Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Perfect Seat Hand Priming Tool

[@TillieMuckMuck]

This priming tool works great. LEE had a great idea but every time they upgraded their priming tool it seemed to work less. I finally bought the Frankford Arsenal and it works so well. I’m really glad that I switched from LEE, spent the extra money and got something that is a pleasure to use.

[@rogerdildeau7507]

I just sent away for one of these priming tools. I like the idea of a positive stop to control primer seating depth. I like Frankford Arsenal's service. I purchased a Frankford Arsenal battery operated primer flipper and it didn't work. I called Frankford Arsenal and they asked me the number on the box. They said they were sending a new unit. I told them I just need to part the vibrates. They sent me a whole new unit. I like when a manufacturer stands behind their product. Great video with clear explanation of the unit.

[@ynotjf]

I think this is the best hand primer on the market. Very well made and easy to use. Worth the purchase price.

[@johnshusdock411]

The Frankford seems easier and less complicated to set up than my current RCBS, and the adjustability is a real plus! All of the information you share is very useful and appreciated, many thanks!

[@BoltActionReloading]

+John Shusdock thanks for watching!

[@Gareth96v1]

@@BoltActionReloading are you still using this as your priming tool?

[@JohnSmith-kg5dv]

This is the best priming hand tool I have ever seen and I have been loading for 55 years. The co ax press is the very best for accurate seating depth, but I do not like handing each primer one at a time. Nice review; keep up the good work. Appreciate what you do. Best regards.

[@michaeltaylor7436]

I bought one two years ago and stopped press priming except for single one-off cases. In two years, I have not seated a single primer in sideways or otherwise wrong. It uses Lee type priming shell holders, so all numbers are available thru Lee. When you first start using it, it feels heavy. But you will quickly find a comfortable position resting on your leg or the table. Good product!

[@o2wow]

Thank you for this review! I bought the Frankford Priming tool and I'm loving it. I use it to prime all my bolt gun brass. I still have two Forster bench priming tools, one for large and one for small, that I use for pistol brass and .223 'blasting' ammo. I also have an ancient Lee hand priming tool and an RCBS universal hand primer, but the Frankford is much smoother and I there is no spring loaded shell holder to fight inserting and removing each cartridge like the RCBS. It isn't much, but the effort piles up after priming several hundred cartridges.

[@JohnnysReloadingBench]

I think I'm going to switch to one of these. One of my RCBS units won't seat primers deep enough anymore. I've resorted to backing out the "ram" by a couple turns and using loctite to hold it in place, in order to get enough travel to seat completely. I'm not sure what caused this, since it was fine for several years. I guess I've worn something out on it. The Frankford Arsenal unit just looks like a better design, and I'm surprised by how inexpensive it is!

[@johnbailey9682]

I have tried a few of the primer tools this is far the best one I have used.

[@longstrangetrip3535]

Per military specs they seat their primers between .003 and .006 thousands, so that is what I go by. This priming tool helps me achieve a consistent .004 seating depth. I have three RCBS priming tools and the Frankfort is by far the best one of the bunch.

[@jeffdaniels4945]

As far as I know it’s the only one you can adjust the depth on it as far as hand primers go and comes with shell holders. That’s why I bought it. Seems like high quality too!

[@michaelgearhart6685]

Seat them as deep as they will go without over forcing them, you don't rest them in the pocket all the way and sometimes they don't go off on the first strike from the firing pin because the firing pin just seats the primer deeper. The primer needs to be bottomed out for more reliability on going off first strike

[@TheSuburban15]

Michael Gearhart. I'm glad somebody said it. Yeah, it's either seated or it's not. Exact seating depth doesn't matter if you don't bottom it out and press the anvil into the priming compound.

[@ericm3876]

I agree but have you had the primers that protrude so when you set them on a table top they do not lay flat? I like being able to over cam them into place but maybe I am just going overboard. Also, I do use a primer pocket unifier, so the pockets should be the same depth but on some of my Hornady brass, the primers will protrude.

[@BoltActionReloading]

What statement?

[@jerrychambers7267]

I just got started reloading last week, my first run was 45acp RCBS hand primer worked without a flaw Today I decided to try a little 9mm I swapped the large plastic for small after priming 6 shells the primers were getting turned over and side ways you name it I then got out a Lee hand primer a lot of plastic there to I didn’t get along with it at all I believe I’ll be getting this F. A. And try it

[@R1Kyle]

Man I really want to know which loads work best for you because we are like exact twins, my gun and I are exact carbon copies of YOU! --- IT'S A MIRACLE!!!

[@BoltActionReloading]

I always had really great luck with the 140 eldm and H4350. Lapua brass is hard to beat, I think that cci 450, or cci 41s gave me the most consistent performance in the SRP version.

[@retirednobaddays456]

For most of my reloading I use a Lee hand primer that I bought in 1982. It has a primer tray similar to the Frankfort but it can not be adjusted for depth. With some primers I will get 2 primers loaded, seems like S&B small rifle most of the time. I have started to use the primer seater assemble on my Co-Ax press for my 6.5 Creedmore. Very consistent depth but you have to put each primer in one at a time by hand and with the large press handle you can not feel how hard or soft it goes in. For precision shooting I would favor the consistent depth of the Co-Ax but as moparmadman’s videos have showed us, small changes in our process seemed to have small or perhaps no change in our group size.

[@TheSuburban15]

No primer seating adjustment necessary. You need to bottom out the primer in the cup and press the anvil into the priming compound. That's all there is to it. This can be done by feel, which is what the Lee hand tools were designed to do.

[@marmadukewinterbotham2599]

Thanks for the helpful video! I'm thinking of getting one of these. I shoot a lot of 44.40 in a Uberti rifle. I don't see that calibre on the list that comes in the box. Do you think one of the other 44 shell holders will work?

[@dwaynebeaty9259]

Can i use my own shell holders in the hand primer.

[@scottjacobs7341]

Really like that seating depth dial, I think I'm switching to that from my rcbs

[@garrytalley8009]

This does look a bit better than the Lee's. Lee did have the original idea, but this definitely ups the game and looks like a lot more quality and because it comes with the cartridge holders it is a better price as well. It does look like the Lee cartridge holders would work with it they seem to even be numbered the same. I am currently using the Lee Bench Primer Seater. I may move over to this sometime in the future. I do have to play with the bench priming unit for it to work but it does do the job. It will have to go on my long list and work its way up to the top on my wish list. I have moved from the Lee hand units because the handles bend if you have to put too much pressure on them when they are hard to seat. Not so with the bench priming tool but there are other quirks. A lot of Frankford Arsenal Reloading equipment are very good deals with a lot of quality for the money. Not all but a lot.

[@thadblackwell2180]

Just out of curiosity, why didn't you show it in action?

[@smudgepost]

One thing you could cover is loading the primer tray, flipping primers over the right way.. it's a small tray to load so likely have to pour them in and then shake to flip over like a primer flip tray.

[@thetexasrat]

you take and place the tray up side down over the primer box and flip every thing over, and all primers are as needs be.

[@mckimmym]

I paid a pretty penny for the 21st century adjustable primer. It also doesn’t have a primer feeding system. I wonder if this one performs as well and consistently? Kinda regretting my purchase after seeing this. How has it held up 4 years later?

[@michaeltammaro482]

This is a solid and excellent tool. Regarding the Lee Ergo hand priming tool? It is awesome. It was discontinued though.

[@alexanderbarth8320]

Frankfort seems to have lift it's game quite a bit just recently. I like the Intelley dropper too.

[@tonywillson11]

Is there an insert for large and small primers? My RCBS is a pain with small rifle primers as it does not center them under the case.

[@BoltActionReloading]

+Tony Willson there is a insert you change out. I show it in the video.

[@G5Hohn]

My experience with this tool is frustrating. Double feeds and jams like crazy. A replacement tool from FA has been even worse. Aggravating and very disappointing.

[@baugwan1]

Have you had any problems with the primer tray that came the the Frankford Arsenal Perfect Seat Hand Primer. My tray wouldn't load the primers. They all just backed up at the mouth of the hand primer. I did discover that the RCBS Hand Priming Tool tray works just fine. Am I the only one with this problem?

[@BoltActionReloading]

I have not had any issues. There is a slide switch to turn on and off primers on the bottom of the tray. I assume this was open?

[@samsungtv4u]

This tool was introduced before last year but was in stock only this summer . I pre-ordered one about a year in advance . Have rcbs and Frankfort. Highly recommend the Frankfort.. I also have the old Lee and a rcbs and lee press primer . The Frankfort remind me of the old Lee lever design but improved in most every way . Grait buy for what you get .

[@kentowens2179]

I have an old Lee, which I like better, but I got one of these in case the Lee broke down. I like the old Lee better, but have only used the Frankford model once on some .45 Long Colt ammo. Primers kept falling back into the plunger hole and locking the tool up. May be a user problem on my part. LOL Lee works great!

[@kaiblackout6216]

Thank you. Well done and to the point! I have not personally found accuracy differences with primer seating but would be interested to hear if you do?

[@BoltActionReloading]

WE will see. I will think up some crazy test to run. Its a nice tool either way.

[@goajcats]

Do you ever have a problem with two primers loading into the seating cup? Seems to happen often for me with this unit. Wondering if I'm doing something wrong?

[@BoltActionReloading]

+Craig Bonner I haven't had a problem with it myself.

[@dgunnut6550]

Looks like a good improvement over what I have been using for years, the Lee hand priming tool. I always have some anxiety in getting the primers seated to a consistent depth. I may have to pick one of these up. Does it come with a shell holder that would fit the 6.5 Grendel?

[@BoltActionReloading]

I believe that the correct shell holder for 6.5 Grendel is #12? If so, it is included. Thanks for watching.

[@dgunnut6550]

moparmadman That sounds right. Thanks for checking! Keep up the good work!

[@scenicdriveways6708]

How do you like this tool so far? I have a Lee Ergo Prime and it's a piece of crap , looking to upgrade.

[@BoltActionReloading]

I like it. No real complaints.

[@buckeye43210]

Save your primer trays. I think they are interchangable.

[@scenicdriveways6708]

I want one ! I have the Lee Ergo Primer right now , it's oaky but nothing to write home about .

[@BoltActionReloading]

I want to try a primer seating experiment sometime I just haven't gotten there yet. I was hoping to be able to use this to control the levels of not enough to way to much to see really how much it matters.

[@tjmooremusic]

Looks interesting.

[@l800x8]

Didn't know Frankford had a primer seater. How is that wheel secured, so it doesn't move while you're using the tool? Does the top, where the brass goes, rotate? Looks like one has to seat the primer with the brass facing downward otherwise?

[@BoltActionReloading]

+hooter tooter the shell holder is secured by spring pressure. The top does not rotate so basically you load your brass from the bottom.

[@650gringo]

On your recommendation I ordered one of these from Midway USA and it flat out did not work. The primer tray falls out spilling all my expensive primers on the floor. The perfect seat dial was stuck and would not move at all either way. The mechanism was crunchy and gritty and had a lot of drag internally making it impossible to seat a primer without forcing it, which is dangerous as the primer could explode. The whole contraption is very heavy and tiring to use. Heaviest on the market. The return spring is way too stiff and requires a heavy squeeze to overcome. Seriously as a machinist, I don't see any way they could have made this POS any worse! I contacted Franklin and they agreed to send another one, BUT, they would first have to get another shipment from China. Oh yes this is Chinese junk, it sure is. Months went by and finally the replacement arrived, and guess what? It's just as messed up as the first one. It takes even more pressure to operate, requiring me to use both hands and even then 10% of my primers are too high. And oh, is it slow! So, fed up, I contacted Midway for a refund, BUT, they told me that since the original purchase was more than 90 days earlier I could not have a refund. This Franklin thing is an abomination. Save your money The very best priming tool ever is the now discontinued Lee Auto-Prime with the round trays. You can find them on ebay all the time. Get one and enjoy trouble free, easy, primer seating with just the right feel as the primer seats in the cup. Easier, faster, and cheaper.

[@hannahwitherow424]

hey I have the frankford hand primer and my seating depth keeps giving me different readings. sometimes it will read .009 and I will click it back one click and it will go to like .0035 I am squeezing the handle all the way down ever time. I haven't done anything to the primer pocket except clean them. if I get a primer pocket uniformer do you think that will help or am I doing something wrong. thanks

[@twilightroach4274]

Hannah Witherow I primer pocket uniform my cases each & every time I reload & it’s interesting how much variation in between cases there is.

[@LoadsofBacon]

Nice!

[@BoltActionReloading]

Thanks!

[@scottrussell8139]

i have 1 of the new lees thats a POS,,,, primers get sideways or upside down,,,,,, i spend more time getting it to work right then it actually working,, ready to throw it in the garbage,,,,, i ruin at least 5 primers every 100 rds

[@BoltActionReloading]

I have pretty good luck with this one. I have never used the lee for a comparison though.

[@scottrussell8139]

@@BoltActionReloading i have done some research on it and getting ready to pull the trigger on 1,,,, i can get it for $65,,,, heck if it works good will be worth the money,,,, then i can throw the lee in the pond LOL

[@BoltActionReloading]

If you shop amazon you can click my link in the description. (Its a affiliate link, so a small portion of the sale supports the channel) best of luck to you.

[@VincitOmniaVeritas7]

The shell holders that come with the unit aren’t great: they fit loose and allow to misalignment of the primer and the pocket, potentially crushing and even detonating them. I used LEE auto primer shell holders instead. Worked like a charm.

[@BoltActionReloading]

They are compatible, but I haven't noticed an issue with the ones from FA. Was their a specific caliber or brand of case that you were struggling with?

[@VincitOmniaVeritas7]

@@BoltActionReloading it was a .308win Lapua brass, once fired. I’ll compare the shell holders from FA and LEE with my caliper (height and outside diameter) and will get back to you.

[@VincitOmniaVeritas7]

@@BoltActionReloading well, according with my caliper, shell holders from both brands have the same thickness of 0.243” (as expected) but the outer diameter is 0.784” on the FA and 0.811” on the LEE. However, this shouldn’t matter since the shell holders are centered in the middle by the sleeve, its margins don’t touch the tool as I thought. The problem seems to be the large primer sleeve of the hand tool is too loose for its ram, making it visibly off center. This doesn’t happen with the small primer sleeve, that is tight around its stem. Since I changed the tool for for .223 when I used the LEE shell holders, I thought the brand was the variable, not the primer size. I wouldn’t mind a little off center ram if weren’t causing such a increase in force for priming. I’ve even notice tiny “shavings” on the anterior part of the shell holders, where the ram is touching the sleeve. I don’t know if it’s possible, but it looks like the ram is “pinching” the border of the primer pocket (where talking a few thousands here, but enough to feel the resistance). I’ll keep trying different ways to hold the tool, make sure the cases are well aligned with the shell holders. I’ll, reply here if I found anything else.

[@VincitOmniaVeritas7]

@@BoltActionReloading another thing I just notice: the amount of grit when using the large primer sleeve (probably because the ram Is dragging along the wall at its end portion, where there’s no spring). As a quick test, switched the ram with the small one: same grit, if not worse. Put the small sleeve and ram: smooth as butter. The problem definitely seems to be the large sleeve being too wide or the large ram too narrow.