Arbor press for inline seater

[Tom S]

I’ve been using in-line dies for years, seating bullets by hand. With around 1-2 thousands neck tension it’s easy. I could feel any seating variations pretty easy, I thought! A few years ago a friend had a KM press with pressure gauge, so I bought it! Since then, I’m able to truly see just how much variations in seating pressures I was having. Now I’m able to seat bullets and sort them into similar groups. Is it making a difference in my groups? Not sure, but it’s another variable I think I can exclude, plus I don’t have the bruise on my hand from seating.

 

[Bottom Fodder]

Just curious. When loading with my std press I note changes in seating (feel) and will segregate those rounds to warm up or sighters. Same with seating primers, I note the ones that are starting to loosen and mark them for disposal after firing.

Is that what you all do with the arbors and wilson dies?

Basically yes when using my bench top drill press as my “arbor press” because the downward press ratio it has I can feel the difference between a freshly annealed case using say a 265 bushing and 266 bushing as well as if it seats smoothly, the Wilson die “ I think” helps with bullet- brass alinement and more consistent seating depth.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

Just curious. When loading with my std press I note changes in seating (feel) and will segregate those rounds to warm up or sighters. Same with seating primers, I note the ones that are starting to loosen and mark them for disposal after firing.

Is that what you all do with the arbors and wilson dies?

Some standard presses have more "feel" than others. Before changing to Wilson in-line dies, I used a Lyman Ideal for seating ( and still do for a few, non-competition calibres) Maybe it's the models that have less mechanical advantage -I can't feel so much on my Dillon 550b, as the Lyman.

 

[divingin]

For the rest of us ... Brownells has a new Sinclair arbor press for $150 + some shipping. I've shot IBS Score Competition or over 26 years, and that's all I've used. It's loaded 1,000's of rounds, and is still working just fine. Once a year it comes apart for a thorough cleaning, and re-lubing for the following season.

This is what I use:

Bald Eagle BE1001 - Mini Arbor Press - Grizzly Industrial, Inc.

<h1>BE1001 Bald Eagle Mini Arbor Press</h1> This BE1001 Bald Eagle Mini Arbor Press was designed specifically for reloaders and match shooters who use Wilson-type dies to seat bullets. <br><br>The large hand knob locks head in place firmly, yet makes it easy to adjust head up and down...

www.grizzly.com

Currently out of stock, but should be back soon.

 

[charlie b]

Some standard presses have more "feel" than others. Before changing to Wilson in-line dies, I used a Lyman Ideal for seating ( and still do for a few, non-competition calibres) Maybe it's the models that have less mechanical advantage -I can't feel so much on my Dillon 550b, as the Lyman.

I get that too. When using a progressive, even as a single stage, there just seems to be too much more 'going on'. I think they do use more mechanical advantage as well, which masks small differences in the process.

I just wondered what others do when a seating 'feels' different.