Reloading press ram - a little wiggle ok?

[bookworm]

I have an old RCBS JR press and the ram has a small amount of "play". Is that okay? It is very slight, but when I extend the ram up out of the press I can wiggle it back and forth a bit.

I'm not sure if it is supposed to be rock solid with absolutely zero lateral play or if a tiny bit is ok.

 

[mo]

They are supposed to have a little play.

 

[flashhole]

My Reddings don't have any "play" they are very solid and tight. Call RCBS and ask. They may replace it for free.

 

[boomtube]

"...the ram has a small amount of "play". Is that okay?"

Not only is it okay, unless everything is perfectly aligned - ram, hole, threads, die, shell holder - and they rarely are, a bit of ram slack is actually beneficial for precision loading.

 

[nfhjr62]

For more info on your JR press go to the RCBS web site here http://www.rcbs.com/downloads/instructions/RS_or_JR_3_Manual.pdf
is a print of the JR press, i just made a print out myself as i'm going to use my JR press loading 223