Sizing and lubing machine

[vmthtr]

What is the prefered machine to do this. Saecco, RCBS, Lyman?? Heater or no? Trying to get started in this and only want to cry once.

[hhranch]

For my two cents worth, nothing beats a Star if you are casting a lot of pistol/revolver boolits. Otherwise, I have always found my SAECO best for seating gas checks and lubing rifle boolits - far better than the RCBS or Lyman that I have tried before settling on the SAECO. It has fewer problems with leaking lubricant around the outside of the sizing die, and its design does a better job of keeping the nose punch lined up with the sizing die.

[94Doug]

It's going to depend a bunch on how deep your pockets are as well. The order you listed them is probably the order of preference, a lot of folks will steer you to a Star if you are going to do volume. Or Lee push through if you are not, and are on a tight budget. This being said, an old 45 ideal/lyman is not a bad place to start if you can pick up a nice used one for around $50. The dies and top punches will work on a newer Lyman or RCBS if you want to upgrade, and you can always get your money back out of it. The Saeco uses it's own types of sizers/punches.

Doug

[Circuit Rider]

Tried a Lyman, didn't care for it. Had a Saeco for 4 years, love it, but I don't do high volume as some here do. CR

[Love Life]

There is a Star for sale in the S&S section for a good price.

[Tumble Bug]

I won't be one who talks about machines he has never used. I have used the Star
and the Lyman. I will limit my comments to those two machines.

The Lyman:
The old prehistoric one (the one that used a set screw to retain the die)
did have the problem of leaking lube around the top of the die. Other than that it
was and still is a good machine. The newer 450 (I've never used a 4500) did not
leak lube around the top...... at least mine did not. There was some minor leakage
around the bottom but it did not create a problem. Lyman, being in the mold
business made a top punch for every bullet that was in their line. That gave me a
wide selection of top punches to choose from. Maybe the same can be said for
SAECO and RCBS also but I have know way of knowing that.

Of course it was possible to set the die so that lube was not applied to the "crimp"
groove but every thing else was going to get lubed. If you were doing a bevel base
bullet, the bevel base got lubed and because of that occasionally lube would build up
under the bullet creating a problem. I'd have to stop frequently and clean the lube
off the top of the "I" die. This experience caused me not to like bevel base bullets.
I had the same problem with bullets designed for gas checks when I was not actually
using the gas checks. This caused me to use gas checks in light loads when they
were not really necessary.

Frankly, it was a hassle.

Oh yes..... and when using gas checks it worked perfectly.

I did read of one blogger who said he drilled the "I" die so that any excess lube would
just squirt out the bottom. I never tried this but it sounded like it would work.

Other than that, the Lyman is a great machine.

The Star:
The Star, in its basic configuration, is in the same price range as the Lyman but oh
what a different machine it is.

The straight thru design really speeds up the process. Put the bullet in the top
(on top of a bullet that is already in the die) and when the lever is pulled down
it pushes the earlier bullet out the bottom. So it does not require a separate
action to remove the old bullet before putting in a new one. This may sound
overly simple but it really speeds up the process. Go to youtube and punch in
"Star sizer". Watch people using them. They are blowing and going! Something
I could never do with my Lyman.

Now for the best part. When the die is set up it can be set up to prevent lube from
flowing into any areas it is not wanted. That means it can be set to prevent lube
from pushing into the crimp groove and the bevel base and all at the same time!
Wow! How sweet it is. I now love bevel base bullets!

There are a number of accessories available for the Star that enhance its speed of
operation. It is a sweet machine.

The only problem that I know of with the Star is that if you ain't got one, you
got a problem!

Am I gonna' ditch by Lyman?..... no....... I'll keep it around for those special jobs.
but I have to say it does not get used much any more.

[Pigslayer]

I have a Lyman #45 & a #450 along with a very scarce Modern Bond. They all do the job well. I'm sure that the Star is a fine unit as many have said so. But you can't go wrong with anything Lyman has produced.

[kappy]

I have a Lyman. I've never used anything else. I was using it to do everything originally, but now I just use it to size and gas check. I've been lubing with Alox for the last few months, and it's working well as a solution.

[baker1425]

I've got the RCBS that I use for rifle casts and seating gas checks. It works well, but it is slow. I still use the push through Lee with Feelix Alox lube and it works and is cheap. It's not been a problem to keep up with the magmacaster with four thousand boolits a month. I may invest in a star one day, but now, I'm good.

[RKJ]

I got the Lyman 4500 (on sale at Midway) and cursed it a lot until I figured out what I was doing wrong. Then it all became very simple (imagine that) I don't like doing 9mm or the Lee 105 SWC as they are so small it makes it hard to grab them out of the die. Again it might be my technique that is the problem, but a push through would be nice. I didn't get a heater at first as I already had a bunch of money spent and figured I could rig something and it did work ok. I finally got a heater and what a difference. Whichever you get I would get a heater.

[Mk42gunner]

What is the prefered machine to do this. Saecco, RCBS, Lyman?? Heater or no? Trying to get started in this and only want to cry once.

I have an RCBS Lubamatic, and don't really have any complaints, but it can be a tad slow to operate. I do not use a heater, the only lube that I use in it is FWFL and it flows well at room temperture. If you plan on frequently changing lubes, I would get multiple sizers, vice cleaning the lube out every time.

It is too bad you can't go to a store and see the different brands in operation, it is a lot easier to make a choice when you actually have hands on experience, versus reading a catlog or internet page.

A good thng about the RCBS and Lyman units, the sizing dies and top punches are interchangable, I buy whichever is cheaper when I need a new size. I usually make my own top punches instead of paying for them.

The bad thing about lubrisizers is that once you get a several sizing dies, you are pretty much locked into one system; the basic machine isn't all that expensive, but when you go to replace ten or fifteen separate dies at one shot, yikes.

Robert

[Reload3006]

I would have said the Lyman 4500 but Lyman will not stand behind their products Buyer beware.

[Trey45]

I would have said the Lyman 4500 but Lyman will not stand behind their products Buyer beware.

Sure they do, I've had nothing but good luck with Lyman customer service.

[Reload3006]

if you think that having to pay the shipping to them to see if they will be willing to fix the defective piece of equipment is good customer service I hope you dont have a business.

[Trey45]

Any company that I've had to return a defective item to has had me pay shipping. Beretta, Ruger, RCBS, Dillon, Lyman, even electronics equipment, and tools too for that matter. If you're saying Lyman doesn't stand behind their equipment because they won't pay for your shipping, then you really don't have any grounds for your claim. They DO stand behind their product, YOU have the responisibility of getting it to them for them to take the appropriate action.

[Reload3006]

I get it that you love Lyman Much to your own But RCBS has never ever made me pay shipping. Remington has never made me pay shipping If that is acceptable to you more power to you. But when I buy a new 4500 lube sizer that will not take a H&I die and the first thing Lyman tells me is is it our dies or is it RCBS dies Contact RCBS? get real I have a 45 too. Sure I'm out 186.00 so far I will pay the shipping to SEE IF THEY WILL COVER IT UNDER WARRANTY. and what if they decide they wont? Piss poor customer service. Buy all the Lyman products you want They will never sell me another thing. Caveat Emptor.

[Pigslayer]

I got the Lyman 4500 (on sale at Midway) and cursed it a lot until I figured out what I was doing wrong. Then it all became very simple (imagine that) I don't like doing 9mm or the Lee 105 SWC as they are so small it makes it hard to grab them out of the die. Again it might be my technique that is the problem, but a push through would be nice. I didn't get a heater at first as I already had a bunch of money spent and figured I could rig something and it did work ok. I finally got a heater and what a difference. Whichever you get I would get a heater.

Get a Lyman #45. It'll bring the boolits right to the top. It makes for easy pickin's!

[trench]

Star, man, unless doing rifle bullets. At that, I have no expeience, and don't want any, either. pistol bullets are $80 a thousand from your local caster. YOu really want to cast 150 an hour, with a 2 cavity mold, size/lube 150 an hour, and wait for 20 minutes for 20 lbs of lead to melt (30 .45 bullets per lb, if you count remelting the sprues)? Aint your time worth anything?

[Pigslayer]

Star, man, unless doing rifle bullets. At that, I have no expeience, and don't want any, either. pistol bullets are $80 a thousand from your local caster. YOu really want to cast 150 an hour, with a 2 cavity mold, size/lube 150 an hour, and wait for 20 minutes for 20 lbs of lead to melt (30 .45 bullets per lb, if you count remelting the sprues)? Aint your time worth anything?

This may sound strange, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of casting with my two cavity & even my one cavity mold(s). Yep, I could set out in my little shop and cast & lube all night. No, I don't shoot so much that I have to cast in the thousands. Been loading & shooting for a very long time & I just enjoy taking my good old time doing it.
It's sort of like when I go to dinner & order a scotch & soda before dinner. I like to sip it, not gulp it down. I guess if I was into competition pistol shooting it would be different. I know that some of you people shoot an amazing amount of boolits and with that a faster method would be in order.
But if one is just getting started . . . get yourself a used Lyman #45 . . . can't go wrong & you'll always get your money back should you want something faster.

[chambers]

Lyman 4500 with heater, broke the cast iron bottom where the lube bolt is connect through the base, not sure if it was my fault and still can't figure out what happened. Did contact Lyman customer service and not that helpfull, just wanted to sell parts. Not worth buying a new cast iron body, So I machine/fabbed a remedy and does still work and use. Also have a RCBS and works fine.