Author Topic: Buying a lube sizer (Read 1155 times)

greyarea · « **on:** April 19, 2006, 10:02:18 PM »

I am going to buy a lube sizing setup but I have no idea what to buy. I will be using it foe everything fron 9mm to .458 and will be using gas checks. it seems to me that the RCBS and the Lyman are the most versitile due to the wide avalibility of dies and punches and the Saeco looks to be stronger. I am looking for the best one for long term somewhat high volume use. I shoot about 30,000 rounds a year and most will be cast. Any input would be a great help thanks.

Brian

rbwillnj · « **Reply #1 on:** April 20, 2006, 12:18:04 AM »

Buy a Star and skip the rest of the learning curve.

sundogg1911 · « **Reply #2 on:** April 20, 2006, 08:55:00 AM »

I use a Lyman 450 with a heating element. With the lyman (or RCBS) you can use Lyman or RCBS sizing dies and top punches. with Saeco You are stuck using their top punches and dies, but they work well too. you can get some good deals on these used on some of the auction sites (Gunbroker, ebay, etc.) I cast for about 6 different calibers, and use gas checks on some of them and the Lyman worked well for me. The Star is a great machine too, (probably superior to the 3 that i've mentioned) if you don't mind spendin' some extra money.

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #3 on:** April 20, 2006, 10:25:59 PM »

what he said. Best advise for someone who is going to reload and is sure its something hes going to stick with is to by a star and a dillon press right away because youll end up with one eventualy anyway.

Quote from: rbwillnj

Buy a Star and skip the rest of the learning curve.

Ireload2 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 21, 2006, 07:32:51 AM »

Get a decent used RCBS or Lyman for each diameter. It takes a while to scrounge them up but once that is done you don't have to change the stinking dies.

calvon · « **Reply #5 on:** April 22, 2006, 12:23:54 AM »

Did someone mention a Star?

Good advice. Get one. Don't look back.

Changing the dies is a piece of cake. Get the simple and inexpensive die changer tool.

Go to Magma's web site for details.

LAH · « **Reply #6 on:** April 22, 2006, 05:53:39 AM »

Quote from: Lloyd Smale

what he said. Best advise for someone who is going to reload and is sure its something hes going to stick with is to by a star and a dillon press right away because youll end up with one eventualy anyway.
Quote from: rbwillnj
Buy a Star and skip the rest of the learning curve.

Lloyd knows.

Camel 23 · « **Reply #7 on:** April 23, 2006, 03:21:35 PM »

Yup, Lloyd knows. Get a Star and a Dillion. You'll eventually get them anyway.

sundogg1911 · « **Reply #8 on:** April 23, 2006, 03:45:18 PM »

Ok. you all have my attention. Why are the star lube/sizers so much better. I understand the Dillon thing (have a square deal, a 550 and 2 650's already) but i've been using a Lyman 450 with a heater for about 10 years now. It works ok, but I never used any others except the RCBS which is almost the same thing. I cast about 10 different bullets. (from .32 auto to .44 mag. in pistol, and a gas check 172 gr. flat point for the old Winchester '94. how much time can I save with the star. I cast about 4 times a year (usually full weekends from sun up to sun down) Is it really that much better? Inquiring minds wanna know :wink:

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #9 on:** April 23, 2006, 11:10:18 PM »

for the same reason a dillon works so well for you. SPEED! I can do about 3 times faster with a star then i can with a lyman or rcbs. you only handle the bullet once stick it in pull the handle and it pops out the bottom. Put a container of some sorts under it and you can just feed it and pull the handle and go to town. Couple more nice things is it feeds nose first which is suppose to be good for accuracy. I cant attest that whether it helps or not as i never noticed a differnce in accuracy by nose first sizing. its nice though with bigger bullets because nose first allows the bullets to go in straingt. Doing big bullets in a lyman its easy to get the bullet in cockeyed and wipe one side of the bullet. But i guess some have noticed a difference in accuracy and it sure cant hurt. Third is you will never have lube on the bases of your bullets to wipe off. Something youll fight constantly with a lyman. Forth dies swapping is much easier once you get use to setting up the machine. Fifth you only need a flat top punch because you are pushing on the flat base of the bullets instead of a differnt nose on every bullet. For the most part you can get away with one nose punch in the smallest caliber you are doing but i prefer to use a caliber specific punch especialy with softer bullets. Sixth it has a lube resevoure that is spring loaded so you can do many bullets before having to crank on the resivour screw. But thats a problem on the lymans that can be fixed if you go to castingstuff.com Gussy sells a spring pressured set up for the lymans that really works. I did some testing of his prototypes and was really impressed. seventh if you have access to a machinist making dies for the star are eiser then making them for a lyman because you dont need the piston inside to push the bullet back out. Eight and most important is SPEED! SPEED SPEED! I could never again live without my dillons or my star!!!!

rbwillnj · « **Reply #10 on:** April 24, 2006, 05:30:36 PM »

Yep! That pretty much covers it. Wait, did you mention a Star is a lot less messy because you don't have to handle the bullet after its been lubed?

Turk · « **Reply #11 on:** April 25, 2006, 01:30:54 AM »

have a star and a RCBS lube/sizer. One thing I don't like about the star are the lubing holes in the sizer die may need to be in different positions to lube different styles of bullets. I cast 9 wts./styles of 44 mag bullets and I have to have three different sizer dies ($32.00ea) to size the 9 bullets. Yes you can remove the buckshot but if you put a burr on the hole you have scratches on the bullet. I melt mine out I do change. The star is faster to size.

Turk

Remember to pray for our troops.

Ireload2 · « **Reply #12 on:** April 25, 2006, 07:58:44 AM »

I think the Star lovers are mostly pistol shooters. What happens if you want to size rifle bullets Star guys?

cjensen · « **Reply #13 on:** April 25, 2006, 09:30:48 AM »

I size 257, 308, 338, 375, and 45-70 540 grain rifle bullets in my star. I have a Lyman and never use it. I'm thinking of getting another Star so I can keep LBT blue in one and Blackpowder lube in the other.

rbwillnj · « **Reply #14 on:** April 25, 2006, 06:40:46 PM »

I put my Lyman on the shelf the day I got my first Star. After a while, I cleaned off the dust and I sold it on ebay. I just picked up my fourth Star. If I get any more, I wont have to change dies at all, just switch to a different machine.

Kenneth L. Walters · « **Reply #15 on:** April 28, 2006, 03:13:06 PM »

The advantage of a Star is speed. The disadvantage is that changing and readjusting sizing dies can be a slow process. So if you can afford to set one up and just leave it AND you need a lot of bullets of one particular type, a Star is nice. I've probably owned six. Now I'm down to one.

If you buy a Star, DO NOT buy the bullet feeder. It is a real pain, costs a fair amount and just slows you down. The heated base, however, is worth the money. Star's, incidentally, are arranged on your workbench so that the bullets must fall through a hole in the top of your workbench.

The SAECO is, well, unfortunate. Currently made SAECO's have a main gasket that is prone to tear. Once that happens the gasket inverts so if you try to put a new one based on the looks of the old one when you took the old one out you are in for a REAL problem. It does not help, incidentally, that the gasket replacement "kit" comes with no drawing and has an extra, completely unnecessary part. This is the only product SAECO makes that I would NOT recommend.

The RCBS can use any RCBS or Lyman sizing die. It is guaranteed forever. Not a minor consideration.

Both the RCBS and Lyman are limited in the size of the maximum bullet that they can easily handle. Roughly around 0.510 inches. Both will accept sizing dies larger than that but getting those dies out can be a real experience.

The Lyman 45 is so old that you are not likely to run across one.

The Lyman 450 was made for some time. It was dropped because it leaks lubricant out the bottom. That problem can not be fixed. Some time during the 450's manufacturing life the tolerances on both the machine and the sizing dies were tightened up considerably. So a REALLY old 450 can use any RCBS or Lyman sizing die. A newer one will not. No way to know which is which.

The 4500 solves the leakage problem but can only handle recently made sizing dies. It can be purchased with or without an integral heater. You can add the heater later. The heater is money well spent.

Currently I have one Star, one Lee, one Lyman 45, one Lyman 450, three Lyman 4500's and two RCBS's. I sold my SAECO (and would not want another) and I sold most of my Star's.

Scott T · « **Reply #16 on:** April 29, 2006, 01:42:27 PM »

Once you set the Star properly (and this is a 5 minute chore at best) you can run it until you get tired and have excellent results.

Save your pennies and do it right the first time.