RainDodger
Member
Just recently, my 1982 Lyman Turbo 1200 tumbler finally died a quiet death in the night, with boots off. It was un-responsive after numerous attempts to revive it, but that's a different story. I decided to go all-out and replace not only the tumbler, but to buy a media separator as well. I've earned it after using a home made shaker in a grocery bag since '82.
That brings me to media separators. My neighbor has a Frankford Arsenal. It works pretty well. I shopped around online reading reviews and looking at pictures. Simply because most of them appear about the same, I ordered an RCBS, which appears to come out of the same molds as the Lyman... and neither of them have really great reviews. Nevertheless, I took delivery of the RCBS and was instantly disappointed. Cheap plastic, cheap AND delicate hinges that connect the two halves of the separator, and latches that look like they'll easily break. It did not impress me in the least. In fact, I wondered how RCBS could make something like that and put their name on it. I sent it back to my friend Amazon and continued the search.
Up to now I hadn't thought of Dillon, as I didn't find ANY reviews of their separator and never saw it when doing a Bing search for media separators. There it was on their web site, it looked to be just what I was looking for, so I ordered one.
It came a couple of days ago. WOW! THIS thing is a media separator! It's made of heavy molded plastic and has steel hinge pins. It has a heavy, spring-loaded latch that will likely outlive me. It has a STEEL crank that runs all the way through the unit and it sits nicely in a big catch pan. They even came up with a unique way of immobilizing the separator for loading - you just slide it about an inch to one side and a cross-pin engages a hole that prevents rotation of the separator. When you've loaded it up and closed it, you just slide it back the other way and crank away. It works great.
Yep, it's somewhat more expensive than the others, but it's also not a clone of any of them, it's engineered well, and it's made of quality materials that aren't going to break! I've always thought media separators were kind of a gimmick, but no more. No muss, no fuss and it's great quality. I know you can make one for free or you can steal the wife's colander... whatever. You can do all those things or you can just get something made for the job. A personal choice. After loading for over 40 years though, I'll tell you - this thing makes it just that much easier and that much more fun.
There you go. Do what you will! Hope this helps someone decide!
That brings me to media separators. My neighbor has a Frankford Arsenal. It works pretty well. I shopped around online reading reviews and looking at pictures. Simply because most of them appear about the same, I ordered an RCBS, which appears to come out of the same molds as the Lyman... and neither of them have really great reviews. Nevertheless, I took delivery of the RCBS and was instantly disappointed. Cheap plastic, cheap AND delicate hinges that connect the two halves of the separator, and latches that look like they'll easily break. It did not impress me in the least. In fact, I wondered how RCBS could make something like that and put their name on it. I sent it back to my friend Amazon and continued the search.
Up to now I hadn't thought of Dillon, as I didn't find ANY reviews of their separator and never saw it when doing a Bing search for media separators. There it was on their web site, it looked to be just what I was looking for, so I ordered one.
It came a couple of days ago. WOW! THIS thing is a media separator! It's made of heavy molded plastic and has steel hinge pins. It has a heavy, spring-loaded latch that will likely outlive me. It has a STEEL crank that runs all the way through the unit and it sits nicely in a big catch pan. They even came up with a unique way of immobilizing the separator for loading - you just slide it about an inch to one side and a cross-pin engages a hole that prevents rotation of the separator. When you've loaded it up and closed it, you just slide it back the other way and crank away. It works great.
Yep, it's somewhat more expensive than the others, but it's also not a clone of any of them, it's engineered well, and it's made of quality materials that aren't going to break! I've always thought media separators were kind of a gimmick, but no more. No muss, no fuss and it's great quality. I know you can make one for free or you can steal the wife's colander... whatever. You can do all those things or you can just get something made for the job. A personal choice. After loading for over 40 years though, I'll tell you - this thing makes it just that much easier and that much more fun.
There you go. Do what you will! Hope this helps someone decide!
