Forster Co-ax and marital harmony.

[HP-Sauce]

I am interested in getting a Forster Co-Ax press. Saw on youtube that it can be stable and usable by just mounting with 1 C-clamp without plywood on a table. This is attractive for me as I lived in an apartment and SWMBO take offense to any items she deemed unharmonious with existing decor. The other features that I find useful is spent primer capture in a jar, she would flip if an errant spent primer makes it on the carpet.

Does the design of the Co-Ax minimalises leverage on the mounting surface? Would be it workable if I mount it on flimsy IKEA particle board furniture for instance? If this is indeed the case then it would definitely worth the extra expense over a rock-chucker I am considering.

The other thing I am interested to find out is if the Press can be pack down and stored in a 40mm ammo box, didn't managed to find any size information on the net. It needs to be neatly stowed away when not in use.

 

[Lost Sheep]

Welcome to the forum and to reloading. Thanks for asking our advice.

I am interested in getting a Forster Co-Ax press. Saw on youtube that it can be stable and usable by just mounting with 1 C-clamp without plywood on a table. This is attractive for me as I lived in an apartment and SWMBO take offense to any items she deemed unharmonious with existing decor. The other features that I find useful is spent primer capture in a jar, she would flip if an errant spent primer makes it on the carpet.

Does the design of the Co-Ax minimalises leverage on the mounting surface? Would be it workable if I mount it on flimsy IKEA particle board furniture for instance? If this is indeed the case then it would definitely worth the extra expense over a rock-chucker I am considering.

The other thing I am interested to find out is if the Press can be pack down and stored in a 40mm ammo box, didn't managed to find any size information on the net. It needs to be neatly stowed away when not in use.

Very wise of you to plan your equipment purchases, both for appropriateness to your needs AND to maintain marital harmony.

Storage My press (and the board it gets mounted on) store in a plastic toolbox. Once you have a press, such toolboxes are available at most any hardware store for $10-15, whatever size you need. My arragement is one box for the press, one for the dies and one for all the powder handling gear, including scales, plus a few miscellaneous small hand tools. A folding workbench completes the ensemble.

When I started loading, I mounted my press on a 2x6 wedged in the drawer of an end table. It did no damage to the finish or to the drawer and since the assembly was tilted back a few degrees, made handling the process a little easier. I also used to lash the board to the top of the end table, but ALWAYS padded the top surface of the table with a towel or multiple layers of newspaper.

About leverage. Remember that the more leverage (what many call strength) there is, the less force there is on the mounting base. Also, the more spread out the mounting holes are, the less force there is on the mounting base. The advantage of the Forster (in this realm) is that no part of the press extends below the mounting surface. If you mount it on a short length of 2x6 or 2x8, the board can then be clamped (adequately padded) to any piece of furniture (or, better yet, portable folding workbench) with your "C" clamp. Note: If you do mount to furniture, using carpenter's wooden clamps will be safer for the furniture, though they are not as strong as cast metal clamps.

Dropped primers, spilled powder, errant dust losing small tools, etc can be adequately addressed by spreading a drop cloth as step 1 of setting up.

By the way, what do you load for? Rifle, handgun? What quantities? What are your shooting goals?

Lost Shee

p.s. There are other presses that have spent primer handling just as good as the Forster, Lee Classic Cast and Lee Classic Turret among them.

 

[hanno]

Would this help?

http://www.btibrands.com/product/platinum-series-reloading-stand/

I use one of these - pretty solid and folds up to put away in the closet. The stand is stable as is but to further improve it, I cut a 2 X 6 to lay across the lower supports then put 2 ammo cans containing bullets (total weight 100lbs) on top of the board.

I also use a Lee bench plate on the stand which makes it easy to change between my Lee Classic Cast and Lee Classic Turret presses.

 

[HP-Sauce]

I will be mostly reloading for 380ACP for plinking and 7.62x39 for hunting. Perhaps 7.5 Swiss in the distance future as I would really like a K31. Perhaps 9mm Makarov and Luger.

My primary objective would be to experience some of the firearms design that would otherwise be difficult to obtain cartridges for.

Secondary objective would be to experiment with workflow and quality control methods. I'm an industrial engineer by training and needs a hobby to satisfy my OCD needs.

 

[9mmepiphany]

While I personally love the design of the Co-Ax, given you situation, have you taken a look at the RCBS Summit?

It is also a straight line press which 1) doesn't hang below the mounting surface, 2) can be mounted on the RCBS Bench plate to be clamped on a table, and breaks down into a very small package

 

[Rory McCanuck]

The Co-Ax doesn't need to be mounted as strongly as a conventional press, but it's nice.
I cringe watching the Forster demo clips on youtube.
They have it on a wide, flimsy particle board shelf, and flexes like mad.
Seems to work, though.

Unfortunately, dismounted, the Co-Ax takes up a good bit of room.
The primer tube and jar and the guide rods hang down a ways and the handle sticks way up. Lowering the handle makes it stick straight out forward.
Mounted, it actually has a very small footprint.

I had mine mounted on a tablesaw stand that I made a small table top for.
With a cloth bag over it, it was almost hidden, certainly not an eyesore.
It worked nicely, but mounted to a real bench is better

 

[Scooter22]

You don't say how often or what volume of ammo you plan on reloading but a Lee Hand Press would be a great option for small operations. 20-100 rounds at a time. I have a RCBS single stage and a Lee 3 hole turret on my bench. But I find myself using the hand press more and more for small loading jobs. I have used it for .357, 30-30, 30-06, 8x57 to give you an idea. Full length sizing is easy with smaller rounds and not bad with the long ones. I sat on my deck on a warm afternoon and did a 100 30-30 in 15min without sore arms. I put mine in a Sterilite 15qt box. It will hold the press, a couple sets of dies, a Lee Hand primer w/shell holder set, a pound or 2 of powder. Bullets, primers, a couple 100 cases small digital scale ect. Everything to load 20,50,100 rounds at a setting. I bring it to my inlaws if I want to load a couple boxes after Sunday dinner. Try it. Works great and you can buy the press, dies, hand primer and most of what you need to load one cartridge for what the Forester will cost you. The Forrester CoAxe is a excellent press if you need or want one but there are much cheaper ways to get into reloading. Just a suggestion. Number one thing to get is a good reloading manual. Read it. Read it again and follow it. Lyman is a good one. Good luck.
My hand press is the older non breech lock. The new one is convenient. The primer attachment is nice but the seperate Hand prime is much faster.
http://ads.midwayusa.com/find?userSearchQuery=lee+hand+press

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Sterilite-15-Qt-Latch-Box-18848012/100546015

 

[HP-Sauce]

The lee hand press was one I have considered, I will try to pick one up as a back-up at the gun show.

My workflow is a bit messed up as I work long hours but it is somewhat seasonal. So sometimes I can go an entire quarter without weekends followed by weeks with 3 day weekends. I might get to spend a few hours at the range between work when it is convenient and I pick up some brass. Save the lot for a few months then do a big de-cap session when I have some slack time (I just decapped 700 rounds of 380 and 9mm using a 1/16 punch and hammer this afternoon!).

Decap and sorted brass get cleaned whenever I have the ultrasound cleaner out of storage, it can process about 50 rifle brass per hour with the Vinegar method. The ultrasound cleanener usually stays out all weekend and whatever small parts, jewelry gets cleaned when it is out.

Flaring and priming gets done whenever I have time in front of TV as theses tasks do not require much attention.

The only part I needed concentration was powder measuring and dispensing, which needs to be followed immediately by bullet seating. I would only do that when I am fully rested and have a minimum of 6 hr block before it is worthwhile to setup the press.

I have been wanting to get into more efficient reloading then the tapping with hammer method for years and I have been picking up equipment and manuals in yard sales and flea markets, also have several thousand pieces of brass saved up.

 

[Hangingrock]

I believe a much easer decision would be which would you rather have a SWMBO or a reloading press. One has to have their priorities!

 

[Potatohead]

Man you just gotta tell that woman who's boss ya know!?!

 

[Master Blaster]

Get a black & decker workmate to mount the press on. You can also make an auxiliary top for the workmate that can be clamped in the jaws. The whole deal is solid and can fold up and be stored under a bed or in a closet.

 

[hanno]

Get a black & decker workmate to mount the press on. You can also make an auxiliary top for the workmate that can be clamped in the jaws. The whole deal is solid and can fold up and be stored under a bed or in a closet.

Agreed, a good suggestion. I used a Black & Decker Workmate 225 as my first reloading bench. I took the top off and replaced with a double layer of 3/4' oak plywood. Very stable and folds up nicely for storage.

 

[Hangingrock]

Ok how much closet space do you have? One could reconfigure the interior of a closet or partition part of a closet with bi-fold doors to accommodate an interior shelving system and equipment mounting platform. While not ideal it creates work space hidden from view while not in use.

 

[Potatohead]

Yea, there's a fella on the "show us your reloading bench" thread that makes use of that closet idea. Pretty neat.