New guy with some luber sizer questions

[bigblockbill]

I am just getting into casting and reloading (thank you S&W 500). I know the rcbs is not as good as a star but with funds being tight its seems like a good option. I have an opportunity to get one at a scary price, so cheap I could sell it used at a profit. I have used the search feature, and it looks like the RCBS is a good unit with the occasional issues.
1. Will the RCBS size and lube the 500? I have seen punches for it, so I'm assuming it will. Will the Star size 500?
2. Should I buy the RCBS and use it while i save the difference. Then sell the rcbs to fund the Star? Orth oils I just pan lube till I can afford the Star?Like I said I can get the RCBS so cheap I can sell it at a good price and still make a profit.

Any opinions are appreciated.

[runfiverun]

get it and use it.
if necessary you can get lathesmith or buck shot to make you a sizer.
I have three stars and quite often miss my old lyman for some stuff.

[MtGun44]

"RCBS is not as good as the Star" - I have multiple Stars and an RCBS, I
disagree with this statement. The RCBS is DIFFERENT, NOT "not as good".
Both are high quality machines.

IMO, the Stars are wonderful, but fussy to set up, so mine get set up for
LARGE runs of the same boolit or very similar (like single lube groove, same
diam). The RCBS is slower, but extremely easy to set up for an entirely
different boolit size and ESPECIALLY number of lube grooves.

Unless you will be sizing and lubing very large quantities at a sitting,
you will never miss the Star.

Bill

[cbrick]

Unless you will be sizing and lubing very large quantities at a sitting,
you will never miss the Star. Bill

Except for that pesky concentricity thing. A straight thru sizer (Star or LEE) will size more concentrically than an in & out sizer.

By all means if the RCBS is that cheap get it. The downside is that if you later decide to get the Star you will be buying dies all over again.

Rick

[Beagle333]

I say get the RCBS. Size the 500 with a Lee push-thru and lube with the RCBS. If Lee doesn't make a push-thru in that size, Buckshot will fix you up with one. I find it is much easier with my Ideal and Lyman lubrisizers to have the boolit already sized and just use them for lubing. It's waaaaay cleaner than pan/dip lubing and it is also fast and easy on you and the machine, plus you get that concentricity thing. I have a Star, but unless you are seriously blowing through some high numbers of 500s each month, it is tremendous overkill for the job.

my .02

[454PB]

Lyman and RCBS sizing dies have a body O.D. of .700", so yes, they will work for sizing .500 boolits. What the availability is is another question. Star sizing dies are slightly larger in diameter (I don't have the exact diameter in front of me).

Yes, the Star sizer is a wonderful machine, but I still use my two Lyman 450's and a Saeco sizer. If you buy an RCBS sizer and later decide you want a Star, there's a big market for used lubrisizers.

[runfiverun]

airc the stars take a .750 body diameter sizer.
but they have a recessed area for the lube to travel around the sizer.
still a 501 size or so shouldn't pose a problem.

[Beagle333]

Magma website says they make em .218 through .585

[6bg6ga]

"RCBS is not as good as the Star" - I have multiple Stars and an RCBS, I
disagree with this statement. The RCBS is DIFFERENT, NOT "not as good".
Both are high quality machines.

IMO, the Stars are wonderful, but fussy to set up, so mine get set up for
LARGE runs of the same boolit or very similar (like single lube groove, same
diam). The RCBS is slower, but extremely easy to set up for an entirely
different boolit size and ESPECIALLY number of lube grooves.

Unless you will be sizing and lubing very large quantities at a sitting,
you will never miss the Star.

Bill

Bill,

Stars/Magma are simply misunderstood. Once setup correctly with the user understanding the setup its simple. I started a book with the height specs for the different bullets that I size. Its really easy now to go from one caliber to another. Because of the quantity of 45's and 357's I run I have a machine for each.

I will also say that I use lathsmithes dies that have only the lube holes that I need and this way there is no wasted time or possible die damage due to pounding in shot or removing it.

[avogunner]

Get the RCBS...you won't be sorry.

[bigblockbill]

I appreciate all the advise. I think I will go ahead and get the RCBS, and might hang onto it even if I wind up with a Star. The wif I am sure will love an extra pice of equipment laying around. Everyone has had very positive comments so that makes me feel better about it. Thanks again everyone.

[runfiverun]

she'll get used to it..
mine didn't even bat an eye when she got up one morning to find a little SAS swage press C-clamped to the coffee table and a bunch of newly made 223 bullets sitting next to it.

[cal50]

Except for that pesky concentricity thing. A straight thru sizer (Star or LEE) will size more concentrically than an in & out sizer.

By all means if the RCBS is that cheap get it. The downside is that if you later decide to get the Star you will be buying dies all over again.

Rick

Depends on how you have it set up.
Its the same principal and alignment as setting up a reloading press with a sizing die.

If you set up your sizing die slightly off center it can affect the concentricity.

[6bg6ga]

Depends on how you have it set up.
Its the same principal and alignment as setting up a reloading press with a sizing die.

If you set up your sizing die slightly off center it can affect the concentricity.

I simply don't buy that at all. I owned one of those pieces of junk. The die was put in correctly and not off center and it had too much slop to size anything correctly. Yes, I could have re-machined and rebuilt it but the big question is simply why. Why put money into a dead horse? That is why I bought a Magma and then a used Star. In reloading equipment you get what you pay for. This is why people are going from the anequated single stage presses to the up to date presses like the lock-n-load or the Dillon 550 and 650.

[cbrick]

Depends on how you have it set up.
Its the same principal and alignment as setting up a reloading press with a sizing die.

If you set up your sizing die slightly off center it can affect the concentricity.

It's not the die off center, it's the fit of the nose punch. A flat punch against a flat boolit base will start the boolit straighter and push it through the die more concentrically than will a nose punch on the nose of the boolit.

Rick

[cbrick]

This is why people are going from the anequated single stage presses to the up to date presses like the lock-n-load or the Dillon 550 and 650.

I simply don't buy that at all. Nothing in the world wrong with or outdated about a single stage press. I'm sure not giving up any of mine.

Rick

[6bg6ga]

What I am saying is that most people wanting to make quantities of ammunition will go with the up to date presses. Heck I keep a Lyman t-mag on the bench just to deal with small loading runs. If a person enjoys spending countless hours reloading then by all means go for it. Personally I view the reloading press like I view my Star and magma sizers and my Ballisti-cast Mark IV. If I wanted to be spending all day casting I'd have kept my 4 cavity bullet molds and I would be sizing with a *** 4500 sizer.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I am just getting into casting and reloading (thank you S&W 500). I know the rcbs is not as good as a star but with funds being tight its seems like a good option. I have an opportunity to get one at a scary price, so cheap I could sell it used at a profit. I have used the search feature, and it looks like the RCBS is a good unit with the occasional issues.
1. Will the RCBS size and lube the 500? I have seen punches for it, so I'm assuming it will. Will the Star size 500?
2. Should I buy the RCBS and use it while i save the difference. Then sell the rcbs to fund the Star? Orth oils I just pan lube till I can afford the Star?Like I said I can get the RCBS so cheap I can sell it at a good price and still make a profit.

Any opinions are appreciated.

I'd get the RCBS...try it, you may like it, if not, it'll be easy to sell.
What mold/molds do you have for the 500 ? PB or GC ?

[bigblockbill]

Right now I only have the lee 440grn gc mold. I was looking to have a SWC 440grn PB, a 375 and a 500-600 gc mold made. I have not paid a lot of attention to the heavier boolits and need to look at that further. Any suggestions would be appericared.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have a couple of the Lee 501-440 RF molds and was also thinking of making one of the PB. I while back I tried that with another Lee mold and destroyed it...so I am hesitant to try again.

Since then I ordered and received a 3 cav Balista-cast iron 385gr RF plain base mold. So I don't really need to mess with the lee mold. This is a great boolit.