dmize
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,825
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Post by dmize on Sept 10, 2019 15:21:57 GMT -5
I have and wore out a Lee which broke. We made another part out of some scrap metal etc. it worked ok and still does. I got a newer Lee. They said the parts weren’t interchangeable. Their parts list showed the newer part that wasn’t interchangeable, which broke on the older one, so I ordered a couple of them for future use when one brakes again. With a little work, one of the new ones fit and works with the older tool. Now I have two of them, but still go back to the older one because of the tray that worked better than the one on the new one. In all the years I have loaded I have never personally heard of a primer explosion. Yes I have seen pictures and am aware that they can happen. But Lee sure went off the rails with their precautions and messed up a good tool that worked well,except for the round tray.
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Post by bradshaw on Sept 10, 2019 20:12:46 GMT -5
No doubt the RCBS Hand Primer was inspired by the Lee hand priming tool. The RCBS is better designed, stronger, smoother, and less wearisome to operate. The RCBS Bench Primer must be a half century in production; I have one dating that far back. I use a rubber band from priming arm to bench to tension the primer tube away from the shell holder. A secret of longevity is a dab of grease on pivot and cam junctures. Seating rods & cups may wear out, and I’ve worn out softer shell holders, but these tools provide excellent service and longevity.
I never experienced a primer tube detonation of any kind, and not heard of a detonation with the RCBS Bench Primer. IHMSA sharpshooter and Colt Python maestro Jerry Moran had a primer tube detonation on a Star progressive loader. Fortunately, Jerry was wearing glasses, but he did not come out unscathed. A shielded primer tube is an excellent feature on a progressive.
During a tour of an ammunition plant, my guide showed a spot where a worker had a mishap. The worker had a better idea how to carry primers from the drying area to ammunition priming. Rather than package the little devils he put them in a bucket, 20,000 or 50,000 worth, perhaps many more, and set on his path through a forest of milling machines. By some excitement and without preamble the pail detonated, vaporizing the worker and wrecking a couple of machines. According to my guide it was quite a mess. David Bradshaw
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Ramar
.30 Stingray
Posts: 399
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Post by Ramar on Sept 11, 2019 7:42:30 GMT -5
David, Does the priming arm of your RCBS bench tool have a spring? Rex Roach on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=deH26I5aZ_4did a video showing how to fix the issue of the arm and tube not working properly (using a leather pad). Then someone commented that his arm lacked a spring. He requested one from RCBS and now his unit works without the pad. Here's another video from "Fortune Cookie 45LC" showing the unit with spring. www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4nShKxk7GsI wonder if RCBS hadn't yet "invented" the spring when manufacturing older units like yours. Holland's Shooters Supply (https://www.hollandguns.com/32m7/parts-accessories/reloading-accessories.html) has parts to embellish RCBS' tool to adjust seating depth. It appears to include another spring to lift the handle.
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Post by AxeHandle on Sept 11, 2019 11:40:28 GMT -5
Old Lee Autoprime here. Keep one set up for small and one set up for large at all times. Lee AP shellholders serve a second role a shell holders for my inertia bullet puller.
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Post by 98redline on Sept 12, 2019 15:02:55 GMT -5
Old Lee Autoprime here. Keep one set up for small and one set up for large at all times. Lee AP shellholders serve a second role a shell holders for my inertia bullet puller. That is not a terribly good idea. There have been more than a few incidents of primers being set off from using regular shell holders in an inertial puller. Stick with the collet type holders. Yeah they are slower to use but having a round go off that far from your hand/face is probably not worth the risk. Bullet Puller Accidental Detonation
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Post by AxeHandle on Sept 12, 2019 15:48:58 GMT -5
Pulled 1000s with zero problems. YMMV.
Read the stuff on the link. Interesting occurrence. High primer! The same thing could happen using one of the push through collet pullers. Fired one from the backside using the plastic chaser rod a few months back. Reloading offers lots of opportunities for bad things to happen.
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Post by Aeroscout on Sept 14, 2019 8:34:33 GMT -5
I broke a Lee hand prime tool years ago. Switched to a Hornady hand tool. Better made tool.
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Post by 375supermag on Sept 14, 2019 10:00:22 GMT -5
Looking at an RCBS APS Bench Mounted unit and APS Strip Loader myself. Have the original RCBS bench miunt unit but is a single load primer type. Adjustable for precise repeatable seating but slow as a single loader. Rocking an older RCBS shell holder hand unit at the moment. I have used the APS system for years to prime tens of thousands of cases. When I am loading ammunition, I just load up enough strips for several hundred rounds at a time and prime them all at once. I try to order new strips from RCBS every year or so because the strips sometimes start to show some wear after being used hundreds of times. I always order new plastic bushings for the shell holders at the same time.
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Post by kings6 on Sept 14, 2019 11:27:57 GMT -5
Thank you for the tip on the Holland tool. There is one on its way to the house.
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Post by bagdadjoe on Sept 20, 2019 9:35:08 GMT -5
I just use the one on my Co-ax press...maybe slower, but works great.
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Post by doninnh on Sept 27, 2019 0:11:47 GMT -5
I have 3 of round lee hand type but I'm down to one cover you can bet i'm real tender with that. Picked up an 8 hole lyman turret press, needed to pull a couple of 25-06 bullets found out I did not have a 257 collet and the handle will not clear the dies next to it. Looked at puller to check who made it. Herters when was it They left the reloading world. Have a nice day Don K
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