RCBS Green Machine restoration (or an attempt thereof)

[darrondb]

At least you're going in to the project with your eyes wide open. The actual workmanship on the GM was good. The design was the problem. They focused everything on not using a vertical tubular primer magazine. The advertising literature pronounced the vertical magazine a hazard & their unique system did away with that awful hazard (their later primer strips accomplished this). My memory is not clear as to whether they ever used a vertical magazine in subsequent designs.........I was no longer interested in any progressive machine they produced.

The 2nd. problem was the jerky horizontal movement of the cartridges........powder spills were common.

For me the 3rd. problem was the fact that once you had a problem the problem was compounded by the fact that there was no provision for removing an individual cartridge @ a particular stage. This fact was forever etched onto my little Teflon brain & is the reason I have a Dillon 550 & not a 650 (I like manual advance).

To give credit where credit is due, their customer service was great. I had many phone conversations with Jay Postman (a real gentleman) & he tried to help. I even sent it back to them to "calibrate". It was no better when it returned. About 2 years after I sold mine @ a gun show for $100.00 (I hope I don't ever meet that fellow again) RCBS sent out a post card to original owners of GM giving them a special price on a 2nd machine (I think it was $125.00.......may have been $225.00). They did this because they had advertised it as being easily changed over to another caliber & realized that any change over was not as easy as expected. I wrote back that I wasn't interested in one @ $25.00 & went further to say they were only useful as a boat anchor.

Jay Postman calls me a few days later & says "Henry, I take it you're not happy with the GM". To make a long story shorter he paid me the difference between the purchase price & the $100.00 I sold it for & the payment was based entirely on my word. You can't ask for anything better.

I didn't mean to ramble.

Henry


[/U]

I actually love to hear these stories! Not that I enjoy hearing of your frustration but the history behind these machines is fascinating to me! Thanks for sharing!!

DdB

[rockrat]

I bought one new in 38/357. Mainly bought it as it was advertised as being convertable to other calibers Worked great for about the first 500 rounds, then after that it was more adjusting, than loading. Powder spills would really mess things up. Learned to take it apart and clean it easily, but then the priming mechanism wore and it got stuck in a corner.

When I tried to buy a conversion kit, was told no longer available. Heard the 45acp machine worked fairly well

[oldhenry]

It had some good features ....in my opinion.
1. The case feed tubes were great. I wish I could think of a way to transfer that feature over to the 550.

2. The "little dandy" powder measure never missed a beat.

Henry

[OS OK]

I bought one new in 38/357. Mainly bought it as it was advertised as being convertable to other calibers Worked great for about the first 500 rounds, then after that it was more adjusting, than loading. Powder spills would really mess things up. Learned to take it apart and clean it easily, but then the priming mechanism wore and it got stuck in a corner.

When I tried to buy a conversion kit, was told no longer available. Heard the 45acp machine worked fairly well

I keep the air hose handy for when I neglect to turn the Lil Dandy off...a quick spray and then nothing will accumulate inside the workings.
Also I use Hornady's One Shot for lubing the press...things don't stick to that.

Another way to beat the adjustment woes is to put a seating stem in the final crimp die...not to seat with but to insure that nothing gets miss-seated in the seating die. The linkage in that die is a bit sloppy, but it's a very cool die so it gets the cast seated very close and the crimp/max. length die insures against long ones.

Don't attempt to prime on this press and you'll miss most of the headaches...learning to use an inline press is a little different but it's a pleasure to use.

Someone said you can't remove a case from the line-up but you can...just push towards the rear of the machine, the back plate is spring loaded to keep the cases in the track...piece-O-cake.

[ncbearman]

Awesome! Love mechanical challenges. I will gladly take one of these off anyone hands if they want to get rid of theirs!
Question- was the Lil’ Dandy made specifically for this press? I have one with all the rotors. I love it and use it on all my handgun loading in my RCBS turret which I love also!

[pworley1]

Very nice work.

[oldhenry]

Awesome! Love mechanical challenges. I will gladly take one of these off anyone hands if they want to get rid of theirs!
Question- was the Lil’ Dandy made specifically for this press? I have one with all the rotors. I love it and use it on all my handgun loading in my RCBS turret which I love also!

The Little Dandy was not made specifically for the GM.

I had one before The GM. I have it now.....& will keep it although it gets very little use (since I got the 550).

I have about 12 rotors........@ one time they were reasonably priced (not now).

[darrondb]

Well, its been a while since I've provided an update. Holidays got busy, wifes vehicle died (as in emergency car shopping weekend), and youngest had a birthday so I haven't had a lot of time to work on this beast. Its also gotten really cold in our part of the world so I had to move the project into the basement where the lighting is really poor so I haven't been able to capture many good photos.

Since the last update I've gone through all the parts and blued what I could (Birchwood Permablue). A lot of the parts were pitted pretty badly so the bluing is not real smooth or even. However, given the age and history of the machine, I think it will be perfectly acceptable for it to have a well-worn patina look!

Now comes reassembly! What should have taken just a couple of hours has now drug on for well over a week of evenings as the kiddos (2 year old and 4 years old) are constantly invading and running away with various parts, tools, and my concentration. So I'm not done yet. I've also discovered that I'll need to make a run to the local Ace Hardware to replace a variety of screws, clips, and springs. Im also very thankful that RCBS provided very detailed schematics and parts list with the original owners manual! There are about 4 lengths of each variety of screw in this machine!



I'll update once again once its all together!

[flyer1]

Thank you for the update. This is a very interesting project.

[OS OK]

I'll bet you have great success with this machine. You will have an intimate understanding of exactly what's going on within the machine as you pull the handle...I think that's part of the reason others couldn't live with it.

[Wild Bill 7]

Great post as I have been reading thread also. I have two GM's one in 38 and one in 45. They do have their problems though. Dirt seem to be the most problematic for mine. My friend who I bought them from loaded thousands and thousands of both calibers on them. What he found to keep them running good was to process your brass first. Meaning clean, deprime and clean the pockets. Extra work but it really helps them to run pretty smooth. If you have a problem with priming just prime before loading in the tubes. Also he took out the decaping pin the sizing die so if you prime first you will be ok. On these machines his mentor made a tube primer system that works great. Go slow and get a rhythm going. I found that if it gets jammed or doesn't move the way it is supposed to STOP. Pull the pins on the powder measure first. Saves a lot of (darns). Check everything and start over when you figure out what happened. If you don't a double charge WILL happen and as said someone will get a nasty surprise. Ask my wife. Almost destroyed a Clark custom 38 wadcutter gun. That really taught me a lesson I will never forget. Go slow to start with and you will be fine. As said above keep some compressed air to keep it clean. I don't shoot as much as I use to and I have lots of ammo loaded so it is fun to load with these machines. Besides it's a hobby that I love to do and enjoy all the time loading.
WildBill7

[darrondb]

Great post as I have been reading thread also. I have two GM's one in 38 and one in 45. They do have their problems though. Dirt seem to be the most problematic for mine. My friend who I bought them from loaded thousands and thousands of both calibers on them. What he found to keep them running good was to process your brass first. Meaning clean, deprime and clean the pockets. Extra work but it really helps them to run pretty smooth. If you have a problem with priming just prime before loading in the tubes. Also he took out the decaping pin the sizing die so if you prime first you will be ok. On these machines his mentor made a tube primer system that works great. Go slow and get a rhythm going. I found that if it gets jammed or doesn't move the way it is supposed to STOP. Pull the pins on the powder measure first. Saves a lot of (darns). Check everything and start over when you figure out what happened. If you don't a double charge WILL happen and as said someone will get a nasty surprise. Ask my wife. Almost destroyed a Clark custom 38 wadcutter gun. That really taught me a lesson I will never forget. Go slow to start with and you will be fine. As said above keep some compressed air to keep it clean. I don't shoot as much as I use to and I have lots of ammo loaded so it is fun to load with these machines. Besides it's a hobby that I love to do and enjoy all the time loading.
WildBill7

Great info, thanks WildBill7!!

[darrondb]

Greetings All,

Its been a while since I posted an update, but its finally back together! I haven't had the time to time all the parts yet and actually produce some ammo, but it looks pretty decent now and everything seems to function. All the parts are original except for a couple of springs, some bolts, and a case feed wheel that I was sent to me by a fellow on Facebook. I still have to find some clear tubing to recreate the remainder of the case feed system. The bluing is a bit rough in some places (Permablue), depending on how severe the pitting in the steel was. I couldn't manage to polish all of it out. Its not "factory new" but sure looks better than before! Some before and after pictures:



A HUGE "thank you" to starreloader (Paul) for some technical information (included below) and for supplying a future project(s). I'll update again once I get this up spitting out ammo (hopefully) and with my future Green Machine project. If anyone else is fighting with getting their GM to work, here is a fantastic troubleshooting guide that starreloader sent me.

RCBS Green Machine trouble shooting guides.pdf

Thanks to all who have contributed!

DdB

[butchbrandt]

I got curious. One on Ebay now, 2 bids up to $202. Reserve not met and a buy it now of $500!!

[darrondb]

I got curious. One on Ebay now, 2 bids up to $202. Reserve not met and a buy it now of $500!!

Yeah, complete ones go for insane prices on eBay. Im not sure if people really know what they are buying? Or if there are just some really crazy collectors out there? People are crazy.

[Taterhead]

VERY cool project. Lookin' great. Thanks for bringing us along.

[flashhole]

Looks fantastic and thanks for sharing. I hope it runs as good as it looks.

If it fails to make ammo you could always convert it to a totally cool table lamp.

[Savvy Jack]

AH, another Green Machiner!!!!!

[KAYDADOG]

I basically still have a RCBS green machine in new condition and I believe it has either the 45ACP conversion parts or 44 magnum conversion and set up for 357. The press was always a challenge but you needed to be mechanically inclined for proper setup. I probably still have most of the receipts. Basically moved up to Dillon presses later when the funds were more readily available. Always thought it worked OK at the time. I guess I would now sell after all these years just to start liquidating the older equipment.

[darrondb]

KAYDADOG - sent you a PM