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Mark 7 Presses worth the money?


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On 2/16/2019 at 11:46 AM, OptimiStick said:

“ A fool and his money are soon parted “.   And the Evo backorder is down to 2 weeks.  Don’t ask me how I know.   

You ordered one? Was it cheaper then we’ve been talking about? Man I really do want one,  but I can’t justify double the price. I’d love to buy a manual evo and eventually upgrade to the primer collator. Not having to deal with tubes would be great. 

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12 minutes ago, Jfitz427 said:

You ordered one? Was it cheaper then we’ve been talking about? Man I really do want one,  but I can’t justify double the price. I’d love to buy a manual evo and eventually upgrade to the primer collator. Not having to deal with tubes would be great. 

 

You do know the primer collator is $2249 right?

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2 hours ago, Tanfastic said:

 

You do know the primer collator is $2249 right?

I did not lol. I thought I had heard it was about 1000 bucks, which I already thought was expensive.  Something I could buy later on though. Now way for 2200 bucks. But this is all just theoretical as I can’t pay 4400 just for the press in the first place. 

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19 hours ago, Jfitz427 said:

You ordered one? Was it cheaper then we’ve been talking about? Man I really do want one,  but I can’t justify double the price. I’d love to buy a manual evo and eventually upgrade to the primer collator. Not having to deal with tubes would be great. 

 

 

Yeah. Remember earlier in the thread how I said I’m really good at talking myself into something when I really wanted it? Case in point.   At the end of the day I figured if I wanted to automate as my next step , it was the better option.   And while there is a huge cost difference , spread over the life of the press - it’s fairly small.  The usual complete bulls#!t I use to justify other stuff I want but don’t need.   I’ll let you know how it goes.   

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I wouldnt bother with the collator at present. You need to hang around the press when its running anyway. Depending on what brass you use you will get "ringer's" where the center of the primer comes out not the edges. Also dented, cases, stones, 380's, bulged etc so filling primer tubes manually or with the RF100 doesnt slow the press down. You just let it run and clear the random stops as you load tubes.

 

Im sure with preprocessed brass you might struggle over 2000rpm, but at 1600rpm I can just about keep up.

 

The filler tubes will ensure no upside down primers as well!

 

Id also stick with the Evo and/or Evo Pro as I hear some interesting issue with the revolution via the forums and owners.

 

Im pleased with mine though. Other than the teething issues as outlined in the tech thread mine runs well.

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10 hours ago, ringram said:

I wouldnt bother with the collator at present. You need to hang around the press when its running anyway. Depending on what brass you use you will get "ringer's" where the center of the primer comes out not the edges. Also dented, cases, stones, 380's, bulged etc so filling primer tubes manually or with the RF100 doesnt slow the press down. You just let it run and clear the random stops as you load tubes.

 

Im sure with preprocessed brass you might struggle over 2000rpm, but at 1600rpm I can just about keep up.

 

The filler tubes will ensure no upside down primers as well!

 

Id also stick with the Evo and/or Evo Pro as I hear some interesting issue with the revolution via the forums and owners.

 

Im pleased with mine though. Other than the teething issues as outlined in the tech thread mine runs well.

 

I have been running my Evo Pro at 2200 rph loading 9mm with once-fired brass and loading primers with an RF-100, and have had no problems like you're describing.  The decap sensor catches any decap failures, the swage sensor would catch any "ringers" (which I've never had), the digital clutch catches any significant case problems during resizing (I'm running the clutch on 3), .380 and 9 Makarov cases are caught at the case-feeding station so that's not an issue, and the only issue I've had at all with the priming station is maybe every 2000-3000 rounds I'll have a case that comes through without getting a primer in it (which will be caught by the new Primer Orientation Sensor that is forthcoming shortly).  I already pre-ordered a primer collator a while ago, and am looking forward to using it to eliminate the 100-round manual intervention required now, I'd like to run 300 rounds at a pop and dry-fire a few steps away while it's running. 

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10 hours ago, ringram said:

...Id also stick with the Evo and/or Evo Pro as I hear some interesting issue with the revolution via the forums and owners.

 

As a Revolution owner I am not aware of any NEW issues from updated Revolutions.

 

No issues running it at 3,000 rph setting with pre-processed brass after tuning it.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/19/2019 at 7:56 AM, OptimiStick said:

 

 

Yeah. Remember earlier in the thread how I said I’m really good at talking myself into something when I really wanted it? Case in point.   At the end of the day I figured if I wanted to automate as my next step , it was the better option.   And while there is a huge cost difference , spread over the life of the press - it’s fairly small.  The usual complete bulls#!t I use to justify other stuff I want but don’t need.   I’ll let you know how it goes.   

So did you end up with both a 1050 and a mk7? I just picked up a 1050 tonight from a guy on here that actually lived a few towns over. Got to see an automated 1050 in action too which was really cool. He had a mk 7 pro auto drive.  Down the line I’m gonna automate for sure. Probably when I have kids and have less free time. Will see how my new 1050 compares to my loadmaster. The stroke already seems so much smoother. 7 stations and the built in swage is so nice. And being able to run either s bullet feeder plus powder check and seat crimp combo, or nix the powder check and run seat and crimp separately. Anyway I’m super excited about it. It didn’t come with the caliber conversion so I can’t use it until I get the 9mm conversion delivered which will probably be like Wednesday. 

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On 2/20/2019 at 7:35 AM, tanks said:

 

As a Revolution owner I am not aware of any NEW issues from updated Revolutions.

 

No issues running it at 3,000 rph setting with pre-processed brass after tuning it.

 

 

 

I really hope I can get mine to run like that once I get my parts back. There was no way I could feed primers from my Collator at that speed. 

What is your powder accuracy like? Is that about a 1 dwell at the bottom?

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I have been holding off making any comment on this thread until an initial issue I had with my Mark 7 evolution was resolved.  Initially I had an issue with the priming station seating on a specific head stamp of brass.  I get virtually all of my brass from a military range.  They actually love giving it to me to reload because it is less hassle for them to dispose of it.  The head stamp is WCC and it is crimped.  I switched from a Dillon 650 so that I could get a swaging station.  I was going to just upgrade to a 1050 but a friend of mine told me I should check out this new press from Mark 7.  I did and saw that it was so much better engineered than the Dillon I had to have it.  So, I bought a manual Evolution.  As I said, when I got it and put it together everything was great except that half of the cases ended up with high or mangled primers.  I worked with it on my own and put in several trouble tickets and talked to technicians at Mark 7 trying to fix the problem.  They were supper helpful, friendly and supportive.  Once on a Saturday night I put in a trouble ticket online at about 7:30PM and get a call from one of the technicians about 10 minutes later.  He stayed on the phone with me for 45 minutes on a Saturday night trying to solve the problem.  Finally we agreed the best thing to do was for me to simply ship the press back to them to fix it once and for all.  Since I live only 2 hours away I drove it to them and dropped it off.  after about a week I called to see how it was going and was told it would be finished and ready for pick up or shipment back to me the next day.  I drove down to Mark 7 the next Monday and was met by Jay, the owner, Misty, Head of Tech Support, and Dan, the tech I had been working with.  They all were great.  They took me back to my press which they had mounted on a Revolution base plate and Jay walked me through all the things they had changed and upgraded on my machine.  They had done a total rebuild of the press from the bottom up and tested every single item to ensure it was correct and properly functioning.  in order to deal with the military brass properly they had to make a few modification to ensure reliable functioning of the priming unit.  I had given them about 200 of the WCC head stamped cases along with powder, primers and the bullets I use an they had loaded all of them along with some of their own cases and different primers to ensure the press worked on everything.  Misty handed me paperwork that reset my warrantee to that day and said if I get the press back to them after I run about 40-50K rounds through it they would do another complete rebuild and inspection to see how everything is holding up.  In addition to all this they let me take the Revolution base in case I wanted to add an auto drive or primer collator in the future so it would  mount easily.  I can't say enough about the SUPER support I received from Mark 7.  They went way above and beyond to make a great product better for me and ensure I was pleased with my purchase.  BTW, the press operates PERFECTLY now.  I am so very pleased I can't enough good.  As to the question of is it worth the money I will say it is worth every penny if you want the best there is.  If you are the type of person that buys power tools from Harbor Freight and don't mind the noise, vibration, and short lifespan of the tool you may not want a Mark 7.  If you are the type of person that wants the best and you are willing to pay for a lifetime of worry free enjoyable use then you will only sweat the cost once.  You will enjoy the operation each time you use a Mark 7.  Also, in case anyone is wondering, I am not affiliated with Mark 7 in any way and have not received any discount or favor from them for this input.  I am just an average retail consumer who likes to give credit where it is due.  My woodworking tools are from Festool, Felder Hammer, and Sawstop.  I only buy the best.  That is why I am happy with the price of Mark 7 reloading equipment and am a loyal customer. 

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13 hours ago, slavex said:

 

I really hope I can get mine to run like that once I get my parts back. There was no way I could feed primers from my Collator at that speed. 

What is your powder accuracy like? Is that about a 1 dwell at the bottom?

 

I was having the issues with the collator UNTIL I started pre-processing the brass. I have a separate toolhead for de-prime, swage, and re-size, then I go ahead and swage and re-size again on the toolhead you see in the video. Though re-size die is just a hold down die for the primer station at that point. I also roll size prior to pre-processing as well. If you have debris left in the primer hole or one particular vendor's brass (don't remember offhand, but it is not a major manufacturer ) then the odds of a jam will increase.

Powder accuracy is +/- 0.1 grain and I have 3 for bottom dwell. I am loading .40 S&W.

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my issue with the primer collator, which should be fixed when I get the new one, is that during the higher speeds the primer disc movement is so snappy it throws primers out to the edge and they roll up and jam under the black finger. 

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On 3/8/2019 at 7:02 PM, Jfitz427 said:

So did you end up with both a 1050 and a mk7? I just picked up a 1050 tonight from a guy on here that actually lived a few towns over. Got to see an automated 1050 in action too which was really cool. He had a mk 7 pro auto drive.  Down the line I’m gonna automate for sure. Probably when I have kids and have less free time. Will see how my new 1050 compares to my loadmaster. The stroke already seems so much smoother. 7 stations and the built in swage is so nice. And being able to run either s bullet feeder plus powder check and seat crimp combo, or nix the powder check and run seat and crimp separately. Anyway I’m super excited about it. It didn’t come with the caliber conversion so I can’t use it until I get the 9mm conversion delivered which will probably be like Wednesday. 

 

 

No. I had a RL-1100 on pre-order, but cancelled it to get the Evo. I think I want to start pre-processing.   I will do it for a little while on my 650, but there’s no native swaging, so I am trying to decide between a CP-2000 and RL-1100 for preprocessing.  I know the CP is made for that and is a little cheaper,.... but if I go with the RL, I have more flexibility because I can load with it too if I need to.  My Evo has been built for a while and sitting on the dock waiting for the die packs to come back in stock. I just told them to ship it next week witnout, and I’ll use my existing dies for now.  I also have a mighty armory order in that’s backlogged, so I think that’s the holdup on the M7 die-pack too.  I talked to Wayne at MA and he’s burning the candle at both ends to fill orders. I had loaded a bunch on my 650 to hold me over, and then broke it down in prep for the Evo to slide into that space.... but I am running low on ammo.  I can shoot 1 match and a practice,  but I can’t hold off a Zombie Apocalypse.... so I want to get this new puppy in here and cranking.   

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1 hour ago, OptimiStick said:

 

 

No. I had a RL-1100 on pre-order, but cancelled it to get the Evo. I think I want to start pre-processing.   I will do it for a little while on my 650, but there’s no native swaging, so I am trying to decide between a CP-2000 and RL-1100 for preprocessing.  ...

 

If you have the Evo, why not just get another toolhead for it and do pre-processing that way rather than buying another press? It takes 15 minutes max to switch toolheads.  If you do that get a toolhead holder as well it helps.

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10 hours ago, OptimiStick said:

 

 

No. I had a RL-1100 on pre-order, but cancelled it to get the Evo. I think I want to start pre-processing.   I will do it for a little while on my 650, but there’s no native swaging, so I am trying to decide between a CP-2000 and RL-1100 for preprocessing.  I know the CP is made for that and is a little cheaper,.... but if I go with the RL, I have more flexibility because I can load with it too if I need to.  My Evo has been built for a while and sitting on the dock waiting for the die packs to come back in stock. I just told them to ship it next week witnout, and I’ll use my existing dies for now.  I also have a mighty armory order in that’s backlogged, so I think that’s the holdup on the M7 die-pack too.  I talked to Wayne at MA and he’s burning the candle at both ends to fill orders. I had loaded a bunch on my 650 to hold me over, and then broke it down in prep for the Evo to slide into that space.... but I am running low on ammo.  I can shoot 1 match and a practice,  but I can’t hold off a Zombie Apocalypse.... so I want to get this new puppy in here and cranking.   

That’s awesome man. I bet you itching for it to ship out. If I had that kind of disposable income I would have bought one myself. All the stuff  I needed for my 1050 was delivered today, caliber conversion, primer pickup tubes etc. didn’t have time to set it up yet though. But man I can’t believe how smooth the press feels. I can’t wait to get started loading on it. I have the bullet feeder already too so this is going to probably double my production if not more over my loadmaster. This machine is going to be a big step up for me. But some point down the line after a few more promotions im gonna buy a Mk7. Hopefully the price will have come down a bit by then too. 

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On 3/13/2019 at 9:24 AM, tanks said:

 

If you have the Evo, why not just get another toolhead for it and do pre-processing that way rather than buying another press? It takes 15 minutes max to switch toolheads.  If you do that get a toolhead holder as well it helps.

That’s a thought too. I wasn’t sure how the head changes were.   

 

Anyone make a light kit for the Evo tool-head?

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