RCBS Bench Swager Picture Review

[GW Staar]

I took the tool completely apart to show you "everything" It doesn't come to you that way. You only have to remove the nylon lock nut over the cam, add the cam handle, screw in the pivot handle (lever). Then you only have to pick a primer size and screw in that size case rod, lift the Swager Head Pin and push that size swager head in.



The base looks more massive than it is.....an aluminum casting....mostly hollow. Seems plenty sturdy though.



The cam plate goes on first, and needs to be lubed....I used some marine grease I had around.



Next step is to place the connecting rod and cam and I found it easiest to slide the cam handle on from the end; Then the cam bolt is brought up from the bottom and the Nyloc Nut screwed on.



You have to make sure the Nyloc is not too loose nor too tight....iow the least amount of play, that allows smooth & full motion from side to side. Finally the hex head bolt is screwed in tight.



Then you pick your primer pocket size, and push in the appropriate Swager head.



The swager head is connected to the cam with the Swager Head Pin....it just drops in.



The Case Base Plate is then dropped in. (make sure the cam is at its most rearward position or it won't go.)



The other end of the tool is next: Shown is the Pivot (with it's position locking dowel pin), and the adjustment disc. Notice that the adjustment disc has a wide divot on one side and has three slots cut, made to seat the pivot's dowel pin in three positions (vertical, 45 degrees, and horizontal).



The divot is wide because this provides the up/down adjustment (that caused RCBS's Ken Sakamoto's problem in his video). The hex head bolt goes through this divot and allow adjustment limited by the width of the divot.



The tool uses a Bow washer held just tight enough with another Nyloc Nut, to make the three pivot positions simple-easy to move through, yet those positons are definite and stable holds. Deceptively simple and effective. Notice the Hex head bolt on the other side of the tool...holding in the adjustment disc. Its just a tad loose at this point...I'll tighten it when the first case is swaged.


The last part is the Case Rod....this is the small on that fits the .223 that I used in the video. It has an "O" ring in the center of the thread that hold it in the position you set (depending on case web thickness. It has a hex head and is adjusted in and out with a hex wrench in place. I found is easy to just leave the wrench in place while I adjusted it in for the right amount of swaging.

 

[GW Staar]

Now for the bench mount. This is the first tool I have that I don't want to mount permanently. Yet I want it mounted as strong as a permanent mount. The answer was drilling holes through my benchtop, screwing in wood-to-metal threads, and I found some furniture screws at Lowes, that I can drop in and use wing nuts underneath to hold them nearly flat to the bench top.....I can live with that. so I cam mount the swager and use it sturdy as a rock, and just as easily remove it and store it away when I don't have any military brass unswaged.



Illustrated is the two mounting bolts, the "cover bolts" and of course the mounting threads. They sell special tools to screw those things in.....I just used a flat file....fit perfectly...like a big fat screwdriver.



There's the little beauty mounted. The angle was on purpose, it being the most ergonomic spot for my worn out shoulders, arms, and wrists. Notice that its between my Trim Mate and my Rock Chucker. My Pro 2000 is just out of sight on the left. For rifle I prep before I use the progressive, and that means sizing and depriming on the Rock Chucker, using the Trim Mate, and my Forster Trimmer, and now I can use the swager as well....nice and convenient to each other.



This is the crimped military brass I tested in the video. (only 27 years old. Hell of a lot younger than I am.)



RCBS suggests you start with a 1/8" gap to start. I didn't know I was too short until I looked at these big pictures......what I had wasn't enough....good thing I had the presence of mind not to force anything. I cranked the hex wrench out a bit more and it worked better. Then I screwed it in just a tad more to swage the pocket enough that it just slid down over my unpowered Trim Mate Pocket Uniformer. That was enough swage.....the Uniformer made a convenient gauge. Notice the tools for the big primer pockets next to the swager....for the .308 of course. No other sizes are supplied.



This is what in looks like with the button engaged in the pocket, but not swaged (note the handle position) Also note that this is the position where one tightens the vertical adjustment of the pivot. It's best to push up on the case a little too, before you tighten the bolt, or you may wind up with Ken Sakamoto's problem. Thing is, there is enough play in a sized .223 neck that the case sags just a little....so "sag" it the other way before you tighten the pivot bolt.




Video is next.
Notes on the video: A few frames in I had a case that wouldn't cooperate....I thought, oh great....tossed it aside...then later tried it again. Duh! Realized then that I had missed sizing and depriming that one! You can't swage a hole full of spent primer.

One other case sprung back a little and made it harder to uniform the pocket...I swaged it again and that did the job.

At the very end I used RCBS's new Military Crimp Reamer for the Trim Mate on one of the swaged cases, just to compare a case done that way compared to the new swager. The last frames I "showed" the two cases...too bad it was too far away. So I took a still shot....that would be the picture after the video. (Click the next picture for the video)

Swaging force was very light....I'm swaging with my right hand....I'm left-handed....you will notice my right hand was really at a loss for what it should be doing...it wasn't needed at all and it didn't like it.



Picture below is the last two cases shown in the video....one reamed with RCBS's new Trim Mate Reamer and the other was swaged. One obvious advantage of reaming is that you can instantly recognize a reamed case as one that is crimp-less. The Swaged one is a bit "disguised" I'm not sure where the swaged metal goes....but not back where it came from. The crimp recess doesn't look much different does it?



The final verdict as far as my outfit is concerned, is I'm impressed enough to try it for a major batch on the progressive. If there are no priming problems (hard to push in primers) on the Progressive, I will probably use the swager instead of the reamer, reserving the reamer for really old hard to swage brass.

Another option is to use both, the swager and reamer.....but that's so redundant. One shouldn't have to unless one has a desire to know by sight that a batch of newly shot brass is already swaged.....that'd be useful for those who don't keep perfect inventory of what's swaged and whats not. Guess you could magic marker the heads...but I hate that. You just have to be more organized like me.......riiiighht!!! ........or skip swaging and just ream.......its never easy for mere mortals is it?

BTW, I DID prime the holes of the ones in the video, but only with my RCBS hand primer. They went in pretty normal, and because I uniformed the pocket depth, they went in the same. Nice.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

very informative post. good to finally get a good review of this new product.

 

[StandingTall]

Just received this thing in the mail last week, but haven't set it up yet. Thank you for the great information!

 

[GW Staar]

You are welcome, gentlemen. Nice tool, nice to have a swager without a long handle to get out of the way of. I appreciate your acknowledgements....that maybe I didn't waste my time reporting.

 

[Rule3]

Excellent review, pictures and video. Thanks for taking the time to put it together and posting.

 

[StandingTall]

Put mine together this past weekend. Used it in on some .308 LC brass cases. Worked great! No issues at all so far with this product.