Forster bench priming tool

[Andy Work]

Yes, and no. You can feel the primer being seated, but the piston automatically stops at the same "correct" seating depth every time, so what's the point of "feel?" If you stop short of full stroke according to "feel," you will have inconsistent primer seating depths.

That's what I was trying to find out. I like to bottom out my primers so it sounds like that wouldn't work. I've borrowed a friends K&M to try and it does have a good feel to it as far as bottoming out the primers. My hands, not so much. I'll try using both thumbs on the lever and see if that helps.

 

[kiwijohn]

That's what I was trying to find out. I like to bottom out my primers so it sounds like that wouldn't work. I've borrowed a friends K&M to try and it does have a good feel to it as far as bottoming out the primers. My hands, not so much. I'll try using both thumbs on the lever and see if that helps.

Maybe my coax benchseater is different but I can tell you that the Plunger that pushes the primer into the flash hole is long enough that I actually use it to align the case when changing rim sizes. I sit it on the fully closed plunger while I adjust the jaws.
So it will bottom out ( deeper into the case flash hole) than is needed to seat a primer, it is true that if you short stroke the priming handle you will fail to fully seat the primer, but that is true of every method of primer seating.
I am unsure that what Quantukian says is right with regards to the piston stopping at the same place every time. If there was no primer in the tube then yes the piston would fully extend otherwise its up to how much pressure you apply while seating. You could back out the piston sleeve to set up a known distance that the piston travels, but that would leave the back portion of the case head unsupported. Not that, that is important.

I can go over by finger to check for high primers and I can take those cases and reapply some extra force to seat them deeper if i so wish.
The Forster coax seater with the added plastic tray is great for those with sore hands / fingers You could even seat them using your forearm if the hand is too sore. Its biggest down fall is the priming tube in that it only holds 40 LRP's.
One day I would like to get ahold of a Lee Primer tray or similar and mod it to fit the slot in the forster.
@Andy W see if you can borrow a coax seater from someone closer than me, they are a good alternative to using a hand primer, I have tried the Franford A platinum hand primer ........ went back to the Forster.

Here is a short video from Forster that explains it better than words.


Forster adjustment video

 

[big5ifty]

If you prefer to feel the primers seat, try the Lee Bench priming tool. It has just enough mechanical advantage to make primer seating easy, but not too much that you lose the seating depth feel.

 

[209jones]

Maybe my coax benchseater is different but I can tell you that the Plunger that pushes the primer into the flash hole is long enough that I actually use it to align the case when changing rim sizes. I sit it on the fully closed plunger while I adjust the jaws.
So it will bottom out ( deeper into the case flash hole) than is needed to seat a primer, it is true that if you short stroke the priming handle you will fail to fully seat the primer, but that is true of every method of primer seating.
I am unsure that what Quantukian says is right with regards to the piston stopping at the same place every time. If there was no primer in the tube then yes the piston would fully extend otherwise its up to how much pressure you apply while seating. You could back out the piston sleeve to set up a known distance that the piston travels, but that would leave the back portion of the case head unsupported. Not that, that is important.

I can go over by finger to check for high primers and I can take those cases and reapply some extra force to seat them deeper if i so wish.
The Forster coax seater with the added plastic tray is great for those with sore hands / fingers You could even seat them using your forearm if the hand is too sore. Its biggest down fall is the priming tube in that it only holds 40 LRP's.
One day I would like to get ahold of a Lee Primer tray or similar and mod it to fit the slot in the forster.
@Andy W see if you can borrow a coax seater from someone closer than me, they are a good alternative to using a hand primer, I have tried the Franford A platinum hand primer ........ went back to the Forster.

Here is a short video from Forster that explains it better than words.


Forster adjustment video

Need someone good with a 3d printer to make an adaptor for it, that'd be the cat's meow then. As much as I despise the current Lee priming tools, nothing wrong with the tray. That said, an RCBS tray could probably work too. Setting up a new case on the Forster is no big deal like you say, let the plunger center everything up, push the fingers in, tighten them up and get on with it. Not rocket science to shim the plunger in or out either, that's what they make shimstock for.
I looked at the price of the mod kit for the RCBS, that's a pretty hard pass for me as I'd have to add 30% for exchange rate and freight, too much loot for what I'd at best perhaps, gain from it.