Lee sizer vs Lyman style sizer???? Pro/con??

[aeronc]

Thanks for all the help. I had a successful smelting day and have about 35# of wheel weight ingots.
I need a pro vs con on lee sizers and tl vs using a lyman or rcbs with a heater (beside lee is cheaper).??? Is tl better or different than hard lube??
Also how do I know when I have fluxed enough?? Each time I added flux i got a small ie 1/2 teaspoon amt of junk off the top of a 2 quart pan.
I plan to shoot pistol only at this time>>

Addendum: As a novice I thought I would mention the equipment I used today for the first time; $10 hotplate from walgreens, dollar store $2 ladle and spoon, flux, 2 quart steel teflon coated pot (Larger pot would have been more efficient), $2 teflon coated muffin pan from dollar store, diposable alum. pan like you use for a turkey to dump the scum in then put it in a cardboard box when cool, latex gloves. It took 10-17 minutes to melt each pot of wheel weights ie approx 1.5 hrs for 4 batches with cleanup. It really does stink.

Thanks for all the help!!

[docone31]

I like the Lee Sizers.
They are fast, efficient, and store in a small place. I have only had one bad sizing in all my sizing. I do about 500 at a time.
If I need an unusual size, I just contact Lee and either send my die in, or they make one.
Good enough for me.
I make my pan lube. It is about perhaps medium. The Lee Sizers usually have some that wiped off the precious sizings. I wipe some of that on the ones that have voids in the lube.

[HeavyMetal]

First let me say the the Lee sizer is one of the best basic tools you can buy for getting started. Another advantage is the ease in which it can be modified for an off the wall diameter.

After you've done it awhile the mess of dealing with tumble lube may not be something you'll look forward to if you do a lot of Shooting.

Some guys don't seem to mind. Others, like myself, find a sizer to be a lot less mess and work than tumble lube.

I've also had guys say the liquid alox never leads. Others, like myself, not quite as confident in the use of alox in anything faster than a 38 S&W round (660 FPS).

So it boils down to time versus money versus mess! That ought to be clear as mud!

I will suggest you ask around and see if anyone locally has a sizer you can observe in use.

This may help in your decision. Another suggestion will be to look up the sticky showing a Star in use, that will spoil you quick!

Wish I could be of more help in this but all I can tell you is: I buy six banger molds, when I can, so I don't spend all day casting. I have two Stars because I won't spend a day waiting for alox to dry and I won't spend the begining of each reloading cycle cleaning the liquid alox out of the seater die before I get started.

[Reddot]

"It really does stink. "


The smelting of the ww is the most dangerous part of this process. That is were most of the nasty stuff resides that is bad for you. Do this in a well ventilated area.

[acemedic13]

I have just got started casting myself. I started out with an old hibachi, stainless pot and a ladle. WOW....I went out and bought a bottom pour and a few other odds and ends as soon as I could. It was well worth the 60.00 or (or so) bucks. I use the lee sizer and alox lube. I want to get the lyman, and I will. It's just that for now I want to keep it cheap and simple. I am only casting for .45 acp at the moment. I have not had any problems at all. They cast, load, and shoot perfect. I use the lee mold,sizer and alox......Cheap and easy for a beginner. Have fun and be safe. Get a decent furnace, it's worth it.

[Ben]

If you're looking for precision accuracy, I think the edge goes to Lee Push thru sizing dies.

When I began sizing and shooting rifle bullets in the late 60's, I noticed that one side of my bullet that had been pushed down into my Lyman H & I sizing die was " shaved " , I didn't think that much about it at the time ( I should have been asking questions but as a newbie, I really had no none to discuss the matter with ).

I now use a system that I believe offers the best of both worlds. I shoot a lot of .30 cal. rifle bullets.

I have .309 sizers, .3095, 3102, .311, etc for my .30 cal. rifles. These are all Lee Push thru sizers that I have custom honed to my own specs.

Once the bullet has been pushed thru the sizer and comes out at .3095 for example, I'll go over to my Lyman 45 that has a .311 die in it and push my .3095 bullet down into the .311 die for LUBE ONLY.

No more bullets sized and shaved on one side.

I never shot decent groups with my rifles until I started using this system. I'll include a few photos of groups that I've fired with many of my .30 cal. rifles to allow you to see what the results of this system are:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...b/IMG_1343.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...b/IMG_0654.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...b/PICT0002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...b/IMG_1075.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...0377Small2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/88.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/1-7.jpg

In my opinion there is a lot more top punch / sizer misalignment in Lubri-sizers than most people realize.

I have also worked on all my top punch shafts to allow them to " free float " and find their natural center. This also helps to minimize mis-alignment with my Lyman 45.

Hope this is helpful in answering your question.

Best,

Ben

[cajun shooter]

AERONC, You will find that casting is no different than fishing. Now, how can I compare the two?Very easy, as you become more into casting bullets you will find what works for you and what tools make it easy. Most people start with the Lee products which are cheap to buy and as time moves on so does the equipment. A RCBS casting pot cost $250, a Lee $50. Lee molds cost $35 and some custom molds cost $250. Don't be afraid to try the Lee equipment because of price, in fact some of it is worth keeping and using no matter how long you do this hobby. I started fishing with a cane pole and 10 cents of line and hook. Some almost fifty years later I have a $40,000 boat and thousands of dollars in rods, reels and baits. The casting equipment goes through the same stages of change. And last but not least, they both have to do with casting.

[cajun shooter]

As Ben stated about the Lyman that is also true of the RCBS. THe Lee sizing system only uses a very small diameter sizing ring when compared to a STAR sizing die that has over an inch. A Star cost $250 + and becomes a $500 machine fully decked out. But it is by a large mark, the best at sizing and lubing bullets. Refer back to my first listing

[45nut]

AERONC, You will find that casting is no different than fishing. Now, how can I compare the two?Very easy, as you become more into casting bullets you will find what works for you and what tools make it easy. Most people start with the Lee products which are cheap to buy and as time moves on so does the equipment. A RCBS casting pot cost $250, a Lee $50. Lee molds cost $35 and some custom molds cost $250. Don't be afraid to try the Lee equipment because of price, in fact some of it is worth keeping and using no matter how long you do this hobby. I started fishing with a cane pole and 10 cents of line and hook. Some almost fifty years later I have a $40,000 boat and thousands of dollars in rods, reels and baits. The casting equipment goes through the same stages of change. And last but not least, they both have to do with casting.

A VERY astute observation.

[atr]

Ive been using the Lyman for 40 years (ouch !). never had any major problems with it.
Ben in previous post mentioned " free float and find their natural center" refering to the top punch. Ive found the same problem and fixed it in a similiar way.
The Lyman I use has no heater, so on cold days, when the stick lube gets very hard, I have a infra-red bulb in a cheap aluminum shade (like what you use to keep baby chickens warm),,,and I set this next to the Lyman and in a very short time the stick lub is soft enough to easily work through the die.....

[dromia]

I also use Bens approach when casting boolits for long range accuracy, the push throughs do give a concentric size. But I prefer the pull/pushers for lubing and seating checks.

I also centre the boolits in my pull/push sizers by using epoxy filled suitably larger nose punch to create a good fit and centred boolit.