Arbor Presses?

M

Mirage416

New member
I figured it was finally time that I get to the bottom of this and ask the question. What's the deal with arbor presses?

Do I need new die sets to make the switch?

Right now, I do all of my loading with a Lee BMG press. I always thought the press wasn't as important in reloading, as it merely supplies the force for the work. Not knowing how true this really is, I would like to know more about the credentials you lend to the press being used.
 
Mirage

Arbor presses are designed to use with a specific kind of die, the Wilson being by far the most popular. These are called 'chamber dies', and all the press does is provide the horsepower to do the work, it really does not interact with the case............jackie
 
jackie schmidt said:
Arbor presses are designed to use with a specific kind of die, the Wilson being by far the most popular. These are called 'chamber dies', and all the press does is provide the horsepower to do the work, it really does not interact with the case............jackie
Click to expand...


hmmmm,

I've never heard that term Jackie. I've always called them "hand dies," because they can be used without even an arbor press, worst case you can use a rawhide hammer and your body weight for the heavy stuff.


mirage416,

Note that this style die is neck-size-only, you CANNOT full-length resize using hand dies which limits you to shooting loads which may be considered "light" in today's competitive world. There have been several custom makers through the years. The Granddaddy of them all for factory production is the L E Wilson, followed by the Lee hand die (Lee Loader, circa 1962) which used to come with a hammer. I think that even LE Wilson borrowed from his predecessors, notably Neidner.


LE Wilson hand dies will allow your rig to realize it's full accuracy potential but as the cases tighten up in the chamber you must remember to keep your bolt lugs greased. And I Mean KEEP THEM GREASED!!! Like every 15-25rds.



I agree with your assessment that a reloading press is simply a force multiplier. IMO all claims that one press makes "straighter reloads" than another fail close scrutiny.

al
 
Press

Mirage, I'm a new shooter (to BR) and have reloaded for years. I went to a 100-200 yard match to see what tools I needed to reload at the range. Almost everyone was using a small compact press like a partner to FL resize and deprime. Everyone was also using an arbor press and a wilson seater die to seat bullets.

I purchased a bruno's arbor press and wilson seater and have enjoyed its simplicity. Wilson has an micrometer top that makes changing seating depth really easy. I bought the standard die and Otto shims for changing depth.

Harrells makes a combo press that you can use a standard die and also use one side of it to seat bullets (or neck size) with wilson hand dies.

Cody
 
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Mirage,
To properly advise you we need to know what kind of shooting you are doing and what kind of rifle you are loading for.

If you are loading for a bolt action factory rifle, you can get very good results by neck sizing with a Wilson neck sizing die with an arbor press. This type of die only sizes about 2/3 of the neck while punching out the primer. It has changeable bushings to control the amount of sizing (i.e. neck tension on the bullet). Since this type of die doesn't size the case body you will need to full length size after 4-6 firings. When you full length size it is best to remove the expander ball from the FL die.

Another (probably better) solution is to get a full length bushing style neck die. I think Redding makes one. I've never used their dies, but I believe you can send them some fired cases and they will size your die to fit your chamber resulting in a minimum amount of case body sizing. This will make your brass last longer (minimum working of the brass). This type of die is used with a standard press. It's also good to get a set of die shims (they go under the die lock ring) to help adjust the die height in the press. You need to adjust the die height to avoid bumping the shoulder of the case back too far (again part of minimum working of the brass).

With either sizing solution, I would recommend using a Wilson (or other brand) hand seater die with an arbor press for seating bullets.

Steve

P.S. If you go with the Wilson neck sizing die, also get a base for it. The die sits on top of the base and provides a cavity for the primers to drop into.
 
Al ...

alinwa said:
hmmmm, I've never heard that term Jackie. I've always called them "hand dies," because they can be used without even an arbor press, worst case you can use a rawhide hammer and your body weight for the heavy stuff. al
Click to expand...

Wilson refers to their dies as Chamber type dies right at the top of their instructions. It's a Wilson term. :)
 
Thanks for all of the info, guys.

Steven Lee asked what I am using my setup for. Right now, I am attempting to get my feet wet with a factory rifle, that is an FN-98 chambered in 270 Win. I know it's not anything near a bench rifle. I do have a Stiller action ordered, so I am experimenting with what I can in the meantime and learning about the reloading aspects of this game.

OK, so right now I am using the Redding Competition bushing die set with micrometer seating adjustment in the Lee BMG press. I guess my question is this. What would an arbor press and Wilson die do better than my current setup? How exactly will it produce more accurate loads, or rounds which are seated any differently? Thanks again.
 
Mirage

Your fine with what you have for now. The light weight presses and such are made to catch the shooter. Kinda like fishing lures. Oh they work just fine, they are purty, look cool and are easy to pack around. That is the main attraction, light weight. If you get into full race Benchrest you will find an unlimited amount of "stuff" that you just can't do without. I made my own bullet seater press out of scrap aluminum. Cost, $10 for a guy to do the welding. Works just like the $160 ones. I have a Wilson straight line bullet seater that I use with it. I also use a Redding comp seater with micrometer top, but it is for a 6BR. Guess what, it works just fine on a 6ppc also. I use it in either my big Lee cast iron press or one of my Partner presses. I have checked the runout using the 6BR die and it is as close to zero and you can get. So wait until you get the BR rifle to get the "goodies".
Donald
 
Donald is right. The dies you are using are just fine as is the press.
 
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