Lee Loader

I have the Red base Pro 1000 that I bought from the 2nd owner in 2015 with 2 turrets that slip right in and rotate into place like butter. I bought another turret to have as a spare. Now that I have the two turrets set up one for 38spl and the other for .357 mag I wanted to use the spare for mass depriming. Go to install it and it was a fight to get it in and even harder to get it back out.
Last week I mailed the bad turret back to Lee with a note explaining my issue. Thursday I called to make sure they got it because I lost the tracking number and talked to Kathy. She told me that the threads were out of spec (turret ring threads) and a replacement had been shipped out. I received the new turret yesterday, I was excited. When I got home I tried to install the replacement turret and again it is a tight fit, darn near the same as what they replaced.
I broke out the calipers and took some measurements. The differences I got were .007, .009, .044. The big difference is in the lower teeth of the thread that lock the turret in place. What I have that works is .340 tall and is milled flat on the top. The one that does not fit is .384 tall and does not seem to be as flat on top.
I spent $15 for the turret then $8 to mail it back to get another that does not work to cost me another $8 to return this one. I really think Lee should cover return postage. This is frustrating.

I can't offer any help much past my usual if you don't mind a little futzing around with the tools ....

I think that perhaps it is a wear compensation tool and having generous min-max tolerances . It sounds like a taper fit with a fixed reference . There is a standard top/bottom force contact point and a tapered bottom/top to make a contact stop/lock and reduce or remove play . Your pre-owned plates have a little use and all of the machine marks , and faces are now lap matched . There is the possibility that the final QC is not as good as it should be and I would be remiss to deny that having a pair of round ball moulds that are tangically cut off about .005 too much .
I would mark the plate up and see where it binds and take enough off where it's really tight but not before setting up a die set and lubing the threads and run a few rounds it may just be a fin or casting point that needs to be mashed . If it doesn't free up immediately then polish the touch points and remove "just enough" off the non work load side of the touch points . Seems a shame to have $30 in a $15 part that should fit .

I suspect the QC fit check tool is worn a little and that they do a 5 or 2% check and don't remove a run of 50-100 that are out not immediately find and fix the problem but wait until a rest or load stop to correct issues .

Well. I just got off the phone and explained it to Kathy who transferred me to Peter. After explaining the situation to him and the measurement differences he said he would have Kathy send me a new turret ring at no charge. I just hope that the new ring fits the new turret but also does not allow lots of slop with the 2 turrets I already have set up for .38spl and .357 mag.
Kathy said they have been a bit swamped lately so it may not ship out until tomorrow then it depends on the USPS. So I might get it in 4 or 5 days. I just hope this fixes the issue but I have a slight feeling it won't.
Will post back when I get the turret ring and do a test fit.

The new turret ring just arrived and the turret that is a tight fit into my press at home slipped right into the new ring. I will check the fit of my two turrets that are at the house to this new ring. Hope things are not to loose.

I do have to say a big thank you to Kathy and the guy whose name I can't remember at Lee Precision for the turret ring.

Glad to see Lee was responsive, they usually are. Anything mechanical can have issues, especially when trying to work with something of new manufacture and something used. I used to work for a prestigious German car company -30 years ago- who at the time made some of the best automobiles in the world for longevity and reliability. Things would still go wrong sometimes and now, the way the manufacturing is done and the 'cost saving' measures that are in place to keep them competitive have made them just another car manufacturer. Even Rolls Royce had a bad batch of engines at one point years ago, and those cars were hand made at the time. I hope your turret issue is fixed and the old ones work with the new parts.

So far so good with the 38SPL turret. A piece of brass in the shell plate run up into the sizing die and there is no gap between bottom of die and shell plate. Case mouth gets flared to set my PC'ed cast bullet in. Seat and crimp appear to be unchanged as well. So far so good.