Quote:
Originally Posted by chuck
I thought I did, but here goes.
I have been reloading for 30 plus years and as with anything you develop preferences or bias towards certain products. This is what I use and why. I have had both the Lee kit (bought when I was a teenager) and the Rock Chucker Kit. I still have bits and pieces of each, but not much is left from either. Now on to the nuts and bolts:
Forster Co-Ax press: A complete luxury, but I got tired of runout and I sold two presses to buy it. It is really nice to work with. I find adjustments to dies are more precise and also more repeatable. And given it's floating shell holder and die holder concentricity is improved.
Redding beam scale: When I bought it 15 or 20 years ago it was relatively inexpensive and I believe it still is. I sold my RCBS scale to buy it, but am not sure it was an upgrade. It is a bit smaller which I like, and both would be as accurate as needed.
RCBS powder measurer: This came with my RCBS kit and works well. I've thought about upgrading, but am not sure an improvement would be seen. For the cost to upgrade I'm not sure it is worth it.
Wilson case trimmer: I have used a few trimmers. Most lathe type trimmers have flex and do not trim as consistently as they should. The Wilson is an exception and can actually be bought relatively cheaply. You don't get the bells and whistles, but they are a luxury not a need. Trimmers that trim off the shoulder datum are also great, but you need consistent shoulders to get consistent trim length. The Lee case length gauges and their associated trimmer are an exceptional value. They are as consistent as anything I have used, but you are relegated to one length (not a big deal, but it is a consideration) unless you modify the stop with a file.
Sinclair concentricity gauge:$120 USD One of those things I'm glad I bought. Not free, but not extremely expensive either. I bought mine on sale and went with a dial and not digital to keep costs down.
Sinclair nut comparator: $20 USD A cheap simple way to keep track of COAL using the ogive.
Sinclair bump gauges: $15 plus $8 USD Not an expensive tool that really opens your eyes to where you are moving your brass. This step can be accomplished with "feel", but sometimes you are out in left field without knowing it.
Sinclair COAL tool: $35 USD A surprisingly simple and inexpensive tool that will also open your eyes to where the lands actually are.
Dial Calliper: Cheaper than a good digital one and kinda bomb proof.
Redding FL busing dies: I like the floating bushing, the ability to control neck tension, and to FL size my cases. I buy the sizing die alone to save cash
Forster seating dies: I like a sleeve when seating bullets. I have found that the seating process wreaks havoc on concentricity. I use the non micromoter dies to save dollars.
Machinist pin gauges: These are cheap, a few dollars each, and I use them to determine neck tension. I have found the conventional methods for this to be unreliable.
Sinclair expander mandrels: I find I need those or expander balls to iron out necks. A non necessity, but I think they are $80 a piece and the die body less than $40
Lee priming tools: I haven't found a priming tool with more value. It works great. I like the originals and wish I had five of them.
Lee "O" press for bullet pulling: A $40 press that works for this one job well.
This is why I think guys should think this through a bit. It would have been cheaper for me to gather these over a bit of time than to replace later.
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Completely agree but saying that, I started loading in the late 60s. Some of the tools I use today weren't even inverted back then. Other thing is, till I tried two or three hand priming tools, press mounted tools and bench mounted tools it would have been impossible to pick my favourite. Until I tried all three of the electronic powder dispensers I would not have known that I didn't like any of them and went back to throwing charges with Lyman 55 throwers. Until I tried a number of electronic scales I didn't know they were a pain and ineffective unless you want to measure to .001 of a grain, other than that a beam scale works better. Same is true of presses. My favourite progressive, Dillon 550, is very different than my favourite press for brass forming.
When I started loading there were VERY few guys to learn from. Now we have the benefit of AO, that has lots of well experienced guys on it like you, 260 Rem, Dick, Cat and a raft of others, as well as other internet sites where a guy can learn a great deal before laying down his cash.
Even then, you have to do it for quite a while to eventually learn what make, model and style of tool works best for your specific needs. Even then, often no one tool is enough, I have three different Calipers as well as 4 precision micrometers, depending on what I am doing.
Same as you, I have sold and replaced lots of different pieces but all in, most of them I got a real good chunk of my money back on when I resold them because I stayed away from bottom of the line junk. New guys can benefit from the advice here but I think all that get into reloading seriously will end up buying and selling lots of equipment.