Lyman Spartan primer catcher

[Scoutdog99]

Is there a primer catcher available that will fit (or modified to fit) a Lyman Spartan?

[gunarea]

Hey Scoutdog99
Your pain is real but the solution is so easy you will want to kick me.

153634

That is an electrical box. Cut with a wood burning tool some twenty years ago. After chasing original trays for thirty years, there had to be a better answer.

153635

A simple quarter inch dia steel rod holds the tray even when completely full. The bend was added for convenience several years later. Putting in a piece of old T-shirt help cut down on bouncing debris. Gray electrical boxes work just as well and heat will apply bends for clearance where needed.

153636

My mother got that Spartan press for my 14th birthday to get me and a Lee handloader off of the dining room table. Note replacement screws at die holder and shell holder. Both have a Teflon tip and finger holds. The tips don't mar dies and a tool is unnecessary for any die and holder change. (you owe me a dollar for that). Although it is much less than 100% effective catching stuff, original trays were much less also. For a couple dollars you can afford to screw up the first few attempts before success. Go at it with no fear of failure and toss the unacceptable without concern. Let us know how you fare.
Roy

[n.h.schmidt]

I have to agree about the primer catcher for the spartan press. You will only catch seven out of ten primers. The rest end on the floor,or worse they sometimes fall back into the slot on the ram. Sometimes jamming the ram travel. I still have that press and use it sometimes.
n.h.schmidt

[Reverend Recoil]

Great idea. An electrical box primer catcher for my Spartan press will be my project for this weekend.

[BrassFinger]

I received a complete Lyman reloading kit with the Spar-T press that was NIB from a relative a few years ago that started me into the casting/reloading world. I reload .45ACP and .30-06 with it and it does a fine job, but I agree totally with the primer catcher. It's about a 70% success rate, but adding a raised lip right at the front helps catch a few more. A piece of card stock and some tape works fine.

I prime with a separate RCBS auto prime which I really like.

Chris

[higgins]

I cut a large diameter soda straw to length and put it in the groove in the ram to guide primers from the bottom of the shell holder to the bottom of the groove in the ram. I read about this on this forum a few years ago, did it, and surprisingly the original piece of straw is still in place. I still have my original Spartan primer catcher. The straw trick doesn't eliminate primers on the floor, but certainly reduces the number of them.