Anyone use Inline Fab's case ejector system for RCBS Rockchucker Supreme single stage press?

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

It seems like a great idea for the first decapping/sizing/priming step and the last bullet seating/crimping step, though not for the flaring step as I move the flared case directly to the powder drop and then into the case tray to await bullets.

 

Any comments, positive or negative, by actual users? 

[Jim Brown]

I have had one on my Redding Big Boss a couple of years. Works great- Took a little while to adjust but once adjusted works very well.

However if you have shell holders with knurled edge that will not work.

Also, the little slide tray is held with velcro- I tend to knock it off.

 

I also have thier stand with bins to catch. Bins are to small so I put a larger bin to catch brass and just have a tray next to it for the supply.

 

Another Item that works well with RCBS and others is Primer Catcher. 

https://primercatchers.com/product-category/rcbs/

When I use my RCBS press this reduces the amount of primers that miss the tray and go everywhere.

 

 

 

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

Thanks, JB.  I already have the RCBS primer catcher and it does work well.

 

Still interested in users' experiences with it on a Rockchucker Supreme, specifically whether the ejection slide interferes with the primer seating arm.

[Jack Spade]

I have one on my rock chucker supreme that a guy 3d printed.  It works great for depriming, really speeds it up.  I am out of town at the moment but will see if I can find his contact information.  I think it cost $25.  He also makes a part that replaces the primer catch tray and shoots the spent primers down a tube into a container. 

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

Jack Spade, that's the primer catcher -- I've got the good one that is sold by Inline Fab, and it does work great.  I'm talking about a case kicker, which kicks the shell out of the shell holder at the bottom of the ram stroke.  Anyway, I emailed Inline Fab and they have now explained:

"During the priming operation, the spring needs to be disabled as the press is trying to prime as the kicker spring is trying to eject.   Works for all other operations."

Well, that means the device is pretty much useless as far as I'm concerned.  I decap, size, and prime in the same step, doing the first two operations on the ram's upstroke and the third on the downstroke; so the case kicker has to be disabled for that.  Next I flare the case mouth and pick the case off the shell holder and immediately charge it with powder before putting it into the case tray.  So the case kicker would be disabled for that step too.  All that's left is bullet seating and crimping.  Is it worth adding this contraption just to kick out completed rounds?  I can't see it saving much time in the overall process.

 

If priming is done in its own step, picking sized rounds out of a bin, then the kicker could be used for the decapping/sizing operation, but that just adds a step to the whole process.  Likewise, if charging flared cases is done in its own step by picking the cases out of a bin, then the kicker could be used for the flaring stage.  But that too just adds another step to the whole process.

 

I suppose if I were to do just one step of the reloading process during a session at the bench -- "today I'm going to decap/size 500 cleaned spent cases" or "today I'm going flare 500 primed cases" and do nothing else, then the device would make more sense to me.  But that's not what I do.  Should I be doing my reloading that way?  I'm very new to reloading and maybe that's the way it is supposed to be done with a single stage press?  I don't know.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

In thinking about it a bit more, I suppose I could change my process to the following:

 

1) with kicker enabled, pick case from bin of cleaned spent brass, decap/size cases using kicker to eject cases into bin

2) disable kicker; pick case from bin of decapped/sized brass, prime on the ram's downstroke, then flare on the upstroke, then pick off by hand and charge flared case, and put into case tray

3) enable kicker, pick charged cases from case tray, seat bullet and crimp, using kicker to eject completed rounds into bin.

 

The problem I see with this is that it makes simultaneous visual inspection of a batch of primed cases impossible, because the only time they are in the case tray is after the cases have been charged.  I currently do a visual inspection of all primers with the cases mouth down in the case tray.  Maybe that isn't a critical inspection?

 

I can see how eliminating use of the case tray at every step, that is, using it only after the flared cases have been charged, would speed up the process.  What do y'all think?

[Jack Spade]

He makes the case kicker also.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

Thanks Jack Spade.  I see in the photo that the priming arm has been removed.  I guess this means that you do not decap, size, and prime in the same step, right?

[Jack Spade]

No, I just deprime on this press before wet tumbling the brass.  I run the cleaned brass through my dillon 650 that does everything.  But I don't see any reason you couldn't deprime, size and prime with this pusher in place.  It even came with a discharge ramp.  Hooks on the press with rare earth magnets so it comes right off

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

Priming can't be done with the pusher in place because it will start to push the case off center of the shell holder before the rim of the primer has entered the primer cavity on the face of the case head.  According to Dan at Inline Fab, anyway.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

So I picked up the Inline Fab case kicker kit and installed it. 

Got it all adjusted and tried it on Step 1 of my revised sequence of steps, as mentioned above: "1) with kicker enabled, pick case from bin of cleaned spent brass, decap/size cases using kicker to eject cases into bin."  Wow, I can decap/size a large can of cleaned brass in a major hurry; I was averaging less than 2 seconds per case once I got the hang of how many to pick up with my left hand (I found that grabbing 3 at a time, all in the same upright orientation, was fastest).

Next I'm going to try Step 2, also as described above: "2) disable kicker; pick case from bin of decapped/sized brass, prime on the ram's downstroke, then flare on the upstroke, then pick off by hand and charge flared case, and put into case tray" -- that's a lot to do with each case, so it will go pretty slowly, I think.   It may make more sense to prime/flare the whole pile of cases, and then charge and place upright in case trays in a separate step.  I'll see how it goes.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

I dunno.  Seems like adding all this stuff to a single stage press is alot like adding a Drag Chute to a Turtle. 

 

Wouldn't it be a whole lot simpler, faster, more convenient and more fun to just go to a nice Progressive Press??  Sort of like what Dillon makes?? 

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

So I started by doing what I said I would, "2) disable kicker; pick case from bin of decapped/sized brass, prime on the ram's downstroke, then flare on the upstroke, then pick off by hand and charge flared case, and put into case tray," except that it was immediately clear that flaring first and then priming made much more sense, as the primer arm is in exactly the same position for placement of the primer on every stroke.  And it worked just fine, and wasn't as slow as I feared it would be.  So far, so good.

To respond to Colorado Coffinmaker, sure, a progressive press cranks out much more ammo in much less time.  But I simply don't reload enough to warrant it.  And like lots of folks say, I find I'm really enjoying the extreme "hands on" nature of using the Rock Chucker Supreme single stage press.  This latest addition just makes it a bit faster, and reduces some of the left arm/hand motion, which is all good.