Post by gws on Sept 8, 2014 15:12:19 GMT -5
I planned to make an electric Dillon-style collator for my homemade RCBS Pro 2000 progressive this winter....they're not that difficult, but when I built my case feeder I decided a Lee style case shaker would feed my tubes for a while. It actually works so well, I'm not so sure a powered collator is going to be that much of an improvement. I know it won't if electricity ever disappears.
I was going to just buy a Lee case shaker, but there is no provision on that tool for rifle cases and they aren't 100% reliable loading 9mm.. Since my case feeder feeds both, I decided to make my own and see if I could improve Lee's design, using long (3') clear tubes, a funnel from an auto supply, some pouring resin and 4––1/2" PVC couplers and some more stuff to make it load rifle too.
Conclusion? One doesn't have to buy an expensive electric collator to feed pistol and rifle cases quickly into a progressive. Watch the video at the end of this post and see.
Below: I started with a 7 to 11 cup a razor blade and four 1/2" CPVC couplers from home depot.
Below: Used them to cut the cup mouth to the same height as the coupler.
Then I epoxied the cup-cutout & the 4 couplers to a piece of styrene plastic. Now I have a mold to pour resin in. The base and cup-cutout will be removed, so I brushed vasoline on those two inside surfaces.
After the resin dried I drill a holed in the center, pushed in a T-nut into the top and an eye-bolt from the bottom. The eye bolt is to anchor a bungee cord down the center to hold the clear tubing in.
This is a picture of the bottom with eye-bolt protruding.
The funnel was measured using the cup-cutout mold's smallest diameter set over the funnel from the bottom and then the funnel was marked and cut with a dremel.
Notice the ridge on the casting....that will give the funnel a place to seat.
Epoxy putty glued the funnel to the casting.
All glued up, below. If you think about how the funnel opens away from the casting you will see how all that epoxy putty not only glues it but locks it in. (the casting ridge locks it on the outside of the funnel. It's there to stay.
I glued 4 3" lengths of clear 9/16" ID tubing under the casting. They push in to the center ridge in the coupling. That center ridge comes in handy later too. Also in this picture is the bungee cord that fastens to the eye bolt already mounted on the casting, and also fastened through a hole drilled into a PVC Cap (cap measured 2 7/8" ID). A washer and the bungee's staple was all I needed to secured the cord.
Here's the finished product before the black satin finish. You can see how the bungee and cap secure all four tubes while you load cases.
Just a picture to show you the inserts. Notice the ridge inside a CPVC coupler. That makes is easy to neck the holes down by inserting a smaller tubing inside, so I won't repeat Lee's problem loading 9mm in their tool. Without it you get 1 or two 9mm cases upside down. The Case with the "O" ring is just to stop up a hole or holes so I can load one or two tubes instead of four.
Like this.
Below: For the 9mm reducer insert, I wrapped plastic embossing tape around it....the wrap stops at the ridge inside the coupling. BTW long cases like .38 or .357 don't need reducers.
Black Satin-Finished tool with 9mm reducers. You can see one of the two slots inside the funnel that hold the rifle conversion part in.
Okay, now for the rifle conversion: I bought a egg crate diffuser from Home Depot (for fluorescent lighting) and cut it up with a small diagonal cutter....THREE layers. Below is the middle layer the bottom layer is identical. I'm cutting four "el" shaped holes for rifle cases to fall in. You need the "el" shape for the longer hole...to allow longer cases to fall...heavy end first. I could have made slots instead, but "els" made more cases fall faster. (trial and error)
This is the nearly finished part. I used clear styrene plastic instead of opaque because clear is more flexible. Notice the tabs 90 degrees from each other on the outer edge. They go into slots cut in the funnels. They just bend slightly and slip in. All this is glued together with liquid model airplane cement. All it is is a solvent. You touch a loaded brush to a joint and capillary action glues the parts together. It's important to use styrene for the clear piece or you can't glue them solid.
Here's the finished conversion...all three layers glued. I color coded them to help you see it.
This is what it looks like inserted into the funnel.
Four loaded tubes ready for the Case feeder.
Video (click the picture)
I plan to add my RCBS Pro 2000 Case Feeder Project to this forum this year. If you can't wait you can click the following link on AR15.com where I first put it. www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/370663_Homemade_RCBS_Case_Feeder_Video_and_Picture_Report.html
I was going to just buy a Lee case shaker, but there is no provision on that tool for rifle cases and they aren't 100% reliable loading 9mm.. Since my case feeder feeds both, I decided to make my own and see if I could improve Lee's design, using long (3') clear tubes, a funnel from an auto supply, some pouring resin and 4––1/2" PVC couplers and some more stuff to make it load rifle too.
Conclusion? One doesn't have to buy an expensive electric collator to feed pistol and rifle cases quickly into a progressive. Watch the video at the end of this post and see.
Below: I started with a 7 to 11 cup a razor blade and four 1/2" CPVC couplers from home depot.
Below: Used them to cut the cup mouth to the same height as the coupler.
Then I epoxied the cup-cutout & the 4 couplers to a piece of styrene plastic. Now I have a mold to pour resin in. The base and cup-cutout will be removed, so I brushed vasoline on those two inside surfaces.
After the resin dried I drill a holed in the center, pushed in a T-nut into the top and an eye-bolt from the bottom. The eye bolt is to anchor a bungee cord down the center to hold the clear tubing in.
This is a picture of the bottom with eye-bolt protruding.
The funnel was measured using the cup-cutout mold's smallest diameter set over the funnel from the bottom and then the funnel was marked and cut with a dremel.
Notice the ridge on the casting....that will give the funnel a place to seat.
Epoxy putty glued the funnel to the casting.
All glued up, below. If you think about how the funnel opens away from the casting you will see how all that epoxy putty not only glues it but locks it in. (the casting ridge locks it on the outside of the funnel. It's there to stay.
I glued 4 3" lengths of clear 9/16" ID tubing under the casting. They push in to the center ridge in the coupling. That center ridge comes in handy later too. Also in this picture is the bungee cord that fastens to the eye bolt already mounted on the casting, and also fastened through a hole drilled into a PVC Cap (cap measured 2 7/8" ID). A washer and the bungee's staple was all I needed to secured the cord.
Here's the finished product before the black satin finish. You can see how the bungee and cap secure all four tubes while you load cases.
Just a picture to show you the inserts. Notice the ridge inside a CPVC coupler. That makes is easy to neck the holes down by inserting a smaller tubing inside, so I won't repeat Lee's problem loading 9mm in their tool. Without it you get 1 or two 9mm cases upside down. The Case with the "O" ring is just to stop up a hole or holes so I can load one or two tubes instead of four.
Like this.
Below: For the 9mm reducer insert, I wrapped plastic embossing tape around it....the wrap stops at the ridge inside the coupling. BTW long cases like .38 or .357 don't need reducers.
Black Satin-Finished tool with 9mm reducers. You can see one of the two slots inside the funnel that hold the rifle conversion part in.
Okay, now for the rifle conversion: I bought a egg crate diffuser from Home Depot (for fluorescent lighting) and cut it up with a small diagonal cutter....THREE layers. Below is the middle layer the bottom layer is identical. I'm cutting four "el" shaped holes for rifle cases to fall in. You need the "el" shape for the longer hole...to allow longer cases to fall...heavy end first. I could have made slots instead, but "els" made more cases fall faster. (trial and error)
This is the nearly finished part. I used clear styrene plastic instead of opaque because clear is more flexible. Notice the tabs 90 degrees from each other on the outer edge. They go into slots cut in the funnels. They just bend slightly and slip in. All this is glued together with liquid model airplane cement. All it is is a solvent. You touch a loaded brush to a joint and capillary action glues the parts together. It's important to use styrene for the clear piece or you can't glue them solid.
Here's the finished conversion...all three layers glued. I color coded them to help you see it.
This is what it looks like inserted into the funnel.
Four loaded tubes ready for the Case feeder.
I plan to add my RCBS Pro 2000 Case Feeder Project to this forum this year. If you can't wait you can click the following link on AR15.com where I first put it. www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/370663_Homemade_RCBS_Case_Feeder_Video_and_Picture_Report.html
Don't know about Richard Lee....was (as in retired) he a Steve Jobs, or did others keep him out of the pan? He sure has a lot of cool inventions....one of my heroes.
......I shouldn't have started it. 
Pooh I hope you find to right house . 
