primer tool

[pjf134]

Is anyone having trouble with a RCBS universal hand priming tool? Parts do not line up. Can not prime Rem 223 w/small rifle CCI primers in the RCBS universal hand held, but can in the Lee bench press using the same shell and primer that did not work in the RCBS unit. The center hole in the body seems to be off and wearing the plastic primer feed insert by elongating the hole each time it’s used. The tool works with 357 mag which has a rounded corner on the primer pocket and the 223 is square. Sending it back will be a 3 week wait judging from my last order. I do like the tool if only it will work. If someone has a fix I would like to hear from you. See pics for offset pin.
Paul

 

[genec]

If you are using old military Brass it may have a crimp on the primer pocket removing that first may solve your problem

 

[pjf134]

QUOTE=genec;268152]If you are using old military Brass it may have a crimp on the primer pocket removing that first may solve your problem[/QUOTE


I used a few different brass manufractures and it did the same thing. The only one I did not use was the 5.56 ones as they were in the tumbler and I figure they had a crimp before the Remington's did. Going by the pic I do think that if the center pin was in the center it might work better. Maybe a shim in the body to move over the pin might do the job, but it is tight in there to get it in.
Paul

 

[marcusp323]

Appears you have the wrong adapter in there. Supposed to be the white one. The black is for large primers. Unless the color shows up goofy in the pics, it looks black from where I sit.
Mark

 

[Jericho]

Pin being off center should not be affecting the tool as long as the pocket where the primer lays is centered with the pocket in the hull.
Some primers are slightly different between manufacturers. Since you appear to have used different brands of hulls, the primer
may be the problem(??). I would be wearing face shield and squeeze a little harder but not necessarily be recommending it if you
don't feel comfortable doing it. I never cared for the design of the RCBS and have had years of satisfaction with my Lee.
Is that supposed to be some kind of universal holder for hulls ?
I'd also bevel the primer pockets if this is the first time you've reloaded them.

 

[pjf134]

The tool uses spring plates instead of shell holders and works with most shells, but only used with 357and 223. I am using the right primer adapter (white) with the silver pin for small primers. The primer dia. for the 357 and 223 are the same, but the primer pocket are a little different which make the 357 easier I do think. The bench press with the Lee primer adapter works fine with the same shell and primer that did not work with the RCBS so the RCBS does not work the way it should. The shells I am using have been loaded before.
Paul

 

[bosephus]

my priming tool wore that plastic insert out just like yours is and gave me the same problems , i just drilled mine out and epoxied in an aluminum bushing .
problem solved .

on a side note ... rcbs has very good customer service , send them an email with the pic and i'll bet money they send you a new one without any hassles

 

[pjf134]

I did finally get the hand primer tool to work by cutting the crimp in the primer pocket down a little more. It worked well with the add on bench primer tools but did not like the hand tool, so from now on I have to chamfer the crimp a bit more to make it work right. The shells that did not have the crimps do work fine, just the ones I was using first had the crimps cut down just not far enough for this tool. I still am going to add a shim inside the plastic so it does not wear out so much, but RCBS sent me a new one and I will use the old one to play with after I get more shells loaded. I did about 30 with no problems after I cut the crimp down some more.
Paul

 

[Defens]

RCBS has a primer pocket staging tool to remove the crimp in mil-spec brass. It reforms the metal without removing it - works very nicely!

 

[pjf134]

I did see the swage tool, but have been using the deburring tool and it worked good. I got a countersink tool and will be trying that to see how it works and maybe put it in the lathe to speed things up. I have been getting a lot of crimped brass lately from law enforcement guys and have a lot of 40 S&W coming from qual. day for my son-in-law and will have to find the best way to get crimp out before doing those.
Paul