My new to me Spolar
I picked up my Spolar today. It was built in 2006. I made a good buy on it along with a bunch of components so I can see what I think of the Spolar verses my MEC 9000's with the automate. I like my 9000's and know my way around them real well. That said, the Spolar is built like a brick poop house. I am guessing there is going to be a bit of a learning curve getting it up and running to my liking.
I read on the forum here where at some point in time there was an adapter bushing you could purchase and they be able to use the MEC bushings. If someone could lead me to those that would be great as you can imagine with loading all for gauges with the MEC's I have pretty much every bushing
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I read on the forum here where at some point in time there was an adapter bushing you could purchase and they be able to use the MEC bushings. If someone could lead me to those that would be great as you can imagine with loading all for gauges with the MEC's I have pretty much every bushing
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Yes, MEC to Hornday powder bushing adapter, available through Midway, Balistics Products among others. I can also recommend Spolars new magnetic shell seating head, it practically pulls the hull out of your fingers and cent rsr it up on the seating head.
What a piece of crap! Send it to me so I can throw it away for you! 👍
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Looks perfect, That will be my next upgrade to a spolar
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Thanks for the nice replies and suggestions. I look forward to trying this one out once I get room on my bench for it and get it set up for the 12 gauge shells I like. One of the reasons I looked into Spolar was the quick change heads. Maybe three of those heads will take up a whole lot less space than three reloaders do. Before I get too deep in this thing I want to be sure it is what I want and this will add the other three gauges I shoot a lot. Someday I will most likely have some reloaders for sale, either red or gold.
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Even though I've never heard anything bad about Spolars, keep us posted with your thoughts on it.
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Sure will.
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The 410 is the true test. One tiny glitch usually makes for a bigger problem. What AR's?
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Nice find! I recently received my first Spolar and I can honestly say I love it and look forward to reloading each day with it. I see you have the hydraulic unit too. I would HIGHLY recommend that you load manually for at least 1,000 rounds so you can familiarize yourself with the rhythm and timing of the press. Shot and powder spills are going to happen but I can’t stress it enough to learn manually first. Second piece of advice is to keep plenty of dry lube on the charge bar. You can buy it from Spolar. I don’t know what it is but it’s slick as can be. You will feel when things start to get grabby or sticky and when you’ll need to lubricate the charge bar, another reason why I think loading manually for a good while first is important. Lastly, make sure you have a really sturdy bench for it. I reloaded with a Dillon SL900 before going to the Spolar. I think the Spolar would have toppled over the make shift bench I was using for my Dillon. I don’t know why but the Spolar seems like it requires a more stout bench, especially with the hydraulic unit. The shells it produces are gorgeous and like I said at the beginning, it’s a joy loading with it. I added a cheap ring LED light (see my -and other people’s- post about it) under the tool head and it’s a nice feature. I also bought a Pyrex powder hopper for it that I really like. The magnetic hull holder would be a great investment if yours doesn’t have one as well as the powder drop tube that has the shell flaring tool on it. I ordered the MEac powder bushing adapter from Ballistic Products so I can use MEC bushings. You already have the MEC bushings so the adapter makes sense for you. You’ll still need to order Hornady shot bushings for the shot charges you want, if you don’t have those bushings already. Don’t use the bushings made out of steel. The charge bar and its assembly it rides in are aluminum and the steel bushing will ruin them. Those are just my random thoughts on an awesome press.
Spolar is running almost 6 months out on new orders. The instant you decide to get your sub-gauge tooling, get that order placed.
Absolutely right!
Maybe a few thousand.
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You don't buy a Ferrari and put cheap tires on it. Just buy the Hornady bushings
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There’s nothing wrong with using the mec bushings. You’ll only need one adapter for the powder side. What’s nice about the mec bushings is you can usually find them in your local gun store while the hornady bushings are a mail order item. I have a good selection of both types but find I use the mec’s more. Mec bushings seem to have a better scale of. Grain increments than the Hornady’s which often end up getting bored out to achieve your desired drop weights. Your not going to need a lot of shot bushings the usual are 1&1/8 - 1.0 & 7/8. I don’t split hairs between 7.5s or 8s. There are a lot of posts hereabouts on opening up Hornady bushings. Good luck.
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Those were my thoughts. A handful of shot bushings is all a person needs but a box full of powder bushings is another story. I already have the box full of Mec bushings which seem to be made in finer increments as well. Might as well save $100 and use that for other things I will need.
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Not an accurate analogy. The MEC bushing adapter works great. If one has the Hornady bushings available, cool, use those. Otherwise, they’re pricey and they’re an internet order item for most of us whereas the MEC bushings can be found at local gun shops and sporting centers. I’ve used it without any trouble.
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