Press upgrade to Franford or Forster Co-ax press

I have a Hornady 007...had it for 30 years? I figure I deserve an upgrade. A mate has a Forster co-ax and seriously impressed by it. Not seen for sale in NZ and a few hundred dollars more than the Frankford Arsenal co-ax available locally.

The dies just slot in and float rather than screw in. The lock ring on a normal die works in the Forster but the FA needs a special block. Both have universal jaws to replace shellholders - the Forster does this better.

Anyone on here using the FA press and able to comment on how they find it?

@Bubba?

I ain't no reloading wizard and don't do a huge amount but yes really like the FA press. It's probably a lot more press than I need but I needed to upgrade and at the time the price was only a bit more than a standard press which are hard to get.

Once set up I've found it super easy and fast compared to my old press. Not having to slide each case into and out of a holder speed things up but you do have to hold the case until it's gone up and entered the die or you might crush a few.

The floating die holders at first seemed a bit dodgey but when you think about it with the way the case holder works everything is able to self align. Again once set up super fast to change over and I have brought another 3 sets of blocks.

In terms of accuracy I was pretty happy with case length and seating depth which if I remember correctly was within 0.03mm using a standard seating die.

So yes I'm really happy with it, easy and fast to use once setup and you get into a rhythm.

I went with Forster incl micro seater die set,
Quality kit,far more than I need but you only live once
BRT in Aus.
There was supposed to be a 6 month wait. It showed up in 2 weeks.
Good people to deal with.

Happy Co-ax owner here.
In terms of mounting, that Frankford one looks to have a very narrow mounting footprint to hold against the leverage when used. The Co-ax is completely solid on a decent bench.
Either way the floating die concept is brilliant.

Had a coax a few years, you can get them from workshop innovation, sometimes waiting for stock to arrive but worth checking

Only $25 to ship from Oz.

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Originally Posted by Tikka7mm08

Only $25 to ship from Oz.

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Bargain, they’re bloody heavy

I’m going to get a Forster co-ax when I start going back to the States next year.

I hunted the globe and BRT were the only store that had them and there was 22 in stock when I got them. You really need the Forster rings for the dies, not that expensive for a pack of 10

Another happy co-ax user here. Not used anything else.
I think its sinclair lock rings ive got - full round not with flats on the side for a spanner.
Had to reset die lengths after about 5 years as the headspace and oal had got about .005 longer. Perhaps the press had stretched a little or the bearings worn in a bit.
Its a bit fiddly dismantling the case holder to change between 223 case and 308 case base. Springs can escape.
Its a heavy unit.
Gives very uniform sizing and seating usually +/- .001” and runout was good too but im not that good at measuring it.

Here's a good video of the Frankford press with a comparison to the co-ax at the end.

https://youtu.be/sBZP4uMN_LY

@Tikka7mm08
when it comes to seater dies don't get hooked into "must have the micro seater die", sure the micro seater is the premium design having that dial to give you a visual reference point... but the bench rest seater is exactly the same without the micro dial on top.
I have both in different cartridges and both are excellent. Micro seater is good when you are changing between projectiles/loads but if you have only one or two favourites and don't move around much, the bench rest seater does you fine.

Exactly. I use standard and micrometer.

Have you tried reloading direct (workshop innovations)? I think he had one in stock a couple of weeks back. Sometimes the stock levels on the website havent been updated.

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Originally Posted by NZShoota

Have you tried reloading direct (workshop innovations)? I think he had one in stock a couple of weeks back. Sometimes the stock levels on the website havent been updated.

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Several times I've bought stuff and then had an email to say sorry not in stock.

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Originally Posted by Bobba

Here's a good video of the Frankford press with a comparison to the co-ax at the end.

https://youtu.be/sBZP4uMN_LY

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I’m impressed by the M-Press having watched that:

• Much simplified adjustment for the shell holder.
• Like the integral light.
• No actuation below the mounting surface.
• Mounting looked solid.
• Optional over cam or dead stop (not sure if the Forster will do the both).

• Didn’t like that you could crush the shell holder by poor adjustment of the die.
• The die blocks work out a bit more expensive than the Forster Lock rings, but do look to be higher quality.
• Does the die block grub screw crush onto the die body thread?

• Does the die block grub screw crush onto the die body thread?

Yes with a brass grub screw.

• Does the die block grub screw crush onto the die body thread?

Yes with a brass grub screw.

I've had a co-ax for over 8 years after 30 years using a RCBS Rockchucker. It's recommended that you use the Forster aluminium lock rings with the co-ax because they're soft and won't wear any metal in the steel slot of the press.

One annoying aspect, to me, of the co-ax is that my RCBS bullet puller and collection of collets don't work as you can't lock the puller in place.

Yeah I love my RCBS puller...but would just keep the 007 Press for those tasks. Everything points to the Forster Co-Ax.