Lubri-Sizer

[jim4065]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum but I have been casting for awhile. All BP; roundballs, maxis and such. Now I just bought a 6 cavity Lee mold for the 32 Auto, and I want a 310 Cadet mold, 38 special, 30-30 etc.
Problem is the whole sizing and lubricating thing. I know that the choices boil down to Lyman, RCBS and Saeco (now) with some discontinued Stars, etc. on eBay. Midway has the 4500 Lyman with 110 volt heat for about $115 - and Lyman seems to also have the lowest prices on top punches and sizer dies. The negative is the "feedback" on the Midway site, which rates the Lyman for 1 out of 5 stars. Is it really that bad?
Also going to need lube - and I've seen purple, red, green, and various browns on eBay for about half the "name-brand' prices on Midway. What's best? I will mostly be shooting "plinker" loads in most of my guns - except the semi-autos, of course. What about the Glock 22? Will it hurt to shoot some hard lead thru it?
Thanks for any help you can give - I hate buying the wrong stuff.
Jim

[Phil]

I've never used the Lyman 4500 but have two 450's that work just fine. Prior to that I had a Lyman 45 that did just fine. I also had a Saeco which was fine but for the expense and it wasn't as easy to get dies and top punches for.

Lyman may have cheapened the 4500 excessively or perhaps the negative feedback just isn't warranted. I'd also be interested in knowing more about them. I almost bought one recently but got a really good deal on a 450 so I got that instead.

Cheers,

Phil

[Phil]

Hopped on to the Midway site and looked at the reviews for the Lyman and SAECO. A couple of valid complaints about burrs in holes but what new equipment doesn't have issues like that these days? And easily fixed. Most of the problems I saw with both manufacturers seem to be operator malfunctions. Customers should be required to demonstrate a level of intelligence at least 10% above the equipment they are trying to operate.

Cheers,

Phil

[Bret4207]

Warning! This is just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt- I have noticed that Lyman products have gotten a bum rap over the past 25 years or so. When RCBS came on strong in the late 70's early 80's they had a much nicer ad campaign and nicer packaging than Lyman. Lyman stuck pretty much with the tried and true and they don't listen much to the customers. Proof of that is the fact they offer 1or 2 6.5,7mm,35 cal rifle moulds and the used moulds in these cals on Ebay bring huge money.

Anyways, I think the shooting public has bought into the nicer advertising RCBS and Redding have done. So when someone has a chance to take a shot at Lyman on a website, some guuys will do it. This may not have been what happened at MidWay but it's sort of a trend I noticed.

BTW- Have you considered the Lee Sizers? Cheap, efficient and they work. It's a start.

[monadnock#5]

Without knowing where the guys who write the reviews are on the learning curve, there's no way to know if their complaints are well justified or totally useless.
Ken

[chunkum]

I've used a pair of Lyman 450s since the early 70s and they are still going strong. My favorite quote from this forum: "Some people can break an anvil." I think Lyman products are probably the most underated and unfairly maligned reloading and casting products on the market today. I can't recall ever haviing a significant problem with any of their products that I've used.
Best Regards,
chunkum

[carpetman]

I have owned both Lyman and RCBS molds and lubrisizers. I rate the RCBS molds ahead of the Lymans. One Lyman mold gave problems and was sent back and I was charged for the repair. It was an older mold and the problem was honest wear and tear. That would never happen with RCBS--they would fix it free. I'd almost rate the two lubrisizers in a dead heat. The RCBS does seem to hold pressure better. I much prefer the ratchet feed system of the Lyman and older RCBS to the newer toggle system of RCBS. I did convert mine which was not just a change the part deal--required some machining. RCBS did provide the parts for the conversion---FREE. With the RCBS warranty I would buy RCBS over Lyman.

[mag_01]

It would be hard to beat RCBS for customer service---pleasing customers is there way of doing business.----Mag

[robertbank]

I have the RCBS Lubricator and it works. I have not noticed any difference in RCBS/Lyman dies as they both work fine in my machine. I have a number of Lyman molds and they all work. In today's marketplace a company either provides the customer with industry standard service and products or it folds. Customer loyalty has to be earned and maintained. Communication being what it is today, a customer in New Delhi gets a bad mold and Deputy Al can be reading it and telling me about the bad experience in India five minutes after it is reported.

Buy either they both work.

Take Care

Bob

[Jon K]

Jim,

Lots of used lube/sizers out there for sale, some even come with lots of extras. No matter what board you check you'll find Lyman & RCBS. Unless you're in a big rush, shop around, many of the units will be new or barely used. Many may try it and find out casting is not for them, and everything is up for sale.

Have Fun Shooting,
Jon
:castmine:

[KYCaster]

The Star sizer is still available from Magma Engineering. I recommend it over any of the others.

Jerry

[Hunter]

Well I have little experence with my Lyman 4500 as I have only been using it less then 3 months but so far with the few thousand .45 and .38 I have lubed and sized it has worked great. I prefer the Moly lube over the Alox myself.

[BruceB]

Another satisfied Lyman user here. I've never used the RCBS machine, nor the Saeco or Star versions. I have no plans to change.

I have used two #45s, one new and one bought "used", and both worked fine ...once I figured out the "how-to" of the operation without instructions or anyone to help. I now run three #450s, and they're even better than the old #45.

I prefer Lyman sizer dies over RCBS, although I am using maybe a half-dozen of the Oroville type. Lyman dies seem to have better internal finish and also are much more flexible in use, due to their larger number of lube holes.

I note that Carpetman mentioned the RCBS machine "holds pressure" better than the Lymans. I've found that my best results come when I tweak the pressure wrench just enough for EACH BULLET as they're processed. Less mess, less lube in places where it's not wanted, and just generally a more-controllable operation.

[lmcollins]

I have a Lyman 4500 with heater, and a late model 450 on my bench. The only difference between the two of them is that the 4500 has a thicker base in order for it to hold the cartridge type heater they now sell with it. I use acheap Harbor Freight heat gun to help warm up the front of the 4500 where the die is held and the sizeing is done. All of the parts are the same for both units. Needles to say, when you preheaat the 4500 take all presssure off of the resivoir. Ditto when you are done sizeing and store the unit. I don't think that there is enough difference between the Lyman and RCBS to make any difference. I like the ratchet feature of the Lyman. Now with the 4500 it is cheaper to buy a heater for it rather than the old plate type.

[jim4065]

I really appreciate the time that you took and the thoughtfull answers. Bought the 4500 from Midway - it seemed like the sample of negatives was too small to trust. From what I've seen the Star is the best - but the cost of dies and punches was inappropriate (in my opinion). Anyway, I bought 10 tubes of red lube off ebay, once it's used up I'll experiment with 50/50, etc.
The search function works really great - but didn't have much on the 4500 unit. I've been spending the last 2 weeks reading various threads, and have seen a great "quick-change" bench and some other stuff that I need to build into the upstairs of the barn. Funny how your needs grow to fill the available space.
The new Lyman arrived today - and I called Midway to complain because they didn't give me a C&R discount. Bingo! $5.00 back in "Midway Money" to use later - thanks to another thread. This site is a gold mine. But I digress - the 4500 is beautiful. Much nicer, albeit smaller, than I thought. My old Lee bottom pour melter is worn out, so I'm going to use it to clean old lead - and ordered a new Lee 20# "Pro-4" today. Gotta stop talking and start casting - thanks again.

[mooman76]

I have heard of people having big problems with customer service at lyman and on quite a few occations. Here's one. The only problem I had was the tumbler burned out after just one year. I just bought a new one. Seems most of the problems people are having have to do with electronic items.

http://www.reloadbench.com/ubb/Forum14/HTML/000077.html

[chunkum]

When one of my teenagers stripped the threads off the center rod of the lube compressor apparatus by over-tightening it, Lyman sent me a new base and center rod and a complete new (improved version) 450 unit to boot Now all the kids are grown and gone and I'm still happily sizing bullets with both units. So sometimes Lyman's customer service does pretty well.
Best Regards,
chunkukm

[Sundogg1911]

i've been using a Lyman 450 for 10 years. (I bought it used then) and it's working fine. I use rooster red zambini hard lube, and a heater plate under the 450.I do plan to buy a Star in the near future (Just to speed things up) but I will keep the Lyman for all of my gas check rifle bullets, as well as the calibers that I do not shhot as much of (.32 auto, .44 spl, etc.) Most of my bullet molds are Lyman, and i've never had many problems with them either.