frankford arsenal

[il.bill]

I use their digital scale to weigh every handgun cartridge powder charge I load on my single stage press, in batches ranging from a dozen to 200. I have been completely satisfied with it for over a year now. When it started acting up I simply replaced the AAA batteries and was happily back in business.

I also use their kinetic bullet puller with good results.

Frankford Arsenal seems to provide decent value at a reasonable price, at least for this low volume reloader.

 

[Devilfrog]

Been using a FA tumbler for years, does the job. Also sue their bullet puller which works good as well.

 

[readyeddy]

The digital scale works for me. Some say it's not consistent with small handgun charges, but for large rifle charges, it works like a charm.

 

[GT1]

I have a few pieces of FA stuff(calipers, bullet puller, vibra prime), no tumbler or scale though, many stand by that little scale. I have used the FA calipers for all my reloading since the start, works just fine.

 

[[email protected]]

MY scale works fine is the batteries are good and strong. If they get weak then it will act funny. I bought mine on sale fo around 20.00. I compare it with my harnady and rcbs 505 scale and they all read within a tenth of a grain or so. Its not my words but someone posted the following here or on another fourm "having two scales is like having two watches, they never read the same and you never know what time it is."One thing that I dont like about the frankford scale is that it uses the thin cr series batteries. My hornady uses standard AAA batteries. I would rather have the AAA battery type if its my only scale and cant afford a 110 volt scale.
I have noticed that it takes brass longer to tumble in my tumbler. Mine does not have a center cone that makes the brass flop as it tumbles.

 

[1SOW]

I've had the dig. caliper for many years and it still compares with a newer one perfectly.
I used their bullet puller hammer and it broke after about a year. I told them it broke, and they sent me a new one---no questions asked.
They're not "top of the line", but they back up what they sell.
Good Company

 

[SigFTW]

I use the FA digital calipers, scale and the tumbler and all have worked great for the last 4 years.

 

[Honest John]

I've been using the digital scale for a couple of years now. It's not accurate to within a tenth of a grain, but is adequate for my purposes.

 

[Comrade Mike]

I think they're calipers work great for what you pay for them. I bought one to stick my comparator on permanently

 

[ranger335v]

The Barry's vib. tumbler is as good as they get and the price is right. The motor has a larger than common shaft in long lasting ball bearings rather than bronze bushings. Wet tumbling with steel pins will make small lots of brass perfectly clean internally, which will last until the next time it's fired; is that a big deal worth the extra cost, time and wet mess? Not to most of us!

Frankfort's steel calipers (plus all of those branded by other reloading companies) come from the same Chinese shop as those from Harbor Freight, who sells them for $12 when 'on sale' - as they often are. They are as accurate as calipers get, they work fine and are as durable as any reloader needs.

Lee's little Safety Scale is very sensitive and highly accurate but it IS a PITA to use. Get an inexpensive Lyman or RCBS beam scale for powder and use it in confidence for the rest of your life. Electronics fail, it's just a matter of time; everyone loves his digital stuff - until it craps out! Many of us tried digitals and returned to our beams. Digitals drift with internal temperature and power voltage and stray magnetic and static fields. Used properly, beams are effectively just as "fast", beams are fully as accurate and usually more sensitive and they will last forever unless they get hammered.

 

[Foto Joe]

I've been trying to break a FA tumbler now for about three years unsuccessfully. It gets run at least once per week and so far it's performed very well.

I use mechanical calipers so I don't have an opinion on FA digital calipers but I do use a FA digital scale although NOT by itself. As with a lot of folks I don't tend to "trust" the digital scales but on the other hand the FA "cheapie" digital scale is always within .1gr of my beam scale, ALWAYS!!

Even though I trust a beam scale more than a digital, the digital allows me to tare an empty case then weigh it after charging eliminating the pouring of powder into a powder tray for a beam scale. This means I'm more likely to weigh every 5th to 10th case instead of just trusting that everything is just ducky for 50 or a 100 rounds.

The FA digital scale is well worth the money, just treat it like you would any precision instrument and it will serve you well for years.

 

[Potatohead]

Put me in the "dont like their calipers section". Why not spend a few more bucks and get the much better made RCBS one? Mine would never zero...

 

[Poper]

Put me in the "dont like their calipers section". Why not spend a few more bucks and get the much better made RCBS one? Mine would never zero...

I guess I'm old fashioned.

A friend gave me a digital caliper some years ago but after using it for a while, I went back to my dial caliper because it was easier for me to read and it does not have a battery that can go dead.

Maybe I'm just getting old...?

Poper

 

[ranger335v]

"Put me in the "dont like their calipers section". Why not spend a few more bucks and get the much better made RCBS one? Mine would never zero..."

The only RCBS/Chinese calipers I've held in my hands were identical to my own Harbor Freights (for $12) except for the plastic name plate and at about tripple the cost. (Dial calipers, like beam scales, hold zero perfectly.)

 

[heathkiks]

I have been using a Frankford dial caliper for at least 10 years with no fault (and I am pretty picky on my measurements).

The only other Frankford product that I have is the Cartridge Overall Length Gauge... I could probably eyeball the correct length more accurately than this piece of junk.

 

[Dudedog]

+1 For the Perfect reloadoing trays! FA tumbler seems to work fine, Flitz case polish is great.
I have and use the FA scale but check it against my RCBS beam scale. It always seems to say its pan is 120.1 grns. All the ibuprofen tabs I buy seem to weigh 5 grns + or - .1. ( I forgot what a Tums weighs!)
Make sure the batteries are fresh. A Lee safety scale is about $25 if you like to double check.

You could always tell your wife you need the some diamonds out of her ring as check weights. 1 carat = 3.08647167 grns..

 

[shadow9]

Have the FA kinetic puller and tumbler, both identical to their name brand expensive store-shelf mates...bought because I'm a hobby reloader and not competitve. So far so good, gotten my $11 out of my Puller and another few loads I'll feel good about the $40 on my tumbler.