school me on lubriszers

migrant hunter

migrant hunter

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OK, tired of pan lubing and using push through sizers.
Tell me about your luberiszers. What have you got, where
did you get it, how hard is it to change dies/punches,
how expensive are dies/punches.
I cast .401, .311, .314,.358 and .368.
 
got a RCBS on this forum used for 125 shipped, does not have a heater so if using in garage its stiff but good at room temperature, dies change easily and it takes other brand dies, dies show up on cgn 25 to 30 dollars

I cast 311, 44 45acp
 
If you are not going to powder coat, there is only one option. Star, don't waste time on the others. I used an RCBS for years and didn't look forward to this part of the reloading process but with the Star it is no big deal as it is so much faster. Setup is about the same with either style.
 
Saeco lubers are considered to be the most accurate due to their two alignment rods. I have a few of them, but finding dies and top punches can be a problem. One nice feature of the Lyman/RCBS style is that you can get custom made dies in any size. A fellow in the US with the handle Lathesmith makes them for $US 50. Not cheap, but it's what you need if you cast for an oddball calibre.
 
The Lyman 4500 is a usable machine but far from perfect. The ram and cylinder it fits in tend to wear and become sloppy and some new units have quite a bit of slop right from new. The loose fit of the ram in the cylinder hole causes bullets to be sized off centre at the bottom of the stroke which is most noticeable on bullets with short noses. I've worn out a Lyman 4500 and a RCBS machine like that - both lasted over 100,000 bullets using good lubricant on the ram to slow down the wear process and keep things tighter for longer. If you don't lubricate the ram regularly you can expect to have that wear to appear MUCH faster.

The RCBS machine is prone to the same wear pattern as the Lyman. Very little difference between the Lyman and the RCBS in my experience, except the heater on the 4500 is possibly a bit better.

I would not buy a used Lyman or RCBS machine unless I could look at it and check the ram slop first.

For Lyman/RCBS sizer dies I usually buy direct from Lyman because their shipping charges are very good and the total price is lower than buying from the usual US retailers. I bought my last 4500 from Natchez Shooter Supply but if you do that make sure you specify USPS shipping only, you don't want UPS or FedEx to screw you by adding $40 brokerage charges to the shipping bill.

If you can afford a bit more, look at the Star lubesizer.
 
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I have a couple Lyman 45's. Nothing special, came cheap, with lots of dies and punches. Since I have been carting a metal lathe around for the last 25+ years, availability of dies and punches is merely a matter of need and motivation.

Look hard at the Star. The guys I know that have them, would never go back to a RCBS.

Cheers
Trev
 
lyamn, RCBS but by far i enjoy my star the best.
even when i powder coat the bullets i still pass them through the sizer to get them uniform in diameter.
the powder coating will add thickness to the bullet too.
 
had Lymans, still have a RCBS LAM II which has worked great for 30 plus years. I have had a Star for 4 years I think, it is the best for large amounts of boolits. I can do 1200 an hour comfortably for pistol boolits. The LAM II I keep around because I have 30 dies or so. I use it mostly for rifle boolits.

I recently bought a new Redding/Saeco/Cramer Lubrisizer that Midway had on sale for $100.00 I intended to use it for Rifle boolits as well. Some users report better accuracy from boolits sized in the Redding compared to others. It has a different design that looks like it should have better alignment than other sizers, but I will see.
 
Lyman 4500, bought at auction for $35. It was almost new, but needed to be cleaned up and have die retaining ring and o-rings replaced. It didn't come with a heater but I have a space heater in the room I point at the main housing if I want to soften the lube a little. One of these days I am going to order a 3/8" x 2" cartridge heater for $4 off of Ebay, as this is what Lyman sells as the heater.

I think sizing dies are typically $40 new, but you see used ones around a lot.

The setup works well enough from my point of view, but it's the only one I've ever used.
 
Thanks guys for all the info, I'll be taking the plunge soon. Just wondering, can I set a lubrisizer so the punch will flatten the nose of a pointed rifle bullet? I shoot deer with the lee .312 160 gr sized to .311 in the .308 win. Can I flatten the nose uniformly with a lubrisizer punch(and the .314299 for that matter)?
 
I wanted too not long time ago to buy the best lubrisizer on the market and I was thinking of Saeco. Someone here pointed me Star lubrisizer from Magma. I started doing my home works and I ended up buying a Star. In the meanwhile I have tested a Saeco. There is nothing to compare. I'm not even going to mention RCBS or Lyman.
Star is the best lubesizer on the market bar none. If anyone can prove me otherwise please do so. They are expensive and they keep their value no matter how old they are. I've seen 20 years old Star sizers sold for 300$ US.
I have 4 Stars. Two are set up each on a different bullet and two I bought because the deal was to good to resist. As usual I exaggerated with buying so at a certain point I may have to sell one. Or two, ha ha.
And is true, Lathesmith dies are the best. I have an original Magma die and I like better the one made by Lathesmith. They will last as long the Star will, no matter how many tens of thousands of bullets are pushed through.
If you want to have one sizer for the rest of your days then Star is the one.
 
migrant hunter, I don't understand why you want to flatten the bullet nose. That will completely ruin the purpose of the mold you used to cast the bullet. Don't even think of. Better buy another mold with the desired shape and weigh and do not alter the bullet shape other than make it go through the sizer for a perfect diameter.
 
Moose Master, thanks for your input. Some cast bullet hunters flatten the nose of the bullet to help initiate expansion. You're right, it would be just as easy to buy a mold for a .30-30 flat nose and load it in my .308.
 
migrant hunter said:
Thanks guys for all the info, I'll be taking the plunge soon. Just wondering, can I set a lubrisizer so the punch will flatten the nose of a pointed rifle bullet? I shoot deer with the lee .312 160 gr sized to .311 in the .308 win. Can I flatten the nose uniformly with a lubrisizer punch(and the .314299 for that matter)?
Click to expand...


The only way to consistently reshape a bullet for any modicum of success/accuracy that much is with a swaging outfit
 
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