O Press: Aluminum vs Steel. Will I Notice The Difference

[jonp]

I was thinking of getting a Lee Challenger and my question is about the aluminum vs iron. If i'm using it strictly for reloading, no swaging, will I notice a difference?

[Petrol & Powder]

Highly unlikely.

The strength of an "O" press is high by design. The additional strength of the material (aluminum vs. steel) is not a huge factor.

The steel body may offer slightly better resistance to wear at the points where there is friction but a properly maintained (clean and lubricated) press will likely out-live you.

[Petrol & Powder]

And just as a side note, I have a 25 year old RCBS RS-5 that to this day is still every bit as tight as the old RCBS Rockchucker.

I purchased it as a spare press and it became my primary single stage press when I moved years ago and set up a new bench.

I do take it apart every few years and clean it. The ram is lubricated with 30W oil and the pivot points all get wheel bearing grease.

[Winger Ed.]

If you keep it clean and lubricated,
the only difference you'll notice is that a magnet will only stick to one of them.

[country gent]

The o frame is a very solid design with the supports front and back this stops a lot of "spring / flex" in the press. Another thing to look at is the cross section of the frames if the aluminum frames is thicker or beefed up it may be stronger than the cast iron one with thinner frame members. The benefits of aluminum in manufacturing is the easier machinability and ease of working with it compared to cast irons and steels. Aluminum is easier to melt and cast easier to machine. Cast iron requires much higher temps to cast and machines harder. A well designed o frame press in aluminum should be just as strong as a cast iron one.

[EDG]

Get the Lee cast iron press.

[Bazoo]

EDG ya know that press can be sent back to Lee with payment equal to half the current retail price and they'll repair it and return it with a new 2 year warranty. Mighty generous of them huh?

[Petrol & Powder]

You can get a new Lee Challenger for about $70, a RCBS Partner for about $80. Those are both essentially entry level aluminum "O" framed presses.
You can then step up to Lee Classic cast for $125 (iron) and a RCBS RS 5 (aluminum) for about $145.

When you get past the RCBS RS5 (which is aluminum but gets the great RCBS customer service) the next logical step is probably the iron Redding Boss at $155.

As you can see from the numbers, there are no huge surprises.

[L Erie Caster]

EDG ya know that press can be sent back to Lee with payment equal to half the current retail price and they'll repair it and return it with a new 2 year warranty. Mighty generous of them huh?

Not all that generous, because half of the manufactures suggested retail price is about what they sell new presses to distributors and retailers for. So they are really just cutting out the middle man. If it was a RCBS, Redding, Dillon, or Hornady press they would repair or replace it free of charge.

[cwlongshot]

100% Buy the STEEL/Cast IRON press... You aint carrying it around!

CW

[georgerkahn]

I am a fan of iron/steel presses! With the "O" design, as others indicated, it is this design which imparts the lack of movement. Probably with zero real world correlation, I think of firing a .357 magnum round in a 6" barrel steel revolver VERSUS same round in a short-barreled aluminum air-weight (which I've done: OW!!!).
My only aluminum press is a Lee hand one, which is indeed great -- but, for the benches -- I have four -- all steel -- mounted and in regular use. Note some folks like beer; others wine -- this is but a (my) personal preference.
geo

[EDG]

It would be even more generous if Lee would test new designs better so they don't break and have to be returned.
I spent many years in manufacturing and have seen most companies try to double their money when pricing products.
Lee's production cost AKA COGS = cost of goods sold is probably about 25% of the retail price. So they are still breaking even if they charge you half price. Half price is probably what they charge distributors.
The sad fact of retail is the distributor's mark up, retailer's mark up and shipping charges are larger part of the consumer's cost than the cost of manufacture.
If we did not have the expensive supply chain Lee could sell a berrer press for the same cost or reduce the selling price of the cheap die casting.
I suspect that Lee pays less than $4.00 for that aluminum die casting.

EDG ya know that press can be sent back to Lee with payment equal to half the current retail price and they'll repair it and return it with a new 2 year warranty. Mighty generous of them huh?

[str8wal]

Get the Lee cast iron press.

Seems an odd place for a breakage.

[Petrol & Powder]

I prefer iron presses but I responded to the OP's question concerning whether he would see a difference. In my experience, aluminum framed "O" presses are strong enough for most situations.

Then you get into the prices.
As I posted earlier, there's a clear progression in cost and by the time you reach the low $140 range, you're in different territory.

I don't recall what I paid for my old RCBS RS5 but it was far less than the comparable steel framed presses at the time. At today's prices I'm not sure I would lay out $145 for an aluminum RS5 when I could spend $10 more and get a steel Redding Boss.

It really just comes down to money. The RCBS Partner is about $80 and that puts it about $10 over a Lee. For that $10 you get the excellent RCBS customer service.

[kmw1954]

Get the Lee cast iron press.

I certainly would love to hear the full backstory on how that broke!

[Sig556r]

I certainly would love to hear the full backstory on how that broke!

Me too! that might be some muscled downstroke

[1hole]

I certainly would love to hear the full backstory on how that broke!

Ditto. I suspect that break occurred from a user following Tim Taylor's ham-fisted method of dealing with tool difficulties: "More POWER!" I've seen web photos of snapped top straps on the supposedly indestructable RCBS Rock Chuckers; I don't blame things like that on the press.

Moral: Anything, even cast iron, can be damaged in use because nothing is foolproof to a sufficently talented and determined fool.

Presses are tools. Buy your tools for your needs, not someone else's. Take care of your tools, use them intelligently for the work they are built for and whatever tools you choose will work well. Lee didn't become the highest volume reloading tool maker over the past 60 years by making junk.

Fact is, alum alloy presses are quite able to handle any normal reloading tasks and they are not "entry level" tools, most users will never need anything else. Very few reloaders will ever get as fanatic about shooting as some of us do so very few will ever see any benefit to buying tools that satisfy our need - or desire - for more power.

[44magLeo]

I'm in the "I don't think you will find a difference" camp.
On the broken Lee press, perhaps that press had a flaw in the casting. How old was that press when it broke. If more than a few years and had been used beyond it's designed limits I say you got excellent life from it.
I've done some pretty heavy work on my Challenger. Was that press modified by altering the linkage to gain more leverage to swage bullets?
Aluminum is more rigid than cast. That's the main reason Lee's die adjustment differs from other manufacturers. For sizing, Lee you turn die into touch the shell holder then turn 1/4 to 1/3 more. Others require more, I don't have but one set of dies that are not Lee, an RCBS I got at auction and has no instructions.
Cast having a bit more flex is why it works so well for many of it's uses, like engine block and heads.
Leo

[Baltimoreed]

Buy or build bigger than you think that you will ever need, you will eventually move from little pistol cartridges to big rifle cartridges, you will outgrow the 6x6 reloading area. I’d look for an old used cast iron ‘o’ or ‘c’ press. There’s a bunch on eBay.

[Harter66]

I used to recommend Lee for a start kit . Lee builds tools to do a job that they do . But there's just not that much cost difference between the Lee and RockChucker kit any more .

I have about $300 in all of my presses 1 Partner , 1 RC ,1RCII , 1 Big Max , 1 Pacific 007 , 4 assorted C presses . I've had and used several Lee's they just weren't for more . Nothing in particular , maybe the lack of an absolute stop .