Broke my Redding T7 press

[CQB45ACP]

I give kudu's to Redding for sending me a replacement under warranty with excellent customer service. Like many reloaders here I believe in having spares. For the short time, I will change the head on my inline precision mount and call the rock chucker into service as the dedicated resizing press. The spent primer capture rate is less than ideal but the press works.

Just for the record the T7 has been in service since around 2006. It has sized lots of .308 and .223. (10-15K). I purchased it as a supplement to my Forster Coax because I could use gauges that were too tall for the Coax. After setting it up, I could set the shoulder bump back .001 using a dial indicator and then produce loaded rounds with run out equal to the Coax. Set the dies once and smile.. No small feat for most presses.

I firmly believe you can not improve what you can not measure. Thus the T7 earned a righteous place on the bench. The primer capture is 100% and should be adopted by others. Once I get the replacement part in, I will seek a local machinist to make me a couple spares in some good steel without a void in middle. Will probably trade primers for labor.

Good luck and I look forward to an update. In service since ‘06? Just wore it out.

 

[Varminterror]

What a terrible design. Should have bought a Lee Classic Turret.

If I broke one, I’d ask for 2 from Redding just to have a spare on hand, and if the second breaks in another 17yrs, I’d put in the third, the spare, so I wasn’t out of operation while I wait for Redding to replace the second, replacing the spare from inventory.

I’d keep using hollow bolts, rather than replacing with a solid bolt, as I’d rather break a sacrificial bolt than crack a turret head, overstress the ram linkages, or warp/mar the flat machined face of the top of the press base.

 

[billybob44]

Please explain your thinking, because I'm not following your logic.
Redding has proabably sold 20,000 of those presses. In my decades on this board, this is the first T7 trouble report I've seen.
The OP did not report the torque he applied to the bolt.
He said he was sizing 223, but he did not report how many millions of cycles the press had previously seen.
So 1 bolt out of 20,000 fails, with the addition of mitigating factors, and you're ready to throw Redding under the bus ?
.

^^^
I agree--BUT???

Out of the QUALITY Big Three=Redding, Dillon, + RCBS, The ONLY questions that I have ever had by Service Techs, were with Redding===
Had a Competition Seater Die for .223Rem. that the person on the other end of the phone wanted to argue with me over loading Compressed Loads.
After transfers up the line to the VP of Redding, He agreed the 25.0gr. of H-335, with a 55gr. Hornady FMJ-BT, was NOT a compressed load, and promptly shipped me out the new replacement parts.==NEVER EVER had that with Dillon or RCBS.
Again, this was ONLY a One Time negative with a Redding Tech.??==I would be surprised if He still works for Redding???..Bill.

 

[AJC1]

^^^
I agree--BUT???

Out of the QUALITY Big Three=Redding, Dillon, + RCBS, The ONLY questions that I have ever had by Service Techs, were with Redding===
Had a Competition Seater Die for .223Rem. that the person on the other end of the phone wanted to argue with me over loading Compressed Loads.
After transfers up the line to the VP of Redding, He agreed the 25.0gr. of H-335, with a 55gr. Hornady FMJ-BT, was NOT a compressed load, and promptly shipped me out the new replacement parts.==NEVER EVER had that with Dillon or RCBS.
Again, this was ONLY a One Time negative with a Redding Tech.??==I would be surprised if He still works for Redding???..Bill.

I really like Redding and own a t7 but I will not buy their competition seaters because their stems are not very strong. Watched jrb break a few and i shoot compressed loads of extruded powders so not a great fit for my needs... haven't dealt with CS at Redding but I have with rcbs and they were a delight.

 

[Frulk]

I’d take this kind of service issue all day long.

A singular bolt. Replaceable with easy access in about 1-2 minutes and you’re back up and running.

Even the M1A1 Abrams breaks down.

T7 x 2 driver here.

 

[Rule3]

What a terrible design. Should have bought a Lee Classic Turret.

If I broke one, I’d ask for 2 from Redding just to have a spare on hand, and if the second breaks in another 17yrs, I’d put in the third, the spare, so I wasn’t out of operation while I wait for Redding to replace the second, replacing the spare from inventory.

I’d keep using hollow bolts, rather than replacing with a solid bolt, as I’d rather break a sacrificial bolt than crack a turret head, overstress the ram linkages, or warp/mar the flat machined face of the top of the press base.

I am still on the original nylon (plastic) turret ratchet thingy!

 

[Skgreen]

If memory serves, another Member broke the same bolt a couple years back. It does happen, but if I wanted a T-7, I wouldn't let the thought of a 'hollow bolt' stop me. Far too many out there/far too many positive reviews to call it defective.

 

[racepres]

Good luck and I look forward to an update. In service since ‘06? Just wore it out.

Huh...It is Still New... My Newest press is from mid 1990's sometime

 

[Blue68f100]

If the bolt was not torqued properly it can cause this kind of failure. The bolt needs to be stressed above the normal operating loads. So make sure you torque it down to the correct spec when you get the new bolt.

 

[Kookla]

I wonder if the Lyman brass smith turret has the hollow bolt. I do reform 270 into 30.06.

It's solid.

 

[jmorris]

Just a guess but I imagine the bolt is hollow so it fails before someone rounds out the Allen head or pulls threads from the frame.

That center bushing is probably supposed to be tight, holding it to the casting and the “wobble” is between the bushing and the turret. If it’s not tight, you are rocking on the bolt. That would do it.



The looser it gets the worse things would get.

 

[racepres]

I'm fairly certain that the Bushing not only provides the Pivot point clearance... but.. will Not allow the Bolt to be Overtightened against the turret itself..

 

[jmorris]

I would imagine that if the bolt is tight the bushing is being compressed against the frame. The turret is working against the bushing that will be parallel with the frame until the bolt gets loose and it’s wider diameter than the bolt that goes through the center of it. At least until the bolt is no longer tight.

45 ft/lbs is probably more than most will get with a regular 5/16 Allen wrench.



If it takes one of these to get it apart.



I wouldn’t put it back together with one of these.

 

[AJC1]

I would imagine that if the bolt is tight the bushing is being compressed against the frame. The turret is working against the bushing that will be parallel with the frame until the bolt gets loose and it’s wider diameter than the bolt that goes through the center of it. At least until the bolt is no longer tight.

45 ft/lbs is probably more than most will get with a regular 5/16 Allen wrench.

View attachment 1148170

If it takes one of these to get it apart.

View attachment 1148171

I wouldn’t put it back together with one of these.

View attachment 1148172

I use a torque wrench and an Allen socket... it's not like their not just sitting in the box 3 feet away.

 

[lightman]

I've never been around a T7 but I thought they were built like a tank. I would go back with an original bolt and attempt to get a spare. Even if I had to buy it.

 

[CQB45ACP]

I've never been around a T7 but I thought they were built like a tank. I would go back with an original bolt and attempt to get a spare. Even if I had to buy it.

Well if you ever are you’ll notice first you’re drawn to it, a feeling of warmth and security will wash over you, and then suddenly this hollow bolt will break and you’ll realize it was all a dream.

 

[AJC1]

Well if you ever are you’ll notice first you’re drawn to it, a feeling of warmth and security will wash over you, and then suddenly this hollow bolt will break and you’ll realize it was all a dream.

Ha ha don't be overly dramatic or anything

 

[johnjohn]

Now you have me worried. I have a Lyman T-Mag and I know they don't have C. S. as good as good as Redding or RCBS.

 

[racepres]

Now you have me worried. I have a Lyman T-Mag and I know they don't have C. S. as good as good as Redding or RCBS.

Huh???
First I heard that!!!

 

[Barr]

My suspicion is that bolt may be a known design weak point. It’s a pain in the butt but it may be a far cheaper part to replace than the next piece that will fail when you bulletproof this failure mechanism.

 

[ParallelCode]

My suspicion is that bolt may be a known design weak point. It’s a pain in the butt but it may be a far cheaper part to replace than the next piece that will fail when you bulletproof this failure mechanism.

This seems very reasonable to me.

 

[Bazoo]

I would guess it's designed hollow to be a shear point when the press is overloaded. I appreciate you sharing with us all both about this issue and about Reddings response.

 

[nettlle]

I doubt it was designed to break. It was designed to be rigid. Hollow things are more ridgid than solid things. I do have a T7.

 

[rdinga]

New bolt came in the mail. It has been installed and the T7 is back in the game.

 

[CQB45ACP]

New bolt came in the mail. It has been installed and the T7 is back in the game.

Did they provide any written guidance or other information such as don’t over tighten, or this bolt is designed to be sacrificial (as many here have said), or anything???