Frankford vibra prime, I'm sorry.

[Paddy]

-----sorry you were such a -POS- that you were almost tossed across the room, but instead found your way into a return box to Amazon.

Worked semi okay on large primer, but small was a major dissapointment.

Is anyone actually using this with success? In my mind even one jammed or upside down primer per load negates any possible gain from the tool and the thing is just clumsy.

 

[PCFlorida]

Actually I'm using it with LP and SP now. Took a bit of time to figure it out, but I don't get any upside now. I was at the place you were a few times, trying to figure out how hard to throw it.

 

[fguffey]

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/656090/frankford-arsenal-vibra-prime-automatic-primer-tube-filler

F. Guffey

 

[RealGun]

My Hornady version, released last summer, is very similar and gave me fits, until I was certain to firmly seat the tubes in the tight plastic pocket before starting the fill.

 

[Lafitte]

I have one and after I got the hang using of it find it an outstanding accessory. I have considered buying another to have as a spare just in case this one goes on the blink. I think the instructions that come with the unit should be re-written.

Lafitte

 

[salpal48]

I have 2 Vibra primes. Purchase when They were Cheap. The drop tube were not letting the primers Feed until. I was able to smooth out the Top. . and drop way on the tray
I only use CCI primers. . They will feed these well. both Large and small. If I switch Brands. . They will get hung up. I don.t know why.
Both of mine work well
Sal

 

[joem1945]

I bought one when they first came out . works OK I guess but a PIA so now it sits on the shelf.

 

[SCC]

I've had one for 2 years now and only had one problem. I must admit that after the first use, I saw some flaws in the design and set out to fix them.

The first mod was to forget the small vinyl tube couplers and attach a Dillon pickup tube end to the tube. This required a little sanding to reduce the tube outer diameter just slightly.

Next, to take the top off the tray to load primers it must first be removed from the handle. To do that you must remove the tube. All this (dis)assembly was bound to cause excessive wear and problems at the tray to feed tube interface. It was also an annoyance. Using a rotary tool, small burr, and hobby knife I opened up the top of the handle to allow removal of the tray top with out disassembly. Now I simply remove the try top, clamp the tool between my legs, slide open a pack of primers in the tray, shake if necessary, and replace the tray top. Much less hassle and no wear on any parts.

I also placed a piece of opaque tape in the center of the tray top to remind me to remove it before loading the primers. I won't mention what I said just before this idea came to me.

Another design flaw IMHO is that the tray is square. I believe that if the tray corners were not exactly 90deg, the primers might feed smoother with less "rocking" of the tool required to keep them moving. There's definitely and art to finding the right angle and motion to make the primers flow smoothly.

In something like 20k rounds I've never experienced a upside down primer. I've used only small CCI primers. I watch each as it drops into the tube and can see some try to turn sideways or jam at the opening, but with a little rocking of the tool they always right themselves. If I see brass as the primer drops, all is good. I've yet to need to dump the tube because I saw silver as the primer dropped in. The color difference with CCI primers is a distinct advantage.

The one problem I've had was a "defective" primer just this week. It had a burr on the rim of the cup and jammed in the tube.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with the tool, but the design could use some work.

---Scott.

 

[Kaldor]

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=198782&hl=+vibraprime

Go read this, do the mods. I only have issues with Winchester SP primers because they stick up alot and are really round.

 

[9mmepiphany]

but small was a major dissapointment.

In my mind even one jammed or upside down primer per load negates any possible gain from the tool and the thing is just clumsy.

I'm just going to take a guess here...were you trying to use Winchester SPs?

Winchester primers are a bit larger in diameter than others... a quick pass with a drill bit solves that issue

Is anyone actually using this with success?

In the last year, I think I've run about 10k SP through mine...between three different reloaders. The only stoppages have been due to bunching in the corner due to angle it was being held at.

Once you've figured out the compound angle, it runs very smoothly. One of my better $25 reloading purchases

 

[GJSchulze]

I love mine and have used it for about two years. Be aware that this is version 2; it was off the market for a couple of years.

I've only made two mods. I taped shut the large primer hole so that the small primers don't escape while shaking the tray. BTW, I discovered that the quickest way to turn all the primers upright is to shake the tray in the direction of the diagonal corners alternating by 90 degrees. I use Fed primers which are packed on edge, so I get a 50/50 split in orientation to start with.

The best mod was to forego the metal tubes and make my own out of polycarbonate tubes. I drilled holes across each end to use with "hairpin" clips that are usually used. I made 12 tubes and fill them all at once, usually when I have 10 empties. I had to sand down the ends to get a tight fit into the outlet of the tray. A tight fit is essential; the only time I get a blockage is when I don't get a good insertion.

The only other advice is to tilt the tray so you only get a line of primers two wide as they approach the hole. If you just tilt it so they all bunch up, they get stuck.

 

[Paddy]

Well I'm pretty good at making fussy things work and this one seemed too buggered to work at any angle, and I certainly tried a lot of angles. The issues I've had are

Primers don't feed into the short raceway toward the final drop. With shaking they will but they don't seem inclined to do so naturally.

Small primers jam right at the drop point. Either flipping pride down, or turning sideways which jams them completely with no hope but complete dissassembly.

The vibration effect changes depending on how many primers are in the tray. It goes through a harmonics changes that sometimes render the vibration effect almost zero.

The problems were with Tula small rifle primers, not sure about others. Like I said, using on large pistol was okay, still not great, but better.

Seems like a great idea, but if it takes this much fussing, I'd rather hunt-and-peck.

 

[GJSchulze]

Paddy, enough people have had them work that there is probably something misaligned with yours. My vibration is just fine and doesn't seem to change, although it makes sense that the fewer primers, therefore less weight, would change the sound a little, it shouldn't render it ineffective. Have your tried new batteries?

Just to be sure, yours is the newer version, bought in the last two years new?

Is the top of the tray on completely? If it is, you can shake it and no primers will be stuck or turn over in the tray.

Someone suggested cleaning out the outlet hole in the tray. If there is any flashing this certainly would explain why the large primers work, but not the smaller.

Insert the tray without primers and a tube. shine a light from the bottom of the tube and look through the top. Does it looked correctly aligned without obstruction?

 

[Paddy]

The only thing possibly wrong I could see is when the primer is about to drop into the hole it seems to climb a tiny ramp that doesn't seem to be intended. A mold anomaly or? Also, the Tula primers might have a slight roundness to them that isn't ideal. In any case, I have these and other primers. It's not as reliable as I want it to be, at least enough for me to abandon the peck method since at least with that method I'm assured good correct load of primers. Cmon China make a plastic thingy that works for this application! Or I'll have to do it myself!

 

[AzShooter1]

I finally got on the band wagon and ordered one from Amazon for $39. I've read all the reviews and read how to do the upgrades so I think I can make it work.

It's got to be faster then picking up each primer by hand.:banghead:

 

[GJSchulze]

It's got to be faster then picking up each primer by hand

it's much faster and certainly much easier on the hands and fingers if you have any arthritis. With the hunt and peck method, I could only fill two, maybe three at most, tubes at a time. Using the Vibra Prime I can fill 12 tubes in 15-20 minutes which includes opening the box of primers and putting them on the tray.

I really do endorse buying some plastic tubes, cut them to length, drill the ends for pins, and sand around one end to make it fit. You can also see the primers in the tube and see and hear them go "shwee" into the press's primer tube. Being able to fill 12 at once and not have to bother for about 1000 rounds is sweet!

Another trick: The primer tube on my Hornady LnL press will actually hold about 120 primers. It has a plastic stick so you can see how low the primer supply is. I marked my stick every 10 primers and then used a red sharpie to mark when I have only 20 primers left, leaving room for the next 100. As soon as I see only the red end of the stick show I know I can add more primers, thus not running out.

 

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got 4 of them. Actually wore one out after 10s a thousands of primers. Bought 4 more so If they ever discontinue them again I wont have to loose sleep. Best dam 50 bucks I ever spent on loading gear. Before that I had one of the Dillon 300 dollar units and this cheap fa unit is hands down easier to use and more reliable.

 

[DudeRick]

Threw mine away... :banghead:

 

[redneck2]

If anybody else is gonna throw one away, I'll pay for shipping if you wanna send it this way.

There's a learning curve. Gotta hold it at the correct angle. Makes a HUGE difference in performance. I was tilting mine too much. Caused multiple problems (primers flipping, jamming).

 

[Crashbox]

I bought two of them, one for a backup just in case. The second one gave me such a headache that I put it aside about a year ago and haven't touched it since. My first one required considerable polishing/massaging of the area around the primer drop hole to the tube to get it functioning halfway decent. That being said, it has saved me a substantial amount of time loading the tubes.

One thing I did with my primer tubes, is that I bobbed the end of them so the primers don't catch when they slide down from the top tube. I also tilt the tubes at about a 30° angle to the horizontal before I pull the cotter pin, so they GENTLY slide into place.

 

[ghitch75]

this is what i think about mine:banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

[Paddy]

It's a shame because it seems like the idea is close to a very functional piece of kit.