keydet15
02-27-2015, 09:53 AM
Background
In July of 2014 I went to a gun/reloading auction in Harrisonburg VA. Looking over the stuff that was being sold it appeared to have come out of somewhere that might have done commercial reloading since there were four Dillon presses including a 1040. There was also another progressive reloading press that I had never heard of; it had a tag on it that said “THE TOOL BY RDP”. When the auctioneer put it up for sale no one bided on it, so I bought it with two Dillon powder measures that were included with it for the grand sum of $15. Here is what the press looked like when I got it home without the accessories that I bought with it in Photo 1.
132198
Photo 1
Initially I was planning on selling it; till I found out that the mounting holes spacing matched the holes on my reloading bench. When I was researching the press I wasn’t having much luck finding much about it or the company that made them except for a few mentioning’s online and old for sale ads. Any information that I found was lacking in specific detail and was just a couple of sentences long. So I decided to do a write up on this thing and everything that I have found out about it to share this piece of reloading history and to help anyone that buys it without any clue like I did.
First I would like to thank those members of the online community that helped me along the way.
History
This press was the MODEL 1500 Reloading Machine for pistol and rifle ammunition semi- automatic hand operated and was constructed by the RDP Tool Company of East Liverpool Ohio U.S.A. It is covered under patent 4,522,102 filed on 27 June 1983 which was issued to Mr. Ralph D. Pickens of East Liverpool Ohio. For those that would like here is the link to the patent that was issued.
(http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=04522102&IDKey=EC73B5B6A5CC%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetahtml%2F PTO%2Fpatimg.htm)http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=04522102&IDKey=EC73B5B6A5CC%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetahtml%2F PTO%2Fpatimg.htm
(http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=04522102&IDKey=EC73B5B6A5CC%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetahtml%2F PTO%2Fpatimg.htm)
From what I have been told is that there are several different models of this press produce; a hand operated and, a power driven unit.
I managed to find an article in the April 1985 Volume 1, edition of the Front Sight, The Official Journal of The United States Practical Shooting Association/IPSC. This article titled “Progressive Presses Fear and Lusting” by: Clyde Bower and Chuck Goodrich, describes the various progressive presses that were available to the reloading market at that time. Here are their comments on this particular machine.
“The newest entry in the progressive reloading field is R.D.P. Tool Company and their Model 1500. The 1500 is a massive machine with a manufactures claim of 1500 rounds an hour, which puts it at the top of the group as far as production, goes. Conversion to other calibers both rifle and handgun is available using standard dies. The operation is totally automatic even down to the bullet handling. The handle is even adjustable for right or left-hand operation. The machine will retail in the $1300 range.”
The article does not list any of the accessories or options that come with the machine at that price. It is my guess that it included; powder measure, bullet feeder, dies and shell plate. Also I do not know how accurate the acclaimed 1500 rounds an hour as the patent mentions the capabilities of 600 to 800 rounds per hour. To put the price in perspective of the time the article goes to list the approximate retail prices of other progressive presses that were available at the time of the article these are shown in the table below.
Press
Cost ($)
Lee Auto Index Pess
95
Lee Progressive 1000
199.98
Dillon 1000 (per conversion $200)
2475
Dillon RL-450B
365
Pacific Pro 7
425
C-H Mk.5 Auto Champ (in-line press)
700
RCBS Green Machine (in-line press)
630
The Star Progressive Reloading Tool
1100
From what I could find the RDP Tool Company was not in business for very long most likely being not being able to compete with the Dillon and Lee prices. They did make at least 1,138 of them because it’s the serial number of my machine. However for the retail price the purchaser has a reloader that is greatly over engineered well built. I made a table of the specifications this machine so that those who are interested could compare it to the reloading presses on the current market.
Parameter
Nominal Value
Weight (Lb)
91
Base size (in)
9.5”x11.75”
Height Not Including Handle (in)
14”
Height With Handle
19.5”
Number of Stations
5
Ram Stroke (in)
5.25”
Ram Diameter (in)
1.25”
Based on the weight of this press it is no lightweight but a monster of a press making it a fun experience to place on my benchtop. Just the case feeder assembly alone accounts for approximately 3lbs of the total weight. Grease fittings are used on each of the vertical rams and needle bearing are used in place of bushing throughout the press. In photo 2 shows the RDP press next to an old Hornady Pro-jector Press that I have to show a size comparison between the two.
132200
Photo 2
As you can see the RDP machine completely dwarfs the old Hornady press. Photo 3 shows the shell plates of the two machines side by side for comparison. The Hornady located on the left measures 3.4 inches diameter while the RDP one is on the right and measures 4.4 inches. The RDP plate is also thinner than the Hornadys. Both plates have five stations for cases machined into the plate.
132201
Photo 3
I am sure that to most of you are familiar with how the Hornady plate is secured to the press using a pin and a single bolt. The RDP shell plate is held in place by two locating pins and 10 Allen head screws one on each side of the shell slot. The shell plate numbers correspond to the RCBS shell holder numbering system. Photo 4 shows a close up of the one of the Allen headed screws next to the screw hole used to secure the plate to the press.
132202
Photo 4
The cases and bullets are feed by gravity with a hulme style case feeder and a rotary bullet feeder consisting of five tubes two feet in length. Photo 5 shows what the press looks like with both the case and bullet feeder attached.
132203
Photo 5
The case feeder for this press is shown below in Photo 6 and is attached to a shelf located on the base of the ram. Two screws on the bottom of the feeder allow for minor adjustment to left and right. Cases are feed by gravity from the hopper into the plastic tube which is connected to the case feeder. To keep the case entering the clear plastic tube an L shaped bar attached to the top of the press bumps the hopper on the upper and lower stroke. This bumps the hopper to ensure that the cases are continuously feed into the case feeder from the hopper. The metal tube inner diameter is the same as the diameter of the plastic tube till about half way when tapers and becomes small enough to allow only the brass case to travel through it. This inner diameter of the tube for the cartridge case is not a one size fits all; the one for a 38 Spl will not work with a 45 ACP. This tube has a T-slot cut on halfway through it on the bottom to allow the cases to be able to feed into the press’s shell plate. The tube can be adjustable vertically to accommodate different case lengths by a single Allen screw on the right side. When the case reaches the bottom of the tube it is pushed into place on the shell plate by a gear and rack system on the rams downward stroke. This gear is activated by a lever (indicated by the red arrow) when it comes into contact with the vertical block (indicated by the green arrow) on the on the left side of the case feeder. The setup is adjusted to assure the case is fully seated into the shell plate is by adjusting the screws within the slots on the vertical block.
132204
Photo 6
Shown in photo 7 is the case feed with the upper part of it removed giving a better picture of the gear and rack arrangement. A 45 ACP case is located where it would be if it was fed through the drop tube. The cartridge guides located in front of the case guide the case from the case feeder to its position into the shell plate. On the lower stroke the lever comes into contact with vertical block causing the gear to rotate allowing for the rack to push the shell into position. On the upper stroke the rack is retuned to this position by a spring on the gear shaft. Needle bearings are used on the gear shaft instead of a bushing.
132205
Photo 7
Below Photo 8 shows position of the case in the shell plate once the ram is at the bottom of the stroke.
132206
Photo 8
Photo 9 gives a closer look at the cartridge guides and the retention of the cases within the shell plate. The gear rack has been removed to provide an unobstructed view. The case ejector is the angled bar on top of the shell plate on the right side of the case feeder shown by the red arrow. The cases are held in place by two spring loaded ball bearings which can be seen inside of the red box. These do an excellent job of retaining the case and have given me no trouble, as the case snap right into place. The cartridge case guide is indicated by the yellow arrow. These guide the case from the case feeder to the shell plate and are adjustable to accommodate differed cases.
132209
Photo 9
On this press de-priming the case does not happen at the die station which is directly in line with the case feeder. It is my opinion that this station is merely a place holder, because there was a light coat of surface rust on the die station threads when I bought it. When I was using the press to load 45 ACP I placed a case expander in this position as some of my cases were dented at the case mouth. On the downward stroke the press rotates the shell plate to the next station where the; case resizing and de-priming are performed. The spent primers travel through the ram and fall through a hole in the base plate to allow for a collection system to be setup underneath the bench. On the downward stroke from the resizing station the shell plate rotates and a new primer is inserted in a way that would make Rube Goldberg envious shown below in photo 10.
In July of 2014 I went to a gun/reloading auction in Harrisonburg VA. Looking over the stuff that was being sold it appeared to have come out of somewhere that might have done commercial reloading since there were four Dillon presses including a 1040. There was also another progressive reloading press that I had never heard of; it had a tag on it that said “THE TOOL BY RDP”. When the auctioneer put it up for sale no one bided on it, so I bought it with two Dillon powder measures that were included with it for the grand sum of $15. Here is what the press looked like when I got it home without the accessories that I bought with it in Photo 1.
132198
Photo 1
Initially I was planning on selling it; till I found out that the mounting holes spacing matched the holes on my reloading bench. When I was researching the press I wasn’t having much luck finding much about it or the company that made them except for a few mentioning’s online and old for sale ads. Any information that I found was lacking in specific detail and was just a couple of sentences long. So I decided to do a write up on this thing and everything that I have found out about it to share this piece of reloading history and to help anyone that buys it without any clue like I did.
First I would like to thank those members of the online community that helped me along the way.
History
This press was the MODEL 1500 Reloading Machine for pistol and rifle ammunition semi- automatic hand operated and was constructed by the RDP Tool Company of East Liverpool Ohio U.S.A. It is covered under patent 4,522,102 filed on 27 June 1983 which was issued to Mr. Ralph D. Pickens of East Liverpool Ohio. For those that would like here is the link to the patent that was issued.
(http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=04522102&IDKey=EC73B5B6A5CC%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetahtml%2F PTO%2Fpatimg.htm)http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=04522102&IDKey=EC73B5B6A5CC%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetahtml%2F PTO%2Fpatimg.htm
(http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=04522102&IDKey=EC73B5B6A5CC%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetahtml%2F PTO%2Fpatimg.htm)
From what I have been told is that there are several different models of this press produce; a hand operated and, a power driven unit.
I managed to find an article in the April 1985 Volume 1, edition of the Front Sight, The Official Journal of The United States Practical Shooting Association/IPSC. This article titled “Progressive Presses Fear and Lusting” by: Clyde Bower and Chuck Goodrich, describes the various progressive presses that were available to the reloading market at that time. Here are their comments on this particular machine.
“The newest entry in the progressive reloading field is R.D.P. Tool Company and their Model 1500. The 1500 is a massive machine with a manufactures claim of 1500 rounds an hour, which puts it at the top of the group as far as production, goes. Conversion to other calibers both rifle and handgun is available using standard dies. The operation is totally automatic even down to the bullet handling. The handle is even adjustable for right or left-hand operation. The machine will retail in the $1300 range.”
The article does not list any of the accessories or options that come with the machine at that price. It is my guess that it included; powder measure, bullet feeder, dies and shell plate. Also I do not know how accurate the acclaimed 1500 rounds an hour as the patent mentions the capabilities of 600 to 800 rounds per hour. To put the price in perspective of the time the article goes to list the approximate retail prices of other progressive presses that were available at the time of the article these are shown in the table below.
Press
Cost ($)
Lee Auto Index Pess
95
Lee Progressive 1000
199.98
Dillon 1000 (per conversion $200)
2475
Dillon RL-450B
365
Pacific Pro 7
425
C-H Mk.5 Auto Champ (in-line press)
700
RCBS Green Machine (in-line press)
630
The Star Progressive Reloading Tool
1100
From what I could find the RDP Tool Company was not in business for very long most likely being not being able to compete with the Dillon and Lee prices. They did make at least 1,138 of them because it’s the serial number of my machine. However for the retail price the purchaser has a reloader that is greatly over engineered well built. I made a table of the specifications this machine so that those who are interested could compare it to the reloading presses on the current market.
Parameter
Nominal Value
Weight (Lb)
91
Base size (in)
9.5”x11.75”
Height Not Including Handle (in)
14”
Height With Handle
19.5”
Number of Stations
5
Ram Stroke (in)
5.25”
Ram Diameter (in)
1.25”
Based on the weight of this press it is no lightweight but a monster of a press making it a fun experience to place on my benchtop. Just the case feeder assembly alone accounts for approximately 3lbs of the total weight. Grease fittings are used on each of the vertical rams and needle bearing are used in place of bushing throughout the press. In photo 2 shows the RDP press next to an old Hornady Pro-jector Press that I have to show a size comparison between the two.
132200
Photo 2
As you can see the RDP machine completely dwarfs the old Hornady press. Photo 3 shows the shell plates of the two machines side by side for comparison. The Hornady located on the left measures 3.4 inches diameter while the RDP one is on the right and measures 4.4 inches. The RDP plate is also thinner than the Hornadys. Both plates have five stations for cases machined into the plate.
132201
Photo 3
I am sure that to most of you are familiar with how the Hornady plate is secured to the press using a pin and a single bolt. The RDP shell plate is held in place by two locating pins and 10 Allen head screws one on each side of the shell slot. The shell plate numbers correspond to the RCBS shell holder numbering system. Photo 4 shows a close up of the one of the Allen headed screws next to the screw hole used to secure the plate to the press.
132202
Photo 4
The cases and bullets are feed by gravity with a hulme style case feeder and a rotary bullet feeder consisting of five tubes two feet in length. Photo 5 shows what the press looks like with both the case and bullet feeder attached.
132203
Photo 5
The case feeder for this press is shown below in Photo 6 and is attached to a shelf located on the base of the ram. Two screws on the bottom of the feeder allow for minor adjustment to left and right. Cases are feed by gravity from the hopper into the plastic tube which is connected to the case feeder. To keep the case entering the clear plastic tube an L shaped bar attached to the top of the press bumps the hopper on the upper and lower stroke. This bumps the hopper to ensure that the cases are continuously feed into the case feeder from the hopper. The metal tube inner diameter is the same as the diameter of the plastic tube till about half way when tapers and becomes small enough to allow only the brass case to travel through it. This inner diameter of the tube for the cartridge case is not a one size fits all; the one for a 38 Spl will not work with a 45 ACP. This tube has a T-slot cut on halfway through it on the bottom to allow the cases to be able to feed into the press’s shell plate. The tube can be adjustable vertically to accommodate different case lengths by a single Allen screw on the right side. When the case reaches the bottom of the tube it is pushed into place on the shell plate by a gear and rack system on the rams downward stroke. This gear is activated by a lever (indicated by the red arrow) when it comes into contact with the vertical block (indicated by the green arrow) on the on the left side of the case feeder. The setup is adjusted to assure the case is fully seated into the shell plate is by adjusting the screws within the slots on the vertical block.
132204
Photo 6
Shown in photo 7 is the case feed with the upper part of it removed giving a better picture of the gear and rack arrangement. A 45 ACP case is located where it would be if it was fed through the drop tube. The cartridge guides located in front of the case guide the case from the case feeder to its position into the shell plate. On the lower stroke the lever comes into contact with vertical block causing the gear to rotate allowing for the rack to push the shell into position. On the upper stroke the rack is retuned to this position by a spring on the gear shaft. Needle bearings are used on the gear shaft instead of a bushing.
132205
Photo 7
Below Photo 8 shows position of the case in the shell plate once the ram is at the bottom of the stroke.
132206
Photo 8
Photo 9 gives a closer look at the cartridge guides and the retention of the cases within the shell plate. The gear rack has been removed to provide an unobstructed view. The case ejector is the angled bar on top of the shell plate on the right side of the case feeder shown by the red arrow. The cases are held in place by two spring loaded ball bearings which can be seen inside of the red box. These do an excellent job of retaining the case and have given me no trouble, as the case snap right into place. The cartridge case guide is indicated by the yellow arrow. These guide the case from the case feeder to the shell plate and are adjustable to accommodate differed cases.
132209
Photo 9
On this press de-priming the case does not happen at the die station which is directly in line with the case feeder. It is my opinion that this station is merely a place holder, because there was a light coat of surface rust on the die station threads when I bought it. When I was using the press to load 45 ACP I placed a case expander in this position as some of my cases were dented at the case mouth. On the downward stroke the press rotates the shell plate to the next station where the; case resizing and de-priming are performed. The spent primers travel through the ram and fall through a hole in the base plate to allow for a collection system to be setup underneath the bench. On the downward stroke from the resizing station the shell plate rotates and a new primer is inserted in a way that would make Rube Goldberg envious shown below in photo 10.