Sparticus29 Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Hello All, After digging deep on the internet it seems like the Brian Enos forum is the best place to get answers on Mark 7 products. So I figured I'd ask my questions here. I have been running the 1050 pro auto drive for 4+ years now and I am fully aware of the headaches that can arise from automating a 1050, I've just about dealt with them all. My question is whether the Revolution has had most of the kinks worked out and is actually a viable option for consistent daily loading. I have spoke to mark 7 but I wanted actual user input, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Also if anyone else has made the change from an automated 1050 to the revolution, how bad is the learning curve? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevrofreak Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Mark7 was recently purchased by Lyman, and they are said to be bringing significant improvements to the products. I say we wait until SHOT to see what those improvements are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavex Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 My Revo was a bit of a problem child as I was a first adopter. But, I've gotten all the new parts and upgrades to the system and it has been running friggin great since. 13,000 rounds loaded with nary a problem. It is awesome. I still have a my automated 1050 (also MK7) and I use it for processing only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparticus29 Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 39 minutes ago, slavex said: My Revo was a bit of a problem child as I was a first adopter. But, I've gotten all the new parts and upgrades to the system and it has been running friggin great since. 13,000 rounds loaded with nary a problem. It is awesome. I still have a my automated 1050 (also MK7) and I use it for processing only. Alright that sounds good. Did you buy yours in 2018? It seems that's where many people have their issues, posts from 2019 seem like its more user error. Anyway was it a steep learning curve going from the automated 1050 to the Revolution? Thanks for your input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJRyan13 Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 (edited) I had two 1050’s up till mid summer. Bought a Revo and traded in one 1050... Then Black Friday came and I bought another Revo. Revo is fantastic. I would NOT buy it stock on their site. I would ask them to sell you one without that huge case feeder. First of all, it is a huge PITA to change calibers with that thing. 2nd, it is super expensive. My second one came without a case feeder. I did pay a little bit for the polls for a case feeder so I could just use a Dillon feeder which suits me perfect. I would also highly recommend the primer sorter. It is fantastic. Sensors seem to work better on the Revo compared to the 1050. No reason they should but just an odd thing I noticed. The “digital” powder measure is nice but you essentially have to buy two if you run pistol (drums don’t swap out like you would with a Hornady or RCBS PM). I would probably not buy the digital looking back at all that expense. Although I haven’t compared accuracy to their mechanical measure so I can’t say if it was a mistake to pay more for it. I did keep the 2nd 1050 for 30-06, 45-70, and a few other calibers I don’t run very often. Plan to use Revo’s for 308, 45, 40, 9, 45 colt, 357 and 223 for now. Edited January 14, 2020 by DJRyan13 Edit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavex Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 since the tablet interface is identical as far as how you do things, going from the 1050 to the Revo was easy. I have had the machine completely apart now as I had a set screw comes loose and needed to drill and tap an easily accessible one in instead. That meant removing the motor, the crank and main shaft. Was fun, took some cursing, but it went back together easy. I then had to play around a bit to get it dialed back in, but now it's running even better than it did before. I also bought a second digital powder measure for the girlfriend, as she uses a different powder than I do, and I don't like messing around with dialing stuff back in, I leave the measures set and go to town. Well worth the cost in my experience, I will probably get a couple more for other people that come over and load, so we aren't using the same measures for them. I also love the big case feeder, but I never change calibres. I'd keep it for your main calibre and then just use a Dillon or something for other calibres. I have every sensor on the machine and love them, the primer orientation sensor especially. Man it saves a lot of time having that. I'd still love one that detected upside down primers coming down the ramp from the collator and could reject them, but for now that's all I watch when it's running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teros135 Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Slavex, which set screw had to be re-positioned? Was it the one at the bottom of the ram, that secures the Top Pin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparticus29 Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 Thank you to everyone for their information. Just placed my order today for one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJRyan13 Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 2 hours ago, Sparticus29 said: Thank you to everyone for their information. Just placed my order today for one! You’ll love it. Post your experience and any questions. Need more Revo threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparticus29 Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 19 minutes ago, DJRyan13 said: You’ll love it. Post your experience and any questions. Need more Revo threads. Will do! I'll probably be searching for more tips and tricks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavex Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 23 hours ago, teros135 said: Slavex, which set screw had to be re-positioned? Was it the one at the bottom of the ram, that secures the Top Pin? Yes, that is the one. Newer models have it in the same spot as I put it. It was fun to rip it apart and fix. Handy having friends with mills and lathes and such, although in the end we just used his big ass drill press and powered tap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavex Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 8 hours ago, Sparticus29 said: Will do! I'll probably be searching for more tips and tricks. What sensors did you end up getting it with? All of them? Digital powder measure? I was down loading tonight with a friend and cranked out 4,000 rounds so friggin easy and relaxing. All we did was watch for upside down primers coming down from the collator, the Ginex primers seem to like to sneak down more than others don't know why. S&B, Federal, CCI feed down a lot better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparticus29 Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 6 hours ago, slavex said: What sensors did you end up getting it with? All of them? Digital powder measure? I was down loading tonight with a friend and cranked out 4,000 rounds so friggin easy and relaxing. All we did was watch for upside down primers coming down from the collator, the Ginex primers seem to like to sneak down more than others don't know why. S&B, Federal, CCI feed down a lot better. Yep, I got all the sensors and it comes with the digital powder measure at the base price now. I'll keep in mind about the Ginex primers as those are what I use too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddc Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 Have you guys been happy with Ginex primers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparticus29 Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 5 minutes ago, ddc said: Have you guys been happy with Ginex primers? Simply put, yes I like them. They load well and they function well in all guns from completely stock to completely tricked out. I actually own an ammo company and we've used everything, I mean everything, and the Ginex seem to be just as good or better than when we were using S&B primers. I know everyone has their own favorite primer, but people cannot usually tell what primers you are using. As long as you mind proper seating depth, the Ginex primers are pretty much gold. So far we've loaded 150,000 in a couple weeks everything is very consistent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teros135 Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 13 hours ago, slavex said: Yes, that is the one. Newer models have it in the same spot as I put it. It was fun to rip it apart and fix. Handy having friends with mills and lathes and such, although in the end we just used his big ass drill press and powered tap. It sounds like you have an older machine. What are you planning to do about the lubrication problem with the "top pin"? The set screw on the bottom of the ram was only part of the problem; the other is that there's no way to lube that pin, other than dripping oil on it at the gaps between the bottom of the ram and the arms of the upper crank and hope that it somehow migrates into the pin itself. The other pins (center pin and the crank itself) have holes in the extrusion (body) to get a grease gun in, but the top pin doesn't. Strangely, there's no mention of lubing the top pin in the manual (at least the Evolution manual) or the lubrication guide (Daily Hardware Check and Lubrication Guide). That's a load-bearing part, and it's odd there's no mention of lubrication. Hopefully, they're doing something different on the new machines, both Evo and Revo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XDoctor Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 Thanks for the info guys, I've been on the fence about upgrading from my hand crank 650, this about settles it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavex Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Do the new machines have a way to lube the top pin? I'm not too concerned about it honestly. I can replace the brash bushings and the pin itself pretty easy if I need to. I know it's not ideal for a setup, I suppose I could always machine it to take a couple small bearings on the crank and then put grease fittings on each side to lube them, be a bit of a pain, but I have a couple buddies with serious shops who "love" to do odd jobs for me. (that love is paid for in 2lb steaks cooked by me for them lol). My old work had a number of similar setups on some of our equipment and the brash bushings last a helluva long time. I'll have to take a look at my friends Evo Pro, hadn't thought to look into it's guts and see if they'd added a grease fitting there. One thing I was surprised by was the lack of a bearing on the motor side of the Revo, but then I took a good look at the gearbox and it's bearing is pretty good, so I guess that's good enough for the support. Still, I'd have left the Evo bearing in place if it had been me, and just had it sandwiched between the motor and the core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teros135 Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Gosh, it would be great to have your resources and skills, but most of us are regular folks who don't have lathes and mills and machinist skills. That's what we expect the engineers and craftsmen at the manufacturer to have. And with the limited-time warranty, at some point we're going to be out of luck. I just wish we could have more confidence in the machine and the support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavex Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 (edited) fitting new bushing into the crank wouldn't be that hard to do without all that, you just need patience and maybe a small arbor press, but you could do with a proper sized punch and hammer if you were careful. Given the location of the pin and such I can see why they didn't put a grease fitting there though. I would expect that they may do exchanges where you get a new crank and pin, install, send old one back for rebuild. But really, it should take millions of cycles before you'll see any appreciable wear on it. I know the bronze bushings at work lasted for a long time, with some serious workload on them. Edited January 16, 2020 by slavex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikamarj Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 23 hours ago, slavex said: Yes, that is the one. Newer models have it in the same spot as I put it. It was fun to rip it apart and fix. Handy having friends with mills and lathes and such, although in the end we just used his big ass drill press and powered tap. Can you share some picture of what you did? My top pin is walking all the time and I'm wondering if some fix like this would help... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavex Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Here you go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikamarj Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Thank you @slavex! In your picture the top pin is still not aligned. Is it because picture was taken during installation, not yet fully adjusted -- or does it still walk? I was thinking, how about turning a small troove in the middle of the top pin, then drilling and tapping the ram... And instead of normal set screw, use a spring loaded ball detent set screw to lock the pin in place... Or maybe, if there is room, replace the pin with a longer one with some locking clips in both ends to keep it in place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavex Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 (edited) @mikamarj my press is a first gen Revo, the top pin has a bearing on the motor side of the crank, it rides on a guide at the back the machine core, you can see that in my 3rd pic with the red grease on it in the top left of the pic, it was originally thought it was needed to stop the main column from twisting as the toolhead went up and came down. that has been removed in later models. My top pin has a small groove machined in it (from the factory) that the set screw engages, I guess the original setscrew walked a bit which allowed the top pin to drift out and contact the inside of my core. When I removed the screw to do this job, it was tight in place, but not engaging the pin, but you could see it had at one time. now there are two screws holding the top pin in place. so it only rotates in the bushings on the crank arms, not in the main column, it is held solid there. Edited January 17, 2020 by slavex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikamarj Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 Ok. My press is first gen Evolution Pro and I am having issue with walking pin. I don't have a set screw, so I believe I don't have the groove neither. Haven't disassembled it yet. But I think I will add some kind of groove and set screw to try to keep the pin from walking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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