern CNC machinery as any press on the market today.

That said, given equal user skills and components, any of us can reload on any press of any brand and the ammo won't be distinguishable on target, nor in the service life of any honestly compariable presses.

Pay what you must to feel confident but the final results won't be any different.

The Lee Classic Cast is a great buy for the money--mine compares favorably with my RCBS Rock Chuckers, Reloader Special, and Jr presses.



Casey

DJ,

Don't confuse the Classic with the other Lee presses--it's almost as though the Classic is made by somebody else--it is precise, well built, and has more features than the RCBS and Reddings.


Casey

Don't confuse the Classic with the other Lee presses--it's almost as though the Classic is made by somebody else--it is precise, well built, and has more features than the RCBS and Reddings.

What features does the lee have?
Well I bought the Lee classic cast along with the lee hand held auto primer.
Also the RCBS Trim Mate Power Station case prep unit.
A lyman 55 powder measure also.
RCBS die set including neck sizer. For .204 and 30 06

Existing on my bench alrady is the dillon beam scale and RCBS case trimmer.

Hope I got things alright...

"Hope I got things alright..."

You did fine. I think the Trim Mate is overkill but that's not a bad thing, only a bit expensive.



"What features does the lee have?"

Well, in addition to what any press has, you have a fully adjustable operating lever. And the spent primer catcher actually puts the used ones in a bottle, not on the floor!

And the spent primer catcher actually puts the used ones in a bottle, not on the floor!

Just like my dillon 550 din 1 on every 20.
Till I did my trick little mod.

The Lee Classic Cast is ready to get mounted on my bench.
On the RHS of bench is the dillon.
This leaves 2 - 3 feet of space of the left. I am right handed.

Question...
For ease of use should I mount the LEE center of the empty space.
Or the left hand edge. Or 1/3, 2/3?

Right handed press operation requires very little open space to the right of the press. I like about 8".

Hold it to the bench with C-clamps and put all the other necessary items on the bench. Bullets, scale, loading block, etc. Check your movement during the various stages. That should tell you where it needs to be mounted.Rick.

I agree that some lee products lack, but the CC is not one of them. It is a darn fine press and well worth it's cost. More features than many other SS presses and very solid.

Some harp on lee, IME, their collet dies, hand primer, and CC presses are top notch.

loder