Forster Co-Ax press
To reply to Stubbicat and add my $.02:
The Forster Co-Ax press is excellent. The Forster rings are recommended to optimize one of the great features of the press - its ablity to "float" the die in the x-y or horizontal plane. The die ring "snaps" in to a precisely-milled slot. The die is held securely in the perpendicular axis but floats horizontally in order to improve concentricity. There are two important features of the Forster rings. First, the size matches the milled slot that holds the die ring. Second, the screw holding the ring tight to the die tightens the ring tangentially instead of axially. An axial compression screw could potentially cause an angled offset due to the thread angle of the die's threads.
Once you adjust the die and tighten the ring's compresssion screw, you can quickly remove the die, store it and quickly reinstall it with the assurance that the die is still in adjustment. You have not moved the ring relative to the die. Snap the die in, snap it out - just that quickly. No readjusting the ring is necessary. This makes switching from one die to another very quick and easy. Not quite as fast as a turret press, but close. Plus the alignment of this press is probably better than most turret presses, due to the inherent "slop" required for the rotating turret.
Bottom line on the rings: the Forster rings are used for a good reason. They are not that expensive. Use them - they are worth it.
To respond to Stubbicat's criticism of the locking "shellholder" jaws, I noticed a similar problem. This was easily resolved by disassembling the jaws, cleaning and re-lubing with clean oil. This took about 5 minutes. Now the jaws spring back decisively. I suspect that Forster ships the shellholder jaws with a heavy oil or grease so that rust won't develop in storage/shipping. Cleaning and lubing with a lighter oil makes them work better. Also, there is a pointed adjustment screw in the ram that adjusts the amount of jaw opening to allow loading the case. Foster's directions are quite clear on this.
The spent primer holder cup works great. The drop tube and cup constitute a closed system that works to keep grit and lead-laden dust confined. Good feature.
Forster's customer service is good. If you call, technicians are available to answer questions or walk you through setup or operation. I have called them 3 times - they were quite helpful. If I had read the directions more closely, the calls would not have been needed.
Bottom line - excellent press. Highly recommended. I have measured the runout of .223 rounds using the Forster press and Forster and Redding competition-type seating dies. Virtually all rounds have had total runout of less than .002".
