Pitted Forster Die

[RBHarter]

So in the end you bought top shelf and had to finish the finish and clean up yourself just like buying the warm beer tools .........that makes me sad for you .

 

[462]

So in the end you bought top shelf and had to finish the finish and clean up yourself just like buying the warm beer tools .........that makes me sad for you .

To say that I was disappointed that Forster only touched up the die, rather send a replacement, is an understatement. If it had been an RCBS die I'm sure they would have replaced it.

I would like to upgrade a .30-'06 sizing die, but this incident has me questioning if I want to.

Lesson learned?

 

[Ian]

I was more concerned about the threads than anything, most of my sizing dies have rust spots and dings on the end you pictured the most, which is the part that does nothing except for the very bottom flat part and only then if you're 100% full-length sizing to as short at the die will give you. The inside part of course is THE most important part, but if the threads are screwed up (no pun intended) the die might tend to sit crooked in the press or gall up your press threads under pressure.

If you want a good full-length resizing die (don't laugh), buy a LEE. If you want a pretty resizing die, buy a new RCBS one but be warned, they are reamed to SAAMI minimum and THEN they put a nitride coating on them that makes them even tighter.

 

[fiver]

last die set i bought was a hornady american set.
yep cheapest ones on the shelf [my local place don't carry LEE dies] they make damn nice ammo though.
no finish on the outside to speak of [they look matted/bead blasted whatever]
but it was consistent

that one just looks dodgy, and cheap.

 

[462]

Despite whatever the digital camera did to them, there is nothing wrong with the threads, it was only my OCD that battled with the bottom of the die, and ironically I put a Lee die in a shopping cart just after my last post.

 

[Bret4207]

Boy, I haven't bought a new die set in a good 10 years, but knowing what they cost now, I don't think that is right. Especially for a higher end die. That's just sloppy QC. They should have replaced it.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I agree in the surprise and disappointment from Forester. Im not so bothered they refinished the die as by appearance of pics most was external and if so would in mo way effect preformance of the tool. The job was incomplete when you was able to make it look perfect seemingly quick and easy. Appearance can be reality.

Like most of you I have most of the common reloading dies and reserve Wilson, Forester, CH Tool as a step above. Redding as slight step down, RCBS a step below them, Lyman half a step below and Hornady below them. With LEE as entry level. Passable and that mostly cause of materials and lackadaisical adherence to tolerances. Alum caps thay strip & pull threads is a bother. Decap stems that wont hold in ther collets cause of dimensional & or hardness issues. Just dont need to happen if better materials of manufacturing standards where adhered to. The dies work but...

INHO, Redding is tops for many folks and deservedly so, they make a great product backed by equally awesome CS. There superior polish inside is a large part.

I agree with some RCBS running under spec. I have also seen early LYMAN "plated" dies with same results.

On a secondary topic, With my own exuberance, I find myself flush with 6mm Remington dies and plan a video comparison. Asking for suggestions of things to compare and investigate.

I have a Redding, CH tool, Forester, 2x RCBS and tempted to buy a LEE for more complete comparisons.

 

[Bret4207]

My mother was pals with the owners of Redding some years back, out to supper, etc. I never met up with them but my impression was they didn't have a lot to do with the actual business.

 

[358156 hp]

My Redding Big Boss (press) finally wore out. I don't know how many tens (hundreds?) of thousands of cycles the ram on it made up and down. It had a bad case of lateral play in the linkage, lots of slop. I haven't used it for awhile so I don't know how long it has been like this. I maintain my equipment, generally using Dillons maintenance recommendations since my 550 has held up so well, i.e. pull and clean the pins, clean the pins and their bores at least once a year, grease (not oil) the pins and bores, etc. My Big Boss showed wear on the pins, but the bores still showed slight machining marks from original manufacturing, but no wear. So the pins were worn out.

I called Redding and they confirmed that the pins were softer than the iron frames and steel links to allow wear on the inexpensive, and replaceable components of the press to allow rebuilding. The pins are considered to be a wear item by them. Hearing that, I figured this was going to be done at my expense, but the waived the parts prices and sent me everything to repair the press at no charge. I must have caught the guy at a good time or something. I have received the parts and the installation will be really easy once I finish up re-arranging my loading bench.

I'm happy enough with Reddings solution, I didn't want to ship the press cross country and expose it to potential adventure. I'm not at all excited about Forsters handling of this issue, everybody has issues from time to time. It's how they deal with these issues that define a suppliers value to me.

 

[462]

My one experience with Redding's customer service was no different than those I've had with RCBS -- excellent.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I've contacted Redding a few times, but I cannot recall ever breaking any Redding gear. (If I did, it would have been entirely my own fault)
I've been very impressed with Reding equipment. I can't afford Redding gear all of the time, but I seek it out when I desire that "buy it once" type of gear.

 

[JustJim]

If you want a good full-length resizing die (don't laugh), buy a LEE. If you want a pretty resizing die, buy a new RCBS one but be warned, they are reamed to SAAMI minimum and THEN they put a nitride coating on them that makes them even tighter.

So, a bit of a sidebar: I lucked into 5-600 1x fired 30-06 cases, but will need a small-base sizer to re-size them. Would a regular RCBS die do the job? I don't mind replacing/upgrading my dies. My current dies are Lyman, older than I am, and have loaded at least 50k rounds since I acquired them.

 

[Ian]

Worth a try. IIRC RCBS also makes small base dies for the Garand.

 

[462]

I used to have a set of RCBS small base dies and the sizer sized .001" smaller than the standard RCBS die. Oddly enough, other than to test it I never used the die, not even for any Garand loadings.

 

[RBHarter]

I had a 760 that was real tight , nearly match , chamber . I fussed a while ,found a 2X Lyman shell holder and sized with a hard cam over and rest about 10 seconds in the cam over . I was using RCBS case lube II then .

 

[RicinYakima]

Use your regular dies first!!! Small base dies are not always small than the regular dies of years ago.

 

[358156 hp]

I'll be buying a set of 30-06 competition dies for the Savage this spring. It's almost certainly going to be a Redding set. My current std set is Hornady, and they're getting a bit old, plus Hornady doesn't really have a competent match bullet seating die. There's also a distinct possibility that I'll just buy a match seating die and continue using the original Hornady sizer since the cases & loaded ammo I supplied my gunsmith for chambering were sized with that die.

 

[Ian]

Just buy the Forster in-line seating die and call it good.

 

[462]

I second the Forster.

One of the .223 Ruger American loads uses Hornady's bulk 55-grain FMJ bullet. Seated with an RCBS standard seating die overall length varied by up to .035", as measured with a Sinclair comparator. Since I started using the Forster die overall length varies from zero to no more than .002", and that is probably due to the bullets' quality of construction, not the die's inner workings.

 

[RicinYakima]

I'll be buying a set of 30-06 competition dies for the Savage this spring. It's almost certainly going to be a Redding set. My current std set is Hornady, and they're getting a bit old, plus Hornady doesn't really have a competent match bullet seating die. There's also a distinct possibility that I'll just buy a match seating die and continue using the original Hornady sizer since the cases & loaded ammo I supplied my gunsmith for chambering were sized with that die.

Consider an LE Wilson seating die. There is a reason most benchrest shooters use them. Yes, I know you have to do them one at a time and seat them by hand.