I bought this press a couple months ago and have not attempted to use. Now I’m at the point where I have the gear and time to begin loading. The die decapping pin hits the lip of the cartridge or misses it all together. See pic. Does anyone else have this issue that used the Frankford Press? This can’t be correct. I don’t see anyway to adjust the alignment and the die will not go back any further. I have until Friday to return in to Amazon.
I’m using the correct shell holder stem
I don’t have an answer for you, but I’ve had similar issues with mine. Mine doesn’t necessarily miss each time, but there is just a lot of play in it and sometimes causes issues.
As such, I’m also interested in any wisdom others might have.
I have to manually move the cartridge each time to align it. I’ll go another route if that’s required.
Interesting. I own two of them and haven’t had any issues at all with alignment.
Would be curious what FA will say if you send them the pic? There must be a simple fix.
Take a look at your shell holder setup. If one is not pushing in the same distance as the other side, then it could cause the case to be out of center with the die.
Do you possible have one flipped for large cases and one for standard size cases?
I have a Forester and I believe I have to flip the plates based on case size, but I have never done it as I only load 308 or smaller on that press.
Is the die back as far as it can go, is it in the die holder correctly?
I prefer using a hand de-primer. Much faster
This entire base that the cartridge sits on and wraps around the back cylinders is too lose. I can shake it back and forth. If I tilt it towards the front of the press it aligns every time, but I have to hold it. It’s going back to Amazon today. I’ll see if the next one is better.
Interesting…so those are not allen wrench holes that you can tighten, either from the top or bottom. The whole point of the press is alignment of components so that would be frustrating. I think Jim is probably right though, it seems like it would be something simple to remedy, but if you can’t get a rep on the phone to help you, then send it back. Getting two in a row that do it would be rare, if it is a mechanical issue. You cant be the only one dealing with this if it is systemic in the design.
good luck
Johnny’s Reloading Bench
go to minute 47:45 and watch. He shows the alignment issue using a mandrel. May be something in the design.
The two knobs on either side of the cartridge case rotate for different size cases. Just noticed you are loading 223. You are using the 308 case base. Rotate the two knobs till you find the one that fits 223
I went to my press and there is one specifically for 223. Push knob to left or right and rotate it is marked 223.
That is 308 brass. Wish it was that simple!
Yeah I hear ya. Guess it was someone else doing the 223.
I don’t use the de-primer. I use a had de-primer. It is faster.
I get that. No idea how I will end up de-priming. Actually bought a de-priming die, but still want the thing to line up. It has to be sent back tomorrow at the latest and I’ve been to busy to call FA. I’ll drop it off at UPS tomorrow.
I appreciate everyone’s comments. I’ll post how the replacement works.
I just looked at mine and it lines up perfectly without any kind of issues. Even if the die block makes its way forward it basically auto aligns on the downstroke. You’re right to send it back and get a new one.
If you contact Frankford arsenal directly they will most likely send you a new one without you having to return that one… Then you can use it for parts. Their customer service has been pretty good, but the quality of the workmanship hasn’t been great… In my opinion.
I’ve had to drill and tap for bigger screws on the retainer plate at the bottom because one time it ripped out the tiny screws holding the retainer plate down.
I’m in business now. The new press showed up and there is no play in the brass bass. The press lines up perfectly. You can see the issue I had with the original press below. I couldn’t add a video, so I linked it in google photos.
Glad it worked out!
I think I’m gonna pick up the new FA turret press and give it a shot.
