Your Press and Accessories Peeves, by Company brand: RCBS

[diopter]

Bought a used Rock Chucker many years ago. Only complaint so far is it seems to have a bit of flex when reforming brass to another caliber.

Bought a used Piggyback II to convert it to a progressive, Too much fiddling needed until recently when I found out spring tension, too much or too little against shell plate was causing timing issues. Jury still out.

Sidewinder case cleaner used. Original drum cracked into multiple pieces, they gave me a free replacement drum. Ok so far.
Less than a year later drum leaks from the seam. Said they were out of stock about 8 months ago and would send a replacement when available. Still waiting.

 

[Northernfly]

Love my RCBS stuff, it's lasted - in the case of my press and 38-357 dies - almost 40yrs without issue.
Also love the hand primers: I have one for small pistol, large pistol, magnum pistol and large rifle. Awesome!
My only peeve is the press - being an older model Rock Chucker - having the primer catcher that doesn't actually catch primers or falls off if you accidentally make contact with it, spilling primers all over the floor.
From the looks of things the primer catcher has been re-designed on the new presses, but I honestly don't think my press is going to fail anytime in the next 10yrs so I'll either have to stick with what I have or go with one of the custom solutions out there.

 

[oneadam12]

Find their decapping rods prone to misalignment if you aren't careful (too much lash in the threads), had one pistol die that was machined off centre.

 

[stubblejumper]

My Rockchucker is over 35 years old, and has been totally reliable. If it has one small flaw, it is that the odd primer jumps out of the primer catcher.

 

[wasrupzuk]

Not a big user of RCBS but their primer swagging tool left my pockets a little loose.
I prefer Forster die lock rings over RCBS because the set screw on their rings get driven into the die threads instead of damage free clamping.
Love my Rockchucker though.

 

[Northernfly]

I prefer Forster die lock rings over RCBS because the set screw on their rings get driven into the die threads instead of damage free clamping.

Good call on that. Bugs the hell out of me but slipped my mind during my first post. I've replaced all my RCBS and Lyman lock rings with Hornady models that don't dig in to the outer threads of the die.

 

[laurencen]

Good call on that. Bugs the hell out of me but slipped my mind during my first post. I've replaced all my RCBS and Lyman lock rings with Hornady models that don't dig in to the outer threads of the die.

on mine I put a bead of lead shot under the lock screw, if you do not have a lead shot use a piece of solder, works great, no need to tighten it so much and no damage

 

[Northernfly]

on mine I put a bead of lead shot under the lock screw, if you do not have a lead shot use a piece of solder, works great, no need to tighten it so much and no damage

Huh... another good call. Cheers!

 

[M1-Garand]

Love my RCBS stuff, it's lasted - in the case of my press and 38-357 dies - almost 40yrs without issue.
Also love the hand primers: I have one for small pistol, large pistol, magnum pistol and large rifle. Awesome!
My only peeve is the press - being an older model Rock Chucker - having the primer catcher that doesn't actually catch primers or falls off if you accidentally make contact with it, spilling primers all over the floor.
From the looks of things the primer catcher has been re-designed on the new presses, but I honestly don't think my press is going to fail anytime in the next 10yrs so I'll either have to stick with what I have or go with one of the custom solutions out there.

To keep the primer catcher from falling off I used the Dremel with a small cut off wheel and cut 2 slots in each rear leg,just run an elastic behind the press to hold in place.

VE5HFD

 

[dead meat]

My old Lyman orange crusher spews spent primers all over the place, very few go in the primer catcher. Good press other wise

 

[Chilly807]

on mine I put a bead of lead shot under the lock screw, if you do not have a lead shot use a piece of solder, works great, no need to tighten it so much and no damage

This is what I did with mine, also switched out the brass lock screw for a steel one since there's no longer a risk of damaging the thread. If I recall, I used #2 shot.

 

[Beaver Skin]

Thanks for the idea about the shot. I was going to invest in a bunch of hornady lock rings but will try the shot trick first.

 

[Chilly807]

It works but you need to be careful if you switch to steel lock screws. Don't over tighten it! If the lead flattens too much, you'll have steel on steel. The largest lead pellet that will drop into the hole will work the best provided you can get the threads to start.
How anyone thought a rotating lock screw would work well turning against the die threads with nothing between the two is beyond my pay grade.. I'm surprised RCBS hasn't switched to a clamping type ring a la Hornady or Forster. The ring and screw arrangement is really bush league for that company.
Once you have the lead shot in place and tightened, when you go to adjust the die you'll probably need a set of channel lock pliers to hold the die and a wrench to move the ring once the set screw is loosened. The lead still presses against the die threads since it's squeezed against the threaded sides of the hole, so expect some smooth resistance. It actually makes it easier to get a small adjustment since the ring doesn't turn freely.
I keep looking at the Forster lock rings at Hirsch, but for now at least the lead shot works fine.

 

[jza]

I own a Rock Chucker. Spent primer catch system sucks.

 

[stang]

I own a Rock Chucker. Spent primer catch system sucks.

X2 other than that "great kit".

 

[Eagleye]

Other than the lock rings on their die sets, I have little complaint with RCBS.
Warranty is flawless, and the Rockchucker press is pretty decent, as presses go.
Dave.

 

['Boo]

I own a Rock Chucker. Spent primer catch system sucks.

This solves a lot of problems ......

 

[TonyMo]

^^^looks interesting....so, it's enclosed? Just dump it out when finished? Is this something you made or purchased?

 

['Boo]

^^^looks interesting....so, it's enclosed? Just dump it out when finished? Is this something you made or purchased?

3D printed. I bought it through Amazon and it was shipped from Turkey. (Over a month for delivery)

 

[OldDude]

My Rockchucker is over 35 years old, and has been totally reliable. If it has one small flaw, it is that the odd primer jumps out of the primer catcher.

I'm with you on this - both the reliability and primers flying around.
I clipped a portion of a cottage cheese container to the top of the primer catcher to make it a bit taller. The extension catches about 99.8 % of the primers.