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Rocky’s Reloading Room |
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RCBS Primer Tray Modification – a DIY.
For more than 30 years, I’ve cursed and sworn at that little U-shaped plastic tray that catches the spent primers on my RCBS press. The darn tray is ALWAYS full, and it’s ALWAYS loose, and it ALWAYS dumps primers on the floor when I remove it for emptying. Until now. Now it’s NEVER full, NEVER comes loose, and NEVER needs emptying. Did I give up reloading? Nope.
I had a brainstorm. What if I could somehow attach a tube to the bottom of the lowest part of the tray? I could then lead that tube straight to a wastebasket. Spent primers would simply roll down the tube automatically and dispose of themselves. Too simple to work? For once, it’s not.
I scouted around in my piles of “I’ll find a use for this someday” stuff and found a short piece of aluminum tubing. It measured just over a quarter inch inside and about three-eighths-inch outside diameter. I cut off a piece about two inches long and flared one end with a plumbing flare tool. Thin-wall copper or any other soft metal would work as easily. Then I removed the catch tray and punched a tiny hole through the very bottom with an ice pick. I carefully enlarged the hole with a 3/8” drill bit until the tubing was a snug fit, then pushed the tubing through from the top so that the slight flare on the top end kept it from going all the way through. Finally, I spread a little silicone caulk around the joint both inside and out and set the tray aside to dry.
With the tray installed, I slipped a piece of plastic tubing over the aluminum tube, led the plastic tube down and cut it off just below the rim of my wastebasket. Done. Now when I deprime, most of the spent primers roll to the lowest part of the plastic catch tray, then down the plastic tube to the wastebasket all by themselves. Those that remain in the top part of tray can be swept to the bottom with a finger or Popsicle stick.
Now, to keep the tray more firmly in place, I punched two more small holes at the upper rear of the tray just below where the factory-supplied little arch of plastic snaps into the tray to keep it on the press. I carefully bent two short pieces of coat hanger wire into hooks and clamped them into place through the holes. To mount the tray, I stretch a rubber band or two around the back of the press and onto these two hooks. The rubber bands do about a 1000% better job than the factory method.
The photos show clearly what I’m trying to describe above. If you have an RCBS press with a similar tray, modify yours today. |
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The tube is installed. Note the silicone sealer and the rubber hose clamped to the metal tube. Hose leads to a wastebasket below. |
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Two clips made of coat hanger are attached to the tray, and a rubber band holds it securely in place. |