Grrrr!!!

[Smokey Joe]

Well! Just discovered a new way to annoy myself while prepping cases.

Was de-priming a batch of cases on my RCBS Rockchucker; had the aluminum primer catcher in place as usual. Reached for something on my reloading bench, and snagged the rubber band holding the primer catcher onto the press. Of course, POINNG! the rubber band let go of the primer catcher, and of course, it had quite a bunch of primers in it, and of course, the primer catcher tumbled to the floor, and the spent primers went all over the place. What I said next can't be repeated on a public forum like this.

Picked up as many of the primers, and primer anvils, as I could find. I'm sure I'll find more later!

Put the primer catcher back on the Rockchucker with a stouter rubber band. Proceeded with the job of case prep.

Bottom line: Does anyone have suggestions as to how to avoid this in future? Have been using the RCBS with primer catcher for many years; this is the first time this has happened. Mebbe I've just been lucky.

But I don't care to depend on luck. Mrs. Smokey Joe will NOT be pleased if she steps on one of those spent primers barefoot.

Suggestions??

 

[flutedchamber]

I ran into the same problem and used self adhesive Velcro that I bought in the sewing store out of their clearance rack. The stuff I bought has both the hooks and loop pieces, and is 1/2 inch wide.

Clean the primer catcher and press with alcohol, then put one two inch strip on each side of the ears on the primer catcher (the flat portion of the catcher, to the right and left of the rubber band anchors). I put the hook part on the primer catcher, and a stripe of hook about two inches long up the back rib of the press. That way, the strip of loops you use will go from the Velcro on the left side of the primer catcher, to the Velcro on the back rib of the press, around to the Velcro on the right side of the primer catcher.

With that in place, it would take one very hard shot to knock off the primer catcher.

Good luck,

 

[The Bushmaster]

Lee has a through frame hole in the bottom and the ram is slotted for removed primers. I drill a one inch hole in my bench and mount the press over the hole. I have an old aluminum ice tray on a slide under the bench.

By The Way...If you want to find the rest of those spent primers and anvils before Mrs Smokey Joe....You go bare foot first...You'll find them.

 

[jr81452]

lol i am so glad to finaly find reloaders who use lee. at my gun club they are always giving me crap about the fact that i use a loadmaster to load my pistol rounds but i just love it. damn dilon junkies

 

[Bullet]

You might give RCBS a call. I believe the newer primer catcher is plastic (mine is). I’ve never had it fall off the press.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I've got both the newer plastic primer catcher and the older aluminum one. I prefer the new one. It's held on by a plastic arm that holds it in place.

I also modified my newer one with epoxy to better fit the contour of the press. I waxed the area of the press where the epoxy would come in contact and put the primer catcher on it. Then I applied the epoxy to the areas that had gaps and let it harden. When I took it off, all the gaps were filled and I didn't have anymore primers slipping through the cracks. The catcher also fit better and there isn't any play between the two parts anymore.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

RCBS?

I've got old and new RCBS and the 'really old' primer catcher is cast aluminum or some such pot metal. But.. I dropped that one once and it broke. So, the plastic one sits on my bench. A rubber band holds it in place quite well...

Oh, and the RockChucker sits as a close friend to the Dillon450 right next to it on my bench.

-Steve

 

[-terry]

81452
Just tell 'em that you bought your entire press for just a bit more than they paid for their second caliber.

Give them two reloaded rounds and ask if they can tell which was reloaded by Dillon and which by Lee.

 

[tasco 74]

same here bushmaster... only i keep my waste basket under the hole in my bench under the lee reloader press... deprime the case and the primers fall right into the garbage......

LIFE IS SHORT................

 

[ReloaderFred]

You should be salvaging those spent primers. A coffee can full of old rifle and pistol primers will get you about $30.00 to $35.00 in today's scrap market.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[scrat]

30-35$


wow i always threw mine away.

 

[Smokey Joe]

Thanks and Wasted $$$

Scrat--Yeah, I always threw mine in the trash too, until I learned that primers are all brass, no Fe. So now I'm saving them and will take with my next trip to the scrap dealer that buys my empty (non-reloadable) brass, copper wire, Al beverage cans, and other such goodies.

Flutedchamber, Bushmaster, Reloader Fred, and Jack of all trades--I want to thank one and all for the suggestions for my RCBS primer catcher. Will have to move on those, I think.

 

[cracked butt]

I did away with the useless RCBS catch a long time ago. I just slide a 30 gallon open head drum under my press when decapping.

 

[Mr White]

The plastic catcher on my Rockchucker works quite well. It snaps in place and won't come loose on its own. However, last night when I was emptying it, I dumped a hundred or so spent primers on the floor. Oh well, the shop vac will get them next time I get the urge to clean.

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

Here's your excuse to upgrade to a Co-Ax!

Just to protect your wife's bare feet...

Andy

 

[tasco 74]

$30 for a can of primers? i thow mine away too... well used to!.... how much about does a coffee can of primers weigh anyhow?? i have probably thown away at least one big coffee can of primers since i've been reloading... i threw away the screwed up brass too but i have started smashing it and salvageing it too...............

 

[ReloaderFred]

A coffee can will hold about 20 to 25 pounds of spent primers. Scrap prices in my area are now hovering around $1.50 a pound. With the volume of reloading I do, I generally fill a coffee can about every 8 or 9 months. The last trip to the recycler, I took over 200 pounds of brass that wasn't reloadable. That gave me over $300, which I promptly turned into more primers and powder.

I hate to see anything wasted, and if you've ever been around a copper mine, or for that matter, any other mine, and seen the effort it takes to extract metals from the ground, you would understand why I don't like to see it wasted. It takes a lot of effort and time to produce, so it only makes sense to reuse it. After all, reloaders were the first recyclers, long before it was fashionable.

Hope this helps.

Fred