Like many others, I've been annoyed by the rock chucker's inability to catch all spent primers, leaving a bunch in my lap, on the floor, etc. While the black plastic catcher that comes with the press does a so-so job of catching them, it fills up quickly and is a PITA to remove with a bunch of spent primers. In preparation for acquiring a Dillon 550, I decided to turn my rockchucker into a dedicated decapping press to keep the Dillon clean of all the nasty primer residue.
I saw how some people had used vynil tubing to catch primers off of their dillons and other presses where the primers drop through the ram and figured a quick trip to Home Depot would produce something usable.
My solution to this:
After looking around on the plumbing aisle for a bit, here's what I came up with: a PVC 3/4" 45 degree elbow fitting, a PVC 1/2" plug (this is the kind that slides inside the elbow fitting with a flat base - not a cap), and a Watts 1/2" x 3/8" Plastic Slip x MPT Connector. I used a dremel tool to bevel the portion of the plug that goes inside the elbow to prevent any primers from getting hung up on the ledge. I then cut a rough hole in the plug wide enough to fit the 1/2" to 3/8" fitting in. I then trimmed the smooth side of the fitting down to 1/8" inch or so with a cut-off wheel so it was just long enough to fit the same depth of the hole and be glued in place. I beveled this piece as well to prevent any primers from getting hung up. I then glued the 1/2" to 3/8" fitting into the plug, and glued the plug into the elbow. For the primer slot from the ram to the unit, I took the dremel tool and cut a groove down the side of the elbow that faces you when you use the press to catch the primers. I eyeballed the section of the ram that is cut out and cut the PVC portion just a hair wider and deeper to ensure the primers would fall into it and then finished it off with some light sanding. Because the outer diameter of the 3/4" PVC is just a hair too thick to mount between the ram and the back of the press without rubbing, I took some sandpaper to the assembled unit and sanded off about an 1/8" or so to allow the ram to move up and down without brushing the PVC. You can opt to use a smaller PVC elbow size, however this works perfectly from what I've seen because there's not enough room for the primer to go anywhere other than the hole. Finally I then threaded the vynil tubing onto the 1/2" to 3/8" fitting and drilled some holes on the backside toward the top so I could use some zipties to mount it around my press. ALL primers now fall down into the tube to whatever receptacle works for you. Unlike the old catcher's Sex Panther success rate (60% of the time, every time) this one actually works 100% of the time.
Links to parts - again, double check for fit of each item in store as I don't remember 100% the exact sizes I bought:
http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Pipes-...catalogId=10053
http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Pipes-...catalogId=10053
http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Pipes-...catalogId=10053
http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Pipes-...catalogId=10053
I saw how some people had used vynil tubing to catch primers off of their dillons and other presses where the primers drop through the ram and figured a quick trip to Home Depot would produce something usable.
My solution to this:
After looking around on the plumbing aisle for a bit, here's what I came up with: a PVC 3/4" 45 degree elbow fitting, a PVC 1/2" plug (this is the kind that slides inside the elbow fitting with a flat base - not a cap), and a Watts 1/2" x 3/8" Plastic Slip x MPT Connector. I used a dremel tool to bevel the portion of the plug that goes inside the elbow to prevent any primers from getting hung up on the ledge. I then cut a rough hole in the plug wide enough to fit the 1/2" to 3/8" fitting in. I then trimmed the smooth side of the fitting down to 1/8" inch or so with a cut-off wheel so it was just long enough to fit the same depth of the hole and be glued in place. I beveled this piece as well to prevent any primers from getting hung up. I then glued the 1/2" to 3/8" fitting into the plug, and glued the plug into the elbow. For the primer slot from the ram to the unit, I took the dremel tool and cut a groove down the side of the elbow that faces you when you use the press to catch the primers. I eyeballed the section of the ram that is cut out and cut the PVC portion just a hair wider and deeper to ensure the primers would fall into it and then finished it off with some light sanding. Because the outer diameter of the 3/4" PVC is just a hair too thick to mount between the ram and the back of the press without rubbing, I took some sandpaper to the assembled unit and sanded off about an 1/8" or so to allow the ram to move up and down without brushing the PVC. You can opt to use a smaller PVC elbow size, however this works perfectly from what I've seen because there's not enough room for the primer to go anywhere other than the hole. Finally I then threaded the vynil tubing onto the 1/2" to 3/8" fitting and drilled some holes on the backside toward the top so I could use some zipties to mount it around my press. ALL primers now fall down into the tube to whatever receptacle works for you. Unlike the old catcher's Sex Panther success rate (60% of the time, every time) this one actually works 100% of the time.
Links to parts - again, double check for fit of each item in store as I don't remember 100% the exact sizes I bought:
http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Pipes-...catalogId=10053
http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Pipes-...catalogId=10053
http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Pipes-...catalogId=10053
http://www.homedepot.com/Plumbing-Pipes-...catalogId=10053
