customer service comments.

[deepwater]

so.. Haz and I recently set up his Lee turret press and gave it a try. no problem going through the handgun ammo (.45) but when I was running my .308 through the crimp stage I noticed the turret lifting about an 1/8th of an inch. uh oh.. so I stopped and disassembled the press to find the problem. whoaaa. threads on the studs/ columns were rolled when cut. what does this mean? look at your threads (any threads) and you will see that they are sharp at the points. rolled threads have a second cut on the tip of the thread (the peak). this happens when the stud is made and they run it through a die or turn it on a lathe, thread machine. who knows what they use in there process... who cares. anyway, the bad threads cut the tops of the threads inside the base of the press and stripped them out when I put pressure on it. oops.. so I emailed Lee Precision and got a response with the hour. sent some pics of the damage and within two days of finding the problem I had a new set of columns. (nice) the problem now is that I have to wait for the base to arrive at Lee's customer service dept so I can get a replacement for that.
I'm sure the problem was just missed during assembly and if you are putting together a butt load of these per day I can see how it could be missed.
I like the quick response from Lee and their attitude towards their customers (me).
anybody else had to deal with reload companies? experiences?

[philw]

I have not

however Sledge has with his press he got a while ago 

[Magoo541]

The major diameter of the treads on the columns is too small.  If you have a set of calipers measure them, they should be .005"-020" under  a nominal dimensions ( for a 5/8-11" thread the major should be between .623" and .605")  or the internal threads minor diameter is too small (for a 5/8-11" it should be .527-.546").  If its not 5/8 it will be a nominal size (9/16, 3/4, 7/8 etc) and the outside should be within the tolerance range above give or take a little.  Looking at those my educated guess would be .030-.040" undersize, no way it should have made it through Quality Control-here or in China.

[sledgemeister]

I have dealt with Hornady and RCBS in the past and found both their customer service awesome.
With RCBS I have an old priming station that I had lost the small and large primer rods, I called them one night (during night shift) and advised them that I had lost them and if I could buy them as replacements as I couldnt find the parts on their website. The guy on the phone wouldnt let me buy them and he sent them out via mail to australia free of charge.
With Hornady LnL the primer slides have dinky little wheels on them and they have a habit of popping off as they are only glued in, when I first assembed the press it happened and I couldnt find the pin, called them and advised what had happened and they sent a new assembly out no charge, the same thing happened the other month and emailed them, they sent out another one lickety split. Why they havent developed a better system its beyond me, however their service is damn good.
If I had to got through the aussie distrubutor I would have to wait upto 6 months because they would only get the parts in when they do their orders.
You guys have no idea how good you have it.

[deepwater]

The major diameter of the treads on the columns is too small.  If you have a set of calipers measure them, they should be .005"-020" under  a nominal dimensions ( for a 5/8-11" thread the major should be between .623" and .605")  or the internal threads minor diameter is too small (for a 5/8-11" it should be .527-.546").  If its not 5/8 it will be a nominal size (9/16, 3/4, 7/8 etc) and the outside should be within the tolerance range above give or take a little.  Looking at those my educated guess would be .030-.040" undersize, no way it should have made it through Quality Control-here or in China.

the inside threads were stripped out when a little pressure was put on the unit. I agree that they should not have made it through QC, and this makes me wonder how many actually went out the door before the issue was discovered and taken care of. I already have the new set and the old ones and the press base are in the mail back to Lee so they can see for themselves what happened. as I said, the new set was here within two days of contacting Lee. until the base returns I am using the single stage press for .308.

Deepwater

[Sponsor]

[MikeBjerum]

I have dealt with customer service at both Dillon and RCBS:

Dillon
I own a 650 along with another guy.  When we ordered it we ordered the repair kit and a couple other items.  We have never had an out and out breakage, but we have had normal wear.  When we go to reorder parts they almost always give them to us, and we have even sent us packages of other items because "they wear out and you'll need 'em."  One of the best companies I have ever dealt with!

RCBS
I almost exclusively use RCBS dies.  Twice I have had carbide handgun dies that put scratches in the case.  Call RCBS, and you get a replacement free.  No questions asked and no hassle.  I talk to many people that refuse to reload nickle plated cases because "they will scratch and ruin my dies."  Buy some quality dies from a quality company and reload the damn loads dude!

I still contend that gun people are the best people in the world.  I have never had issues that could not be resolved easily with a gun company, reloading company or supply company.  If you are frustrated with a business go deal with gun people, and it will restore your faith in American business!