Which Sizer?

[zipdog]

I am new to this game and am about to purchase a sizer/lubricator. What are the pros & cons of the Lyman 450 vs. the RCBS Lube-a-Matic? F&M has the best price by far on the Lyman 450.

Thanks in advance,

Rusty

[sundog]

Zipdog, I have several of both flavors, and use them all. None of them came new to me, and some had been used more than others. The oldest is from sometime in the 60s and the newest is maybe 10 by now. Some are green, some grey, and some orange. All of them work. I have no preference - that is other than getting them for alot less than new ones. Both Lyman and RCBS have parts. Dies and top punches are interchangeable.

[Pepe Ray]

Sundog beat me to the keyboard.
He nailed it. I've got one of each. My personal observation is that the Lyman is a tad ruggeder. I know I use it (abuse it) more than the green one. neither have broken. The difference in price is because RCBS has a great Customer service dept. They give away a lot of stuff that you pay for in advance.
Pepe Ray

[dubber123]

I have 2 Lymans, one came with a cast lug at the mechanism point that broke on the first pull of the handle with a too dry .475 bullet. I welded the handle back on. A few more later, the L shaped dog-leg in the linkage broke at a bolt point. A new plate steel part fixed this. A few weeks later, one of the bolts snapped in half in the linkage. The first break I will attribute to excess force, the rest, not at all. I have since bought an older 450 with the red "tricycle grip" handle, and it is better made. I have heard the new 4500's from Lyman are better. If not, I think the RCBS to be a better buy.

[wmitty]

Consider the lyman 45; it's more heavily designed than the newer sizers. Also, think about sizing with the Lee push thru die and lubing with the sizer. (You'll break less parts this way)

[Iceman]

If you get a Star, you will never regret it.
Iceman

[3sixbits]

I vote with Iceman!

[EDK]

If money is tight, go with Lyman or RCBS.

If time is more important, go fo the Star. There's a learning curve with it and some tinkering to get it set; but once it is set up right, YOU CAN GO INTO HIGH SPEED MODE WITH THE STAR. A serious pistol shooter needs 4 (or more!)cavity molds, a Star and a Dillon machine....and a good lead supply!

[Jon K]

zipdog,

I think the key to this is "I am new to this game and am about to purchase a sizer/lubricator". I will agree with all and disagree with some, since you are new to this and have not yet decided yet whether casting is something you really want to and like to do. I would say buy a Lyman or RCBS. They are the easiest to adjust and use, dies & punches are affordable. Get one used if you can, then if you don't like it, you are not out a lot of money, and chalk it up to experience. If you then want to get really involved, get more equipment, and the limit is never ending.
I too like the Star, but keep a Lyman for small quantity runs, or whatever. I had 3 Lymans, 2 RCBS and 1 Saeco, and sold all but one Lyman after I got the Star, and will probably get another Star later down the road.
Hope this has helped to put it in prospective, or anyway food for thought.

Have Fun Shooting,
Jon

[Springfield]

Find someone who has a sizer and use it a few times. Hopefully you can find someone who has a Lyman and a Star for comparison. I used to have a Lyman 45, worked fine. Then I bought a Star. Now I have 3 and no Lyman and don't miss it one bit.

[454PB]

I have two Lymans and a Star. The Star is certainly faster, but if you plan to do heavy duty sizing (like over .002") it has no more leverage than the Lymans. My procedure is to use the Lee push through dies for that kind of duty, then either the Lymans or Star for lubing.

I'm kind of cautious now, I've broken and repaired both of the Lyman sizers. I don't want to break the Star.

[DLCTEX]

The lifetime warrenty makes the RCBS an attractive alternative when you start talking about sizing that may break parts. If you are experiencing difficulty, spray the boolits with one shot or a homemade substitute and they will size with a lot less effort. This may or may not result in the lube not wanting to stick to the boolit, depending on the lube, in which case you size, rinse, and lube in separate steps. Dale

[Sundogg1911]

I have 2 Stars and a Lyman 450. The Lyman gets very little use since I got the Stars. I only use it for a few odd balls that I didn't cast enough of to by the Dies for the Stars. The Lyman did the trick for me for years, but it's very slow compared to a Star and if you cast bevel base boolits, you'll be wiping lube off the base of each one with the Lyman. I'm not trying to but the Lyman down. It's a great machine, it just has more limitations IMHO than a Star.

[3sixbits]

I do find non-turboed STARS for sell used on line from time to time and they look like a good deal. I would like to see pictures of broken STAR's that have been welded up like I see of broken LYMAN's. I sure they are out their, I've just never seen one?

[cohutt]

I decided to go with the Lee TL bullet molds and their $12 sizing dies when i started because i wasn't really sure if casting would be "for me". Turns out it is, and the lee setup works well for my volume pistol plinker rounds.
I bought a 45-70 this week and decided to get the RCBS, which i got out of the box and setup today. After a few rounds i had it adjusted and it works very well.
I''m itching to shoot the rifle this weekend so today i cast/sized/lubed/loaded some rounds for tommorrow.
I'll keep using the lee 6x tl molds for 9mm 45 and 44 for the volume and ease of prep (relaively speaking). With the rcbs I can branch out onto more rifle calibers or perhaps use it as justification to purchase a S&W500........