Hello and greetings to all on this forum.
My name is Jim, I'm a reloading hobbyist that likes to tinker with my equipment. So, if you don't like what you see just pass on it, it works for me and in that I'm satisfied.
Passing along these tips may help you, It is certainly my intention to try and be helpful to others...and I'm not an know-it-all, there's lots I don't know.
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Lee Classic cast iron press is an excellent sturdy press. This is something I recognized right away.
One: Having decided it was a candidate for bullet swaging press set me to work on the shellholder first. This was shortend about 3/8 to 1/2 inch on my mini-lathe and sleeved to fit inside the lower part of the shellholder. (see attachment) Hex screws were inserted to hold the two halves together.
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The reason the shellholder was shortend was to allow a shorter ram stroke on the press thus allowing the swaging die to be screwed further down into the press on the top stroke of the ram and shellholder.
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Two: You will of course need swaging dies and nose punches to fit into the shellholder. I buy most of mine from C-H 4-D tool.
Three: I got sick and tired of rapping the ejector stem die stem with a hammer or mallet. Made a major break-through with the swage bullet auto ejector apparatus that is shown in attachment fitted ontop of the Lee Classic press. Any competent machinest can make one of these, the materials are not hard to find either. I small amout of tack welding is needed on the lower bar fitted to the shellholder coller that fits over the ram head. This coller has a 1/4 inch hex bolt to secure the device to the ram.
This conversion has swaged several hundred cast lead bullets, I mainly do bullet nose shape changing, plus putting gaschecks on bullet bases.
Let me know if you need any help on rigging one of these on your Lee Classic press.
Now, Lee doesn't say their Lee Classic is strong enough on the bottom cone pins, and so far it has not been a problem for me at all. But if it were to become a problem, you would only have to take the press apart and punch out the cones and insert a steel round through bolt. This bolt could have a small lathe turned middle diameter to allow spent primers to pass around it into the drop tube.
Good luck if you decide to try it.
Jim
