RCBS "Rebel" Press.

Status
Not open for further replies.
That looks like a heavy duty press.

Yes, I saw a picture of them next to each other.......dwarfed the R.Chucker. The ram looks tiny compared to the frame. I use a R.C. 2. Will never wear it out....and I take care of primers fine.....but I'm not opposed to them copying Lee on that. Finally, the statute of copyright is over.;)

Texas 10mm: I think he was overruled by the boss, and grease everywhere attracts dirt and sand.
 
So I got curious:

At Midway they say the Rock Chucker is 20.4 lbs shipping weight.
they say the Redding Big Boss 2 is 19.65 lbs shipping weight.

The Rebel is advertised to be 22 percent heavier than the Rock Chucker......a little math says that the Rebel's shipping weight should then be.....
24.89 lbs!.....a brute indeed! :) Looks a lot like the Redding except it's a straight 90% angle to the bench face.....no angle away as on the Redding.

There will be some who want the king of the mountain, I guess.......but all three are more than plenty big and beefed.

But nearly as big....Did you know that the Lyman Brass Victory Press ships at 23.160 Pounds?!

Yet the real beef king right now will continue to be the Hornady LNL Iron Press which ships at 28.710 Pounds!

As a comparison, the Lee Classic Cast ships at 14.205 Pounds.
 
Last edited:
No boss was wrong, breaking the seals is almost worse then no grease at all
These presses surely don’t have seals. Some things like the pins on loaders are just friction fit and the old grease just gets pushed out the sides by the new grease. My Hornady LnL progressive has zerks and I think I’ve greased them twice in the five years I’ve owned it.

My RCBS RS3 is about 35 years old now and shows no sign of wearing our despite not having grease fittings. I guess the occasional squirt of Break Free worked well enough. My new Redding doesn’t have zerks either.
 
These presses surely don’t have seals. Some things like the pins on loaders are just friction fit and the old grease just gets pushed out the sides by the new grease. My Hornady LnL progressive has zerks and I think I’ve greased them twice in the five years I’ve owned it.

My RCBS RS3 is about 35 years old now and shows no sign of wearing our despite not having grease fittings. I guess the occasional squirt of Break Free worked well enough. My new Redding doesn’t have zerks either.
no seals on the booms, dippers and buckets because there in the dirt, that's why 6-8 hours you stop and grease to push dirt out. Not much grease is needed it it does not get contaminated, example is sealed ball joints can last much longer the greasible ones not greased properly.
I think it's a nice touch to have a zerk on a press not have to use it if you don't want to. The grease can keep things snugged up, having the handle drop when your finger is near the threads hurts.
 
Well, since someone brought it up, running a company for twenty years taught me to shop overseas, and I came to have a strong preference for goods manufactured overseas. Like Apple computers, for a start.
 
No mention in the product overview about that the press being U.S. made, although every other selling point is emphasized.
That means that it isn't U.S. made.
My 47 year old RCBS JR3 is a great press and is U.S. made.
My Redding Big Boss 2 and competition powder measure are also first class great tools made of cast iron and are U.S. made.
Anything more that I need I will buy from Redding
 
Well, since someone brought it up, running a company for twenty years taught me to shop overseas, and I came to have a strong preference for goods manufactured overseas. Like Apple computers, for a start.

“Overseas” can mean good (Japan) or it can mean terrible. Renault and Yugo make cars overseas and I don’t want any of those.

Apple computers and every other brand are manufactured in the same place, using many of the same components. And there aren’t any US made computers I’m aware of anyway.
 
Shopping overseas, you get exactly what you buy. If you end up with crap, it's because you bought crap.
 
Midsouth had the Rebel presses available for pre-order before China took a dump with corona virus. Now Midsouth is showing no back-order available. My gut tells me these presses might be chinese.
 
The grease zerk seems to me trying to solve a non problem and just adds to cost.
I add fittings to all my presses. I find that grease coming out keeps grit from going in, thus saving me the need for complete disassembly at service time. The extra cost of this being done during production has to be under 5 cents.
 
Midsouth had the Rebel presses available for pre-order before China took a dump with corona virus. Now Midsouth is showing no back-order available. My gut tells me these presses might be chinese.

Why is it that RCBS seems to be the "Trump" of the reloading world......and they don't even have a big mouth that makes their enemies hate? Why do so many make a big deal out of everything RCBS does and totally ignore every other brand?

Do ya think that RCBS was given a waiver to keep it's production lines going full tilt when the governor of California, signed the edict to shut down all unessential business? I know I wasn't given one for my Self Storage Business here in New Mexico....though we have a 1000 units to keep serviced and clean, and the gates kept open....on top of my Construction business that is totally dead (which does have a waiver as essential)

Jammersix has a point too.....my Hewlett Packard Envy laptop I'm typing on, has 1/64th high, off-silver lettering against the silver case on the back, that you can't see without a magnifier, that says made in China....and I have to admit it's ten times the machine my last one was, which was a Sony Vaio, Japanese, that cratered 2 weeks out of the box.
 
Last edited:
Midsouth had the Rebel presses available for pre-order before China took a dump with corona virus. Now Midsouth is showing no back-order available. My gut tells me these presses might be chinese.

Just about everything rcbs is chinese manufacture now, presses, scales.
From the complaints about their dies not being the same in fit and finish lately I am guessing they sourced those out too.
 
The extra cost of this being done during production has to be under 5 cents

The cost of the fitting itself is small, that's true. But when it comes to manufacturing there are other costs. Someone has to order the part, receive it, put it in stock, deliver it to the manufacturing line. On the line, someone has to drill and tap the hole, and then install the fitting. Once in a while they're going to screw one up, so that adds to the necessary rework. Taken together it still probably doesn't add up to very much money, but things like that can make a difference when you're manufacturing thousands of presses.

That said, the engineers who designed the thing knew all that and still decided it was worthwhile to install the fitting.

Tim
 
If you end up with crap, it's because you bought crap.
Circular reasoning is circular.

Where something is made tells you a whole lot less than who made it. I would happily buy a Toyota Camry made by Kentucky workers in their Georgetown plant. I would practically have to be forced at gunpoint to buy a truck made in the Louisville Ford plant. Same worker pool, two different companies. But all things being equal I prefer my money go to American workers when I can. The cost difference between my Redding press and an RCBS was trivial, but an American got paid to make it. And the quality is at least as good, maybe even better.

Maybe RCBS needs to ask Redding how they manage to keep production here and still maintain quality and competitive pricing.
 
Last edited:
Circular reasoning is circular.

Where something is made tells you a whole lot less than who made it. I would happily buy a Toyota Camry made by Kentucky workers in their Georgetown plant. I would practically have to be forced at gunpoint to buy a truck made in the Louisville Ford plant. Same worker pool, two different companies. But all things being equal I prefer my money go to American workers when I can. The cost difference between my Redding press and an RCBS was trivial, but an American got paid to make it. And the quality is at least as good, maybe even better.

Maybe RCBS needs to ask Redding how they manage to keep production here and still maintain quality and competitive pricing.
There are two tacoma plants that provide all the trucks. I got one from Texas. Mexico also makes them.
 
Is the Rebel large enough for BMG?
Is the Big Boss big enough?

Yes, I saw a picture of them next to each other.......dwarfed the R.Chucker. The ram looks tiny compared to the frame. I use a R.C. 2. Will never wear it out....and I take care of primers fine.....but I'm not opposed to them copying Lee on that. Finally, the statute of copyright is over.;)

Texas 10mm: I think he was overruled by the boss, and grease everywhere attracts dirt and sand.

I would love to see the pic if possible.
 
.........I would love to see the pic if possible.

Well to be more accurate....video....at the shot show both were on the bench with the new neat Uniflow 3 between them. Do make the videos full screen first....;)



 
Last edited:
Is the Rebel large enough for BMG?
Is the Big Boss big enough?



I would love to see the pic if possible.
No, I don't think either of them are capable. The only typical size O frame capable is the Lee Classic Cast original and it requires the Lee BMG dies if I recall right.
 
Not only is the Lee Classic Cast the lightest by far of any cast iron O frames, it only has a 4 " opening for a 5.45" long cartridge. Not only that, the Lee is also the lightest by far of the O frames that can use the 1 1/4" dies. Heavier O frames that can use the larger dies, include Rockchuckers, back to those made in the 1970's, the Redding Big Boss II, and of course the new RCBS Rebel. Even the Summit press will, but it's not leveraged enough nor can it open it's mouth enough.

Paraphrasing from my own post earlier in this thread:

  • The new Rebel is 24.89 lbs....opening? Don't know yet, but it's supposed to be taller the any other RCBS press....can use the big dies. (Doubt "taller" includes the AmmoMaster BMG.)
  • Redding Big Boss 2 is 19.65 lbs opens 4.5" and can use the big dies.
  • Rock Chucker IV is 20.4 lbs opens only 4" but can use the big dies.
  • The Lee Classic Cast ships at 14.205 lbs. 4" opening, but can use the big dies.

The Lyman Victory Press is 23.16 lbs, BUT can only use 7/8" dies.
Hornady LNL Iron Press is heaviest at 28.710 Pounds, only uses 7/8" dies in their LnL bushing.
 
Last edited:
Well, old Stumpy, I thought about that, and I guess I don't care, if it keeps my old favorite green press company in business, and the quality is there. So far, I haven't been disappointed. My favorite press these days is my Pro Chucker 7......even if it is Aluminumiuminum.;)
 
Vicious, unfair, cutthroat competition is the finest gift foreign companies can offer the American worker.

Just like a gunfight, it's not fair, it's not right, but it is the way it's going to be. Stop whining and start shooting back.

Roll up your sleeves, show up earlier, produce a better product cheaper, faster and better than the competition.

Or die.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top