rcbs uniflow locked up

I went over to my buddies last night to assist him with loading 22-250. he used to load back in the 90s-early 2000's but gave it up until the other day he pulled out his stuff. the thrower seem to be locked up and he said after spraying the drum and all moving parts with wd 40 it will not move. I tried last night and the little nipple im guessing to adjust charge wont move and the handle will not rotate the drum.

any advice here?

 

Make sure the measuring stem does not have the rotor locked .... turn it out some and tap the rotor with a hammer ... Lightly....

 

Following up on what Jim said,

Did you loosen the lock ring on the metering screw?
If yes and the screw would still not move, did you try twisting it with pliers? (using a rag to protect the knurling on the screw)
If yes, then with the metering screw backed out some distance, was the rotor still stuck?

If yes to all of the above, call RCBS. They may well send you new parts or a new assembly free of charge. My experience with them has been a no questions asked replacement policy for broken parts. ymmv

 

When You get it free...****** it out with some solvent or carb cleaner(careful on the paint) as WD40 will eventually gum up.

Did he WD40 it when he last put it away? If so...I'd bet a dollar the WD40 had turned to varnish. And gummed up the works.

 

Loose the WD40 for some good penetrating oil like Kroil. Kroil will penetrate and allow you to get things moving again. Let it soak for several hours or even over night. Then test to see if it will move. If not do some light tapping on the parts to help break up the rust and allow the oil to penetrate to those places that are still frozen up.

If you have a ultrasonic cleaner it is great for this kind of stuff. The sound waves just allows the oil to work faster penetrating the hard to get to spots.

 

What product would be good to use on the drum to keep it moving freely?

 

Graphite...

 

Back in 2014, when my 21 year reloading hiatus ended, I had to do some major restoration on the reloading equipment. I took the powder measure apart, cleaned it thoroughly, buffed the raised edges of the powder measure body with a piece of denim until they stopped looking dull (but not shiny) and then reassembled it using some Lee resizing lubricant on the outer edges of the drum. More or less every year thereafter, I tear it down and do the same thing and it has worked perfectly.

 

I'm not sure if he did that or not. I was looking at it but i have a lee so its quite different then what I'm used to. I seen what looked like the nipple or the charge adjust and it was seized up.

 

Here are some instructions on the Uniflow. It will help with troubleshooting and disassembly.

Uniflow_Powder_Measure_Instructions.pdf

 

I have two that were given to me in similar condition, the Kroil is the thing to use. If needed after an overnight soak, use a hair drier to warm the drum. Simply set it upright, drop in a couple of "drops" of Kroil, (it goes a LONG ways), then heat up the drum. The Kroil will get into places other things simply cannot, and it will break it free.

Once you have it freed up, use some mild scotch brite or similar type cleaning pad to clean up the areas most effected. Don't use steel wool, brass woll would be fine as long as it isn't brass coated steel. The steel will leave particles which will rust right back up. When you have it all cleaned up, you can use some denatured alcohol to degrease it, and then use the graphite to lube it. I have gone so far as to use Johnson's Paste Wax on everything first simply to help avoid surface rust again since I live in a VERY humid area.

Hope you get it working.

 

My only lube in the Uniflow is the powder that passes through it.

 

I'd go with Kroil, but if the area you are using can't be ventilated well, do it outside. Otherwise the smell of the stuff will have your wife really pissed off!

Mike

 

I've used aerosol graphite lubricant. Make sure the carrier fluid has dried before putting powder in the measure.

 

I've been using the same Uniflow powder measure since 1976... never had it lock up... never took it apart... never lubed it.... the plastic hopper is however developing some stress cracks.