building a progressive outfit

[longfellow]

Using either RCBS or Hornady as a platform (please no inquiries why
i am excluding Dillon) is there a way to make use of my existing
Redding powder measure and build up a progressive outfit? Basically
I am looking for a five-station frame on to which i can add a powder
drop through die with my measure, and my other dies. Manual
indexing and powder throwing are not an issue.
thanks
Ed

[Unclenick]

Yes. You want a Lyman Multi-Expander die. The top of the die body has a 7/8-14 female thread that my Redding BR-30 screws right into. If comes with powder-drop-through expanders for all the common pistol calibers and a straight non-expanding drop tube for rifle.

[AKhog]

Been using a Hornady Pro-Jector for 20+ years. Great quality 5 station press, would work great for your needs.

[GWS]

O.P. the answer to your question is yes, and it's not that hard.

Cfullgraf, has done it and it works quite well. Here's a link to his thread in thehighroad.org

I use the Hornady case activated linkage (and PTX's) on one of the RCBS Uniflows I use on my Pro 2000. Using a Redding on it would require about the same effort as Cfullgraf did to convert it to his Hornady AP.

Do note that the Red and Green case-activated systems are so similar that RCBS linkage and powder dies can be used on Hornady P.M.'s as well. Just requires a little adjustment of the clamps and height adjustments of bushings. All this requires a little common sense and patience to adjust things....there's no conversion manual for any of the choices.

Also you can use the newer more versitile RCBS rendition of a PTX (powder-thru-expander) with either green or red case-activated linkages and powder dies. Some adjusting of linkage, and bushings are necessary.

Which ever P.M./case-activated linkage you use, I recommend Hornady's little linkage stop to control wear on linkage and powder measure parts.

That would be this little $8 item at Midway USA:

Although Midway calls this part the "Hornady Quick Change Powder-Through Expander Linkage, it's not linkage....its an adjustable linkage stop.

(if you end up with a Pro 2000 ask me and I'll post pictures and description of the two 10 cent hardware items from ACE Hardware to convert the Hornady linkage stop to work with the RCBS linkage.)

BTW, it was Peter Eick's and Cfullgraf's posts that finally got RCBS off their duffs and encouraged them to build and sell there own improved PTX's for their case-activated linkage, to finally make it unnecessary to convert Hornady linkage/powder die/PTX's to the Pro 2000 for the purpose of combining expanding and charging in one station. I wonder when Redding will see the light and make their own version......surely they realize there's a market for Redding P.M.'s on progressives......surely!

[Unclenick]

Unless I misunderstood, he said he didn't mind operating the powder measure manually. But the linkage ideas are interesting.

[GWS]

Yes, I saw that last phrase....but it didn't make sense to my way of thinking in light of following part of his post.

is there a way to make use of my existing
Redding powder measure and build up a progressive outfit? Basically
I am looking for a five-station frame on to which i can add a powder
drop through die with my measure

When you "build up a 5 station progressive outfit, manually indexing is an option only the Pro 2000 can supply. (with the option to upgrade ($100 kit) to auto-advance anytime.) Such a progressive, manual or auto advance, means that each time you stroke the press handle you are doing 5 different processes on 5 different cases at once.

A manual powder drop "option" envisioned on such a 5 station progressive means interrupting (stopping) every stroke at the handle down/ram up half of it, while one manually works a powder measure handle!

So I just assumed he might want the case activated info, for when/if he decides that measuring powder by hand on a progressive is a bit tedious.

[Unclenick]

Yes. I think he just meant that he didn't mind doing it manually if that were required. His constraint is using the Redding measure, which will take some additional work to automate.

You see manual measures on progressive presses most often where the handloader is loading precision rifle cartridges and has a measure preference for a particular powder. Even with auto-indexing, as long as it occurs on the downstroke and doesn't begin before the case clears the drop tube, they just learn to pause at the top of the stroke and operate the measure.

Though manually indexed, the Dillon 450's powder measure worked that way, operated by pushing a knob. You just had to fit pushing at the top of every stroke into your rhythm.


Longfellow,

If you are loading only pistol and already have one of the Lee powder-through expanders, the adapter on the lower half of this page will adapt your Redding measure to it.

[GWS]

Yes. I think he just meant that he didn't mind doing it manually if that were required. His constraint is using the Redding measure, which will take some additional work to automate.

You see manual measures on progressive presses most often where the handloader is loading precision rifle cartridges and has a measure preference for a particular powder. Even with auto-indexing, as long as it occurs on the downstroke and doesn't begin before the case clears the drop tube, they just learn to pause at the top of the stroke and operate the measure.

Though manually indexed, the Dillon 450's powder measure worked that way, operated by pushing a knob. You just had to fit pushing at the top of every stroke into your rhythm.

Don't disagree, and I pretty much said the same thing ("handle down/ram up") about using a P.M. manually......and I understand some like different powder measures for different powders. Somehow I've managed to find accurate repeatable loads for my precision rifle needs (non-match) using my case-activated Uniflows. (afterall, that's why I went progressive in the first place...IOW's not personally interested in "learning to pause" )

Don't know that we can be absolutely sure what the O.P. actually "meant" as he never returned to expand on his opening post or even respond to the responses he got.

I agree that Lee's Perfect Adaptor for Uniflows, Lymans and Reddings (click Uncle Nick's link) is certainly the simple effective way to go if you don't mind the "pausing" and want to use the Lee powder thru expander. I wasn't thinking...."pausing" might be the goal.