I love new toys. Well, I came home with a Summit today....they had them at Sportsman's Warehouse. I will do a proper review (will take some time of course), but out of the box and sitting (not anchored) on the bench I had a few revelations....some I was warned about by Pete in the quote below, but none that concern me much yet. This is one different design. First read Pete's take on the press at the show in Texas where he saw one.
Thinking about it, I did not like the roughness of the casting or how it was mounted on the frame. When I operated it, the unit tended to twist on the table which I took to be the small footprint of the base. It was definitely rough to to operate, which even for a new tool I was surprised at. One thing I did note is the looseness (for lack of a better word) of the press when halfway up. It was not a lot but noticeable. I have that same looseness in my Pro2000 (after 300,000 rnds) and my rockchucker. I am not referring to the ram being loose, just the linkages. If I were RCBS I would have at least lightly greased the unit after setup.
First thing, that amazes me is RCBS is still inept at shows and promotion. You'd think they would take a little time and set up the press properly. They did the same thing with the bench swager last year.
Now Pete's concern about the
rough casting is a surprise. I didn't see anything I'm concerned about on mine excepting the question whether the linkage is big enough. Time will tell.
The
want-to-twist he mentioned is inherent in such a design, for which they have a big 1/4" deep and wide groove down the back of the ram and two bolts in the back of the casting that go into the groove to prevent twisting. I haven't noticed much play there yet, but I haven't given it a workout with a large rifle case either. Don't know whether the adjustment at the show was right or even tight....we will see.
The bolts through the base will need to be sized maximum for the holes and tight. The holes in the RCBS plate may not be big enough....sleeves needed in that case. I don't use the plate, but I might for this press, just to be able to take it down and take it to the range........well I might....
The
looseness he experienced? Mine isn't....at all. In fact all the linkage is adjustable for that. Which brings up the biggest surprise for me.
Rough to Operate: If you are expecting a greased pig sort of feeling (like a Rockchucker) when the ram is raised and lowered...well get over it....ain't going to happen...not a part of this new design. You have a die mounted to the ram that moves up and down over the case. Obviously, if the ram is frictionless, the ram will just fall on the case from above. That doesn't happen....in fact when adjusted right it stays where ever you put it in it's stroke. That will take some getting use to...in fact, you hear this gnarly machine chatter as it strokes. I think that's why there is a grease fitting on the casting....needs it for this design to work. Mind you, it's not hard to operate....it just sounds like it is.
Edit: That last paragraph was a bunch of bull. Yup, didn't have a clue what I was talking about. Today I took the press apart, cleaned it up, sanded off a couple of burrs, lubed the ram and linkage with marine white grease, reassembled, tightened the linkage up properly, and.........yes, the RCBS greased and smooth baby's butt is still alive and well. gnarly machine chatter....gone.
The directions say to tighten the linkage a tad until the ram stays put when you let the handle loose, through out the stroke.
Edit: Well, rereading that....I discovered they are referring only to when the press is used with the short handle to seat bullets....as a way to limit unnecessary travel.....turns out that won't work with the long handle....I tightened all I could and it still is too frictionless to stay put.....maybe without the extra weight of the long handle.....but hell I don't care....this feels like a quality Rock Chucker now. Smooth as glass, and the only play is a tiny bit of side-to-side...about right to center a case in the die. Not disappointed yet.....
I'll let y'all know when I wring this out and figure out its niche if there is one. For now, its my new toy. I love new toys to take apart and figure out.
I do love the open front and small foot print. Stay tuned.