Old Herters Sizer Lubricator

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richhodg66

Well-Known Member
So, Dad had two of these he likely got in a estate find/junk sale, I don't think he ever used them as he had several Lyman 45s. My brother loves to clean up and restore old tools (but doesn't cast) so I gave these to him to get working again. Only one had a sizer die in it, a .358, so pretty useful, but I'd like to get the second one set up.

Is there a substitute for the Herters dies that will work? The Saecos look similar. This is the die that came out of it.
 

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richhodg66

Well-Known Member
Are they dimensionally the same? Looking at pictures of Saeco ones on Ebay, they look close, but clearly use a larger nut on the bottom. Without either tool here in front of my, I can't look, but could one of these work with a bigger nut?
 
RicinYakima

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
I don't have both either, so it is just an educated guess. Almost all SAECO's hold the dies with a screw that holds the lip down from the top, that is why Herters may have gotten these because they used the old nut on bottom fixture.
 
KeithB

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
To my knowledge the only difference between the Saeco die and the Herters die is the thread on the bottom end. The Saeco is 11/16 - 24 and the Herter’s is 5/8 - 18. That’s from memory, I’ll double check that info later.
 
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Pressman

Pressman

Active Member
The Herter's Saeco controversy is one of the great internet controversies of the 20th century, now 21st century.

First, the main castings are unique to each brand, Herter's is not using Saeco 2nd's for their press. Herter's is much larger overall than the Saeco. While the Herter's Saeco looks the same as the Herter's Lyman press the piston parts are not the same.

The dies mostly interchange, that is they fit into the press of the other brand. But how they are retained is different and that can cause issues with leaking. The threads on the dies are of differing pitch as is the style of the lock nut. Saeco uses a simple flat face nut that tightens against the bottom of the frame, while Herter's uses a longer nut with a short "sleeve" that fits into the frame for better sealing.

Saeco dies have a single row of small grease ports, Herter's has four much larger ports that are not on the same plane.

Then if you get the die to fit to your satisfaction the top punches are very different and nowhere near interchangeable with anything else. Seaco has threads to hold it, Herter's uses a setscrew and the upper portion is much too large for a Lyman top punch.

That is the quick and dirty of it. More research needs to go into this.

Ken
 
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richhodg66

Well-Known Member
My brother got her all cleaned up and moving. He has talked about beginning to cast, he may end up keeping it. Need to get it bolted down and some lube in it and see how it works. A member here has found a couple of the dies and top punches he is helping me out with, so this one is going to get used. I like old tools.
 
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