RCBS Pro2000 Assembly

[mikemyers]

I posted a thread here about a year or so ago about purchasing an RCBS Pro2000 press, and what should go with it:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=788209&highlight=rcbs+2000

I bought the press, and am just now setting it up. I assumed there would be some YouTube videos on how to do so, but no luck.

I am trying to attach the "Star Wheel" to the 5-station Shellplate #03. The parts in my hand don't look like the parts in the drawing. There are supposed to be two 8-32 button head screws, which were not included in the box. The manual and photos indicate that these two screws are identical, but while one of the holes is "flush" with the shell holder, the other has a raised section, so the screws are unlikely to be of equal length. Am I missing something, or have these parts changed since the manual was printed?

There are a few more things I'm still trying to understand, but most of them eventually make sense. The instructions would be great for someone who already know how to do things. Maybe I'm just slow.

 

[cfullgraf]

I bought a couple star wheels for my Pro2000 and the screws were included with the star wheels.

Yes, they are 8-32 x 1/2" button head cap screws. The heads of both screws sit on the top surface of the star wheel as opposed to being counter sunk so, yes, both screws will be the same length.

There are 5 holes in the star wheel that fit over the detent bumps in the shell plate. Exactly opposite one of these holes is a smaller hole. There is a threaded hole in one of the detent bumps and exactly opposite it is another threaded hole in the shell plate. Align the star wheel so that you can see the threaded hole in the shell plate through the plain hole in the star wheel.

Hope that makes sense.

You should be able to get suitable replacement screws at any good hardware emporium or you can call RCBS customer service.

I find it easier and more convenient to have a star wheel for each shell plate but that would be up to you and your pocket book.

Hope this helps.

 

[mikemyers]

That makes perfect sense to me now, after spending what seemed like forever trying to figure things out. I guess they forgot to include those screws.

Question - one of the threaded holes is "flush" with the surface of the shell plate, and the other sticks out maybe 1/8" or so - as you described. One of the screws has to go all the way through the star wheel before it starts threading into the shell plate. The other screw doesn't need to go so far, as that "hole" is raised because the lug itself is raised. It seemed logical to me that one of the screws should be a bit longer than the other because of that. .....I guess it was simpler to just use two identical screws.

I'm guessing I can buy them tomorrow at a hardware shop, if I don't want to wait for RCBS to mail them to me.

While trying to figure this out, I read something about people using a lighter spring beneath the large ball. Is that something I need to be concerned about?

 

[cfullgraf]

Both holes in the shell plate are threaded all the way through the plate so as long as the screw is not too long and sticks out the other side, they only have to be long enough to engage enough threads for a strong enough connection.

But, many folks probably could not cope with having two different length screws so, easier if only one size is needed. Eliminates a few technical assistance calls.

RCBS offers a lighter spring that is supposed to make the shell plate jump into the detent pocket less violent. This helps minimizing powder spillage that can occur with almost full cases.

I have big problems with this powder pillage on my auto-index Pro2000 with 300 BLK but not 204 Ruger. I recently moved loading 45 Colt to the Pro2000 and I do not remember having a spillage problem but then I have not loaded much 45 Colt recently either.

With the manual index Pro2000, it is less of a problem because you can manually control the movement of the shell plate via the star wheel.

I supposedly got the light spring from RCBS but could not tell any difference in operation of the shell plate. But, I kind of suspect that they may have sent me the standard one any way. Every measurement I took between the two springs was the same.

I found a spring at my local hardware store that is the same diameter but a thinner diameter wire than the RCBS spring. I could get the snap into the detent to be less violent but it caused me some other indexing issues.

The light spring has worked well for many Pro2000 users so my experience is definitely an outlier.

 

[mikemyers]

To install the shell plate assembly, you put a spring in the appropriate hole beneath the shell plate, then put a polished ball on top of the spring, then the shell plate assembly is supposed to go down on top of it. Sounded easy, but it didn't seem to work - the shell plate assembly wouldn't drop down as it was supposed to. It felt funny, so I took it all apart. The ball was "stuck" in the hole, half in, half out.

I called RCBS, but the person I spoke to first didn't think the ball should go "into" the hole (which was the only logical explanation to me. I took the lower mounting plate off the ram, inverted it, and pushed out the ball. Being more careful, I did this all over again, all the time thinking it didn't make sense. Same result.

I called RCBS back, convinced in my mind that there was something wrong with the lower plate. Half an hour later, after measuring the ball and the hole, RCBS said they would send me a replacement lower plate assembly. Oh well, I'm not in any hurry.....

A while later, I decided to try again. It just didn't seem logical to me to have that ball sticking half way out of the hole, and "stuck". I took the lower plate assembly off again, and tested the ball in the bottom of the hole - it fell in fine, but got stuck at the end. Ten minutes with a conical reamer to "break the edge" of the hole, and all was fine. All the parts went back in place.


I decided to re-install the shell plate without the star wheel on it, so I could get a better "feel" for what is going on. As others in the forums have noted, the shell plate "drops into" place very quickly, and I can picture that causing powder to maybe spill out of a shell, but in my opinion, it has nothing to do with that coil spring everyone is talking about. It's obvious when watching things with the star wheel not yet attached, that the four "blade springs" surrounding the shell plate are what is being forced into position. I was able to "feel" this happening, but couldn't feel anything from the coil spring and ball fitting into place.



I find it easier to deal with the Pro2000 just as a machine, and forget that it's for reloading. Parts should fit together logically, with no excess friction, no binding, and without "fighting" each other. From that point of view, the Pro2000 is a beautifully engineered machine. The more I see HOW it works, the more I realize how wonderful the design is. For me, it's fun to see how the various bits and pieces relate to each other, and how they move (although it's not "fun" when something isn't working as it should - then it turns into a puzzle...).


Next project is the powder hopper.

 

[cfullgraf]

Under normal operation, the detent ball will be mostly recessed in the base plate with only enough above the plate to engage the detents in the shell plate.

When assembling the shell plate to the press, the ball will pretty much sit "on top" of the base plate as the spring is close to the depth of the hole.

The diameter of the ball and the diameter of the hole in the base plate are quite close. Grease, dirt and any other foreign matter will make the ball "stick" in the hole. Sometimes, a magnet will pull the ball out or pushing the ball farther into the hole and letting it snap out of the hole. The latter method runs the risk of the ball getting launched into the Bermuda Triangle so be careful.

Breaking the sharp edges of the hole probably is a good idea. I'll give it a try with mine.

There is another thread going on about the Hornady L-N-L concurrently about folks breaking the edges of the detent holes to slow down the snap in position of the shell plate. I might try it on one of the RCBS shell plates for the Pro2000.

I have not seen the flat springs that hold the case in place on the shell holder cause problems but I have adjusted them so that they put minimal force on the case when the case is in position. I'd have cases loaded in the shell plate and see if you experience the same action of the shell plate. Something else I need to look at next time I use the Pro2000.

 

[mikemyers]

I'll try to reply.

First, in my case, the ball got "stuck" pretty well. I couldn't get it out, and when I took the parts off the press so I could push the ball out from the bottom, I realized how "stuck" it was. There must have been a machining burr - if you want, I'll take a photo of the tool that I used. It's like a reamer, that gets larger as it goes down into the metal. It's sharp, and if I used it long enough, it might have added a taper at the end of the hole. In my case, I just cleaned off the "rough stuff" and now the ball drops in effortlessly. Problem solved.

The "flat springs that hold the case in place" (my name) are actually part #56 in the inset on page 13 of the manual, the "Case Retaining Spring Station #2-5" There are four of them. If you watch them closely as the star wheel gets to the next position, you can see and feel them "jerk" the shell plate into place. The change in tension matches what you see and feel. If that "snap" was from the spring and ball, I think it would feel very different. If you watch the springs, while you feel the "spring pressure" pushing the shell plate into the next position, you'll see what I mean. If it was the ball and spring, it would just "click" into place, not move gradually.

(Just in my opinion - I am the last person to try to explain things on this press, but somehow it's all coming together anyway.)


The powder measure is now done.

Edit: I thought I had a problem with the micrometer metering screw assembly, but it was Operator Error. Me.

 

[mikemyers]

.......folks breaking the edges of the detent holes to slow down the snap in position of the shell plate........

That doesn't make sese to me. If there is any burr, or anything preventing the ball from moving up freely, and that is corrected, the ball will come up faster, not slowed down.

On the other hand, any "snap" as the ball goes by the burr, if that's what it is, would be removed if that's what was causing the problem, but.....

On the third hand, I can't picture why any engineer would want the ball coming up that high. It seems logical to keep the ball down into the hole, so it just moves up and down in the hole, with only the top edge of the ball sticking up...... which means it would be good to check for a burr or something incorrect further down into the hole, not at the opening.

 

[mikemyers]

Short update. I wrote up above about having a problem with the micrometer metering screw, but the only problem was me. Using the correct size Allen wrench fixed the problem, and everything is now together, waiting for the new dies to arrive later this week.