My ch202 press is opening up out of alignment

[Oklahoma Rebel]

it is as if the c shape has opened up, I bought it used, it didn't come with the brace or whatever for the front. the only way I noticed this problem is when I was loading a relatively long case/ boolit, when I was seating the boolit, it (the boolit/ cartridge )was going into the die at a slight outwards (towards me) angle. everything still works, but I doubt I will ever get my best accuracy from this press. Im not going to try and bend it, because it is cast iron, and if it cracks it would leave me with no press. and I don't have the means to buy even a used press, I wont until spring. any thoughts?, genius fixes? has anyone seen or heard of this happening to anyone or had it happen themselves? I worry it will only continue to get more out of alignment. thanks for your time, Travis

[Wayne Smith]

Call CH4D - he (I think) still has parts for the old CH presses. It's worth a call, anyway.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

jeez, that would be the whole cast iron body,im sad to say it is a little too beat up to do all that,kinda like a 500 dollar car needing 350 dollars in repairs:sad:

[Oklahoma Rebel]

jeez, that would be the whole cast iron body,im sad to say it is a little too beat up to do all that,kinda like a 500 dollar car needing 400 dollars in repairs:sad: have you ever seen a press do this happen before?

[ulav8r]

Is the ram actually out of line, or is the shell holder holding the shell crooked?

[Oklahoma Rebel]

def. not the shellholder, there is a possibility that the hole the ram goes through has opened up, not the C shaped part.there is slop in the pivot points of the lever mechanism. she's been good, but I don't know how long she has.... sad, really

[Bent Ramrod]

A friend of mine has an RCBS O-style press, which is definitely not out of alignment. Nevertheless, he has set his die lock rings such that when he screws them into the press they bottom out on the shell holder a nickel's thickness short of the lock rings.

So he puts a nickel alongside the die hole, screws the die in until it contacts the nickel, pulls the nickel out, and starts reloading. The looseness allows the die to align itself with the case as it is sized and the bullet seated. You might try this with your press and see if the angle is reduced or eliminated.

Although I screw my dies in tight on the lock rings, I've loosened decapping stems that don't seem to point quite exactly into flash holes for the same "floating" effect.

[mdi]

Run the ram up nearly all the way. How much does it move, side to side/front to back. I've seen many more presses that have worn frames than bent frames (cast iron usually won't bend but rather break as it's much more brittle than steel). I have an old (very old) C-H cast iron "O" press that has nearly 3/32" slop in the ram when fully extended. Still usable, I just have to guide the cases into the die by hand (kinda self centering :roll:). I use it for my heavy duty tasks...

[Oklahoma Rebel]

ok, ill check it out, I have been helping the cartridges go in when I seat the boolit like you, do you think there is any consequence in accuracy because of this practice?

[slughammer]

Try turning the shell holder 90 degrees, then 180 degrees, then 270 degrees. Does the problem stay in the same position or move?

[1hole]

Rebel, I doubt you have a problem and no tight new press is likely to make your ammo any straighter. Consider that Bench Resters use hand dies in arbor presses - that's as loosely held as it's possible to be. There is a lot of slop in most shell holders and, truth is, loosely held round cases and round bullets will self center in round hole dies every time they come together unless they're firmly held out of line. Loose toggle links are also irrelevant to the quality of ammo produced; if the ram goes up and down and the cases go in and out of the dies, what more can you ask?

[Oklahoma Rebel]

ok, thanks 1-hole that's a sigh of relief, I don't have the money to replace it right now. have a good one, Travis

[Traffer]

A thought....IF the cast iron is indeed bent, (which is pretty hard to do) you may be able to just heat it up with a oxy/acetylene torch to (not hot enough to damage it) a good heat and just let it sit. Cast iron can sometimes just realign itself to it's original shape if it is heated.

[mdi]

Try this; remove the die from the press. Insert a cartridge with a "pointy tip" bullet. Run the cartridge up into the die "station" slowly and see if the pointy tip is off center. Unless its 1/4"-3/8" I wouldn't worry...

[Oklahoma Rebel]

yeah it is not that far off, the shell holder seems centered, but the pointy boolit always points at me,lol it is probably a couple degrees. it isn't noticeable with 45-70 loads, just the 7.62x54, and its long 185 grain boolit

[1hole]

Rebel, I assume you are still fairly new to hand loading? If so, you have a lot to learn about making eccellant ammo. Part of it is that accuracy comes from good technique and good components and - maybe most of all - learning how to develop loads your fire arm likes., not the color or cost of a loading tool. Common presses and common dies are capable of making much better ammo than most users.

I would NOT heat an iron press body with a torch, that's far more likely to induce warping than fixing anything. IMHO. And I doubt your excellent old iron press is "bent" anyway.

[fast ronnie]

Cast iron doesn't bend, it breaks. It can wear, though. Like someone else asked, how much side movement is in the ram? I doubt that it is that worn, but it could possibly be a bent ram.