Shell holders on a Forster Co-Axial?

[MACHTECH]

I'm curious if anyone else has used shell holders on their co-axial press and your thoughts about how it worked. I was having problems with my jaws not opening enough for some of the larger calibers I reload for. I really didn't want to have to switch between the standard and large jaw plates, so I ordered the shell holder plate. The only possible negative thing I see so far is that the shell holders don't hold as firm as the standard spring jaws. Anyone else tried or use this setup?

Thanks,

Todd

 

[BlackFenix]

I will first say that I have not used the shell holder as a replacement for my jaws however doesn't that negate some of the advantages of having free floating cases for concentricity? That was one of my reason about not going down that route.

 

[918v]

I use the shell holder adapter and do not have concentricity issues which are caused primarily by bushing dies or excessive seating pressure.

 

[Kwe1982]

I will first say that I have not used the shell holder as a replacement for my jaws however doesn't that negate some of the advantages of having free floating cases for concentricity? That was one of my reason about not going down that route.

That would be my concern, I ended up buying another press and had one set to each type of jaw plate.

 

[MACHTECH]

That would be my concern, I ended up buying another press and had one set to each type of jaw plate.

I like how you think! I will probably do the same and just get another set up with the large capacity jaws.

 

[Kwe1982]

I like how you think! I will probably do the same and just get another set up with the large capacity jaws.

Yep, expensive but effective.

 

[pinhead]

I have the shell plate adapter for loading the 300 Norma, but I seem to be running out of room using the Whidden seating die and 230 Bergers. I have the seating die cranked out almost as far out as it will go, and I don't know if i could get them bullets seated any longer if I tried. So I ended up ordering the larger mouth jaws also (haven't received them yet) since the theory is the brass will sit maybe 1/4" lower with the large mouth jaws. I can then lower my seating die, which I need.
A few things I did to address the concentricity concerns about free-float with the shellplate adapter in the CoAx press:

1. I did not torque down the two screws holding the shell holder plate to the base of the CoAx press. This allows the shell holder plate to move slightly left/right and front/back as needed.
2. The shell holder itself, as it slides into the shell holder plate, is set in place by a small set screw. I screwed that down just enough to make sure the shell holder stayed straight and did not spin as I put a piece of brass into the shell holder. This way, at least the shell holder can wiggle a little bit, but the shell holder plate is making most of the movements. I don't know if that is all really necessary, since the jaws hold the case very solid in place and the die moves as needed to be sure everything is in place.

By the way; I see you have the easy-access linkages for your CoAx press. I bought them too but only swapped out the left side link since I put the case into the press with my left hand and my right hand is on the press handle, so I don't need easy access on the right side. I read in the instructions that you had to mess around with the press stop, and I got lazy so only did one. So far so good. I don't know if anyone else has done that or if its just me.

 

[pinhead]

One more thing; I looked into getting the aftermarket jaw holder with the encapsulated spring, so the springs didn't get launched across the room when you swap out the jaws. They are nice units, but I decided it wasn't worth it. So I mixed up a little bit of JB Weld and dipped the first 1/8" or so of each spring into the JB Weld then put it back in place in the jaw holder. The JB Weld holds the spring in place when swapping out jaws, and its now a breeze.

 

[Kwe1982]

I always thought it would be cool if they scaled the design of the press up a bit, for the magnum callibers like the cheytac.

 

[MACHTECH]

Pinhead, Thanks for the reply! I just installed the easy access linkages, but I don't think I'm going to keep them on. They really changed the feel of the press on the bottom end of the stroke. They almost give it a cam lock feel, not a positive stop feeling. I also just ordered another press with the larger capacity jaws for loading .300 Norma. I emailed Michael from (manzgear) and got a couple of the upgraded jaw holder plates on order. The plate on my current press is bent from pulling bullets with a collet puller. Hopefully these will be a little beefier.

Thanks again,

Todd

 

[MACHTECH]

Here's a pic of the new and improved jaw plates from Michael at manzgear.

 

[TripleBull]

I always thought it would be cool if they scaled the design of the press up a bit, for the magnum callibers like the cheytac.

Yes, the Maxi Coaxi is needed!

 

[pinhead]

Pinhead, Thanks for the reply! I just installed the easy access linkages, but I don't think I'm going to keep them on. They really changed the feel of the press on the bottom end of the stroke. They almost give it a cam lock feel, not a positive stop feeling. I also just ordered another press with the larger capacity jaws for loading .300 Norma. I emailed Michael from (manzgear) and got a couple of the upgraded jaw holder plates on order. The plate on my current press is bent from pulling bullets with a collet puller. Hopefully these will be a little beefier.

Thanks again,

Todd

Yeah, no problem. Did you consider just changing out one of the linkages? You still get the firm stop that way. I found the Hornady Cam Lock collet puller was the best one to use in the CoAx press. What bullets are you pulling that require that much force that you are bending the jaws?

 

[MarinePMI]

That would be my concern, I ended up buying another press and had one set to each type of jaw plate.

Ditto. Best money ever spent. No changing things out, just walk in and start reloading.