Redding T-7 ram bound up last night....

S

shootingblanks

New member
Brand new Redding T-7 press ram bound up last night. Have less than 1000 rounds thought it. Believe primer residue and debris from decapping was the culprit. I cleaned the ram and wipe it down after every use. I removed two c-clips and took brass punch to remove shank. Uninstalled the ram and wiped it down. All I had was Mobil 1 grease in the garage and it was around midnight with the stores closed.

Ram moves freely now but no contemplating on removing ram and cleaning it with brake cleaner. Should I also clean the bushing that is in the press that the ram travels inside of with brake cleaner or just use a rag?

Redding support is closed and didn't really come with a manual.

Lastly, what should I use to lubricate the ram with?
 
Also it was completely bound. Would this cause permanent damage to the bushing and or ram?

It travels freely now. However, I think I should contact Redding on Monday to get their input on this matter.
 
I would think brake cleaner could be used to break-up and wash out the carbon build up inside the mechanism. Grease is another subject. I wouldn't use grease if you intend on continuing to use the press to de-cap as it will only attract future dirt/debris that much faster. I would try to find a dry lube if you're going to continue de-capping on your main press.
When I was using my main press to de-cap an occasional disassembly and cleaning was required (every 3-6 months). About a year ago I went and bought a cheap Lee Reloader press (~$40) as a stand-alone de-capping station. All the crud from de-capping is in its own area far away from the main press. My main press was cleaned and lubed at that time and I haven't had to address that problem since.
 
^^^^^^^^^^
In my opinion, this is #1 on the should-do list. De-capping is filthy work. An expensive, precision tool is no place for the soot, range grit and metal filings left behind after de-capping. I prefer de-capping, then a tumble in SS pins before any other work is done, as this will clean the primer pockets and expose damage you might not see otherwise.

I used some white lithium grease on my ram. Operates smoothly, but on the occasional powder splash, it will attract the powder.
 
Kind of weird that.
The primers et all are supposed to go down the center of the ram and out the bottom.
Wonder how any of it got where it could cause grief.
For many years I used a similar press from Lyman and don't recall ever running into that kind of stoppage.
Not a great answer, but curious nonetheless.
 
It wasn't a primer but some sort of debris. Looking at it closer don't see how anything could have got between the ram and cylinder. The tolerance is tight. So I'm at a loss what it was exactly to cause it to bind up.

Did a Google search and appears people use Rem oil, grease, lithium, oil to lubricate their Rams.

Called Fin Fur Feather and the guy stated he uses grease.

What would you use?

I've got Mobil 1 grease, Ballistol, Rem oil, lithium and oil.
 
Clean the ram... with a thin solvent that can flush the contaminated area inside and out. Wipe it down and remove the all witted surfaces. That attracts the contamination is wetted surfaces. The bronze bushing should need very little lube. If you wipe the ram with a dampened rag with Break-Free it will be protected from rust and be lubed that will not dry and varnish.
I have come to using a small soft bristle brush used to clean parts and dust the contamination away occasionally wile loading to reducing contamination. Stay away from penetrating oil such as WD-40 it dries and causing varnishing (gumming). I believe some one mentioned recapping separately. I agree that would be the best prevention. All though I would rather put my money in other things like bullets, powder, and guns... :rolleyes:
 
I have a Redding Big Boss Ii, Lyman Spartan and Lee Turret. My Redding did the xact same thing when new (2012). I did the same clean ritual, oiled with Rem-oil and all has been fine since. My suspicions were the Redding was made to very tight tolerances and a combo of case lube, primer residue and who knows what else caused the seizing. But after cleaning, all has been fine and I saw no need to call Redding.

I also now decap in my Lyman, using a de-capping die, and then tumble before re-sizing.
 
Both my Rock Chucker and my T-7 got pretty stiff after a little bit of use, when new.
After a good cleaning and lubrication, they ran well. (And I do regular cleaning, now.)


I'll be purchasing the lee reloader single stage to deprime desperately. $38 at Midway and see if it may be cheaper elsewhere
Click to expand...
Yea, check around. Amazon, FS Reloading, all the usual suspects...

I bought one last year for decapping muddy range brass, and I think I paid $23.

Take the time to modify yours with a better primer chute and removable primer collection container, and you'll be good to go.

This is what I did for mine:
It's mounted on a 2x4, and gets clamped in my bench vise for use (I don't want it near my reloading bench - muddy cases and all). The 2x4 was contoured with a triangular funnel shape and large hole to prevent primer backups or bridging under the press. There's a small baby formula jar lid screwed to the bottom of the board to hold the collection jar. And, after some rough file work to get the flashing and mold misalignment trued up a bit, I epoxied on a section of 1/2" polystyrene tubing to guide more primers into the collection jar. Out of the box, the press dropped about 80% of the primers on the floor. With my modification, only about 2% managed to bounce out of the guide chute.

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(Immediately after mounting - I hadn't gotten to the primer chute yet.)

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That little plastic jar will hold about 1,600 small primers, and probably at least 800 large primers.
 

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I use Slip 2000 oil on my T-7. I work the ram up and down while I add fresh oil and wipe away dirty oil from the ram. When the oil stays clean, I'm done.
I use grease only on the turret.
 
Good news is I shot around 300 rounds of reloaded 45 APC AND 200 9mm ammo. Only 1 failure to feed and the culprit appears to be a crimp that needed to be tighter.

Reassuring someone else had similar issue. Going to get separate press for deprimming.

Four firearms are cleaned and I'm tumbling 45 brass as we speak. I'm hooked and wish I learned to reload sooner.
 
Congrats.
I'll add that I've been doing all my de-priming on my T-7 for close to 10 years, and there's still no wear or slop in the ram.
 
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