45 Lyman lubrizer or 4500. Do i need a new one?

[Willyp]

I have a 45 luber,it is in very good working order.
My questin is: Does it do the same job as a 4500 and if mine works fine,should i think of a new one?????

[pworley1]

If it is working properly and giving good results just use it unless you just want a new one. It is always fun to get something new.

[SharpsShooter]

Yes, the Lyman 45 gives you the same end result as the 4500. I'm still using a Lyman 45 and have never upgraded beyond it. That's been a lot of years now. They are great little machines, just don't overstress the single handle.

SS

[Bent Ramrod]

If you size a lot of big boolits, or have to take more than a couple thousandths off smaller ones, especially if they are linotype or other hard alloys, the 45 is maybe a little on the fragile side. The newer ones like the 4500 are a little more stoutly constructed and handle the strains involved better.

The stouter lubrisizers only became necessary when the commercially produced moulds began to get seriously oversize. If you have good moulds that cast to the proper size, there is minimal strain on the lubrisizer and the lighter models are fine.

[mold maker]

When a friend broke my 450, Lyman sold me an upgrade kit for $17. It's not expensive and easy to do.

[dbosman]

Since you have a working unit, you can take your time on the spare.
When you find a bargain, stop shopping for the spare and start shopping for the extra one.

[Wayne Smith]

If I were buying a second again I would replace my RCBS with another just like it. It is just that much nicer to use.

[labradigger1]

When a friend broke my 450, Lyman sold me an upgrade kit for $17. It's not expensive and easy to do.


I replaced my sheet metal handle on my 450 w/ the "upgrade kit" after i snapped mine off. Old ram had zero slop in it, new one was 8 thousands smaller than the origonal. Lots of slop now. I prefer my 2 45's over the 450. Only complaint i have w/ the 45's is limited finger access.

[Sweetpea]

I have one of each.

The 45 is a weaker design, but it works. Just don't ape hang off the handle.

The 4500 is definitely stouter, but I don't care for the die retention nut, it seems to get in the way. Having the heater is a plus!

Brandon

[dromia]

I prefer the 45 to the 4500, the few I've seen and the one I had all had alignment issues.

I think the 45 is a far superior tool just don't force it by trying to size down a lot in one go.

There are some stickies on here about JohnB's experiences and beefing up of the 45's leverage system, worth a look.

[HeavyMetal]

I had a 45 for a bunch of years a long time ago.

Not a bads starter unit and way better than Lymans later lube sizers.

Today I've gone a different route but thats not what this thread is about.

So what would my advise be if you wanted to get another lube sizer?

First determine need: if you doing 500 boolits a year the 45 is good, if it is in alignment, stick with it and be happy.
If your doing 500 a week you need to speed things up, LOL!

Second take a look at funds versus time: if you single and not dating then time means nothing to you when your not at work, if your married or "sharing" you life with someone they may get jealous of time spent with a "toy" particularly if they " don't get it", LOL!

Now that you have something to think on let's talk lube sizers.

IN my opinion lube sizers are in three groups:

Lyman / RCBS with the RCBS a better unit with a better warranty this is what I cal a "Pull / Push" machine: ya pull the handle down then push the handle up and take out a boolit ready to load. Down side of these is speed but mostly alignment issue once they get a little wear so be leery of used units.

Saeco lube sizer are next and a much better design. Not any faster than the Lyman RCBS but much better engineered in the nose punch area. The Big plus here is perfect alignment all the time! I have had several Seaco's in hand and hand friends buy them as well and I have never seen one out of alignment. Doesn't mean they aren't out thier just means I have never seen ii in 40 years of reloading.

Now we'll talk Star!

If your going to spend money to add a lube sizer this is the go to unit, dies can be had for about the same as an H&I set, maybe a little more ( lathesmith on our site does a bang up job of die making) and in the time you do 50 boolits on your Lyman 45 I can about 300 on my Star.

I have also proved to myself that nose sized boolits are measureably more accurate then base sized, boolits self Align in a Star sizing die when nose sized. PLus you use one or two Flat punches so don't wind up with a fortune spent on "special" nose punches.

Now the Star is not pefect for every cast boolit design. I do some pointed boolits, think Lyman 429303, and with that one I run them through a Saeco I found a a gun show years ago for $75!

Hope I provided some food for thought for you and some usefull info as well.

Let us know where you go with this.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I prefer the 45 to the 4500, the few I've seen and the one I had all had alignment issues.

I think the 45 is a far superior tool just don't force it by trying to size down a lot in one go.

There are some stickies on here about JohnB's experiences and beefing up of the 45's leverage system, worth a look.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?107488-Do-you-have-a-broken-non-working-Lyman-45-lubsizr&highlight=

The lyman 450 and 4500 are notorious for poor machining and having poor allignment right out of the box...ALSO, if you get a good one, then you have the issue of wear on the casting and ram creating 'sloppy' alignment.

Yes the 45 has a weak/thin cast iron handle and weak linkage (which can be BEEFED UP if needed)...the 45 were seemingly machined to tighter tolerances and the design isn't as conducive to wear creating 'sloppy' alignment.



I'm doing 1000 9mm boolits this weekend on a Lyman 45 :)
even though I have a Star lying around not being used :) :) :)

I had a 45 for a bunch of years a long time ago.

Not a bads starter unit and way better than Lymans later lube sizers.

Today I've gone a different route but thats not what this thread is about.

So what would my advise be if you wanted to get another lube sizer?

First determine need: if you doing 500 boolits a year the 45 is good, if it is in alignment, stick with it and be happy.
If your doing 500 a week you need to speed things up, LOL!
...snip

[gussiegoins2]

Excellent post HeavyMetal. Explainations and trade offs very useful to a newbie.

[timtonya]

Yep agreed. Very good advice heavymetal

[dromia]

I have a star and it is indeed a very fine piece of kit however I haven't used it 17 years. It is at its best when sizing and lubing large runs of boolits at the same diameter and using the same lube.

I cast for a multiplicity of calibres and I'm adding new ones all the time, I find the Star fiddly to set up and not as fast on the die change as the Lyman RCBS types and as I do my boolits in batches of no more than 500 at time using the star isn't worth the hassle. I have two Lyman 45s, three RCBS LAMs, two Lyman 450s on my benches all set up with different dies and lube. All have been bought second hand at a total cost of less than a new Star. I do cast large batches of some calibres, I shoot around 200-500 rounds of 310 Cadet a week but these boolits don't need sizing and are tumble lubed in 45/45/10 so no need for a sizer. If they did then the Star would come out.

So think about your needs and buy the kit to suit, there is no equipment that does all things well and we are fortunate that we have different pieces of kit to suit our different needs