Favorite features on single stage press?

[birdiemc]

OK here's the take on my new summit rcbs single stage press, set it up and first thing I noticed was primer residue is contained at the bottom of press and never gets near ram or any moving parts. This is the first good feature that is improved over the rock chucker I've used for decades. It can be mounted back from the bench edge flush to bench, I won't call that a big deal but I did take advantage of it, and like the option. Handle was too long, so of course I needed to get the shorter one available. Wife took one look and said why don't it come with the short one standard and the longer one optional? It would work with a really tall reloader or very low bench, but most will probably want the shorter one. The case doesn't move, the die comes down to it, this was different, but ram is huge and after a couple rounds it felt quite normal. The shellholder has both lateral and fore and aft movement built in, the ram has additional lateral movement as well. The same dies I've been using on the same brass are producing straighter more concentric loaded ammo. Not my imagination but real fact, I chose this press from the runout numbers in the large press comparison that's been online for a while now. Another neat feature is a grease fitting on the ram, I'm sure that will get overused by heavy luber's, but a shot of synthetic once a year or every 300-400 rounds sure won't hurt. The ram linkage is adjustable and I tightened one up a little out of the box, again don't look like something you would do a lot but nice to have the option.

Happy so far, and its got features the rock chucker did not have, the rock chucker now handles depriming chores and I will always keep it like an old friend. These improvements are things I appreciate in this single stage press. Cancelled the order on the Co Ax (turns out they never had it) I don't think I'll be needing it now. I'll post if it doesn't hold up, I load 3 to 4 hundred rounds a year with 5 different cartridges and load work, target shooting, and hunting. Rock chucker held up well (19 years) but the primer corrosion going down over the ram constantly has put some wobble in the ram at top stroke. Dave

Just curious here, if one of the great features of your new press and the CoAx is the lateral play to allow for self alignment, is play in the ram of the Rock Chucker really a bad thing? Or is the play in the ram allowing for misalignment somehow? Whereas the self alignment feature of the others is more controlled? I could see where maybe the ram being canted a bit could allow the shell holder to be positioned such that it is no longer perpendicular to the die body so it would be jamming the case in at an angle resulting in runout...is that what's going on if the ram gets sloppy?

 

[Savage 12BVSS]

I really wish I could tell you, the rockchucker has about 9-10 thousands movement at top of ram extension and I figured it was causing my slowly worsening runout problems. I do know on the press the die's have no movement what so ever, solid mount just the ram and case has movement.

On the summit there is an unbelievable amount of movement in the shellholder in all directions and probably 1/8"of lateral movement in dies as well. I think like the co ax there is a lot of float to align die and case compared to the rockchucker, it was increasing slowly so the ram wear wasn't improving things at all with the rockchucker. All I can say is the same brass and die's loading same bullets has improved in some cases .002 which was what they were off before, and in other cases like my 7mm-08 that averaged .006 is now averaging .002. You can see the shellholder move slightly when the die comes down to contact the case, the press is sort of upside down in action so you can actually watch the die which moves, come down over the standing case at eye level. I can't tell you exactly what is making the difference but its made the ammo straighter as checked on a concentricity gauge. A large porition of the 22-250 and 260 loads are .001 or less out of the press, no adjusting required. I have got collet neck dies and sinclair mandrels to start trying but so far am just using forster bench rest dies. I think you need both case and dies to both float, and this new press does that. I think its the same reason co ax owner's report straighter ammo as well.

The new presses are headed this way and it must be working or they wouldn't be copying the co ax. Forester was just one of the first, their dies float as well, now you hear about putting o-rings or rubber washer's in stationary dies and you see floating press alignments appearing as well. If these techniques don't work why are they being employed on new presses? All I can say is I'm pleased and figure when the mandrel's and dies without expander's come into play runout will become a thing of the past for me.

It took a lot of watching and reading on here and that press comparison with real life numbers to compare (I'm a number's guy, can't help it love math) and I started a direction that is almost done now. Thanks to cape cove, JE Custom Jerry and several others for the nudges as well. Dave

 

[birdiemc]

I'm with you on being a numbers guy. I want to see and understand why and how and what if...keep me posted on what you experience once you start using the collet neck dies and expander.

 

[Savage 12BVSS]

Will do, only hang-up is it's winter big time now and between snow depth and the insane temps (19 below yesterday and 22 below last week one day) I'm pretty much shut down at this point. I'd have to shovel a path to the 100 yd target frames and the drifts are up to the shooting bench right now. Ammo is all loaded for ladder tests to fine tune powder charge and seating depth on two now, mandrel's and collet dies are feeling lonely Dave