[possumpete]

Newbi to this forum,

'Been casting my own pistol bullets for awhile and sizing with a lee sizer and alox. I've been wanting to start using a regular sizer and luber but not sure which on to get.pros-cons on the rcbs and lyman?watching presses on ebay and there seem to be alot of the older orange lyman presses on there. Are they as servicable as the newer ones? Appreciate any help and thoughts.

Thanks

 

[Marshal Kane]

IMO, see no reason why the older Lyman lubrisizers won't do the job. Would suggest you look for a late model be it Lyman or RCBS as it will most likely have less wear.

IIRC, both the Lyman and RCBS lubrisizers first size the bullet then, you apply pressure to the lube reservoir so that lube flows into the bullets' grease grooves. Then you remove the sized and lubricated bullet from the lubrisizer.

Have you looked into the Star lubrisizer? It is the fastest lubrisizer on the market by far. Each time you size and lubricate a bullet, the following bullet pushes the completed bullet out of the lubrisizer. Pressure to the lube reservoir will lubricate about 15 bullets before more pressure needs to be applied. Shortens this task by a whole lot. IME, this is the one I would recommend. A bit pricier than Lyman or RCBS so would look for a used one on eBay if price is a consideration. Just my dos centavos.

 

[Bongo Boy]

I can't compare and contrast as I only own the RCBS and it's the only one I've ever used. It works well and is made well. One bullet is positioned on the return ram--the steel cylinder that slides through the die--and the press arm is brought down to simultaneously size and lube. On the return stroke upward, the finished bullet is pushed by the return ram to its starting position.

What I found is that lubrication seems to work best by giving a turn on the lubricator for each bullet, possibly going 2 or 3 bullets but seldom more. The lube chamber accepts the 'standard' hollow lube cartridge (stick), and pressure is applied to the top end of the stick by a disk that's threaded onto the threaded crank rod. The rod is held in position with a 'C' ring retainer.

So, there's no spring loading or other cushion in this system, and you maintain adequate lubrication by a) adding a short turn to the crank handle, and b) inspecting the finished bullet. After a short while, you get to know the feel of the system, and get to know how much pressure to maintain on the lube stick and how much of a turn is required to maintain it.

When you determine you need another lube stick, you back out the flange/plug on the top end of the lube chamber, and pull out the crank, rod and piston assembly. You then turn the crank while holding the piston until the piston is once again at the top end of the screw, load a cartridge onto the screw, and shove the entire mess back into the chamber. Not fast and not too convenient.

So, while I think it's well worth the price, it could be a bit faster and more convenient.

On a related topic, I started out with a low-temp lube that doesn't require heating. The particular lube I chose ended up all over everything, and each and every cartridge case needed to be wiped off. If I threw the finished bullets in a tupperware, they'd end up with wax everyone.

I bought a lube-sizer heater and went to a heater-required lube. It was a good day. The heater with an electronic temperature controller cost about $100, but has made my lube-sizing life a real joy with no more painstaking cleaning of stuff.

Is it all worth it? Absolutely. Bullets at 4 or 5 cents apiece? You kiddin' me? Fuggetaboutit.

 

[bulletmaker]

Both of the luber sizers you mention are excellent choices...And I believe they both use the same sizer dies as well...I have used the Lyma for several years and it is a good one...The only thing you might want to watch for is some of the older one's like on E bAY may not have a good seal in them..But you can get this replaced if the need arise..So be sure to ask about the seal and find out how old the unit is beforebuying it..Good luck...

 

[possumpete]

thanks for the help fellas.looks like the money on hand at the time will determine which sizer i will be using when the time comes.

 

[hailstone]

I used to follow the auctions on eBay for used Lyman and RCBS luber/sizers. Towards the end it was cheaper to buy new equipment than pursue the used. Thats been several years ago so it may have changed again. I bought four sizers but some bosso repaired one which was using hard lube without benifit of a heater and pulled the screw through the bottom of the sizer. Welding cast iron without using special welding rod just doesn't work. Ended up with spare parts for my other sizers as a result. At that time cost plus shipping was around $50-$75 with a new one at $125. Last ones were going for $100-$125 with new just slightly higher.

 

[tealdawg]

you may also want to look at a Star (Magma Engineering) it is a push thru type so no need for additional nose punches. I currently have a LYMAN , Saeco and the Star and I have gotten to the point I only use the Star for smokeless bullets and leave the other two set up for black powder cartridges

 

[budman46]

possumpete,

if you're bent upon using either a lyman or and rcbs, the rcbs is a studier set-up, but you mention having a lee sizer with alox to size your castings...is that liquid alox and lee's press mounted sizer? if so, i'd stick with that, if it's a cake-cutter system. anything would be an improvement.

i retired my rcbs lubri-sizer with it's expensive (and limited diameter) die sets after trying lee's push-thru, press mounted system for these reasons:

it's faster:
put bullets in a margarine tub, add a few drops of liquid alox, swirl to coat and let dry. if gas checks are involved, size, re-lube and let dry.

it's lots cheaper:
die sets cost <$15, include a bottle of liquid alox (enough to size thousands of bullets) and don't require dedicated top punches or special presses; they mount in your loading press, pushing the bullet from the base.

it's less messy:
loading grease sticks into bullet sizing presses always gets messy.

it's adaptable:
odd size bullet need? get a die smaller and hone it out with a drill and crocus cloth.

budman46

 

[miestro_jerry]

Here is my Star Sizer, it is very adaptable for dies sizes, I have several different diameter for many "standard" diameter bullets. for my 357 Mag bullets, I have 357, 358, 359 and 360.
I have three top punches, that is all I need. You don't need any tools or adapters for gas checks. I have a box that the sizer is mounted on and I use a cigar box to recieve the finished bullets. I have dies that I get from a member of another forum, who makes them, from .224 thru .460 with many in between. Many times I gear my cast bullets to a secific rifle or pistol or a certain manufacture, such as the Marlin lever guns.

I do use the Lee sizer system it is much better than I expected. I became aware of them when I got involved with using Ranch Dog molds to cast bullets for my Marlin lever guns.

With the Star and the Lee sizing methods it is one stroke with the press, instead of 2 like with the RCBS.

Jerry