Anyone try this "M" press?

[CWLONGSHOT]

Frankfort Armory M

I found one new 100$ +ship.

I had a early CO-axial and didnt care for run out it left. This uses a proprietary die nut. 18$ a set.

Im thinking about trying one.
CW

 

[Ian]

Looks....cheap? Dunno, might be the cat's pajamas. Give it a go, if nothing else you could relegate it to some dedicated, mundane operation.

 

[JonB]

One place I look to,, for NEW products is Amazon. there is a bunch of questions/reviews on this.
NOW, before I cut-n-paste a bunch of the 1* reviews, I take them with a grain of salt, because there are a lot of morons out there...but when there is a reoccurring theme, even from moron reviewers, it does make me pay attention.

===========================
First question on the page:
Will this work with Forster Seater Dies?
Answer:
very nice but the base tends not to line up with the sizing dies have broken primer pins butcalled the company and before I new it I had a new one happy with service but the press needs work.

=========================================
one star reviews:

Bought 2 of these after the first one broke at the shell holder. Got the second one and after resizing 3 cases exact same thing happens. I really wanted to like this press, and I have a lot of Frankfort products that are A+ but this is a total dud.
*
This press is no good, I’m on my second one end the shell holder bends really easy and it will not load cases strait
*
I had 1 stuck case after 100 rounds, and the shell holder broke the tiny screws holding it in place. Going to buy the rcbs rock chucker and return this.
*
This is a update the press started out working fine now my dies no longer line up with the case holder and the primer hole can't see any damages to cause this very unhappy turned out to be a big wast of money
*
I returned mine (not purchased here) after finding out the hard way that this press does not work wish short die bodies (length of the threads) and/or wide dimension at the upper body side, like Forster Ultra seating dies. The micrometer part that rotate hits the upper surface of the press so that it does not allow this die to be positioned correctly according to the instructions.
I still would have kept the press since it would work slender body and long dies. But the decider for returning was the unmachined surface where the die holder presses against when the ram is up (handle down) - the die wobbles way too much fore-aft, even to the point where the die can completely miss the cartridge, because that surface is bumpy. If you look at the competition, namely Forster press, the surface that supports the die locknut is machined to allow flat-flat surfaces contact.
>>>Edit<<< 1 (4/4/2019): Kudos for Frankford Arsenal for listening and taking action. I was informed that they will correct the issues I had with this product (fitting wide body dies and machining the contact surface). I can't wait to test the mod press.
*
Chinese made, ridiculous proprietary die holders that HAVE to be used to operate press. Buy an American coax press, you won't be disappointed.

https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Reloading-Heavy-Duty-Adjustable-Alignment/dp/B07KT8K18H?th=1

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Yea 100% I read a few and immediately you can interpolate the writers experience. (Or lack there of)

Im gonna watch some more videos and see what I can find to read up.

I like the idea of the Foster. Just didnt like the issues. Never saw this on any RC I ever owned.
CW

 

[462]

Frankford Arsenal is Midway.

Scroll down to read Midway's customers' reviews:

Frankford Arsenal M-Press Coaxial Single Stage Press

The Frankford Arsenal Single Stage reloading press was designed from the ground up to provide years of heavy duty service. The center mounted handle on...

www.midwayusa.com

Seems there are two inherent flaws -- an unsecured die block that causes die-to-case misalignment, and not enough clearance for micrometer adjustable seating dies, and those with fat uppers like Forster.

 

[CZ93X62]

I would be very suspicious of any new, radical tool design introduced in the midst of a feeding frenzy over reloading tools, components, and accessories. That goes double if the stuff comes from the Chi-Coms and/or Larry Potterfield's Evil Empire.

 

[Ben]

That's 2 of us Allen.

 

[Bliksem]

Where is the popcorn emoticon when I need it?

 

[JonB]

I would be very suspicious of any new, radical tool design introduced in the midst of a feeding frenzy over reloading tools, components, and accessories. That goes double if the stuff comes from the Chi-Coms and/or Larry Potterfield's Evil Empire.

lots of reviews were dated 2019 (the before times), so it wasn't introduced in the midst of a feeding frenzy. Also, the suggested retail price is $299, and that's the price on Frankford Arsenal's website. But Amazon and others are selling them for around $100...makes me think it's a huge failure.

edit: I just checked Midway, they don't list the price, until you put one in your "cart", then $111 comes up, same price as Amazon.

 

[Ian]

Liquidate and disappear!

 

[Ian]

Well, it can't be much worse than Lee's new brainchild. I've been trying to like this 4-hole sorta progressive, manual priming press since I got it new last year, but I've never been happy with it for several reasons. After setting it up for .45 ACP and many attempts at short-run loading sessions, I just can't make it work the way it ought to. The OAL varies by about +/- .006" and the bullets get seated crooked so they bulge one side of the case to the point it rubs the inside of the taper crimp die. I fooled with the top punches and three different seating dies, thought about making a stepped, "M" type powder-thru expanding spud, went through boxes of ammo loaded with the Pro-1000 and same dies (no crooked bullets or eccentric bulges there), and finally ran several cases through while positioning bullets crooked in different directions on the case mouth. No matter what I did, the cartridge came out of the seating die with the bulge in the same place. So I yanked the seating die, put in an empty case, and found this:



I monkeyed around with the top plate screws trying to find a position where the stations all lined up with the shellplate notches when the ram was full up, no joy. The flimsy base and small ram with no central guide rod just wobble too much and shift under load.

So I'm going to rip it down and go back to the Pro-1000 and crimp all the cartridges on a single-stage like I've done for decades.

 

[Spindrift]

I took a look at the Frankford press at my local dealer a couple of years ago. I lost interest when I realized you need the proprietary lock rings for all your dies, if you want to avoid adjusting them with every use.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

I have a Bonanza Co-Ax press bought new many years ago. The Co-Ax is a good press. Much of the praise heaped on the press is unjustified. I blew off the Frankfort Press when I discovered it is was a Frankfort Press. That done it. No more fooling with any Midway brands.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I have never been a LEE fan. BUT I do love and appreciate many of there products. Others well no not so much.

Having said that...

I also picked up a Classic 4 hole turret!! I didnt have high expectations but a few people I know like and respect have and use them for years. SO.... I have one.
So far, I have loaded 20 45's (to set up die head, 200 380's & about 50 10mm just to get setup.

I "fixed" primer issues and the press is working oretty well. But Im manually indexing. As a pistol press Im thinking its gonna work out fine.
CW

 

[462]

A Lee Classic Turret greatly simplified my loading process, by combining the steps that used to be done on two single-stage presses onto one press. I eliminated its on-press priming problems by using an RCBS ram prime* and Hornady hand primer. A priming arm is installed only when depriming, otherwise it's an unnecessary hinderance. Auto-indexing is used for convenience only, not speed, and manual-indexing is used as often as auto.

* An RCBS JR 3 is used for ram priming and other miscellaneous jobs.

 

[Ian]

I load everything rifle except 300 BLK on a Lee Classic 4-hole turret press. Have about 20 loaded turrets set up and ready to rock & roll. I don't always use the auto-index because I typically run single operations in big batches. When working up loads I'll often run the index rod and crank out 10 or 20. It is an accurate, robust press that I find very comfortable to use and is so convenient and versatile that I can't imagine a better system for my needs. With good dies like RCBS GMM and Forster in-line seating dies, the Lee Classic Turret produces consistent, straight ammunition.

I like the Classic Turret so much I bought a used one and converted it to three-station. Had to make a longer auto-index rod out of hexagonal rod stock, heat and twist it, and turn and thread for the nut, but it works great for three-step reloading (.35 Remington, .38 Super, and a few others get loaded on this press).

I hoped the 4-station progressive Lee came out with would solve my .45 ACP conundrum but it is just too poorly made. I woke up this morning with an idea that might fix it, going to try that before throwing in the towel.

 

[CZ93X62]

I get by quite well on the Ponsness-Warren P-200 for pistol and small rifle reloading (up to 223 Rem), and the Rock Chucker for anything larger. One of the P-W large rifle 5-station turret machines can handle all calibers to 375 H&H-length. The P-200 is 21 years old, and has loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds. It is positively bullet-proof.

Each of us has differing needs in terms of volume, precision, and preferences. One size or type will not fit all.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

I was around when Lee introduced the original turret press. We taught a generation of shooters how to reload on one of these machines. Lee still gets clobbered with the old reputation from the whack-a-mole Lee loader. I started on one of those sets and a hammer. Many people speak of having started reloading with RCBS gear. The fact is that there were many of the old Lee Loaders in the picture before the RCBS or Lyman gear. I use a four hole Lee even today set up for seating cast rifle bullet loads. It's great to have Lee and an option to this day.

 

[Ian]

I wore out my first press, and RCBS Ammomaster. RCBS was kind enough to send me a new ram and base for it. Since then I use exclusively Lee presses because.....believe it or not....I find their on-press priming mechanisms to be the most convenient and functional of any maker's units. I've avoided the Loadmaster because I doubt even I could get that contraption to work reliably. The Pro-4000 is simply garbage.

Now HERE'S a good press, too bad Lee doesn't make it themselves:

 

[Petrol & Powder]

When reading reviews, I often dismiss some reviews that are obvious user error issues. However, there comes a point when the large number of bad reviews can’t be dismissed, and credence to the negative reviews begins to build.

The Frankfort M press is clearly an attempt to copy the Forster Co-Ax and I’m a bit skeptical of the success of that attempt.

It claims to be made largely of cast iron. For that price point and the complexity of those castings, I’m suspicious of the quality of the iron they used. The fact that it’s made in China increases my suspicion on the quality of the materials. Add to that the number of pivot points, a questionable universal shell holder and lots of complaints about the die blocks; and the workmanship also comes into question.

The drastic reduction in price also hints that we are getting a lot closer to the true cost of production and that the original price was highly inflated. In a nutshell, this isn’t a $250 press being offered for $100 but rather far more likely an $80 press being offered for $100.

Now, not all inexpensive tools are bad, and I’ve found some very good values over time. But risking $100+ to find out if this is a decent press is probably more money than I want to risk on this type of purchase.

A real Forster Co-Ax sells new for about $370 when they are available. I’m not in the Co-Ax press camp, but if I were to seek one – I would seek a real one.

If I was going to spend $100-$120 on a single stage press (and I’ve owned a bunch of single stage presses over the years) I think I would put my money someplace other than this Frankfort Co-Ax copy.

Just my opinion.