Thoughts on Seaco/Redding lubsizer

[PacMan]

Have and of you guys used the Redding/Saeco lubersizer? I have never pulled the handle on any make but have read a lot about the Lyman , Rcbs and Star.

But find little info on the Redding.

Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks
Dwight

[Doc Highwall]

Sold my Lyman and RCBS and have three SAECO's, dies and top punches only fit SAECO. Lyman and RCBS are interchangeable with one another.

[PacMan]

Thanks Highwall.
How do like the SAECO compared to the Lyman and RCBS?

Pros / cons
Thanks
Dwight

[lurch]

I've got a pair of Saeco's and like them very much. They all have their pro's & con's. For instance, the Saeco lube reservoir is pressurized using a spring loaded plunger on a screw so you can lube a lot more boolits before needing to fiddle with the lube pressure. On the other hand, dies & punches are more expensive (as well as the sizer itself) than the Lyman or RCBS (which interchange dies & top punches). I got mine on evil bay for a good price, about what a used Lyman or RCBS would bring. The Saeco also has a very secure top punch system (the punch screws into the sizer but the top plate must be aligned properly for the boolits to be started straight in the die. This is probably more an issue for rifle than for pistol. Fortunately the top is pretty easy to re-align if it ever gets out of sorts. This is also important for the Lyman and RCBS but they can be used with the top punch "floating" in a bit of lube. I'm pretty sure this is covered in a sticky somewhere. The handle pull on the Saeco might take a little getting used to as its travel arc is in a plane 90 degrees to that of a reloading press.

The Star is beyond my experience but is reportedly a very good machine if production rate is a concern.

Any of them would serve well.

[rob45]

Hey Dwight,

The SAECO is really a great design. Personally I believe it to be stronger than the Lyman, but that may only be my opinion. Besides, the Lyman is usually "strong enough".
The old SAECO that I have is finished considerably better than the Lyman 450 setting next to it, but that may merely be aesthetics between the two. Due to lack of having a large selection of dies for it, I do not use the SAECO nearly as much as the Lyman. But when I have used it, it has given me NO problems. The SAECO definitely allows more bullets to be lubed before adjusting lube pressure, and that may translate into slightly higher production assuming the same rate for everything else.

The largest thing the SAECO has going against it is the dies- they are specific to the SAECO, and they are more expensive than the Lyman dies. Not to mention that the sizer itself is more expensive. So maybe the SAECO is the "Cadillac" of the in-and-out sizers? Maybe it's just a higher level of quality that warrants the price differences. Or maybe not. At any rate, I doubt you'll be dissatisfied with any of the various sizer/lubricators.

The Lyman and RCBS dies interchange, whereas the SAECO has its own design.
Of course, the Star has its own design of dies, too. But the Star is in a completely different league of its own, as it is a push-through design which allows considerably higher production.

Fellow forum member beagle has done an article on the different sizers.
http://www.castpics.net/
Click on "Articles by members" in the left-hand menu, then click on "Choosing a sizer". Great article.

BTW, welcome to the site.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I've been using two of these for a couple of decades+. One is an original Saeco with black crinkle finish; the other is a green one. Both are identical spec-wise. They have given me good trouble free service. Lurch pretty well summed up the features. The top punches are the screw-in type and are kind of pricey. I had a lot of top punches around from the days of an RCBS machine so I had a machinist friend make me an adapter that screwed in to the ram but it held the TP's made by RCBS and Lyman. It worked fine for pistol bullets which were comparatively short in length, but longer rifle bullets sometimes didn't fit under the adapter. The machines use solid sticks of lube and the pressure system is a lot better than the one on the RCBS or Lyman. The lock in system for the sizer die uses a nut with a weird thread and it is on the bottom of the machine. It is knurled and meant to be tightened by hand only. If you run too much pressure on the lube then the bottom nut will start to ooze a bit; cutting and inserting a thin gasket/neophrene washer will help prevent that. Keep the handle pivots and the guide rods greased or oiled so that wear is minimized and everything runs smoother too. LLS

[ReloaderFred]

I have two Saeco Lubrisizers, a Lyman 450, an RCBS and 4 Star Lubrisizers. For most work I definately prefer the Star machines, with the Saeco machines being my second choice. The RCBS would be my third and the Lyman last, but it's an old machine that I bought many, many years ago.

The Saeco is pretty good quality and will do most jobs well. It's about the same speed as the RCBS and Lyman, since it's an up and down operation, where you insert the bullet, run it into the die, and then back up, where you remove it.

The Star pushes each bullet straight through a die and out the bottom, and is much faster. I do almost all my handgun bullets through the Star machines, and reserve the others for rifle work.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[PacMan]

Thanks guys for the information.As in most things in life ask the right people and you get the right answer.
Thanks again
Dwight

[Doc Highwall]

Another thing that was not mention is the SAECO has a arm on the left side that swings under the die to seat the gas check then swings back to let you size the bullet.