GW Staar
Member
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- Feb 26, 2009
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- 3,695
Months before RCBS copied Allied Armory's $28 Bullet feeder, I bought the RCBS Universal Feeding Die #1 to try it out, #2 to compare it with my Hornady Bullet Feed Dies, and #3 to try out RCBS's long awaited Powder through Expander. It would have been nice if I'd had spies at RCBS, and was privy to their plans to produce these new Tube Bullet Feeders. I could have saved me some serious time and effort. Alas that's how it works...build it and RCBS will make it obsolete....maybe a case feeder will come now that I built one of those.
Anyway, let's look at the difference between the Universal Bullet Feeder Die I have and the new RCBS Tube Feeders.
RCBS Tube Bullet Feeder Kits:
They are indeed caliber specific, kind of. It comes in 4 kits,
1. .45ACP
2. .40/10mm.
3. .380, .357/.38, and 9mm for bullets 90 to 158 grain.
4. .357/.38 for bullets 158 to 180 grain.
The way they make them caliber specific is they furnish only one size sleeve (the part that funnels the bullet into the center of the die's "fingers", and they only supply that caliber's fingers. RCBS sells two sizes of tubes and you get 2 of the size for the specified kit you ordered....small for 9mm/.357, and large for .40/.45.
RCBS Universal Bullet Feeder Die is not caliber specific, but neither is it a product complete:
The Universal is One die with all the fingers to do most pistol calibers, BUT, it comes with no tubes and no caliber sleeves.
What the? Well RCBS added the Universal to its product line to give buyers of their Pistol Bullet Feeder/Collator a way to populate die heads set up for different calibers. (Progressive or turret). That means....no buy the expensive tool with the sleeves...no get sleeves and the universal is worthless.................unless you make your own.
The Universal is about the same price as a tube die kit. So, if you want to load all the other calibers available, with the Tube Feeder Kits you will have to pay the money for four of them. Which ain't that bad really, and most people will do that...its only 30 bucks a pop. (Okay $120 isn't small change except when compared to a product complete with collator and, cough, caliber changes.)
Buy a Tube Kit and in 15 minutes or so you are feeding one caliber just fine. However, if you are willing to spend a weekend making clear tube adaptors, once done, in another 10 minutes or so you can change the internal plastic fingers to another caliber and load what evel pistol caliber you want...with the same ease. Plus you will have one more advantage: you can load multiple 36" long tubes full of bullets while you watch TV. Four tubes of .40 S&W, for example, is 232 bullets @ 58 bullets apiece. Loading those will be a nice project to keep the hands busy during CSI.
But do you want to bother with all that? Some will and some won't see the value. Of course nothing says you can't buy or make a collator to go with it.
BTW, whether you buy RCBS's Tube Feeders, Universal Die, or the whole tamale complete with collator, you will want to collect RCBS's new powder expanders for the Uniflow, one for each caliber you want to use a bullet feeder for. Life will be much easier. They work exceptionally well, and free up a station on your progressive. RCBS Powder Expander link. No longer do you have to mod a Uniflow with Hornady linkage and expanders.
Die opening: .627"
Okay here's how to make the Universal Die work with out the collator:
First materials (assuming you want four bullet tubes in the two sizes): Buy 1-- 5/8" tube. Buy 5--9/16" tubes (one for the adapter, 4 for .45ACP/.40 S&W.) Buy 1--1/2" tube, and finally buy 4--7/16" tubes (you will not need an extra one of this size.) My source is the Lee Thinwall tubing purchased freight-free HERE [lnt.com] .
The following pictures demonstrate what worked simple and slick for me:
(excuse the close up camera lens's fish eye view that made some of the tubing look floppy. These are rigid thin wall tubing...straight as arrows.)
ABOVE: This shows all the adaptors and the die and the bullet tubing. the 7/16 and the 1/2 inch tubes were labeled wrong on the left. In both labels "cplr" should have read "stop". Just above the die is the 5/8" tubing that fits the hole in the die nicely if you cut a 2" long slit in one end...then will it slide right in down to the ledge built in to the die. (that ledge also stops RCBS's sleeves). All the tube adaptors shown stop at the same spot.
ABOVE: This picture shows the 5/8" sleeve fully inserted into the die, resting on the ledge mentioned above.
(I made this harder to see than it should've been. This and the next pictures are 180 degrees turned from the picture that shows all the parts...sorry) Anyway picture above shows the 9/16 tube, with a piece of 5/8" tube, super-glued over it, to make both the stop and a sleeve coupler. 9/16" Bullet tubes slide right in to the coupler.
I cut it a little long, glued the coupler on, when dry I slid the part into the 5/8" adapter and ground the tip to match the 5/8" piece (where it rests on the die's inner ledge.) This is the .45 cal setup. Don't forget to change the fingers for the caliber you are loading. Changing the fingers is the only slow part. That by itself will probably get you buy extra bodies one day.
ABOVE: Now the next piece (the 1/2" tube) is slid in. Notice the two stops in the 5/8" adaptor. This size centers .40 cal into the .40 cal fingers. I'm showing a 9/16" bullet tube ready to slide in. Both .45 and .40 use that size tubing, but the .40 needs the smaller tube inside to center it. Important: bevel the 1/2 tube where the stop is glued on or the bullets will hang up there. I used a case chamfer tool to do it.
ABOVE: Last is the 7/16" tube. I saw no point in making an adaptor/coupler since this size bullet tube centers all of them (.380,9mm,.357,and .38) So I just glued a stop on each bullet tube. This is designed to be used inside all the other sizes. Push in the 5/8" adaptor, then the .45 reducer, then the .40 reducer, then just drop in the 5/8" bullet tubes. Again the stops are glued in so that the bottom is at the same depth into the die as all the rest. Really simple to do if you just put all the parts together outside the die.
ABOVE: This picture shows it with all the sleeves in....ready to do 9mm or .357....assuming you remember to get the right fingers in. Hope this saves you a little time from having to reinvent the wheel.
Note on working with the tubing: I cut all the tubing to size by screwing my vice in a little smaller than the tubing I'm about to cut. Then I just lay it in the groove and use a razor saw. Razor saws are found at hobby stores and have very fine teeth. They cut these tubes like butter. Then I grind them smooth by using my bench grinder (using the side of the wheel). It makes a super smooth edge that you just clean up with your finger nail.
Sorry this is so danged wordy. Making this project is a simple 1 hour project. The most important skill you need is......the patience to read this carefully.
Oh! One more important thing. The die body is the same, no matter what caliber, no matter which product. Therefore buyers of the Tube Loaders who want long tubes.....betcha these thinwall Lee tubes will couple to them....
Anyway, let's look at the difference between the Universal Bullet Feeder Die I have and the new RCBS Tube Feeders.
RCBS Tube Bullet Feeder Kits:
They are indeed caliber specific, kind of. It comes in 4 kits,
1. .45ACP
2. .40/10mm.
3. .380, .357/.38, and 9mm for bullets 90 to 158 grain.
4. .357/.38 for bullets 158 to 180 grain.
The way they make them caliber specific is they furnish only one size sleeve (the part that funnels the bullet into the center of the die's "fingers", and they only supply that caliber's fingers. RCBS sells two sizes of tubes and you get 2 of the size for the specified kit you ordered....small for 9mm/.357, and large for .40/.45.
RCBS Universal Bullet Feeder Die is not caliber specific, but neither is it a product complete:
The Universal is One die with all the fingers to do most pistol calibers, BUT, it comes with no tubes and no caliber sleeves.
What the? Well RCBS added the Universal to its product line to give buyers of their Pistol Bullet Feeder/Collator a way to populate die heads set up for different calibers. (Progressive or turret). That means....no buy the expensive tool with the sleeves...no get sleeves and the universal is worthless.................unless you make your own.
The Universal is about the same price as a tube die kit. So, if you want to load all the other calibers available, with the Tube Feeder Kits you will have to pay the money for four of them. Which ain't that bad really, and most people will do that...its only 30 bucks a pop. (Okay $120 isn't small change except when compared to a product complete with collator and, cough, caliber changes.)
Buy a Tube Kit and in 15 minutes or so you are feeding one caliber just fine. However, if you are willing to spend a weekend making clear tube adaptors, once done, in another 10 minutes or so you can change the internal plastic fingers to another caliber and load what evel pistol caliber you want...with the same ease. Plus you will have one more advantage: you can load multiple 36" long tubes full of bullets while you watch TV. Four tubes of .40 S&W, for example, is 232 bullets @ 58 bullets apiece. Loading those will be a nice project to keep the hands busy during CSI.
But do you want to bother with all that? Some will and some won't see the value. Of course nothing says you can't buy or make a collator to go with it.
BTW, whether you buy RCBS's Tube Feeders, Universal Die, or the whole tamale complete with collator, you will want to collect RCBS's new powder expanders for the Uniflow, one for each caliber you want to use a bullet feeder for. Life will be much easier. They work exceptionally well, and free up a station on your progressive. RCBS Powder Expander link. No longer do you have to mod a Uniflow with Hornady linkage and expanders.
Die opening: .627"
Okay here's how to make the Universal Die work with out the collator:
First materials (assuming you want four bullet tubes in the two sizes): Buy 1-- 5/8" tube. Buy 5--9/16" tubes (one for the adapter, 4 for .45ACP/.40 S&W.) Buy 1--1/2" tube, and finally buy 4--7/16" tubes (you will not need an extra one of this size.) My source is the Lee Thinwall tubing purchased freight-free HERE [lnt.com] .
The following pictures demonstrate what worked simple and slick for me:
(excuse the close up camera lens's fish eye view that made some of the tubing look floppy. These are rigid thin wall tubing...straight as arrows.)
ABOVE: This shows all the adaptors and the die and the bullet tubing. the 7/16 and the 1/2 inch tubes were labeled wrong on the left. In both labels "cplr" should have read "stop". Just above the die is the 5/8" tubing that fits the hole in the die nicely if you cut a 2" long slit in one end...then will it slide right in down to the ledge built in to the die. (that ledge also stops RCBS's sleeves). All the tube adaptors shown stop at the same spot.
ABOVE: This picture shows the 5/8" sleeve fully inserted into the die, resting on the ledge mentioned above.
(I made this harder to see than it should've been. This and the next pictures are 180 degrees turned from the picture that shows all the parts...sorry) Anyway picture above shows the 9/16 tube, with a piece of 5/8" tube, super-glued over it, to make both the stop and a sleeve coupler. 9/16" Bullet tubes slide right in to the coupler.
I cut it a little long, glued the coupler on, when dry I slid the part into the 5/8" adapter and ground the tip to match the 5/8" piece (where it rests on the die's inner ledge.) This is the .45 cal setup. Don't forget to change the fingers for the caliber you are loading. Changing the fingers is the only slow part. That by itself will probably get you buy extra bodies one day.
ABOVE: Now the next piece (the 1/2" tube) is slid in. Notice the two stops in the 5/8" adaptor. This size centers .40 cal into the .40 cal fingers. I'm showing a 9/16" bullet tube ready to slide in. Both .45 and .40 use that size tubing, but the .40 needs the smaller tube inside to center it. Important: bevel the 1/2 tube where the stop is glued on or the bullets will hang up there. I used a case chamfer tool to do it.
ABOVE: Last is the 7/16" tube. I saw no point in making an adaptor/coupler since this size bullet tube centers all of them (.380,9mm,.357,and .38) So I just glued a stop on each bullet tube. This is designed to be used inside all the other sizes. Push in the 5/8" adaptor, then the .45 reducer, then the .40 reducer, then just drop in the 5/8" bullet tubes. Again the stops are glued in so that the bottom is at the same depth into the die as all the rest. Really simple to do if you just put all the parts together outside the die.
ABOVE: This picture shows it with all the sleeves in....ready to do 9mm or .357....assuming you remember to get the right fingers in. Hope this saves you a little time from having to reinvent the wheel.
Note on working with the tubing: I cut all the tubing to size by screwing my vice in a little smaller than the tubing I'm about to cut. Then I just lay it in the groove and use a razor saw. Razor saws are found at hobby stores and have very fine teeth. They cut these tubes like butter. Then I grind them smooth by using my bench grinder (using the side of the wheel). It makes a super smooth edge that you just clean up with your finger nail.
Sorry this is so danged wordy. Making this project is a simple 1 hour project. The most important skill you need is......the patience to read this carefully.
Oh! One more important thing. The die body is the same, no matter what caliber, no matter which product. Therefore buyers of the Tube Loaders who want long tubes.....betcha these thinwall Lee tubes will couple to them....
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