CYanchycki
Club Coordinator
I know there are some pretty smart fellows on this forum, MOST smarter than me.
I bought 2 used presses with no catchers. The last shoot I was at between myself and the guy next to me it was like walking on a floor of marbles. I had to do something so this is my take instead of getting one from RCBS.
Simple yet effective.
How many of you have heard the question on numerous forums, where has the primer catcher gone for the RCBS Partner Press? That is the same question I asked myself when I purchased 2 used presses from a local shooter. There is nothing to catch the spent primers I thought?
Oh well. I will just let them fall on the floor and sweep or vacuum them up when I am finished loading. This is until you go to a match and you and the fellow next to you and the fellow next all start spewing primers all over the floor of the loading shed. Before you know it the floor is acting as if a bag of marbles is strewn all over it.
I hate having to clean up primers.
I had been advised to contact RCBS and get a new primer catcher. I figured it was not worth the hassle and the cost of postage which was almost equivalent to the cost of the catcher itself.
I also found out after talking to a shooting buddy of mine that it had a tendency to fall off the press and was not reliable in catching the spent primers. This made me want a primer catcher even less. I decided to solve the problem of spent primers all over the floor myself.
I sat for about 10 minutes staring at the press trying to figure out how I could attach something to the side of it that the primers could fall into. I wondered where I could find something that I may be able to utilize to attach to the side of the press to catch the primers. The recycling bin I thought. See I am a believer in recycling. I went rummaging through it and grabbed numerous plastic containers to see if any would work. I just could not find anything that fit what I was looking to achieve. I started to feel a little down until I decided to hit my favorite place The Garage. I scanned the walls and shelves and out popped what I was looking for. A length of light walled 2” aluminum pipe. I smile came to my face. I had what I was looking for and the idea popped right into my head.
I grabbed the pipe and headed for the house where the press was. I held the pipe alongside the press to figure out how I was going to cut it. I grabbed the hacksaw and made the first cut at about 45 degrees. I then set it beside the press and decided where to make the second cut. I now had my pipe cut but needed something to cap the one end. Low and behold was a roll of aluminum tape sitting on the shelf of my loading room “The Cave”. It was perfect. Put a couple of layers and it sealed off the end. I now had my primer catcher.
The final step was how I was going to fasten the catcher to the press. That ended up being an easy decision. You know that primer arm which most Bench rest shooters do not use? The one that so few use and remove. You know that empty hole that is left after the pin is pushed out to remove the primer arm? It is the perfect place to attach the catcher to the press with a small bolt and wing nut. I held the catcher along side the press to where I thought was a good spot to catch the primers marked the hole on the catcher and drilled a hole into my newly fabricated primer catcher. I stuck a small bolt thru the catcher, into the hole of the press and fastened down with a small wing nut. I now had a primer catcher to try out.
It worked almost flawlessly except for the odd primer that would fall out the front of where the primer arm used to go. Easy fix for that as per my buddies idea. A small piece of tubing cut and stuffed into the front where the primer arm was located. I just cut it so there was a v-notch to straddle the opening on the bottom end of the primer arm opening and cut the top flat just long enough for a friction fit.
I had solved my spent primer dilemma. It works 100%. No primers on the floor and no catcher falling off of the press.
To construct one you can use just about anything you desire. This just gives you an idea of what I did to solve what I thought was a problem. Round or square tubing, PVC pipe, and ABS pipe are all viable materials. You are only limited by your own imagination.
I have since made a few more for my other presses. I have sealed the ends by epoxing a light piece of plastic from a lid like found on a ice cream pail.
Good luck in constructing your own primer catcher.
Calvin
I bought 2 used presses with no catchers. The last shoot I was at between myself and the guy next to me it was like walking on a floor of marbles. I had to do something so this is my take instead of getting one from RCBS.
Simple yet effective.
How many of you have heard the question on numerous forums, where has the primer catcher gone for the RCBS Partner Press? That is the same question I asked myself when I purchased 2 used presses from a local shooter. There is nothing to catch the spent primers I thought?
Oh well. I will just let them fall on the floor and sweep or vacuum them up when I am finished loading. This is until you go to a match and you and the fellow next to you and the fellow next all start spewing primers all over the floor of the loading shed. Before you know it the floor is acting as if a bag of marbles is strewn all over it.
I hate having to clean up primers.
I had been advised to contact RCBS and get a new primer catcher. I figured it was not worth the hassle and the cost of postage which was almost equivalent to the cost of the catcher itself.
I also found out after talking to a shooting buddy of mine that it had a tendency to fall off the press and was not reliable in catching the spent primers. This made me want a primer catcher even less. I decided to solve the problem of spent primers all over the floor myself.
I sat for about 10 minutes staring at the press trying to figure out how I could attach something to the side of it that the primers could fall into. I wondered where I could find something that I may be able to utilize to attach to the side of the press to catch the primers. The recycling bin I thought. See I am a believer in recycling. I went rummaging through it and grabbed numerous plastic containers to see if any would work. I just could not find anything that fit what I was looking to achieve. I started to feel a little down until I decided to hit my favorite place The Garage. I scanned the walls and shelves and out popped what I was looking for. A length of light walled 2” aluminum pipe. I smile came to my face. I had what I was looking for and the idea popped right into my head.
I grabbed the pipe and headed for the house where the press was. I held the pipe alongside the press to figure out how I was going to cut it. I grabbed the hacksaw and made the first cut at about 45 degrees. I then set it beside the press and decided where to make the second cut. I now had my pipe cut but needed something to cap the one end. Low and behold was a roll of aluminum tape sitting on the shelf of my loading room “The Cave”. It was perfect. Put a couple of layers and it sealed off the end. I now had my primer catcher.
The final step was how I was going to fasten the catcher to the press. That ended up being an easy decision. You know that primer arm which most Bench rest shooters do not use? The one that so few use and remove. You know that empty hole that is left after the pin is pushed out to remove the primer arm? It is the perfect place to attach the catcher to the press with a small bolt and wing nut. I held the catcher along side the press to where I thought was a good spot to catch the primers marked the hole on the catcher and drilled a hole into my newly fabricated primer catcher. I stuck a small bolt thru the catcher, into the hole of the press and fastened down with a small wing nut. I now had a primer catcher to try out.
It worked almost flawlessly except for the odd primer that would fall out the front of where the primer arm used to go. Easy fix for that as per my buddies idea. A small piece of tubing cut and stuffed into the front where the primer arm was located. I just cut it so there was a v-notch to straddle the opening on the bottom end of the primer arm opening and cut the top flat just long enough for a friction fit.
I had solved my spent primer dilemma. It works 100%. No primers on the floor and no catcher falling off of the press.
To construct one you can use just about anything you desire. This just gives you an idea of what I did to solve what I thought was a problem. Round or square tubing, PVC pipe, and ABS pipe are all viable materials. You are only limited by your own imagination.
I have since made a few more for my other presses. I have sealed the ends by epoxing a light piece of plastic from a lid like found on a ice cream pail.
Good luck in constructing your own primer catcher.
Calvin
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