Need help with equipment selection...lube/sizers

[ShooterAZ]

I'm making the jump from TL & dip to a regular lube sizer. I am getting ready to place my order and have a couple questions. I have pretty much figured out out my sizers & top punches.

1) I think I have settled on the RCBS lube sizer II, but I don't see a heater available for this unit... Just order the Lyman heater for this?

2) I know this may be personal preference, but is there any reason not to order the Lyman sizer that includes the heater? The RCBS unit looks to be a better piece of equipment.

3) I need recommendations for a good "all around" lube that I can use in both rifle & pistol if there is such a thing.

Thanks in advance...Shooter

[GRUMPA]

1) My RCBS luber has the midway heater on it and uses 1amp@110v and works just great.

2) I've only used the RCBS and nothing else so someone else has to chime in on that.

3) My all around lube is LBT Blue, never been disappointed with it.

[sparky45]

I've had my Lyman 4500 for about a year now and haven't experienced any problems with it or the heater per sa; I did leave the heater on unattended for about 15 minutes one time (one time only) and had a small mess of lube to clean up. I would like the heater to be adjustable at to how warm/hot it would get, but trial and error seems to be O.K. as well. I leave it on long enough to soften the lube and then unplug it until the lube thickens up again, then repeat.

[EDK]

I have a LYMAN and a STAR...had a RCBS in the past. STAR is a mass production BUT expensive machine...nothing wrong with the other two BUT I'd avoid a SAECO because of die cost, etc. Just my opinion.

Midwayusa had a universal heater...got it for $40? years ago...works great.

Go see what LARS has at WHITE LABEL LUBES...half the price of the big names and good stuff to boot. Carnuba Red or 2500 would probably work. I use 50/50 for pistol boolits. BAC is good stuff too...maybe better in warmer climates. Read what LARS recommends on his home page.

I was at Fort Huachuca AZ in 1968...sweated all summer. Nights were getting cooler when I left at the end of October.


:redneck::cbpour::guntootsmiley:

[ShooterAZ]

Apparently Midway has dropped the heater they sold under their brand name...or I just can't find it.

[packrat]

Lyman has been making luber sizers for long time, I have a old one I got from a friend
years ago a #45 it has sized a lot of bullets.....

[RugerFan]

Apparently Midway has dropped the heater they sold under their brand name...or I just can't find it.

Yes, I believe that Midway discontinued their brand of heater a few years ago. I have one and its a little more bulky anyway.

[Larry Gibson]

I've had one 450 in continuous use since '68 and another for 20+ years with my BP lube in it. Got a 3rd one a few years back with a heater for the hard lubes. Haven't had any problems with any of them and I've sized thousands of cast bullets with them.

Larry Gibson

[ShooterAZ]

OK...I think I'll go for the Lyman. Cost is less as well. Thanks to all who replied.

[fredj338]

If you are doing a lot of gc bullets, then I like the RCBS over the Lyman, a bit better built. If you are doing plain base handgun, don;t even think anything but a Star/Magma, by far the best lube/sizer going for the money. It just isn't gc friendly but they can be done. WHite Label CR is my all purpose lube.

[MikeS]

If this is going to be your first lube/sizer then I would seriously consider looking into getting a Star. While you'll initially spend more money, in the long run it's money well spent. First off, the Star is SO much faster than the Lyman/RCBS/SAECO in/out sizers that that fact alone could be a good reason to go with a Star. Next is the fact that with a straight thru sizer like the Star (or Lee sizer dies) the boolits get sized better than an in/out sizer because there's no chance the sizer will distort the boolit. And lastly, if you cast lots of different style boolits for each caliber you shoot, you will be money ahead, as the star doesn't need different top punches, so you'll only need a die for each diameter boolit you'll be sizing. So, if you have say 10 different design boolits in 30 cal, with a Lyman/RCBS you would need 10 different top punches, and while they're relatively cheap, they do add up over time.

Rather than buying a Lyman/RCBS sizer, and all the dies you'll need for it, then eventually getting a Star, and having to reproduce all your sizing dies in Star dies, you might as well jump right into the deep end, and get a Star. Or, you could get the Ballisticast sizer, it's also a straight thru sizer, and it uses the same dies as a Star. I don't know much about the Ballisticast sizer, but the new owner of the company is a forum member, so you could probably get more info on it from him.

My first sizer was a Lyman 45, and while it works fine for what it is, I've yet to use it since getting the Star. Of course if you find a Lyman or RCBS sizer used for a really good price, then it would make having it rather than a Star easier to justify.

[Bret4207]

Get the RCBS. I have both the RCBS and Lyman, the RCBS wins hands down. Plus, the new Lymans, the 4500's, have a rep for breaking. Look through the posts here and you'll see them.

If speed is your thing, the Star is the ticket, but I've been at this for 30+ years and still don't have a Star.

[41 mag fan]

I'd go with a Star. if I could do it over, I'd buy me a Star instead of my LAM II I have.
I believe the lyman heater will bolt up on the RCBS also. I might be wrong, I bought mine from Midway a few yrs ago.

[fredj338]

ANy of the heaters should work. If you size multiple bullet styles, the Star isn' tall that much more as you can do ever bullet w/ one or two flat top punches. I had a Lyman, after getting the Star, I relegated the Lyman to SPG lube for BP loads.

[MikeS]

I'm pretty sure the Lyman flat heater can bolt onto a Star as well as the Lyman sizers (other than the Lyman 45). I don't know if the heater will bolt onto an RCBS or not. If you go with the Lyman heater, you can get a Router Speed Control at Harbor Freight, and it will work to control the temp of the heater. It works much better than plugging and unplugging the heater from the wall outlet!

On my Star I have it bolted to a custom made aluminum base that's made to fit into Lee's bench plate system, and it has a hole in the back for the Lyman heating element for their 4500 sizer (a round cartridge style heater, NOT their flat base style heater), and I have it connected thru a router speed controller, and it works great for controlling the temp of the heater, so regardless of how long I have it turned on I don't have to worry about it getting too hot.