The 480BC Supplies Lee Load Master Setup Guide

Lubricating the press.
This we will do in steps as we go through the setup. First off, clean the ram and oil it with good motor oil. Yes motor oil works best. Not too much, you don’t want an oil spill on your floor.

Now remove the turret by loosening the thumb bolt on the left of the press, twist the turret and remove. Place one side; we will get back to it later.

Setting up the shell plate.
Move the ram to the top of the stroke, remove the index rod – this can only be done at the top of the stroke. Undo the shell plate nut and remove the nut, O-ring and case ejector. Do not lose that O-Ring! Now take out the shell plate, careful not to damage the primer arm.

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Loosen the case retainer in station 2 and move the retainer as shown. Take out the priming system. Be careful of the priming pin spring; do not let this get bend.

Notice the ribs where the shell plate rotates, make sure they are smooth. If they are not smooth, use a very fine grit sand paper and carefully smooth out the ribs. Do not take off to much material, this need to be level. Using oil or fine grease, oil these ribs lightly. Add a bit of oil, grease to the bottom of the shell plate. I personally use a good gun grease for this.

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Now reinsert the priming system. Notice the little notch under the priming trough, the spring locates on that. Move the case retainer back in place.

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Insert the shell plate being careful not to snag the priming arm. Insert the case ejector and notice that the small arm is bent down, this fits in the holes on the shell plate and prevents the shell plate from rotating back. Insert the O-Ring and nut. Tighten the nut making sure the shell plate can rotate. Move the ram to the top of the stroke.

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Take the index rod and grease/oil it lightly.

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Notice the bevel on one side, this must face station 1.

Insert the rod. Grease the pull out ribs on the front pillar. The index rod rides on this to activate the shell plate. Now to check if the carrier is perfectly aligned, cycle the press. Notice the ribs on the back pillar. The primer feeder rides on these to shake the primer tray. Make sure that the feeder is making contact on this. Your press should cycle perfectly now. If it is a bit tight, loosen the shell plate nut a bit.

You can also adjust the play on your shell plate by moving the index flipper in or out on the index rod. In for a looser shell plate, this will allow a bit of play in the shell plate to locate cases quicker in the dies, and out for a tighter shell plate. I prefer a tight shell plate with almost not play at the bottom of the stroke. But be careful a too tight shell plate can bind up.

Set up the case feeder.
First assemble the case feed rod, crank slider and case slider.

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For the Load-Master the Crank Slider fits in the outer most hole of the Case Slider as above.

Grease/oil only the bottom of the carrier tongue where the case slider runs.

Never oil/grease the case feed rod itself. This system works with friction!

Take the assembled rod and slide the case slider on the press. Now insert the rod in the Feed Bracket nut, making sure the rod is square to the press and about a pencil breadth (8mm) away from the carrier, tighten the nut on the feed bracket. Do not over tighten this bolt, it can shear off.

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Set up the crank slider.
Loosen both screws on the crank slider – loosen do not remove.
With the ram at the middle of the stroke and the case slider halfway on the carrier, tighten the top screw.
Now start tightening the bottom screw, cycle the press slowly, watch out and make sure the case slider does not catch the top of the press.

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If it does, remove the case feed rod. Turn the feed bracket out one turn; reinsert the case feed rod as above and test to see that the slider clears the top of the press. One turn on the feed bracket should do the trick. Same applies if your case slider does not feed the case fully into the shell plate, turn the feed bracket 1 in turn.

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Now back to the crank slider, with the press at mid stroke tighten the bottom screw until the case slider makes contact with the shell plate when you cycle the press. The slider will contact the shell plate just after you start the cycle. Tighten that bottom screw until the case slider makes contact with the shell plate on every cycle.

Cycle the press slowly to make sure everything works as it should.

Set up the case feed plate.
Attach the case feed plate to the carrier using the hole next to the case slider. Adjust the nuts, so that there is a tiny gap (Lee reckons a penny thick) when you have a case in the case feed. Also adjust the alignment of the plate to the top of the press so that it does not interfere.

Note: I am demonstrating the original case feeder. Lee launched the Universal Case Feeder recently. It all works much the same but follow Lee’s instructions on how to set it up.

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Now insert the tubes and the case collator if you have one. The case collator is a great accessory to add to the case feeder.

Set the case retainers.
The case retainers play a big part. They do what they say in name and retain the cases in the shell plate. This is especially important if you are running the 3 die setup. With the 3 die setup there is no die to steady the brass when priming, only the retainer.

Close all the retainers as close as possible on the shell plate. Tighten the screws, not too tight though. The retainers need to be moved by hand so that you can remove cases when needed.
Insert an empty case and cycle it through all the stations. It will feel if the press is jamming but a wee bit of force is required – this is the only time I will say use a bit of force to cycle the press. The case being cycled is now setting the position of the case retainers.

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Once the case has gone through all 5 stations, the press will be back to running easy and smooth.

Setting the primer seating depth.
See that bolt on the side of the press?
This activates the primer rocker which in turn seats the primer.
You should still have no turret installed. Turn the primer actuating bolt up as far as it can go.
Now take a fired case with the old primer still in and cycle it to station 2.
Raise the carrier to the top.
Now turn the primer actuating bolt down until it makes firm contact with the rocker – there should be no play in the rocker.
Lower the carrier and turn the primer actuating bolt down only 2 sides of the nut (The nut has 6 sides)
Tighten the primer actuating bolt and make sure there is no play on it.

Now if you raise the carrier to the top you will find that without a case in station 2 there should be a bit of play in the rocker. About the size of a primer.
With a primed case in station 2 there should be no play.

If you find that primers are seating high you can adjust the primer actuating bolt down but please do this in small increments…a tiny adjustment on the bolt creates a big adjustment on the primer pin.
Also eliminate all other causes before making any adjustments here. Did you short stroke? Is the primer pocket not out of spec?

Priming problems happen when the bolt is set too low as it forces the pin up before the primer has arrived. So be very careful when setting this.

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Setup the dies.
Very important – follow these instructions. Incorrect die settings is one of the biggest problems I fix on presses.

The LM comes with a 3 die setup but can accommodate a 5 die setup.
All dies are set as described below but with the 3 die setup the setup will be: station 1- resize and decap die, station 2 – empty, station 3 – powder through die, station 4 – bullet seat & crimp, station 5 – empty.

Reinstall the turret, line it up as best you can. But when you start tightening the turret bolt you will see it lines the turret up.

The turret bolt does have a tendency to work itself loose, a bit of plumbers tape on the thread will solve this issue. Do not use Loctite or similar as you will not be able to remove the turret again!

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Always start with the sizing die.
Either in station 1 with the decap pin installed for the 3 die setup or in station 2 –without the decap pin!
Turn the lock ring to the top of the die. Raise the ram and start turning the die into the turret. Turn the die until it makes firm contact with the carrier, be sure to add pressure to the ram.
Size a case and check if it has sized all the way. If not turn the die in in small increments and test until your case is perfectly sized – Do not turn the die in more than ¼ from touching the shell plate.
Now check the stop on the press handle, make sure that with the carrier at the top of the stroke while sizing a case that there is not too big of a gap between the handle and the stop.

If you set your sizing die too deep you will have priming problems.

To aid with sizing I suggest you lube your cases. Yes it is not required with carbide dies but it will make the process smoother.

Hand tighten the lock ring.

If you are going with the 5 die setup, you now install the Factory Crimp Die in station 5. Move the lock ring to the top and start turning the die in. Raise the ram and turn the die until it makes firm contact with the carrier. There is no need to turn the die ¼ in more now as the Factory Crimp Die instruction state, the sizing die is set already, Your FCD will now be at the same depth and will ensure that your brass is post sized all the way.

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Turning the FCD in more now will disrupt the top of the stroke. This will lead to brass not being sized properly and will interfere with the priming system.

Only the Sizing Die and Factory Crimp Die should make contact with the shell plate.

For the 5 die setup you can now install the universal decapping die in station 1.
This die needs to be deep enough to punch out the primers but should not make contact with the carrier. Again if it is too deep it will interfere with your other die settings.

Now we install the powder through die in station 3.
Make sure that the expander plug is inside the die and your powder measure is installed – see instruction further down.
Raise the ram again, turn the die until it makes firm contact with the carrier. Now turn it out 1 full turn. At this level the die will not flare your brass, if you want flare you can turn the die in a bit. ¼ in should be enough flare for CMJ’s and ½ turn in should flare enough for coated bullets. Test your flare. This die should not make contact with the shell plate.

Install the bullet seating die in station 4.
Turn the adjustment knob out. This will be used to set your COL, explained further down.
Raise the ram and turn the die in until it makes firm contact with the carrier. Now turn the die out 3 full turns. At this level it will not crimp, if you are running the 3 die setup you can crimp with this die also. Turn the die in for crimp. Again ¼ turn in should give sufficient crimp for a CMJ bullet. Coated bullets need less crimp. This die should not make contact with the shell plate.
If you are using the FCD do not adjust crimp here, leave the die set at 3 full turns out.

Your dies are now correctly installed.

Setup powder measure.
We will look at the Pro Auto Disk measure as it is the most common used. The setup of the Auto Drum measure is only slightly different as it does not use the return chain. Thread the knurled adapter into your powder through die, making sure that the expander plug is installed and that you do not turn the die itself while doing this.

Orient the measure so that the holes for the bead chain will line up. Select your disk and install – on the disk make sure the auto disk return lever is in the correct slot. Install the hopper.

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Now let’s install the bead chain. Install the bell and spring as shown, always have a few beads left below the bell. Thread the ball chain from the bottom through the hole on the carrier by station 4. Drop the ram to its lowest position. Thread the ball chain through the first hole on the auto disk return lever, make sure the return lever is at the bottom.

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Make sure that the bead chain is tight and secure in the first hole on the return. Raise the ram and thread 1 more bead through the first hole. Slowly drop the ram and see that you have a bit on tension on the spring, it must just be enough to ensure the return on the measure is activated. The top 2 turns of the spring should be compressed only. Now secure the bead chain by threading the rest of the chain through the second hole of the return lever.

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Remember those case retainers that were not tightened too much? You can move them by hand. Open the one under station 3, insert a sized case and test that the measure is activated on the up stroke. On the down stroke, ensure that the return is activated. On the down stroke your brass will also be flared if you want to flare. There will be resistance as the brass exits the die, this is the flare happening.

Adjust your bullet seating depth.
A completed round is useful as a reference. Measure this round. Open the case retainer in station 4 and insert this round. Raise the ram; now turn the adjustment knob in until you feel it touching the round in the die. The bullet seating depth will now be set. However finer adjustments will be required once you have a loaded shell plate – the adjustment screw is turned in for a lower seating depth, or out for the opposite.
Load a dummy round, no powder or primer, remember to use a sized case else the bullet will disappear in the brass.
This is a good opportunity to test your Load Master. Once have this dummy round loaded, continue to station 5.

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If you are not using a Factory Crimp Die, you can set your crimp with the bullet seating die as explained above.

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Setting the crimp with the Factory Crimp Die.
With the dummy round in station 5 and the adjustment screw on the FCD turned out, raise the round into the die. Turn the adjustment screw until you feel it touching the round. Lower the ram to remove the round from the die. Now turn the adjustment screw in to set your crimp, a ¼ turn normally does the trick for a CMJ. Raise the ram and you will feel the die crimping the round. You can add more crimp by turning the screw in or less crimp by turning the screw out. Again do not over crimp.

Testing your press.
Fill the primer tray and powder measure. Now run one case at a time through the press, going slowly and checking for any issues. Once you are happy, fill that case feeder (shake the collator as you fill to help get all the cases the right way up). Run the press slowly to check for issues again.

Your press is now ready to rock and roll!

A very important last point…never force the press! If the press is stuck, look for the problem rather than forcing the press. Force normally leads to things getting damaged.

Thanks Duane, this is a very useful and helpful thread and I will be using this info when setting up my press.