Question on Lyman T-Mag Turret Press & Sparten Press

[terryt]

Hi:

I saw a Lyman T-Mag Turret Press on Ebay for $ 75.00 and I am not familiar with the newer Lyman products. how is the quality and ease of operation?

there is also a Lyman Spartan press for $ 30.00. Are parts for the Spartan Press available and will other than Lyman shell holders fit it?

Thanks,

Terry

[firebrick43]

Is it black or orange.? If black it is a tmag II. I bought one in 2000 time frame and used it exclusively till 2009. I will say I was not impressed at all. The heads had runout. As a result if you rotated the head and the back support rod allowed turning the head then their was excessive flex. If the support rod was adjusted to eliminate flex then the head would lock up in some stations of indexing in others. This was with two different heads. The ram had play and the primer catcher sucked. also the primer arm had a habbit of launching its cups no matter how tightened unless you tightened at regular intervals. I was not sad to see it go down the road.

I suggest either the classic cast turret lee press if money is an issue or if you can afford it a BL550 dillon which can be upgraded to a semi progressive as money comes available if you are ever planning on higher volume reloading. If a traditional turret is absolute its hard to beat a Redding t7

[Patrick56]

I have an old Spar-T red and grey turret press and I am very happy with it. I found out that the priming device from an other brand could be used. In the beginning, the slightly inclined action feels odd but you get used very fast. Uses standard shellholders locked in place with an insex screw. Possible to change the direction of the lever. Nice and not so bulky as the Lyman T. Only bad thing is that some die lock rings do not have space enough due to big spacer under turret nut.

[Catshooter]

Beware, the earlier Spartans had cartridge specific rams, they didn't use the shellholders we are accustomed to today.


Cat

[kungfustyle]

Nothing wrong with the press. It does have some play in the turret when you work it but it will function very well. A Lee Classic turret press runs about $118 and you can get parts all over the place. No so with the Spartin. Good press, but for the price range go for the Lee Cast. Just my opinion. I did the very same thing and Love the Lee.

[6bg6ga]

The is nothing wrong with the old T-mag press. Mine doesn't have any adjustment to remove any play between the post and the turret. The simple solution is to insert a feeler gauge of the correct thickness between the post and the turret. I do not move the turret but rather go thru and process all my cases for each specific operation and then I rotate the turret and do the next operation. Either way its the same number of strokes.

[Maven]

I have a T-Mag II (gray-black hammer tone finish) and can see where it can bind if not properly adjusted. I removed the turret, cleaned and greased the underside & shaft, then reassembled it: haven't had a problem yet and it works smoothly. However, I use it only for loading revolver cartridges (.357mag. & .44mag.) and am very pleased with it.

[woody1]

I see the Lee classic turret press suggested here. I have a Lee 3 hold turret press I bought from a member here and IMO it is purely a piece of junk. I won't even offer it for sale. I'm not one of your typical Lee bashers either but I have no love for this piece. I also have an older Lyman turret press, can't tell you if it's a T-mag or what but it's suits me fine. Regards, Woody

[firebrick43]

Woody, the classic cast and the 3 holer are worlds apart. That's why I was specific and just didn't say any lee turret.

It's like saying that Chevy/ford/dodge cars are junk because decades ago they sold vegas,pintos,and omnis.

[walltube]

Bought a used example post-Katrina via e-Bay. I was desperate for a press, any press!:mrgreen:

Have it to this day attached to the bench. Nary a problem loading straight wall pistol cartridges. All the thing requires is an occasional cleaning and lubricating of its few moving parts. Though similar in function and purpose, replaced the priming assembly with an RCBS version. In my opinion, the RCBS aluminium primer arm(?) is easier to adjust for reliable, optimum primer seating.


Please note: I do not load bottle neck rifle cartridges with the T-Mag. T-Mag's tolerances are a bit too generous for my liking, for that purpose. A Forster performs that task.

Regards,
Wt.

[Dframe]

I'm not familiar with the newest offerings from Lyman. But I've used an old red and grey Spar-T for about 45 years without any problems at all.

[terryt]

Hi:

Thanks for all the replies.

I Do not know if it matter's but the one I am looking at is black/grey tone.

Terryt

[woody1]

To be clear, the press I referred to is the Lee 3 Hole Turret Press with Manual Index. It is discontinued but to me it looks to be built the same as what they now call the Lee 4 Hole Turret Press with Auto Index. I know nothing about any other Lee press. Regards, Woody
the press I referred to is the

[catgunguy]

I have a gray Lyman Spartan Press I bought on E-bay some time ago. I took it apart, cleaned and lubed and is as good as new. I have been loading 308 Win for my DPMS LR-308 which shoots five shot 1/2" groups with ease. I would say the press is good enough.

[Spector]

My old orange Lyman T-mag press was a piece of ****. Broke the pivot bolt twice and the 2nd one I had to have made by a machinist as Lyman did not stock that part just 2 years after I purchased it new. It was the one with the quick-change turret and no adjustable support in back of the press for the turret. I suspect all my parts would likely fit and old Orange Crusher press frame.

The Lee Classic Cast turret press is light years ahead of any of the older Lee turret presses or the Lyman turret presses. I love the fully supported turrets and the option of automatic indexing. Turrets are low cost and easily changed, so a set of dies can be left adjusted in a turret. Turret and shell holder changes can be accomplished in seconds and spent primers go down a flexible tube into a container of your choice.

Not as fast as a progressive, but plenty fast enough for my reloading needs and easily becomes a singe stage press by just removing the automatic indexing rod. Again....accomplished in a matter of seconds........Mike

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I had one experience with a Lyman T-Mag (orange) some years ago....bought new. The turret did not index correctly/line up with the ram. I ordered another turret and the same thing happened. I sent everything back to the company and got a different press that worked correctly. LLS

[dh2]

I started with the old orange T-mag after about 20 years of use the pivot broke I sent it back to lyman they charger me $60.00 and sent me a new T-Mag II I have loaded many very accurate rounds with both of them

[6bg6ga]

I started with the old orange T-mag after about 20 years of use the pivot broke I sent it back to lyman they charger me $60.00 and sent me a new T-Mag II I have loaded many very accurate rounds with both of them

I have a Dillon 650 as my primary press. I do small runs on the T-mag. As I mentioned in a prior post I eliminated the play on the old orange by simply using a feeler gauge so the head isn't able to rock. I do not cycle mine but rather run thru each cycle before going to the next die. The T-mag is handy for processing any mistakes made on the 650.

[Spector]

I got my T-mag ''turret'' press in order to load a complete round without removing the case from the shell holder. That required me to rotate the turret and made the feeler gauge not feasible. If I had wanted to run mine as you did I would have just gotten a single stage press.

Lyman customer service said I could ship my press to them at my expense and then they would decide if they would do anything for me or not. This after they had shipped me the wrong turret pivot bolt twice. Finally I sent my broken bolt to them at which point they informed me they do not stock that part and I would have to have a machinist make a new one for me if I wanted it replaced. The one they erroneously shipped to me twice had a larger threaded diameter which indicated to me they realized the weakness in their origional design. Then the adjustable turret support on newer presses again showed they finally realized another design weakness in the T-mag presses. Then to tell me they would have to decide whether to help me get up and running again was not what I wanted to hear from a old established company like Lyman who had been touted to me as a great company. The 2nd turret pivot bolt I had machined also snapped off.

I then purchased a 3 hole Lee turret press just to get me by until I could figure out how to get the Lyman up to snuff. I loved cast iron and so was not impressed with Lee's light weight frame, but it didn't take me long at all to appreciate the fully supported turret. Then a 4 hole. Then the Lee classic turret press and I have been fully satisfied with that. I purchased a Lyman de-capping die and discovered it would not de-cap 10.4x38 brass made from 348 WIN. Bought a Lee de-capping die and it handles the job just fine.

The name Lyman means something negative to me though I understand that many here probably view Lyman in a positive light. Not my experience though.

[1hole]

Buy your press according to what you want to do with it. I knew I'd be a modest volume shooter when I started in '65. The Lyman Spartan was considered a good press (it is) but I figgered the Spar-T turret would just have to be faster; it wasn't, all it offered was a place to store dies and if I usually had to swap dies at least once per loading session so the turret just added a bit of press spring, but it worked anyway. BUT, the difference in required effort between a simple toggle and modern compound toggle linkage finally led me to adding a second press. I still use the old Spar-T but only for handgun ammo. Factory parts are no longer available for those old presses but the ram is about the only thing that wears on them and rams appear on eBay from time to time. And, fact is, a 'sloppy' ram doesn't harm a thing because it will allow
cases to self center in the dies, every time.

Avoid the Lyman T-Mag. If you have the cash, get a Lee Classic cast or Classic Turret, new. They are both excellent presses - at any price - and Lee's auto indexer for their turret head makes it much faster for volume loading. If your funds are tight, get the Spartan and use it happily until you can get one with the newer type linkage; no matter what you get later you will always have uses for the little Spartan so it won't be a waste.

[6bg6ga]

I find it extremely hard to believe that one could break the center bolt unless the bolt was defective from the start. But then again I haven't been present when any bolts were broken. The reality of it is you simply cannot rule out the stupid factor in any equation. Like I mentioned I didn't buy my T-Mag new nor do I use it for long runs not do I use it for anything but pistol cartridges. I use mine simply as a single station press with the ability to turn to the next station that I already have setup and ready to go. Personally I do not like the rotation of the head for each cycle because I don't see it as any time saver.

I've tried the Lee presses and I'm not impressed with the quality of cheap aluminum construction but thats just my opinion. My T-mag seems strong enough for the small runs of pistol brass and the clean up rounds following a long run on the Dillon 650. You simply cannot fix stupid when it comes to reloading as it wanders in causing havic. I tried forming a cut down .223 to 300 blackout and I thought I was going to ruin by bench with the force that was required to form the case. Common sence came riding in telling me this press is simply not strong enough for the force required to do this task. I've seen this done on a Dillon 650 and that wouldn't bother me.

[JesterGrin_1]

I had a Lyman T-Mag II and to say that I was not impressed with it would be a great understatement. I sold it along with a Redding T7 I believe and purchased a Lee Classic Cast Turret Press and I could not be happier with the press. As a matter of fact it is pretty much all I use except I have kept an old RCBS Single Stage to handle a few chores that the Lee is not capable of doing. Such as the Old RCBS Primer Pocket Swage die along with a few other simple type of chores.

I will have to say though that if I could recommend a reloading press for someone starting out it would still probably be the Lee Classic Cast Turret Press or a Dillon 550 depending on foreseeable reloading requirements. And again for a few chores that require a single stage press I would look for a good used one or recommend the Lee Classic Cast Single Stage if looking for a new press. :)

[Silverboolit]

I have both the LEE turrets. The three hole, aluminum base one got sloppy in the ram, so for $12 a new base was ordered and it is now chugging through pistol rounds happier than ever. I like the 3 hole because of it's shorter stroke and only 3 dies are needed for some pistol rounds. It is 20 years or so old and now works like a new one.

[JesterGrin_1]

6bg6ga The Lee Classic Cast series of presses are iron and not made of aluminum a completely different animal.

[6bg6ga]

6bg6ga The Lee Classic Cast series of presses are iron and not made of aluminum a completely different animal.


So would that be cast iron? Sorry, still not impressed with Lee quality.

[gwpercle]

I bought a new Spartan in 1967, it takes snap-in shell holders, any of the snap-ins work, I've used Lee, Lyman , CH4D, Herter's , Pacific, Redding and RCBS. It's not a super heavy-duty press, but it is a good basic single station, weighs about 10 pounds, cast iron with compound linkage that can be reversed for up or down stroke operation . It is a big step ahead of the little Comet press. I've loaded a lot of ammo on it. and it is still being used. The color is orange.
CH4D still makes replacement rams to fit it. And if of the older type they make a snap in shell holder adapter Not all Spartans are the same, the older ones did not take snap in holders, so check it out before buying.
Gary

[JesterGrin_1]

So would that be cast iron? Sorry, still not impressed with Lee quality.

I would have probably said the same thing before I used one of there Classic Cast presses such as the Lee Classic Cast Turret Press and the Lee Classic Cast single stage. I even like the Lee Classic Cast Single Stage better than the RCBS Rock Chucker.

I think the main thing I like better on the Lee Classic Cast presses is the spent primers go through the center of the ram through a tube to wherever you wish to aim it of which keeps things far cleaner. I made a little adapter to put a medicine bottle at the end of the spent primer drop tube on my Lee Classic Cast Turret Press of which has worked well.

But Lee could do better on finish work such as a more durable finish on the linkage system. But then again at there price point I can live with it as they are a good quality user friendly press.


But like everything else everyone has there own personal opinions. As the only real thing that matters is that each individual is happy with the choice they have made.