Forster co ax clicking?

[RTillery]

I use my Co Ax at the short range BR matches and have loaded tens of thousands of rounds over 35 years of ownership. It's getting a little sloppy on the links, but I still win a match once in a while. The clicking you are hearing isn't the primer falling down and hitting the catch bottle is it?

 

[savagedasher]

Check the guide bars the screw that holds them is loose or not adjusted right .
Larry

 

[danny]

I dont hold the case I just plop it up there and ram away. I get the clicking too but I dont worry about it, Forster will rebuild it for free if you break or wear it out.

I don't have to hold the cases either. If I had to use standard shellholders on my Co-Ax, I would just get rid of it and use my Lee Classic Cast Press, or not have bought the Co-Ax in the first place. Probably, if it happens only with one die, it is not the press. Contact Forster and ask for Technical Help. They have been a great help in the past.

Danny

 

[bugman]

At 3 year's old, odds are slim that the linkage is worn. More than likely it is the die ring. If there is any play between the height of the die ring and the milled out slot in the press, there would be a click when you reverse direction with the ram. Easy way to find out is, with the die inserted in the press, grab the die and move it quickly up and down....is that the same noise?

 

[savagedasher]

At 3 year's old, odds are slim that the linkage is worn. More than likely it is the die ring. If there is any play between the height of the die ring and the milled out slot in the press, there would be a click when you reverse direction with the ram. Easy way to find out is, with the die inserted in the press, grab the die and move it quickly up and down....is that the same noise?

Under the two jaws of the primer seater you will find two screws that hold the guide bars the can be loose. Clean and lube them push the handle to the bottom and tighten the screw . Make sure the guide rods are center with no binding . Larry

 

[ireload2]

Try running a case into the die a second time. Lube the case and size it a second time. If it does not click the die may be a little rough and needs polishing or you need a more slippery lube.
I polish dies in a lathe or use a threaded mandrel with drill motor. I use 320 to 600 grit wet or dry silicon carbide paper used wet it a light oil like WD 40. Spin at 300 to 600 RPM.

The slickest lube I have used is very messy but it might be useful for trouble shooting.
Mystik JT6 is so slick that cases will often force themselves backward out of the die when you take pressure off of the press handle.

I have a Forster co ax thats about 3 years old. It has started clicking when I use a Redding body die on .308Win cases. I have lubed it up and I can not figure out what is happening. The click is at the point when I'm just raising back up after completing the downward stroke. It clicks the first 1/8" and then goes away.

It only does it with this one body die, NO others. The die looks fine and is clean. The cases look fine after also. Maybe nothings wrong but its driving me nuts.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Matt in Virginia]

Two of the reasons I have the Forster press Is the shell holder and positive stop priming.
I have one with small priming and the other with large priming.
Same with the shell holder.
The click could be from not using Forster locking rings. Larry

fwiw,
Concur...

The priming function on this press really does not get enough good press(no pun intended). It works perfectly.

The thought of putting a standard shell holder on a Co-Ax is anathema, in my limited mind, to the press design. The sliding case holder is a winning design and not the chore to switch out that is often talked about. Granted I have just hexed myself and the next time I change the jaws arounds I will lose springs and possibly put out an eye. That said, up to this point, it has been painless. Should not have said that out loud, however, if you can't look the devil in the eye and spit chaw on his trousers how good of a Christian are you? .

Would also concur the click should not be coming from a Forster lock ring. I will say that there are a lot of lock rings that are awfully close but still not quite there that MAY be reseating themselves to the top on a heavy sizing operation, however, that is just a guess.

Love these presses. Mine is a B-2 from 2000 of so... It was so far ahead of the RCBS Jr. I learned to load on that it was not even a horse race. Granted the Jr.'s owner did "not care for" the Co-Ax until he came by my reloading room and spent and hour of so running it. I think he bought one that week...

Regards, Matt.

 

[Cujo]

Mine clicks too and I can't figure it out. I tightened the guide rods and it seemed to help. It happens at the beginning of the upstroke.

 

[savagedasher]

Mine clicks too and I can't figure it out. I tightened the guide rods and it seemed to help. It happens at the beginning of the upstroke.

Is it the press or the dies?
Sizing dies will pop or click when your using the expander ball . When you tighten the rods make sure the press is in the closed position or with the handle down. Larry

 

[LHSmith]

Why so many threads with problems operating a Coax? Adapt the KISS principle and use a single stage press sized appropriately for the cartridges you use and remove the retainer and float the S/H with an o-ring. You guys make precision reloading way more complicated and have a tendency to use more complex (expensive) equipment than it has to be. IMHO, the Coax is a gizmo that won't get you to the top of the match results any faster than through the use of a simpler machine. Again it's the initial marriage of the dies with your particular chamber that create accurate ammo ....with close scrutiny by measuring each case as it comes out the die and making adjustments to ensure every case sized is exactly the same (or at the very least segregating "like" cases). I am impressed by winning aggregate targets, superfluous reloading and shooting equipment......not so much.

 

[SBS]

As a few others have said, the noise is caused by the case turning loose of the die, hence only happening with one of your body dies. I experience the same sound using a Forester BR seating die when I only neck size and the brass (because of a sloppy chamber in my case) sticks momentarily in the alignment chamber.

 

[savagedasher]

Why so many threads with problems operating a Coax? Adapt the KISS principle and use a single stage press sized appropriately for the cartridges you use and remove the retainer and float the S/H with an o-ring. You guys make precision reloading way more complicated and have a tendency to use more complex (expensive) equipment than it has to be. IMHO, the Coax is a gizmo that won't get you to the top of the match results any faster than through the use of a simpler machine. Again it's the initial marriage of the dies with your particular chamber that create accurate ammo ....with close scrutiny by measuring each case as it comes out the die and making adjustments to ensure every case sized is exactly the same (or at the very least segregating "like" cases). I am impressed by winning aggregate targets, superfluous reloading and shooting equipment......not so much.

Morning mr smith
In 6 years of using mine I have had to remove two bolts from the primer jaws loosen the bolts that hold the guide bars lower and realign and tighten them . Re assembled the two primer jaws . My sizing dies I removed the expander balls . I don't any others problems. I have loaded in excess of 500 per week . The only die adjustment is done for head space or seating depth . Otherwise I just snap them in and go . They are quality presses . Larry