I have to make a decision about lube sizers

[contender1]

Ok, for years,,, I've used my Lyman 450 sizer. It has been a good machine,,, but recently I acquired a Saeco lube sizer.
I have over a dozen dies & top punches for my Lyman,, but the Saeco came with one each. I'd have to re-invest in dies & punches,,, to keep the Saeco. I could sell the Lyman & buy the Saeco stuff. But,, I'd like to see if the Saeco is worth keeping & upgrading,,, BEFORE I sell my Lyman. Or,, I can just sell the Saeco & keep on using my Lyman.
Decisions,,, decisions,, decisions.
Anybody got any good ideas?
Anybody got a surplus of Saeco sizer dies & top punches,, pistol calibers only? Cheap?

[frankenfab]

Use both. I have 3 lube/sizers. 2 Lyman and 1 Magma. I feel it would be helpful if I had more. I think either the perfessor or Lathesmith make dies for one or both.

[454PB]

I have a Saeco clone, made by Herters, two Lyman 450's, and a Star. Though a good machine, I see no advantage of a Saeco over a Lyman. They work on the same principles, except the handle is "side mounted" on the Saeco.

The Star is a whole other animal, and beats all others, in my opinion.

[gmsharps]

If money is not the issue I would keep them both. This gives you an opportunity to pick up any good deals on either type of sizer die when the time arrives. They both do the job as well. If you have not used a Star before try and find a friend that may have one and you will be spoiled. I still have my Lyman as it still serves a purpose from time to time when I can't justify the extra cost of a sizer die for the star that I already have in a Lyman in. I find good deals on Star dies from time to time and have enlarged some to fill in some voids.

gmsharps

[Lance Boyle]

I would consider trading it to some guy with a Lyman. That way you have 2 of the same machines that take the tooling you have on hand and you can now run two different lubes without much fuss.

I'm in a similar boat, I'm running an RCBS LAM and a new to me old star. I have limited tooling for the star and a bit more for the LAM. There are somethings I actually like doing on the LAM better than the star.

I am not the most experienced in the casting game but I am developing some preferences.

[runfiverun]

I have 3 stars and sometimes wish I would have kept the lyman I started with, it has it's uses.
just set the saeco up for your most used boolit and switch the lyman around as needed.

[HeavyMetal]

In my experience the Saeco is a much better built sizer than the Lyman any number, LOL!

It's an alignment thing and the Saeco is the best of the push pull sizers, matter of fact if I was going to buy a new lube sizer and a Star was not being made the Seaco would be my go to sizer.

Were I to have your "dilema" that 450 and kit would be in the swap and sell section so fast it wouldn't be funny, proceeds would go to add stuff to the Saeco fast

The Saeco is a great sizer for rifle stuff by the way so don't sell it short!

[Moondawg]

I have two Saecos and use them both. One is dedicated to my 45-70 and it's special BP lube. The other one is charged with Carnauba Red and gets used for everything thing not 45-70. Saeco's are real sturdy work horses, that will last forever.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Decisions,,, decisions,, decisions.

ANSWER: "Keep 'em both"

While used dies and TP's are more rare to find than Lyman/RCBS, they will eventually turn up...just be patient.

[btroj]

Keep em both. Never hurts to have ability to use 2 different lubes, have one set up for a special sizing, or some other reason that a second size is handy.
I have a Star and a Lyman. Star gets the most use but the Lyman sees enough use that it will never be gotten rid of.

[contender1]

Well, y'all have convinced me,,, I'm gonna keep them both. I just need to figure out how to stretch my loading bench. I currently have 2 RCBS Rock Chuckers, 2 Dillon SDB's, 1 Dillon 550, a Dillon 650, 2 MEC shotshell loaders, and my Lyman 450. Heck, I need a room stretcher. (All this is in a 10' x 11' room.) It is tight.
Ok, my next question is this;
Who has a .452 sizer die & flat nose punch for a Saeco for sale,, cheap,,,?

[Artful]

Good answer- I have Lyman, RCBS and Star - I've wished for more but never less.

Docking stations will help your overcrowding - put only the tools your using on the bench at any one time.

check E-bay and watch here and other reloading forum's what you want will turn up if you have patience.

[geargnasher]

Sell both of the rickety, ill-designed pieces of junk to someone you don't like and buy an old Lyman 45. Keep your 450 H&I sets for the 45. Save your pocket change and small bills for a year and buy a Star for high-volume stuff, particularly plain-based pistol boolits. The only issues I have with the 45 is lack of compound leverage and a tendency for previous owners to gorilla-torque the die set screw, stretching the hole in the base casting and forcing the die body into misalignment with the top punch. Shim stock strips inserted opposite the screw can remedy this, as can more complex repairs including up-fitting to a 450-style die retention nut.

Gear

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Well, y'all have convinced me,,, I'm gonna keep them both. I just need to figure out how to stretch my loading bench. I currently have 2 RCBS Rock Chuckers, 2 Dillon SDB's, 1 Dillon 550, a Dillon 650, 2 MEC shotshell loaders, and my Lyman 450. Heck, I need a room stretcher. (All this is in a 10' x 11' room.) It is tight.
Ok, my next question is this;
Who has a .452 sizer die & flat nose punch for a Saeco for sale,, cheap,,,?

While Docking stations are probably the way you should go to save bench room for all the presses you listed. I opted for a cheaper 'redneck' version for lubesizers (my reloading is done in another room on another bench). I D&T a piece of 3/8" steel plate for all the lubesizers I have. The threads never strip out and I can add heat with a magnetic block heater or a clothes iron very easily. ALSO, regarding your Saeco, shown is my Lyman/Ideal #1 (top view), it mounts to the bench the same direction as the Saeco, which I don't like, so I mount that on a Oak board mounted at a 90º to the bench so the operation is the same as the 45,450,4500...copper sheet metal added for heat conduction.

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/topviewmounted_zps4bdc85b4.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/topviewmounted_zps4bdc85b4.jpg.html)

[contender1]

Neat tips here,,, keep them coming!

[Springfield]

Check out Pat Marlin's RockDock system. I have 3 MEC's, a Lyman 45 and a Rockchucker mounted that way.

[Char-Gar]

I have been using Lyman machines for a very long time. First there was the 45 and now the 450. I have three of the latter and have not felt the need to upgrade to the 4500. If I were starting from scratch I would go with RCBS, because of their wonderful guarantee and customer service.

If money is no object, then the Star is the way to go.

Money is an object to me so I muddle on with the Lyman. If I had a SAECO I would sell it and continue to use the Lyman. I see no purpose in using two machines with non-compatible parts when one is not superior to the other.

[paul h]

I think a 450 is worth having on hand just because there are a ton of used sizing dies available fairly reasonably priced and if you have an oddball caliber you might only want to cast and size for once in awhile you can do it fairly reasonably.