Harrels Combo Press?

[DHall_37]

Hey guys and gals I’ve been thinking about getting a new reloading press. My 1960s Pacific press does a wonderful job, however something new wouldn’t hurt. Plus I don’t like the Allen key screw for the shell holders.

I’ve seen the Harrels combo press and thought it would be a good fit for my collection as I may get into Wilson dies one day.

However, I do have a few questions, one being is the press sturdy enough to FL size? I have a few guns in the same calibers and would like to keep FL sizing instead of separating my already made ammo. Most the FL sized cases will be 8x57, 7x57, 6.5x52, 300 savage.

Also can the press support longer cases? Like if I wanted to get into magnums?

How much “flex” is there in the press. I see where it only clamps down. I figured it would flex a lot if it wasn’t bolted down.

I live about 5 minutes away from Harrels shop, that why I was looking into his press because I could probably order it and drive over to pick it up in no time.

 

[BoydAllen]

I have had one for several years. The clamp is massive and ties it to the bench or sturdy table quite effectively. The think about the kind of linkage that it has is that it does not put as much strain on the bench as older designs that do not have compound linkage with dual bars. I have never had any sort of flex issue. Going through the full ram stroke, the handle makes pretty close to a full 180 degree arc which means that the press has plenty of leverage. For magnums I would think that the opening might be a bit small, but I have not tried it for that. Harrells makes a larger press that is that size which does not have the Arbor press seating die feature, but for bigger rounds I just use my old Rock Chucker that has the Lock n Load adapter which makes die changing just about as fast as using a turret press. Recently, I tried one of the new RCBS presses and discovered that I like my old one better.

 

[Ccrider]

I have one with the click adjustable insert added. My favorite people press by far.

 

[DHall_37]

I have had one for several years. The clamp is massive and ties it to the bench or sturdy table quite effectively. The think about the kind of linkage that it has is that it does not put as much strain on the bench as older designs that do not have compound linkage with dual bars. I have never had any sort of flex issue. Going through the full ram stroke, the handle makes pretty close to a full 180 degree arc which means that the press has plenty of leverage. For magnums I would think that the opening might be a bit small, but I have not tried it for that. Harrells makes a larger press that is that size which does not have the Arbor press seating die feature, but for bigger rounds I just use my old Rock Chucker that has the Lock n Load adapter which makes die changing just about as fast as using a turret press. Recently, I tried one of the new RCBS presses and discovered that I like my old one better.

Thanks, 180 degrees will definitely give a lot of leverage. I just want to make sure it can handle FL sizing with no issues.

 

[BoydAllen]

It can. BTW virtually no one in the precision sports neck sizes. But I will say that they generally use dies that do not move the brass much, so they take less effort. Considering their relative importance for accuracy, dies are a lot more important than presses.

 

[DHall_37]

It can. BTW virtually no one in the precision sports neck sizes. But I will say that they generally use dies that do not move the brass much, so they take less effort. Considering their relative importance for accuracy, dies are a lot more important than presses.

Understood, I mostly use the expensive lee FL dies because they are the most affordable for some of my more odd ball calibers and they work quite well for my uses. However at some point I’d like to upgrade to Redding, RCBS and not to mention CH4D for the European Black powder stuff.

 

[R.Morehouse]

For your needs, I would consider a Rockchucker or Lee Classic. If you decide to go to Wilson dies at some point an arbor press can be had in the classifieds around here usually for well under $100. I like the old stuff and mostly use a pair of Hollywood Seniors if I am not loading at the range. I had the combo press for loading at the range and thought it was O.K......I like the RFD & arbor better so I sold it.

Regards
Rick

 

[divingin]

I have a combo press. I don't notice a lot of flex in it, but also don't typically do gorilla operations on it. If you do need to, you'll probably want a longer handle, as the one supplied doesn't give a whole lot of leverage.

On mine, the clip that holds the shellholder in is very secure - so much so that removing the shellholder takes a screwdriver and a lot of prying to get it out. Not a big deal, in my book, just something to be aware of (something I've been meaning to address for something over 2 years now.)

I used mine just the other day to FL size a couple of hundred pieces of brass, to cut down on the length of throw vs. my Hornady Classic press. I realized about a quarter of the way through that I may not have gained anything.

Like Mr. Morehouse, I've largely moved to a standard single stage press for brass processing (at home) and an arbor press for actual loading (wherever that happens to be.)

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Get a combo press from matt at arkco machine. Cant get much more solid and precise