Picking out a new press and shell holder

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Jeff H

NW Ohio
I'm not impressed with the most recent stuff I bought, but I'll not part with the older stuff I have.

LEE was always pretty good about parts and warranty stuff, up until... I don't know. Like I said, I got my presses in the early nineties and haven't needed help since. I did try to get some information on the melting pots in 2020 and an engineer got snitty with me - along the lines of "take it or leave it" regarding their warranty replacement offer, which I wasn't what I was inquiring about and that option would have cost more than buying one outright.

It looks to me like they got caught up in the snap-together/quick-connect mentality and carried away with the mass-production of ammo thing. When they were innovating in the direction of simpler things, I think they did much better. Guess that's to be expected when the ol' man dies. But that sparkly stuff appeals to many more than we who appreciate value and quality, so we are outnumbered in the market in that way too.

I'll keep my old Turret Press, and if anyone is burdened with such a lowly piece of crap in their reloading room or garage, I'll pay the postage to relieve you of that embarrassing junk. Wouldn't want buddies to see that under your bench.;)

EDIT: I will add that I do not believe that 99% of us benefit from the ultra-precision of some tooling, including myself. There are probably a few on this site who see the real benefit, but for most of us, owning something THAT NICE, is more about owning something THAT NICE. Nothing wrong with that, but I ain't kidding MYSELF that ANY other press is going to make ammo any better than I can make and make good use of on my older LEE stuff. I'm not sloppy or careless, but I'm not measuring groups in the "tenths" either.
 
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porthos

Active Member
as far as rcbs goes none of they're equiptment will ever cross my doorstep again. much is made in china. you want to wave the flag; but will buy rcbs anyway. NOT ME!!!!
 
RBHarter

RBHarter

West Central AR
I had a reloader special series 223 size die that came with a bucket of junk . The classic dating made it a 1964 body with the tension cone , smooth decap and expander rod . Via their FB page and messenger inquiry about series and vintage I received new current production parts including the bushing , lock nut , rod ,expander ball , and 5 headed decapping pins at zero cost .

I was also told to send in my Partner press and after an evaluation it would be repaired or replaced. It's 25+ years old, it is designed for 50,000 rounds . I could count 20,000 pistol rounds , but, I sized all of the 10,000 45 Colts bullets , another 5,000 + 38/357/9mm bullets and 1,000s more 30&31 cal bullets , cores and paper patches. Then there was that winter I sized every piece of loose brass on hand , about half of a 40mm can.
 
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Jeff H

NW Ohio
I have several which really are great moulds - good design, reliable and have cast many thousands.

"Not spectacular" is certainly fair, but I don't necessarily need spectacular. If they work and are a good design, I'm good.

Also fair to say that I've had a stinker or two, but those were the old 2C version and the main problem was being undersized. Ive worn a few out, but certainly got my money's worth.

Customer service keeps coming up, and I believe that is something we're missing on many, many counts - everywhere you go these days. Anyone who does support their product and treats their customers with respect deserves to keep their business. It's a big selling point for me.
 
RBHarter

RBHarter

West Central AR
I'll smile smugly, and say I have Redding also . I bought the dies at a show for 45-70. I needed a longer seating stem to accommodate the Marlin OAL.
A couple emails and a new stem was on the way.

I have Forster and CH too .
 
RicinYakima

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Jeff H said:
EDIT: I will add that I do not believe that 99% of us benefit from the ultra-precision of some tooling, including myself. There are probably a few on this site who see the real benefit, but for most of us, owning something THAT NICE, is more about owning something THAT NICE. Nothing wrong with that, but I ain't kidding MYSELF that ANY other press is going to make ammo any better than I can make and make good use of on my older LEE stuff. I'm not sloppy or careless, but I'm not measuring groups in the "tenths" either.
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I hear you Jeff but...!

Too many years of benchrest shooting and I measure groups in thousandths. Gladly pay to get a 1/100th group reduce for a season. Yep, I have some expensive stuff. This Hood press ($750 in 2005) reduced my group size 0.025" over a season of matches.
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Hood Press.JPG
 
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Jeff H

NW Ohio
Ric, you're one of the 1% to whom such fine things make a difference. That press is a wonder, but would be wasted on me.

Such things are wonderful works and worthy of the skill of a very FEW, but they could not make the the majority of us any better, least of all myself.

EDIT: BTW, when I said "tenths," in quotation marks, I meant tenths of a THOUSANDTH. Maybe an exaggeration, or maybe simple ignorance on my part. My dad, 40+ year tool & die maker, spoke in "tenths," as if that were a FOOT. I assumed that was where the benchrest guys made it or didn't.:)
 
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Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Jeff H and RicinYakima both make excellent points.

Quality pays off for those who can exploit it but there are diminishing returns on that path.

And there is the cost versus benefit analysis that we all must succumb to at some point.

If you’re honest with yourself, you will avoid blind brand loyalty. When it comes to tools, I seek high quality but there are limits to my wallet. As Jeff H points out, there are also limits to one’s needs. Somewhere in there is a balance between cost and necessary minimum quality.

Many tools are a one-time expense. I am willing to absorb a little more cost to get adequate quality for something I’m only going to buy once. The trick is to not fall for the expensive brand name that is expensive due to the name only. I wish there was some infallible list to post here, but we all know there isn’t such a list.
 
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Monochrome

Active Member
THought about RCBS but when i asked them about their die and seating/crimping cast bullets, the person on the other end of the email was under the impression i was willing to spend at the time, 140$ on a die set, adn then send it to them for 100$ of "custom machining"
 
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BudHyett

Active Member
There is a simple trick when seating bullets that can make a precision seater out of a normal die. After seating, turn the case 180 degrees and reseat. If the case is one degree out of alignment, turning the case brings the bullet back one-half degree and thus in alignment.
 
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castmiester

Active Member
Petrol & Powder said:
Jeff H and RicinYakima both make excellent points.

Quality pays off for those who can exploit it but there are diminishing returns on that path.

And there is the cost versus benefit analysis that we all must succumb to at some point.

If you’re honest with yourself, you will avoid blind brand loyalty. When it comes to tools, I seek high quality but there are limits to my wallet. As Jeff H points out, there are also limits to one’s needs. Somewhere in there is a balance between cost and necessary minimum quality.

Many tools are a one-time expense. I am willing to absorb a little more cost to get adequate quality for something I’m only going to buy once. The trick is to not fall for the expensive brand name that is expensive due to the name only. I wish there was some infallible list to post here, but we all know there isn’t such a list.
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you don't have to spend alot, to have better. ESPECIALLY the way things are built today.
 
RBHarter

RBHarter

West Central AR
I have stuff from 14 makers . 1935 to 2018 . About 1/4 is from companies that no longer exist and another 1/4 from companies that were bought merged, swallowed up , or divisions sold .

I don't like Lee presses but I haven't had one of their O frames. I don't like the lack of at least a positive detent feel whether it cams or not .

I have an old , like 50's vintage , Pacific Deluxe unfortunately I need a Super Deluxe for the 30 cal 100-110 gr RNFP swage die set . I don't like it for the same reason I don't like the Lee's, except that it's in the opposite extreme and needs to have the wear removed from the linkage as the cam over drops the ram almost .1".
The Lyman C press that was all but identical to the Deluxe had the same "fault" with excessive over cam .

I like the Hornady Red , Pacific casting Multi Power press unless I have to pull a sticky case back out . The base leverage is great for the ram up stroke but hard on bench tops coming down if anything sticks .

Everybody wants a press with a 4.5-5.5" window , stroke and a positive stop . I'd be in line in a hurry for a dedicated pistol press with a fast throw and a 2.5" window that ran on a half stroke .

My Big Max is a great press for forming brass but like the lighter RC's it's over kill for most stuff below the Savage and 308 families.
 
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Jeff H

NW Ohio
RicinYakima said:
see attached.

www.harrellsprecision.com

RELOADING PRESSES

accuracy,reloading,powder,measure,bench,rest,benchrest
www.harrellsprecision.com
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DANG, MAN! Those are COOL!



And, apologetically, because those here are so patient with me, I load handgun rounds on my LEE Turret Press with the ram at half-mast. I keep the ram half-way up to do most of the work in batches. I just stand close enough that the handle rests against me, rather than bringing the handle all the way back up, I let it rest against me so the ram does not go all the way back down.

One of the reasons I like my LEE Turret Press so much - it's light, handy and fast. Now, if it's mounted to a bench, how does LIGHT even matter?? Well, mass is mass, so right there it is. No other press I've used has been as light, lively and quick.

I'm still going to check out hat Harrel.
 
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