SixShooterBP
New member
Has anyone tried this press and if so what was your experience with it? Seems to be well built.
Frankford Arsenal F1
- Thread starter SixShooterBP
- Start date
I looked at a couple of videos, and it looks like it is probably a good buy for the money. In principle, the primer catch container copies how the one on the Forster Co-ax works and has worked since Bonanza originally developed it fifty years ago, but attaches it to a thread that lets you opt to drop primers through a tube to a bucket or other larger container the way the vinyl primer drop tube in the original Lee Classic Cast press is used.
the linear ball-bearing shaft guide is interesting, but what I can't tell without taking one apart is how well sealed that is or what wipers they have to protect the ball bearings from grit. Even with the through-ram primer drop, a certain amount of the hard carbon and sometimes glass dust in primer residue will fall from cases being removed after resizing, and the issue is whether that can get into the bearing and clog it or damage it. These types of bearings are common on milling machine tables and similar devices, where they are generally well protected by accordion chip covers and shaft wipers. I just don't know how that's addressed in this press. The fact is that a little ram slop on a conventional press doesn't actually hurt anything, as cases tend to self-align in the die, either because of that wiggle or by sliding around inside the shell holder a thousandths or two. So, in that sense, the ball bearing is a solution in search of a problem. But if you like the feel and sound of it, and if it doesn't clog over time, neither will it hurt anything.
A YouTube review comparing it to the Hornady cast iron press suggests the compound leverage is good. The built-in light saves you from buying and mounting an aftermarket one, though why they didn't supply a cheap USB charger and cable, I don't know. Saved them from raising the press $5-$10, I suppose. Not much of an obstacle, though.
Overall, it looks like a good deal, money-wise. It is going to have been made overseas rather than in the U.S., if that matters to you. Sort of hard to find things without at least some parts made elsewhere these days, though.
the linear ball-bearing shaft guide is interesting, but what I can't tell without taking one apart is how well sealed that is or what wipers they have to protect the ball bearings from grit. Even with the through-ram primer drop, a certain amount of the hard carbon and sometimes glass dust in primer residue will fall from cases being removed after resizing, and the issue is whether that can get into the bearing and clog it or damage it. These types of bearings are common on milling machine tables and similar devices, where they are generally well protected by accordion chip covers and shaft wipers. I just don't know how that's addressed in this press. The fact is that a little ram slop on a conventional press doesn't actually hurt anything, as cases tend to self-align in the die, either because of that wiggle or by sliding around inside the shell holder a thousandths or two. So, in that sense, the ball bearing is a solution in search of a problem. But if you like the feel and sound of it, and if it doesn't clog over time, neither will it hurt anything.
A YouTube review comparing it to the Hornady cast iron press suggests the compound leverage is good. The built-in light saves you from buying and mounting an aftermarket one, though why they didn't supply a cheap USB charger and cable, I don't know. Saved them from raising the press $5-$10, I suppose. Not much of an obstacle, though.
Overall, it looks like a good deal, money-wise. It is going to have been made overseas rather than in the U.S., if that matters to you. Sort of hard to find things without at least some parts made elsewhere these days, though.
stagpanther
New member
Reminds me a lot of my Prazi heavy press in an "economy" version (what are the odds, right?)--at less than one tenth the price! As long as the run-out on the ram is minimal; I'd jump on it readily myself.