RCBS Rock Chucker primer catcher replacement project

[zambezi]

Anyone who uses a Rock Chucker Supreme will know it to be a great bit of kit. It fares well against more costly units in independent reviews. But it does have one really annoying achilles heel: the primer catcher yoke could easily become cockney rhyming slang. It really is hideously shoddy, loose-fitting, drops 10-20% of primers on the floor, etc. It looks to be an afterthought or something they remembered to add after they had shot the budget on the rest of the unit.

Many folk on YouTube agree that the OEM primer catcher is a joke. Some bright chap has spotted a market and can post you a 3-D printed replacement. But I decided to modify the supplied yoke and save a bit of dosh. The images are pretty self explanatory, but I will annotate where helpful.



Part of the problem is that plastic locating lugs and cast indents in frame deliver a sloppy fitment

Yoke is in two parts
Moulding diverts primers to RH tray

Remove redundant leg and attached tray

 

[zambezi]

...next
lop off catcher tray

Fit new catcher tube to stump and drill yoke to take fastening wires

A furniture castor fitting pressed into service as a bung

Affixed to press with some spacer aluminium plate

Zero gap, works a treat, primer reservoir much larger and easier to empty. Seemples

 

[eldon]

One solution
On mine, Where your aluminium plate is I just siliconed a short length of squidgy rubber hose to the gap to force the black plastic tight up to the back of the ram. This then made it more reliable with no gap and appears to have stopped "fliers".

 

[Hanechdene]

I found this on bay and it works so better than the original one

RCBS IV Supreme Rock Chucker reloading press enhanced primer catcher | eBay

No magnets or screws required. not work with any other model of RCBS Press. Excellent piece of kit. Massive upgrade. Better than the manufacturers attempt!

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[zambezi]

On mine, Where your aluminium plate is I just siliconed a short length of squidgy rubber hose to the gap to force the black plastic tight up to the back of the ram. This then made it more reliable with no gap and appears to have stopped "fliers".

That is a good [and quick] solution to the fliers and I trialled something like that to start. I found that the yoke fouled against the piston randomly but it did stop fliers. However it did not fix the pitiful tray capacity, nor the fiddly removal of a full tray: Perhaps I am a bit clumsy, but I have twanged the holder whilst removing from the press and sprayed the tray contents more than once.

 

[zambezi]

I found this on bay and it works so better than the original one

RCBS IV Supreme Rock Chucker reloading press enhanced primer catcher | eBay

No magnets or screws required. not work with any other model of RCBS Press. Excellent piece of kit. Massive upgrade. Better than the manufacturers attempt!

www.ebay.co.uk

That looks well specified. It is a bit poor that RCBS don't do something similar as the stock item

 

[Bavarianbrit]

But £16 + post for £0.20 of plastic, ouch.

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They are available as data all over the place today, my neighbour bought a 3d printer for £150 so must get into the game, ammo holders etc are all there.

 

[eldon]

nor the fiddly removal of a full tray: Perhaps I am a bit clumsy, but I have twanged the holder whilst removing from the press and sprayed the tray contents more than once.

LOL yes I don't think you're alone on that one...........
Nearly prised it off and oh 80ll0cks they've all gone all over the floor again!

 

[Steff]

Great stuff.
Just a pitty that the seating stem is out of alignment ...

 

[zambezi]

Great stuff.
Just a pitty that the seating stem is out of alignment ...

View attachment 149154

Laughing pretty hard. The green ring you have highlighted has nothing to do with the press. It is the shoulder of the powder thrower mounted next to it on the bench.

 

[Steff]

 

[1066]

I made a limited run of these primer catchers for the RCBS Supreme some time ago.

 

[zambezi]

I made a limited run of these primer catchers for the RCBS Supreme some time ago.

Do you drill and tap the press to take the hex bolt shown at top of catcher mouth?

 

[1066]

n

Do you drill and tap the press to take the hex bolt shown at top of catcher mouth?

No not at all. There is a captive nut embedded in the plastic and the hex bolt is pressing up against the press body, adjusting the hex bolt inward forces the catcher back closer to the ram, just need to adjust it on initial set-up for minimum clearance .

 

[phaedra]

Alan, did you make any in left handed? I use the In-Line Fabrication press mount and case ejection system with a primer catcher I got from eBay US (PCat2) but the quality isn't great and it's already snapped twice so I'm looking for a replacement.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

The CAD must be able to mirror the data then just print it out. Could be a little money maker for someone.

 

[1066]

Alan, did you make any in left handed? I use the In-Line Fabrication press mount and case ejection system with a primer catcher I got from eBay US (PCat2) but the quality isn't great and it's already snapped twice so I'm looking for a replacement.

I did do a few left handed ones but unfortunately none left - I went through about 20 prototypes before I was satisfied with the end result.

 

[reiver]

I just have a old paint bucket under the press to catch my primers !
but I do think you solution looks a lot nicer and I agree about Rcbs and an afterthought
R

 

[AN DU RU FOX]

I just made a cardboard box covered in duct tape about 6x4 inches.

 

[zambezi]

One final embellishment to the primer catcher: a ramp to prevent accrual of ejected primers in the horizontal mouth of the catcher.

The primer catcher mouth's floor is parallel to the ground and so it can and does get choked with primers...

No biggie, but irritating. Periodically you have to poke them through with a pencil

My fix was to build a curved "helter skelter" type step using a dremel...

...such that all primers caught are ushered to the exit. [wood was sanded to be a tight interference fit and isn't budging]