Frankford Arsenal M-Press, $122 shipped

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • natdscott

    User Unknown
    Trainer Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Jul 20, 2015
    2,797
    113
    .
    For the same reason I refuse to buy a Whidden pointing system, I refuse to buy this Frankford swill.

    Buy the CO-AX and support the real deal.
     

    JeepHammer

    SHOOTER
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 2, 2018
    1,904
    83
    SW Indiana
    Consider I'm a machinist by trade and have a serious knowledge of metallurgy...

    Forster is a VERY high grade of 'Cast Iron' (more like cast steel), the guide rods are actual, seriously hardened die press pins, etc.
    I don't know how this knockoff can have those features for $122 or even $199.
    I also lean towards Natdscott's view point, I'm more inclined to buy the real thing so the actual inventor/maker/distributor gets paid and not some Chinese knock-off company.

    Maybe someone will do a flex test to see how strong/rigid the press is and post up results since this will be the determining factor on how accurate the press can be...?

    I did that test, on a 2-1/2" hardened steel plate, with a Lee 'Classic Turret', an RCBS Rock Chucker, a Forster CoAxial and Dillon XL650 & Super 1050.
    If you saw the results, the Forster CoAxial won, with the Rock Chucker a close second.
    (I've owned the Rock Chucker for 45 years, and it was used when I got it, so I'm sure they would run neck & neck if both were new)

    The Dillon XL650 did pretty well considering it's elongated aluminum frame, the S1050 beat the Lee Classic Turret (4 corner braces).

    The diameter of the 650 ram compared to the diameter of the case plate/head is good, but for those that saw the test know I put case/case plate movement stops under the case plate to support the case, keep flex out of the case plate.
    The S1050 didn't need any extra support other than a larger washer on top the tool head and a stop under final sizing die.

    The Lee just has too weak of a ram to be dead accurate, flexing non-hardened tool steel rams don't do anyone any favors, but I find it a really handy partner tool press on the bench next to progressives. The 10 second caliber/tool changes just can't be beat.

    I guess it's all in what you intend to reload,
    Blasting ammo is cheap, I don't know why anyone would set out to make blasting ammo...?
    The better the press/dies, the better the ammo produced.
     

    Nazgul

    Master
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Dec 2, 2012
    2,537
    113
    Near the big river.
    I support the idea of original manufacturers. I have a Forster Coax press and like it. But we are talking about resizing brass cases. How strong does it have to be?

    I have Lee presses as well that are20 plus years old, mounted in the garage for dirty jobs before tumbling cases, they are still going strong.

    Don
     

    JeepHammer

    SHOOTER
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 2, 2018
    1,904
    83
    SW Indiana
    I support the idea of original manufacturers. I have a Forster Coax press and like it. But we are talking about resizing brass cases. How strong does it have to be?

    I have Lee presses as well that are20 plus years old, mounted in the garage for dirty jobs before tumbling cases, they are still going strong.

    Don

    See the thread on then broken Hornady press, and the one phone call resolution of that...
    I bet you won't get that from China...

    Dillon, RCBS, etc have all been super good about warrantee on the rare occasions something failed.
    I understand budget restraints, that's why I'd rather buy something American made used than brand new from China.
     

    John3354

    Plinker
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Sep 29, 2018
    110
    18
    INDIANAPOLIS
    Maybe someone will do a flex test to see how strong/rigid the press is and post up results since this will be the determining factor on how accurate the press can be...?

    It has been done. Sort of. At least in regards to how it matters for reloading:

    https://ultimatereloader.com/2019/04/08/fourteen-reloading-presses-compared-single-stage-shootout/https://ultimatereloader.com/2019/04/08/fourteen-reloading-presses-compared-single-stage-shootout/

    Ultimate Shill Reloader did a comparison between 14 single stage reloading presses. The M-Press did pretty well compared to the Co-Ax. Is the Co-Ax better? Sure, on many metrics it did do better. But not by a huge margin.

    A lot of the price difference between the M-Press and the Co-Ax comes down to the difference in frame construction. The Co-Ax is a huge chunk of cast iron. The M-Press is made of beefy steel guide rods for its backbone. It is just a different way of engineering. "Value optimization" or "Cheap Chinese crap", depending on how you want to look at it. But they both have the design details that negate most of the problems that flex can introduce. You can design a press to be massively precise, or you can design it to accommodate any imprecisions by allowing for float.

    You will also notice if you look at the results of his test that the differences in most of those presses is well in to the noise of measurement ability. When the difference in his evaluation is in the tenths and less then how he holds the measuring device likely makes that amount of precision meaningless. Even the heat from his hands would influence those measurements.
     

    John3354

    Plinker
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Sep 29, 2018
    110
    18
    INDIANAPOLIS
    I support the idea of original manufacturers. I have a Forster Coax press and like it. But we are talking about resizing brass cases. How strong does it have to be?

    I also support American made products when ever possible, but sometimes price wins.

    I also like to support American made products, but I am also in the "Sometimes price wins" camp.

    I also think it is important to keep in mind that they are not "ripping off" the Co-Ax. Those patents are expired. Now anyone can produce designs using those elements and that is a good thing. Patents give a limited time period protection of IP in order for inventors to be able to recoup their investments and make a profit from their innovations as an incentive for them to make new things and come up with new designs. Those patents are time limited so that at some point those innovations can go in to the general market for everyone to benefit from and improve upon. In this case they "improved" the design by making it much cheaper and easier to manufacture while still getting great performance. Frankford Arsenal is also owned by Battenfeld Technologies which is based out of Columbia, MO. But it is made in China. Also worth noting is that RCBS has partially moved their production to China to save on manufacturing costs. Many of their products now say "Assembled in the USA". They are bringing in castings made in China and then completing enough steps here that they can still keep a "Sort of, almost, Made in the USA" sticker on them.
     

    John3354

    Plinker
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Sep 29, 2018
    110
    18
    INDIANAPOLIS
    See the thread on then broken Hornady press, and the one phone call resolution of that...
    I bet you won't get that from China...

    Dillon, RCBS, etc have all been super good about warrantee on the rare occasions something failed.
    I understand budget restraints, that's why I'd rather buy something American made used than brand new from China.

    That was actually my thread. And it wasn't one phone call, it was one email. :) They also have yet to ship the parts. But anyway.

    I have had issues with Frankford Arsenal/Battenfeld Technologies products before. They were resolved just as speedily. I had an issue with my Intellidropper having large drifts in zero. A couple of emails about troubleshooting back and forth and they sent me a shipping label in order to send it back to them. Then a couple of hours after they emailed that they sent me one more set of troubleshooting steps which resolved the issue.

    I got a set of Wheeler P-Handle wrenches for xmas. Some of them arrived malformed. One email to their customer service department and they shipped out an entirely new set.

    On the other side of things I had issues with my Lyman 8 station turret press. Lots of slop in the head causing 0.020"-0.030" deflection. They sent out a replacement bushing that did not fix it, so they had me send it back to them. I got a new press that has the exact same issue. So I made a shim to put between the turret and rear support post to remove the slack and fix the issue because I did not want to dick around with shipping it back to them again.
     

    OurDee

    nobody
    Trainer Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    25   0   0
    Sep 16, 2017
    7,967
    113
    Camby
    I'm looking at the USA one.
    [video=youtube;SrolxpXDyWw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrolxpXDyWw[/video]
     

    JeepHammer

    SHOOTER
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Aug 2, 2018
    1,904
    83
    SW Indiana
    That was actually my thread. And it wasn't one phone call, it was one email. :) They also have yet to ship the parts. But anyway.

    My apologies.
    I didn't check the thread again and remembered it as a phone call.

    On the other side of things I had issues with my Lyman 8 station turret press. Lots of slop in the head causing 0.020"-0.030" deflection. They sent out a replacement bushing that did not fix it, so they had me send it back to them. I got a new press that has the exact same issue. So I made a shim to put between the turret and rear support post to remove the slack and fix the issue because I did not want to dick around with shipping it back to them again.

    I really like the Dillon XL650 for a self indexing progressive, but as well as Dillion works, it can use some help also...
    From the eBay stuff that may or may not work, to having to make stops to keep the deflection out of the case plate.
    The ram & rotational head is stiff enough but the gap between shell plate & head puts some slop in things.

    The Super 1050 is a much better press, but I like the 650 better as an all around press, just something satisfying about it for me (personal preference).
    Since I started on crap, second hand and very old, there is something satisfying about hand loading.
    I'll let the machines process brass, but the loading I like to do by hand, and at my own pace, feel every function happen.

    That's probably nuts or some kind of mental disorder, but it's like therapy for me when the press is working smoothly, correctly, and I can identify each function as it happens.
    Like someone once said to me, you never see a hand built car or motorcycle sitting at a therapist's office!
    Can reloading be the same way?
     
    Top Bottom