Any one using a Lyman Turret Press.

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GCbroker

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Made in CT.. Been around for a long time. Not much talk about them these days?
I've seen some really good sale prices on them lately. Hmmmm.
 
Have one.

Never use it.

Sloppy.
Poorly designed.
Leverage is mediocre.


The RCBS turret is better.
And the Redding T-7 is far superior press, in my opinion. (There's a T-7 at the opposite end of my bench.)


As much as I hate most Lee tools, I think I'd rather use a Lee turret than the Lyman... :rolleyes:
 
FrankenMauser

Have one.
Never use it.
Sloppy.
Poorly designed.
Leverage is mediocre.
The RCBS turret is better.
And the Redding T-7 is far superior press, in my opinion. (There's a T-7 at the opposite end of my bench.)
As much as I hate most Lee tools, I think I'd rather use a Lee turret than the Lyman...
________

Thanks for the tip FrankenMauser, Good to know, I'll stay away from Lyman.
One of these days I'll spring for a T7... Fantastic HD press it is!!
 
I have and use a 4 position turret press. I have both the center bearing and the thrust adjustment so the die plate has less than .0005" of tilt when ultimate pressure is achieved at the top stroke of the ram. It is a remarkably strong turret press but I use it as a single stage press.
If anyone has one that they don't or won't use I will pay the shipping to get it. I will fix it up and if it meets the same specs as mine I will give it (cost free) to one of the kids, young adults, that express a desire to get into reloading. I do this (supply reloading gear for free) to young reloaders when I have extra gear. I do, occasionally, get old gear from older reloaders who have stuff they no longer use. I fix it up, calibrate scales, bush trimmers, and polish dies to make sure they are serviceable and then donate them.

I never sell the pieces I acquire but I do sometimes pay for them if I can afford to. All the gear I get is donated to new reloaders to pay it forward.
 
I have the Lyman, works great, it has an adjustment so it doesn't tilt under pressure. I still use it for rifle, I have a Dillon for pistol loading. I don't know why the other feller had such problems.
 
I have a True Line Jr. Its fine for handgun, I don't recommend FLS rifle on it. Mine has been upgraded to the 7/8-14 turret and X style shell holders.
 
I've been using a Lyman Spar-T since the middle 1970s, used it yesterday morning for about 150 rounds of .45 auto. I haven't had any significant problems with it so far.
 
I own and use a fifties vintage all American turret. This thing is perfect for handgun work.takes up little space, four hole turret, built like a tank. Castings are accurate, indexing is excellent. Leverage is not as good as I wish, but it is almost as powerful as a single stage.

There were ways that it could have been improved. One of them second-hand would be a great find for a casual shooter.

Auctiva.com

576809192_o.jpg
 
That is a very similar de sign, but obviously improved, with a better lever system. It must put out a lot more force. Nice.
 
The Tru-Line and Spar-T are totally different beasts than the also-discontinued T-Mag, or current T-Mag II.


If we based opinions of modern tools on those of the past, we'd all be comparing Dillon 1150s to Ideal 310s...
 
I believe that a Spar-T was the only press my Dad ever used. He tightened the turret down and used it as a single stage for rifles. Not sure if that really helps or not but he loaded ammo for some very accurate rifles.

I picked up an old one that I found in the corner of a gun store years ago and used it for quite a while. Been thinking about setting it up again for handguns. Lack of leverage is the main drawback but not that big a deal.
 
I have a T-Mag along with 2 other presses on my bench. The T-Mag gets used the most. Load rifle and pistol rounds with it.Does a very good job with both.
 
Iv'e had my Lyman for about 3 years now and have put about 30,000 rounds through it and it still works like the day I got it. I can not imagine why anyone would not like this press.
 
I used a Lyman Spar-T for 40 years, gave it to a friend, and now use a Lee Turret. Have had no problems with loading 7mm Weatherby and 7mm Remington and .338-06 expansion ball on 30-06 cases. Now, if I were going to load one of those Mags on a Jeffery case, I'd want a heavy duty C or D press.
 
I use this one Lyman T Mag II turret press.

71W68vi3c4L._SL1500_.jpg

Source of picture: https://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Reloadi.../dp/B000KKEPJ2

I find this press very nice. Seems to be made in China for Lyman.
But it is a Quality product. The turret has room for 2 caliber sets of 3 die set each.
Priming on the press is very nice as well.


It is a press and does what it is supposed to do.
No Need to invest in a much more expensive press.

Addendum: some claim the piston is wobbly and may missalign crushing the case.
Well it is a bit wobbly but that <<is the nature of the beast>>. It lends to autoalign properties as well. But the slight play of the piston is not an issue since that is a inherit design property IMO. It works and works well.
If you feel an stoppage so the case gets stopped by the rim of the die since it is a bit off centre then most likely the case is not fully gone to the back of the shell holder. It is not an problem of the press but sometimes the cases <<walk>> or are not carefully placed on the shellholder. In that case adjust a bit with your hand and you are fine. The handle has to be operated smoothly and not <<as a race car>>.
This danger to crush the case due to missalignement of whatever (there are many moving parts such as the piston and the case) only happens with the depriming and sizing die (first dies). The other ones do not present this problem if you can call that a <<problem>>.
The piston has to be liquid greased since it is metal-to-metal contact.
 
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