bonanza co ax/forester press

gohring3006

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I picked one up for 60 bucks at a pawnshop. My question is, will other dies other than Forster work on this press also it only had small primer seated on it I hope I can find the large one somewhere, it had no shellholder for priming will only the forester shell holder work at the priming part of the press?
 
To start, here are the press instructions:
http://www.forsterproducts.com/client_images/catalog19938/pages/files/Co-Ax_Reloading_Press.pdf

and here are the primer seater instructions:
http://www.forsterproducts.com/client_images/catalog19938/pages/files/PrimerSeater.pdf

You can use any dies, as you will note with the instructions above. I have found that I do prefer using the Forster cross bolt locking rings:
Cross Bolt Die Lock Ring - Dozen - Forster Products
as they produce a lot less "wobble" than other brands. You'll see what I mean once you use the press.

I would buy a couple small and large primer seaters and the tool to align them, which they call a "locator" on their website. Somewhere along the line you may accidentally jam a primer in the seater and removing it is, um, usually not healthy to the longevity of the seater. So, having a spare is cheap insurance.

You do not need a shellholder at all to prime. See instructions linked above.

Great buy at $60!!!
 
WOW! $60!!!!!!!!! That's less than I paid for mine in 1978 ($83).

I assume you mean to use the priming device on the back of the press. Depending on the number you may have a "B1" or a "B2", or maybe an even later model. Still they all are similar in concept.

The shell holders used in the old style priming device are very similar to the RCBS, Lee, and Hornaday sold in die sets today, but they are a little different. The I.D. is bigger to allow the priming device to go thru it. I don't know if you can still buy them form Forster, but I've made many of them by simply drill out an RCBS with a hi-roc drill. Of course you can always convert it over the latest style, but I still prefer the older one.

The shell holders are not needed if you have the sliding jaws. I won't go into detail as to how to set the jaws up, as it's been written over and over on these boards. But I will tell you I set my jaws up very loose, as the only thing they do is extract the case from the die.

The Bananza / Forster will use just about any .88-14tpi die. Some guys only use the Forster lock ring, but I don't. I use the steel Lyman as it fits the slot a little looser and allows more float. The slots on my press are very tight with the Forster rings anyway, and this just works better for me.

I recommend the Forster dies over the others, as they are just better.
gary
 
yea. I researched it before I bought it I didn't tell the pawnshop owner what it was worth I just bought it and kept my mouth shut lol. I just tried the rcbs shellholder and it does need drilled out slightly but I think I can get it to work. The main jaws are in good shape and were easy to set up I hope I can get a large primer seater depending on cost I might just get a hand primer and forget it I can't wait to use it...
 
yea. I researched it before I bought it I didn't tell the pawnshop owner what it was worth I just bought it and kept my mouth shut lol. I just tried the rcbs shellholder and it does need drilled out slightly but I think I can get it to work. The main jaws are in good shape and were easy to set up I hope I can get a large primer seater depending on cost I might just get a hand primer and forget it I can't wait to use it...

it takes a pretty good drill press to drill out the bore, or better yet an engine lathe. The hardest shell holders I've drill out are from Lee (they look like they are nitride hardened, and that seriously hard). I think I either used an 8mm hi-roc drill or something in the .320" range. I have used cobalt on RCBS holders, but the drill bit doesn't last long. There's a guy selling the Forster type in Ebay, but I'd stay away from them as they are not well finished. The hi-roc drills work better and drill a rounder hole without wondering off to one side. Remember that no matter what brand you are reworking, the only metal your going to be removing is the hardened part.
gary
 
I think I'm going get a hand primer for now everybody seems to like them better anyway till I order the large primer seater and shellholder
 
I think I'm going get a hand primer for now everybody seems to like them better anyway till I order the large primer seater and shellholder

get the K&M! Simply the best buy out there. The Sinclair is probably next on the list. The Forster device is pretty nice, but no where the quality of the K&M. Still it's by far the better of the press mounted devices. The rest of the hand held devices are toys compared to the K&M or the Sinclair.
gary
 
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