Lubrisizer

[f18hornet]

Which brand of bullet lubrisizer/sizer would you recommend. I'm wanting to get set up for 38 special first.

I know someone who has a star brand, but I'm not sure how obtainable the necessary components would be.

One friend says it's a toss up between RCBS and Lyman for him.

 

[MQ1]

As a guy who has both the Lyman and RCBS, I'd say that for starters there isn't such a world of difference that either won't do the job well. That being said, I've used my Lyman longer and I like it because it was my dad's...


MQ1

 

[StevenDzupin]

Saeco / Redding is the one I've used for decades.

The flip out Gas Check Seater is the best.

Accepts solid lube sticks or melt and pour your own.

Nice Bench Clamp available, and with a flat bottom under the lube reservoir, makes a nice place to put

a lube heater if needed.

Only mod needed is to drill and chamfer a small bleed hole thru the sizer die push pin, to vent the accumulation

of excess lube on the Bullet / Gas Check bottom.

The other mod I made was to fit a Rubberized round ball to the sizing lever, makes it easier on the hand while

sizing.

Regards,

Steve

 

[gotcha]

+1 for the Saeco for the reasons listed by Steven.

 

[Iowa Fox]

I own
1-Star
4-Lyman 450
1-Rcbs LAM1

The Star is fantastic if you do large runs of one specific bullet but they are expensive and sizing dies are not cheap. I can't imagine wading into a couple thousand 45ACP bullets without the Star. I used the 450 when I first started but not now.

The Lyman 450 is what I started with about 1970. I like it as its easy to set up and adjust, works great for smaller runs. I see the gray ones sell around here for about 40 bucks with a size die in them but most need a good clean up, You have to watch out because some guys didn't take care of them and a little surface rust on the ram slopped them out fast, lots of them were hardly ever used at all. I keep a different lube in the 4 that I have.

The RCBS LAM 1 is almost identical to the Lyman 450s. If you need replacement parts for the RCBS they will fix you up at no charge.

 

[f18hornet]

Chris

I have the Lee setup you're talking about. Using 158 micro-groove with liquid alox. Some of the bullets' grooves end up looking smudged instead of the bright, clean, cut look I see from more expensive units.

I have no idea how accuracy compares. These seem to work OK for informal plinking.

 

[Cat MD]

Iowa Fox gave you some pretty good advise! If your in it for the long haul spend your money on the Star! If your just going to do small batches go with RCBS they have better customer service than Redding in my experience. Herb

 

[FN in MT]

The STAR is expensive and one really needs the lubricant, heater base as well...But it is a precision tool, built very well and certainly has stood the test of time. Dies are more expensive than Lyman/RCBS but they are not deal breakers either.

Join the CastBoolits forum and find a poster, LATHESMITH. He is a machinist who will build you any size STAR die required at about 2/3 or less of what STAR charges.

I have used a Lyman/RCBS lubrisizer since the early 1970's. Both STILL working just fine. Certainly slower than the star.

FN in MT

 

[f18hornet]

He used a traditional Ideal (Lyman) 158 gr mold that had the single groove for the lube. You didn't say if you used a LEE mold, but they do sell TL (tumble lube) molds that leave a number of smaller grooves on cast bullets, instead of one large one like the Ideal. If you are casting with a TL mold, they recommend using them "as cast," and not sized. Have you tried that? If so, how did it work compared to the sized ones?

SmittyJon (Chris Mitchell)

Chris

Most of my experience has been with rifle reloading, so casting is something I'm just now really learning about. I have the Lee 6 Cavity 158 TL mold. With six cavities, there could be the possibility that one cavity could cast slightly different dimensions than the others. Have not measured with precision instruments to know. Anyway, I did load some of them as cast. All was going well until one of the bullets stuck just as it was entering the barrel in a .357. (Glad I realized what had happened and did not follow up with a shot behind the lodged bullet - could have been unpleasant.) I'm going on the assumption that the case was properly charged and that the primer was good - and that the barrel is not undersized. Having said that, I always run the TL bullets through the Lee sizer before shooting. Have not had another one to stick.

For plinking, the TL system seems to do OK. The bullets are more steady than my hands. :-[