Reloading Press Help

[DoneNOut]

Both bolts are in single shear, so the toggle reacts by flexing in that failure area. Probably cast iron construction so it isn't flexing much before breaking. A plate stock replacement and machined to replicate the toggle would help, but still in single shear, so the bolts would take the brunt.
Bad design. By the time you rebuilt it, it would be better money to buy a different press.

They should have never made the cut out in the toggle. I read it was for installing 50bmg or taller type competition dies.

 

[MtPockets]

It's cast iron. I wouldn't sell knowing it has this defect. I might just have an expensive decapper and bullet seater press.

I got an RCBS rebel press as a backup waiting for these parts to arrive. It has its own issues, like the press handle on the down stroke is literally at my shins with it flush mounted to the bench. Got a 4" inline fab mount coming for it. Never expected this much trouble with single stage presses in 2023!

Funny you should mention the Rebel.
I was thinking of getting either a Rebel or a Lee Classic Cast.

 

[asd9055]

Funny you should mention the Rebel.
I was thinking of getting either a Rebel or a Lee Classic Cast.

Just find a USED old RockChucker IV. Made in USA. You will never regret it for a single stage.

 

[DoneNOut]

Funny you should mention the Rebel.
I was thinking of getting either a Rebel or a Lee Classic Cast.

The Rebel press:

The two mounting points without a rear mount bolt is odd. There is a lot of mass ahead of the mounts and with just the two centered mounting bolts, it becomes a fulcrum point under pressure. I'm considering drilling a hole to install a rear bolt to secure the back. About where I have the lag bolt in the pic:

 

[asd9055]

The Rebel press:

The two mounting points without a rear mount bolt is odd. There is a lot of mass ahead of the mounts and with just the two centered mounting bolts, it becomes a fulcrum point under pressure. I'm considering drilling a hole to install a rear bolt to secure the back. About where I have the lag bolt in the pic:
View attachment 478073
View attachment 478074

The rock chucker is similar. No need for a third bolt, just mount it on a nice string base. My workbench top is 2x6 laid on its side. Has works since the 89s

 

[PddPdd]

I think the issue may be the load path is not very straight going through the toggle. The non-linear load path is probably inducing side loads into the cast iron toggle that is relatively weak in bending (side loads).

I think your idea of a single bolt replacing the two bolts with a spacer in the middle to keep the linkages aligned might work.

 

[Bob Wright]

RCBS Summit Upgrade

www.trapshooters.com

Hmmm...

This would help. In place of the single shear and two bolts, a high tensile strength pin would reduce the flexing of the new toggle. I was going to recommend an A286 bolt material.
The key here is tight clearance of all the parts the pin is riding in, would be an advantage.

 

[DoneNOut]

I think the issue may be the load path is not very straight going through the toggle. The non-linear load path is probably inducing side loads into the cast iron toggle that is relatively weak in bending (side loads).

I think your idea of a single bolt replacing the two bolts with a spacer in the middle to keep the linkages aligned might work.

You are 100% correct. Like pushing on someone's shoulder and the other rotates forward.

 

[biednick]

Breakage is a relatively common problem with all cam over presses, not just the Summit. Set your dies so the ram doesn't contact the die before reaching the top of its travel. The instructions say to set the sizing die so it touches the ram then tighten it slightly. Don't tighten it beyond the point it touches the ram. You put a huge amount of stress on the press when you set the die according to the instructions. You essentially have to stretch the press to force it past the point of contact to the top of the ram's travel.

 

[DoneNOut]

Breakage is a relatively common problem with all cam over presses, not just the Summit. Set your dies so the ram doesn't contact the die before reaching the top of its travel. The instructions say to set the sizing die so it touches the ram then tighten it slightly. Don't tighten it beyond the point it touches the ram. You put a huge amount of stress on the press when you set the die according to the instructions. You essentially have to stretch the press to force it past the point of contact to the top of the ram's travel.

So, no shoulder bumping .002" then?

 

[biednick]

So, no shoulder bumping .002" then?

You're probably sizing more than that. When the shell holder contacts the bottom of the die you should be at the minimum case dimensions, which pushes the shoulder back more than .002" in all but the tightest of chambers.

Regardless, you're not pushing the case deeper into the die when it cams over. Once the shell holder contacts the bottom of the die it's as deep as it's going to go. If you need to push the shoulder back farther you'll need to take some material off the top of the shell holder or the bottom of the die.

 

[DoneNOut]

You're probably sizing more than that. When the shell holder contacts the bottom of the die you should be at the minimum case dimensions, which pushes the shoulder back more than .002" in all but the tightest of chambers.

Regardless, you're not pushing the case deeper into the die when it cams over. Once the shell holder contacts the bottom of the die it's as deep as it's going to go. If you need to push the shoulder back farther you'll need to take some material off the top of the shell holder or the bottom of the die.

I'm gonna have to ponder this a bit. For many years I set the dies so they bump .002-003" from fired length. I have minimum headspace settings, so for instance, my 308 WIN fires to 1.610. I size them back to 1.608 based upon my comparator. I have set the dies too deep before and got 1.604.

Now, I haven't looked at the die shell holder relationship before, just set the dies for that .002" bump. Maybe this is why they have the Redding competition shell holders at .002" increments...

 

[CA48]

That's pretty ironic for a press with a 2" ram.
Would nice if they'd give you a toggle without the cut out.
Or get the one they give you and take it to a machine shop and see if they could make you one without the cutout.
Or put the new toggle in sell it and get a Lee classic cast. I've used both and prefer the Lee but nothing wrong with the summit.

 

[biednick]

I'm gonna have to ponder this a bit. For many years I set the dies so they bump .002-003" from fired length. I have minimum headspace settings, so for instance, my 308 WIN fires to 1.610. I size them back to 1.608 based upon my comparator. I have set the dies too deep before and got 1.604.

Now, I haven't looked at the die shell holder relationship before, just set the dies for that .002" bump. Maybe this is why they have the Redding competition shell holders at .002" increments...

Those measurements are way shorter than they should be if you're measuring to the correct point on the shoulder for a headspace measurement. Your brass should be 1.634 -.007 from the base to the point where the shoulder is .4" in diameter. You're probably measuring with something that sit farther back on the shoulder, which is fine for relative measurements but not comparing to a specification or someone else's measurements.

It's pretty easy to check if you're making contact before the top of the stroke. If the handle stops before the end of its travel when there's not a case in the shell holder you're making contact. If it goes all the way down you're not. It's possible that your dies aren't set in a way that's stretching your press. I've seen a lot of cam over presses broken by people following the instructions to the letter, but I may have jumped to an incorrect conclusion about yours.

I'm not familiar with the exact design of Redding's shell holders, but they might not change the clearance between the holder and the die. There's a couple dimensions they could be changing to affect sizing.