Forster co-ax tips?

[Rlbol]

I recently picked up a co ax press on here. I am about as happy as I can recall with a purchase! Having had rcbs,lee,redding and Dillion's. I have to say this must be one of the nicest presses I have found!! Any one on the fence JUMP!!

Ok on to my questions!

What do you use for lube on moving parts?

Has any one thought of drilling and installing zerk fittings??

What cartridges have you not been able to size or load on the co ax?

What sizes do the LS case holder jaws used for?

I would love to hear any tips or modifications for the co ax!

 

[memilanuk]

One... it's made by Forster, not Wilson

Two... I generally keep a small bottle of Tri-Flow with the thin applicator straw next to my press. Works well enough for my purposes.

 

[BLDTYLRY]

My largest caliber is 338LM and it requires the LS Jaws. To lube the press I just use Rem oil. Not sure what mod is needed because everything works fine as-is

 

[rdinak]

get an inline fabrication press mounting kit. Have one for my Coax and love it! the add on trays are not a bad idea either.

 

[ZiaHunter]

Just keep the rods clean and lightly lubricated and they will be fine. Buy a bunch of Forster lock rings and install them on all of your dies since they work best in the press.

 

[Clark]

I made a little shelf that sits in front of the press.
It has a hole in it for the de capped primers.
There is usually a TV dinner plastic tray full of brass or bullets sitting on the tray.

 

[Mad_Charlie]

I use Vactra #4 (way oil) to lube the press, and a 1/4" paint brush to paint the oil on the sliding rods.
Clean and oil the press before each use. (goes for any piece of equipment for that matter)

Doesn't need any "mods".

 

[SWThomas]

Just keep the rods clean and lightly lubricated and they will be fine. Buy a bunch of Forster lock rings and install them on all of your dies since they work best in the press.

Good luck with that. They're all backordered everywhere I've looked.

 

[Clark]

The Sinclair lock rings are a steel upgrade from the Forster Aluminum lock rings and yet are the same price.
SINCLAIR CROSS BOLT LOCK RING | Sinclair Intl

The outside of lock rings are knurled. That process upsets and does not remove metal. So the outside diameter of the lock ring increases when knurled. The variation i co-ax presses from Gopher, Bonanza, and Forster in the width of the slot of the frame castings machined over the last 50 years will not tolerate a ring of over 1.422" in diameter. If one gets a ring larger than that, the cusps of the upset must be filed off. This may need to also be in the relaxed state, depending on die thread diameter.

 

[ZiaHunter]

Clark:

Good post and great drawing. My press is a newer model and the Forster rings work fine but will definitely try the Sinclair rings. Like the fact that they are ground flat and appreciate the heads up.

 

[dddoo7]

I use hornady lock rings. I glued two rare earth magnets to the top of the press and they hold the dies in the press. They work well.

I also use a small shank trailer ball as a short handle on my press.

 

[427Cobra]

My Co-Ax sits on a Dillon SDB Strong Mount, two holes line up and two need to be drilled, a Smart man here made me a custom Shell Holder Jaw Housing, the springs are retained and make the swap from large to small jaw a breeze, with the stock housing care needs to be taken or the springs will go flying away, I am slowly swapping all my lock rings over to Sinclair ones, I also changed out my spent primer catcher to jar that holds approx 1500 primers, and lately I'm considering upping it to a peanut butter jar.

 

[Aflac]

Is there someone selling the shell holder that makes swapping easy? Or directions on how it's done somewhere, I reload 223, 308 and 338lm and swapping that holder is my only complaint about the system.

 

[delixe]

I lube the guide rods and pivot pins with synthetic grease every few thousand strokes.
I've FL resized about 10k .223, .260, and .308 cases on it and I can't detect any wear.

Because of the way it's built, wear in the sliding and pivoting components won't adversely affect the alignment of the die and shell plate much, if at all. It should last a lifetime.

 

[pyplynr]

Love these led lights inside the press. Dual LED shellplate lighting kit for Forster Co-Ax. | Inline Fabrication

 

[wildfowler]

My Co- a Smart man here made me a custom Shell Holder Jaw Housing, the springs are retained and make the swap from large to small jaw a breeze, /QUOTE]

Can you please explain that a little better? Does your device use a standard shell holder like the Redding competition set? Does your device allow the shell holder and ultimately the case to free float in a similar manner to the standard Forster jaws?

Though I have not been able to measure any loss in concentricity using a regular shell holder, I would love to have that last little bit of possibility that into my process.

Thanks.

 

[427Cobra]

It's exactly the same as the factory Forster Jaw holder except the springs are retained, the springs go inside drilled shafts instead of the slots, the Jaws still float just like they should.

 

[SPAK]

Forster co-ax tips?

Ditto on sinclair rings.... Hornady rings work well too..

as as far as making it easier to swap jaws out I found a simple and cheap solution that has been working very well.. I bought extra jaws and backer plates and simply put a small dab of jb weld in a few places to hold the backer plate to the housing without getting the jb weld into the springs or on the moving jaws. Place screws in holes to ensure alignment (make sure the holes are in the right place, there is a correct way to place the backer plate) place a weight on top and let it set.... Done, no more flying springs. It's not pretty but it works.

 

[SPAK]

Forster co-ax tips?

Btw, not to be insulting to anyone but It helps if you rough up the surfaces the epoxy is applied to beforehand.


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[abcollector]

I use the Hornady locking rings as well and no issues. Inline Fab has some neat upgrades (not that the press needs them but the upgrades are nice).
Nice mod there with the trailer ball dddoo7! Looks cool, if I didn't have the Forster short throw handle I'd look into that.

 

[427Cobra]

The Smart guy who made my Housing posted in this thread already, I didn't name him but I am completely in his debt, thank you again Sir!

The Inline mount wasn't around when I got my SDB mount, as for the goofy Inline Fabrication side linkages I can see how they may help, but in no way are they required, and I have never wanted or needed a short handle, YMMV

 

[kombayotch]

1) Sinclair rings... its like they were made for it.

2) Forster Match seating dies work a lot better than the Redding ones in it with really tall cases and long bullets.

 

[Manzgear]

I sell the jaw holder housing. If anyone is looking for them send me a PM. I got Clark's prints and changed a few things and last summer I took the torch from him. There is a YouTube video. On my channel Manzgear. Showing how I make them and more.


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[delixe]

I just got a set of the curved links from Inline Fabrication.
I wish I'd bought these when I got my press.
For me, they make it a good bit easier to move cases in and out of the press.

 

[Clark]

I just got a set of the curved links from Inline Fabrication.
I wish I'd bought these when I got my press.
For me, they make it a good bit easier to move cases in and out of the press.

Forster Co-Ax Increased Access Side Linkage's. | Inline Fabrication

I have thought about making a pair of links for one of my co-ax presses with holes 0.002" further apart, so that they would have the same die settings.
But I never thought of curving them.