Arbor Presses

[WTW]

Does anyone use an Arbor press to ensure maximum accuracy? I found one locally for a pretty good price but have never used one and have entertained the idea of being able to pack it up and take it to the range to work up loads.

Is there any critical things I should look at before buying it? I looked at it this afternoon and noticed that if you adjust it very low and lower the arm you can see a little bit of light at the bottom of the seating arm. Not much but a slight amount. Will this add to runout with this type of seating?

 

[Fuzzball]

Re: Arbor Presses

Using those BR presses is largely limited to BR rifles for serious compettion, not for factory rifles and SAAMI chambers. Their high potential accuracy isn't due to arbor presses, per se. it's with the high precision NECK sizers and STRAIGHT LINE seaters and METHODS that get used with arbor presses. Any light you may see under the ram is irrelivant to anything.

Presses of any type/brand only push cases in and push or pull them back out of dies. Accuracy for us comes from good dies (carefully selected by testing, not by brand or price) and our loading techniques, not the press we use. In fact, I think the press we use is trivial compared to the other factors; a good loader can make quality ammo on any press but a klutz can't make good ammo on any ress.

If you want to load at the range get a little Lee "Reloader", put it on a board you can "C" clamp to your shooting bench and use regular dies/shell holders. And a hand primer tool.

 

[biglou13]

Re: Arbor Presses

wouldnt worry about press

its all about the dies the press is just a pusher, hell ive seen people use wilson dies with hammer.

contrary to most here i load with wilson dies and arbor press
, and will continue to do so


is convenient. but i draw the line at neck turning there u cross the line to BR shooting.

i have a k n press make sure it still adjustable for height eg different height dies.

i once measure tir compared to rcbs dies, and wilsons won. havent seen since (way to anal) http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/pr...ity_Gaging_Tool

my loads hoover around .25 moa good enough for me.

 

[Victor N TN]

Re: Arbor Presses

I have a couple of arbor presses. But they are mostly for seating with Wilson in line dies. I use them for the benchrest rifles. Most everything else for the smaller calibers, I carry a RCBS Partner around. It full length sizes 6BR and 22&6PPC very well.

Everything else is done with Redding Comp seater dies in a regular "O" style press.

If I knew then what I know now I would have waited on the Comp seater dies. Just they weren't available back then.

 

[shoot4fun]

Re: Arbor Presses

I have a very neat combo style press for range work. It is threaded for 7/8x14 screw in type dies but has the option to allow use of a Wilson style arbor die to the left of that.
I use it with the short range BR in 6PPC. As for loading in general I see no advantage to using an arbor press.
It's hard to beat a Redding or Forster comp seating die.

 

[427Cobra]

Re: Arbor Presses

I use a K&M arbor press with seating force attachment, Wilson inline seating dies with Sinclairs micrometer top for all my bolt gun seating, lightwieght portable and dead easy to use, no this setup will not make perfectly straight ammo, if your chamber is cocked, or your resizing habbits are inducing run out no seating die will straighten that out.

 

[sniperaviator]

Re: Arbor Presses

To seat with an arbor press you need Wilson dies or other hand type dies. One thing you will be doing is adjusting the height of the press often. Pick a press where that is easy to do. Usually they make a little bushing that you put the cartridge on. It makes it easier to get the round out of the die. Wilson dies come in neck sizing die and seating die, no full length sizing die for an arbor press that I have ever seen. Lee hand dies can also be used on an arbor press. The Arbor press excels at using the excellent Wilson seating die. The Wilson neck sizing die works but I don't particuarly like it. It is a bushing die and it only sizes the neck a little way down and that's it. Leaves a ridge. The rounds I made with it worked fine however. I get better results from traditional reloading presses for the sizing operations. But the YMMV.

Go to youtube and watch the video if you put in "wilson dies reloading" in the search bar.

 

[Hummer]

Re: Arbor Presses

I have a Dake Y model which has a solid base and not slotted like the others made in China etc and have used it for years with my L E Wilson dies.

Wilson does make FL dies for use in arbor presses but bear in mind the necks are small. I asked factory about this once and they told me most folks that use FL dies chuck them in lathe and take a pin grinder and open the necks to a desired amount thusly you can FL size with any neck tension you desire and your case will never see/need an expander. I have ground out maybe four of my FL dies. Work very slick.

On 308 I have one for gas gun neck tension and one for bolt gun neck tension. If you have a tight chamber that doesn't allow case bulge at base you can FL size them, tumble them in stainless media and they look like factory unfired.

Bottom line is I love Wilson tooling.

 

[sniperaviator]

Re: Arbor Presses

Where do you get Wilson full length sizing dies?

 

[427Cobra]

Re: Arbor Presses

http://www.neiljones.com/html/micro_dies.html
Those are the only Arbor Press only dies I have seen that bump shoulders, LE Wilson does not list any FL dies on there website.