I have purchased a Redding T7 Press second hand. The guy said he only reloaded 100 .243 cases with it. I now understand why he sold it - The turret has some play on it. Is there a way how I can eliminate the play?

I'd call Redding and ask for help.

Thank will do that.

Reloader270, this is one of the reasons I don't like turret presses.

If you can get that play issue worked out, please let us know how it's done.

I also have a Rock Chucker and find it very accurate. The Redding Turret is rated one of the best turrets and it is useful because it helps you a lot to have at least 3 rifles sets being setup on the press and there is no necessity to uninstall and install dies sets frequently. I hope I can sort this out.

It sounds like some adjustment of the turret retaining bolt needs to be made. Remove the bolt and turret and take a look at the hardware. When re-installed the turret should rotate but the turret should only have enough clearance to rotate. Verify the detent plunger is in place and detents the turret properly.

You might want to call Redding and have them send you a new bearing and spring. If somebody happened to pull the turret, the spring has the bearing under enough pressure to launch it if you,re not careful.If the original bearing was replaced with one a wee bit smaller, you would have some extra play in the turret.

Just another conspiray theory on my part, could be way off...

quote:

Originally posted by Muttly:
You might want to call Redding and have them send you a new bearing and spring. If somebody happened to pull the turret, the spring has the bearing under enough pressure to launch it if you,re not careful.If the original bearing was replaced with one a wee bit smaller, you would have some extra play in the turret.

Just another conspiray theory on my part, could be way off...

No. I think you are on to something with the bearing, Muttly.

I've "heard" that a few thousandths of an inch can be "shaved" from the bearing to take out some play. I'd be very careful with this as you might end up unable to turn the turret at all.

Another solution I've heard of is to insert a thin shim where the turret makes contact in the back.

In any case, a call to Redding is the first step to take.

PS - That looks like a well designed turret press. Nothing like my old Lyman which had so much play that I didn't even like to use it for pistol calibers!

Redding should set things straight. They have wonderful customer service. My T7 Turret has no play whatsoever and has helped speed up the loading process while maintaining the same precise measurements as my Rock chucker press. It's rock solid.

quote:

Originally posted by Palladin8:
Redding should set things straight. They have wonderful customer service. My T7 Turret has no play whatsoever and has helped speed up the loading process while maintaining the same precise measurements as my Rock chucker press. It's rock solid.

I once considered buying one of these presses for case forming. The one that I checked out had no vertical play. It is not like it is a complicated design. It should be simple to tune it for minimal clearance. These presses are designed to have the turrets swapped out.

Here is the answer Redding gave me how to fix the play on the turret head:

From the factory, there isn't a washer between the turret head and the stud. There is a way to lap the bushing for a very snug fit. I've attached some text written by our Engineering Department that will help you lap your bushing if you desire a tighter fit. Thank you very much.
The T7 ram accepts any industry standard shellholder. The turret has standard 7/8-14 tapped holes for the dies.
The small amount of defection in the turret has been taken into account in the design. However, if you want to tighten it up a bit, you can hand lap the center bushing length.
Remove the turret & lap the bushing on a piece of 400 wet-or-dry paper taped to a flat surface. A surface plate is the ultimate, but a piece of glass or flat counter top works well too.
Cut several figure of 8's while pressing down evenly on the bushing. Be sure to hold the bushing square to the surface without tipping it.
Then clean and oil the bushing, reassemble and try the turret. As soon as you feel the turret rotation begin to tighten, stop lapping.
It is very easy to cut the bushing too short, so cut and try often.
We recommend you tighten the turret bolt to between 40-45 ft-lbs torque. It is a 5/6 hex socket head bolt.
No tuning of the press should be needed other than keeping everything clean and oiled.
Use a good grease, like chassis grease, under the turret pivot, rear support and on the bushing.
A good petroleum based high pressure lube, like Reddings Original Case Lube is good for the ram and pivots.
Regular engine oil or 90w gear oil are good second choices on the ram & pivots.

EXCELLENT SERVICE FROM REDDING!!!!!! THANKS ALSO TO EVERY ONE ELSE FOR YOUR ADVISE!!

Thanks for posting that. I haven't had any problems with mine but it's good to know if I have problems with the second turret. I'm some where around 2000 rounds, 5.56 and .308, with mine. No problems yet. Second turret will be .270 and .30-06.

Redding..... good stuff!

quote:

Originally posted by Reloader270:
I also have a Rock Chucker and find it very accurate. The Redding Turret is rated one of the best turrets and it is useful because it helps you a lot to have at least 3 rifles sets being setup on the press and there is no necessity to uninstall and install dies sets frequently. I hope I can sort this out.

Hornady LNL bushes fit in the rock chucker. They make die setups repeatable.
I hope this helps.