Hollow ram press?

[Rokkit Syinss]

Does anyone make a hollow ram single stage press or a hollow ram mod for the RCBS Rockchucker IV? I'm tired of the crappy primer catcher feature and even crappier spent primer tray.

[Jim]

Read the write-up on the Lee Classic Cast press (http://leeprecision.com/xcart/Classic-Cast-Press.html). it says "Largest 1 1/8 diameter hollow ram to catch every primer with hose fitting to allow primer disposal directly to a trash can."

[Walt]

Redding makes a couple of hollow ram presses. The Ultra Mag is one model that does. I have been using one for 6 or 7 years now. It is a large cast iron press with power to spare for any use. Spent primers are handled neatly through the ram to a hose at its base. I believe they make one of the Boss models now with the hollow ram and their turret press has one also. Check out their website for all the details.

[milprileb]

He asked for a modification replacement ram for his RCBS press. Does anyone make such
a unit.

I would like to know that too.

I am also tired of spent primers flying about from the Rock Chucker and never found a solution to the problem.

Anyone know the answer to the question please?

[scb]

He asked for a modification replacement ram for his RCBS press. Does anyone make such
a unit.

The OP asked for either or. The RCBS A-4 also has a hollow shaft if you can find one.

[ReloaderFred]

The solution to flying primers in a Rockchucker press is a simple drinking straw. You cut a piece about 2" long, or slightly shorter, and slip it into the slot the primers drop through, and push it up against the bottom of the shellholder. This will direct all the primers into the primer catcher and the problem is solved.....

You'll have to remove the piece of straw to use the primer arm, but if you do your brass in batches, this isn't a problem.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Dan Cash]

Go to a local machine shop and have them bore a hole down the middle with an escape slot at the bottom.

[Rokkit Syinss]

The solution to flying primers in a Rockchucker press is a simple drinking straw. You cut a piece about 2" long, or slightly shorter, and slip it into the slot the primers drop through, and push it up against the bottom of the shellholder. This will direct all the primers into the primer catcher and the problem is solved.....

You'll have to remove the piece of straw to use the primer arm, but if you do your brass in batches, this isn't a problem.

Hope this helps.

Fred

Not an option on the RCIV, turns out a hollow ram isn't either the way it's setup. The primer catcher on this thing is not only all but impossible to get off the press without spilling primers, not only do the two chutes jam up with large rifle primers but the piece of cr*p is in the way of loading/unloading cases to the shell holder. Just about some of the worst and most poorly thought out engineering I have ever seen.:dung_hits_fan:

If I hadn't lost the RCII to the ex, who has no clue what to do with it BTW, I wouldn't have had to buy an RCIV. This is the last RCBS press I'll ever buy.

[TNsailorman]

Seems like I remember some fellow many years ago advertised that he would drill a center hole through the ram of RCBS presses and return them to you. Then you either set a bucket under the press or ran a plastic tube from the ram to a bucket. That was back in the late 60's or early 70's though. I don't know why it still wouldn't work today if someone was set up to do it. I wouldn't mind having my RC drilled for such a set up. James

[Mk42gunner]

The problem I see with drilling a hole all the way through the ram on a Rockchucker is getting the spent primers around the big pin at the bottom.

I used a piece fo plastic to close off the slot, and a combination of duct tape and baling wire to get the primer catcher to actually catch the primers. I cut a hole in the bottom for a hose that leads to a pop bottle to hold the primers.

I am picture posting challenged, but there were posts four or five years ago that I got the idea from.

It takes a long time to fill a twenty ounce bottle with spent primers.

You have to prime off the press, but I was already doing that anyway.

Robert

[Rokkit Syinss]

Seems like I remember some fellow many years ago advertised that he would drill a center hole through the ram of RCBS presses and return them to you. Then you either set a bucket under the press or ran a plastic tube from the ram to a bucket. That was back in the late 60's or early 70's though. I don't know why it still wouldn't work today if someone was set up to do it. I wouldn't mind having my RC drilled for such a set up. James

There's the pivot pin but that could be worked around with C-clips. The killer is the linkage that's right under the ram at full stroke. The design just eliminates the possibility of a hollow ram and drop hose.

[Rokkit Syinss]

The problem I see with drilling a hole all the way through the ram on a Rockchucker is getting the spent primers around the big pin at the bottom.

I used a piece fo plastic to close off the slot, and a combination of duct tape and baling wire to get the primer catcher to actually catch the primers. I cut a hole in the bottom for a hose that leads to a pop bottle to hold the primers.

I am picture posting challenged, but there were posts four or five years ago that I got the idea from.

It takes a long time to fill a twenty ounce bottle with spent primers.

You have to prime off the press, but I was already doing that anyway.

Robert

Sounds like you have an RCII which I never had a problem with. I'll have to figure out how to post a pic of the engineering retardation of the RCIV.

[jimkim]

Just wondering, will the ram from a Redding Big Boss fit the RCIV? http://www.midwayusa.com/product/952252/redding-replacement-ram-for-big-boss-ii-reloading-press If it does fit you won't be able to prime with your press though.

I ended up turning my ram around on my old Lee Turret press. I made a tray to catch the primers and put a small box behind the press to dump the tray into. It worked pretty good. Sometimes I wish I had kept that press. I returned it to the original owner after having it for twenty years.

[arjacobson]

I made one for my gas check maker(make them on the RC). If I remember right the o.d. was a weird size? Like .996 or so. I made mine so the formed gascheck would drop right out the side into a bucket.. Worked like a charm. I turned it down in a hurry so it is a bit rough. I'm sure a machine shop could bore yours for you.

[1hole]

"This is the last RCBS press I'll ever buy."

Me too. IF I ever replace my RC II it will be with a Lee Classic Cast with a primer catcher that actually works and does it without pouring all the grit into the ram hole.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Best solution and the one I implemented for myself is to replace the RCBS Rock Chucker with the Lee Classic cast single stage. Best decision I made related to single stage stuff.

[Rokkit Syinss]

Best solution and the one I implemented for myself is to replace the RCBS Rock Chucker with the Lee Classic cast single stage. Best decision I made related to single stage stuff.

I'm seriously considering that.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Here's a suggestion for you and what I did to make the decision:

I bought a Lee Classic Cast single stage and put it on the bench beside the RCBS Rock Chucker. I loaded on both and compared both over a period of a month or so. At the beginning, both were clean, adjusted, lubed and ready to reload. At the end of the time period, the Lee was still clean, I'd learned to appreciate all of it's features. The Rock Chucker was filthy with primer nastiness and there were used primers spilt around it. I looked at both for a couple minutes, then took the Rock Chucker off the bench, cleaned it up and sold it.

I still have the Lee a couple years later and I don't forsee replacing it with anything currently on the market. The only single stage press I can find that has potential to be superior costs a huge amount more money - the coax press. and I'm not sure it's worth the difference in price.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I believe CH/4D sells hollow ram presses.

[1hole]

"I bought a Lee Classic Cast single stage and put it on the bench beside the RCBS Rock Chucker."

Dave, I got fed up with the primer trash on my RC 2 long ago and also hated having to bend down a bit to fully depress the lever on my 41" high bench.

SO...I got two Lee "Reloader" presses, put a universal decap die on one, put an AutoPrime II on the other - LOVE that system. Then I blocked the press up 3", something I could have easily corrected for with Lee's adjustable lever design. I'm too old to have blind loyalty to inanimate objects so I have no favorite brand as such, I choose my new tools by the features.

Many proclaim RCBS and RC presses to be "the standard of the industry." I suppose that's true enough but it appears they misunderstand what that means. Green tools are good but by no means the best; they are just so common that everyone knows what they are and that's why they are the standard for comparision.

I won't toss my old Rock Chucker press, it's good enough, but IF I had to replace it I'd sure get a Lee Classic Cast.

[geargnasher]

Yep, buy a Lee Classic Cast or Classic Turret and the problem has already been solved for you. They even come with a length of 5/8" or so clear vinyl tubing with a cap on the end that connects to the bottom of the ram so you can direct your primers anywhere you want them. And I'd put either of these presses up against any other any day, they're tight, precise, reliable, and square.

Gear

[30yrcaster]

I talked with RCBS many times over the years about primers flying on the ground. They've been making presses over 50 years and still haven't figured this one out. On their last Rockchucker press they told me the new system will catch "Most of them." I wasn't going to spend for another Rockchucker that only catches most of them.

I got a Redding Turret with the hole drilled in the ram. It too ends up with primers on the floor as they pop out of the slot for the primer arm. Talked with Redding about getting a ram without the slot for the primer arm and they told me they sometimes make a run of them.

I expedited the situation with my own fix and I'll post a picture and description in another post if anyone is interested. 7 years later and NO primers escape. I also have a better catcher than the hose.

[Jailer]

Not my picture and I haven't tried it yet myself, but others have done this with good success. Can't beat it for a simple solution.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/Jailer/posting%20pics/Rockchuckerprimertray.jpg

[30yrcaster]

I've tried that as well as putting a piece of cardboard, holding the priming arm closer to the ram while depriming etc and still some primers just seem to fly out of there just after they clear the shell holder. RCBS once told me to adjust how far the ejector pin sticks out to just give enough to push out the primer. So when the ram is at the top, they don't always fall down to hit the piece of tape or whatever is there to block them. Some just come straight out somehow. I've used a RCBS Reloader Special, Rockchucker and even my new Lee Classic Turret if the priming arm is removed. First primer I punched out with the Lee before I had the primer arm in place popped out right at me.

[DLCTEX]

The Lee Classic Cast is designed to push the primer through the shell holder and the primer arm funnels it into the hollow ram. Without the primer arm in place you are using it in a way that defeats the design.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Not my picture and I haven't tried it yet myself, but others have done this with good success. Can't beat it for a simple solution.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/Jailer/posting%20pics/Rockchuckerprimertray.jpg

That nasty mess right where I'm trying to prepare my brass is exactly why a Lee Classic Cast sits in the place of a Rock Chucker on my bench. Never mind the other improved features such as the lefty or right handle mount, the adjustable handle length, etc. After a long run of resizing rifle brass, the Lee is clean except for the drop tube going to the coffee can under my bench I use to catch the spent primers in.

Best Regards,

Dave

[Bullet Caster]

I would like to add my 2 cents worth. Rock Chucker--take it and chuck it and throw rocks at it then get yourself a Lee Classic Cast or even a cheap-o Lee Breechlock Press and be done with it. I prime on my Lee as well as decap primers and everything works like it's supposed to. I've heard the same problems over and over with the Rock Chucker press and personally I wouldn't have one eventhough they cost more than the lowly Lee. It would appear that RCBS would have ironed out the problems over the years but it looks like they haven't. Prob. not enough complaints yet for them to re-design their presses. Just my thoughts. BC

[geargnasher]

All that primer grit gets into the ram lube and eats up the frame, causing the ram to get loose.

The RCBS Ammomaster has a hollow ram with a port in the side of it and a little primer catcher cup. The primer is supposed to fall through the ram and out the port and fall into the cup, but they don't. The primers stack up in the ram and fall out in gobs usually when the ram is lowered, and they dump onto the floor. One invariably hangs on the edge of the port and nearly breaks your arm when you try to raise the ram and it suddenly jams the ram against the bottom of the base casting midstroke. The only way to make it work is pack the hole full of newspaper and empty it periodically. Stopping the port also reduces the amount of primer residue that gets in the ram lubricant.

I guess the people who design these things don't use them much, or if they do, they must live in a pigsty. I hate having spent primers on the floor because it makes it tough to find all the fresh ones when I drop them. :x

Gear

[30yrcaster]

The Lee Classic Cast is designed to push the primer through the shell holder and the primer arm funnels it into the hollow ram. Without the primer arm in place you are using it in a way that defeats the design.
I agree but the Redding Turret, Boss & Ultra Mag presses with the hole in the ram also have a slot very similar to the Lee but don't have an insert that stays in all the time and the primers still pop out.

Guess that was the point I was trying to make.

[Rokkit Syinss]

I hate having spent primers on the floor because it makes it tough to find all the fresh ones when I drop them. :x

Gear

That's easy to rectify, simply vacuum all the primers and the fresh ones will go POP!

[quasi]

I believe CH/4D sells hollow ram presses.

nope, at least the Heavyweight doesnt, it has a 1.187 dia. solid heat treated ram, the primer drop hole is drilled at an angle, and comes out the back of the ram about half way down.

The old RCBS A-1,2,3's were the originators of this.

[Walt]

I agree but the Redding Turret, Boss & Ultra Mag presses with the hole in the ram also have a slot very similar to the Lee but don't have an insert that stays in all the time and the primers still pop out.

I can't speak for others who use an Ultra Mag but, I can't remember the last time a spent primer popped out of mine.

[Dan Cash]

Co-Ax press always catches the spennt primer.

[zuke]

I had the same problem with my LEE Turret press,especially with crimped in primer's.
What I did was to drill a hole 90 degree's from the present hole so the primer's come out the side.
Now I'll loose maybe 1 in 200 onto the floor.

http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy356/zuke_bucket/DSCF1750.jpg
http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy356/zuke_bucket/DSCF1751.jpg
http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy356/zuke_bucket/DSCF1758.jpg

[r1kk1]

I believe CH/4D sells hollow ram presses.

Actually a solid steel ram with a hole drilled through the length of it to allow primers to fall.

I've been told the newer ones lack the primer arm.

take care,

r1kk1

[quasi]

leaving out the slot for the primer arm would be a good idea.

[1hole]

" It would appear that RCBS would have ironed out the problems over the years but it looks like they haven't. Prob. not enough complaints yet for them to re-design their presses. Just my thoughts. BC "

RCBS has coasted on the sterling reputation built by Fred Huntington in the 50s-60s. Their tools were great for that period but other makers have advanced the designs while RCBS has mostly developed ideas that flopped in the market and failed to improve many existing things such as simple spent primer handling.

Richard Lee came on strong during the late 70s. Their dies and their most recent cast iron press designs, the Classic Cast and Classic Turret, are chewing into big green's market share so deep they struggle to hold their prices down and search for ways of making stuff cheaper, such as obtaining press frame castings from China. I dispise the way my RC II scatters spent caps, both during sizing AND when removing the near useless "catch" tray.

IF big green continues to stumble along the same path there is no way for them to continue to exist even with all the breathless hype of excited owners who really don't have much experience with anything else and don't have a clue about the worth of better developments.

[40Super]

I'm a machinist and will look into making either new rams without the slot and a hollow hole for the primers to drop straight out,I have a RC,but I took the primer setup off and my primers fall out and down the slot in the base without all the problems.I have an idea about how to take care of the pin at the bottom also.I'll get back to you guys on cost and if I feel it is worth it.