shred Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 The term might be 'escapement' ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escapement ), although again not very meaningful to the non clock disassemblers. Fowler's patent (Gaspari offers the 'Fowler feeder', or did) is here:, and if you get the images to work, you can see the dual-pins escapement arrangement. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?...;RS=REF/5763810 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Escapements really aren't that big of a deal once you know where to find them. There's all kinds of escapement mechanisms that are made prefab for use in the automation industry. They may or may not be cheaper and easier than fabbing up your own. All I know is if one of these bullet feeder gurus doesn't get on the stick and get their product to market, I'm going to make one for my personal use. The problem is that I think Dillon is the only one in the industry with both the technical prowess and the deep pockets to get a commercially viable unit to market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Yeah, and Dillon doesn't want to.. that kinda blows. Lee's had a half-assed version on the market for many years using a slide-out mechanism instead of an escapement, but it's never made much headway either. I suspect the true problem is that the demand is somewhere south of half the market for the RF100. Build one and I'm there though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Same here. Build one and I'm all over it. I think both manufacturers and the market are underestimating the potential. I think there will be a substantial beneficial accuracy impact. Not to mention the sheer joy of being able to blaze through 3K rounds an hour. The only thing left would be to unite the RF-100 directly to the primer feedtube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L9X25 Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 (edited) I think that line of thinking goes along with "How many people are really going to buy a $1,000 commercial reloader for their home" while lots of us have 1050's, Super 1050's or RL1000's (or several of them) in our homes. If you have one of these presses it is obvious that cost was not the first priority you considered when buying it ... warranty either. As you said ... make it available and I am there! Edited July 23, 2006 by L9X25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Ok, Eric, you got the ME, I got a CNC mini-mill.. you want to do the collator or the feeder? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavex Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 the feeder would be rather simple in my view. Take a blank die of a given diameter and bore it out slightly larger, from above, about half way down. Fit a sleeve with metal tab spring arm that bend into the center of the die. fit a top to the die that allows bullets to slide in from the side and fall in, resting on top of the spring arms. Say maybe 6 high. As the powder chargerd case rises into the die it presses the spring arms back, allowing one bullet to fall into the case mouth, as it continues to rise, the entire stack rises and eventually hits a stop button, at the top of the die, above the opening that allows bullets to be fed from the side. This action seats the bullet slightly preventing powder spills when the case plate advances. As the case is retracted a linkage is activated by the movement of the handle or the case plate dropping, or the die plate rising (depending the press) and a driving arm pushes a bullet through the slot in the top of the die. The only tricky part is the collator, and in my experiments the case feeders actually work quite well to collate bullets too. I took a sheet of ABS at work and made smaller slots in it than the case feeder plate. Mounted it and dropped in a bunch of 9mm bullets. They all fed out quite nice, no upside down ones. But then the center cracked out of the ABS and that was that. End of experiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Ok, Eric, you got the ME, I got a CNC mini-mill.. you want to do the collator or the feeder? :) Actually, I have a EE, so I'm only qualified to tell you how to plug it into the wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Well, you'd better work on the collator then. jmorris on here did a cool feeder setup. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=620. The way he uses the solenoid-based error-correction is pretty interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavex Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 hmmm looking at his collator plate I have a question. Why not make it so that the bullets have to stand up, as opposed to laying down? that's what I did with the piece of ABS I used. I didn't have a single bullet feed wrong that way. Just like the cases, the heavy end is down, and it's also balanced so a little clip sticking out just knocks the bullets out if they aren't the right way up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huston in Austin Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 (edited) Well, you'd better work on the collator then. jmorris on here did a cool feeder setup. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=620. The way he uses the solenoid-based error-correction is pretty interesting. Hey Roy, If you can get parts drawings, I can get some of the machine shops I service to make the parts. Edited July 25, 2006 by Huston in Austin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliez Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Anybody know when bulletfeeder.com will start shipping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjbine Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 I am waiting for bulletfeeder.com also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L9X25 Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Their latest informational e-mail says that they have achieved "Patent Pending" status so they do not need to hide the mechanism any longer. They estimated that they will be finalizing pricing and begin to deliver the first few units by the end of September. Sounds optimistic but only time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R/T Performance Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Wow That was a good read. Might just have to get a xl650 after all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobocracy Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 I suspect the true problem is that the demand is somewhere south of half the market for the RF100. I think there's a huge demand for the RF100, just not at the current price point.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R/T Performance Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 I suspect the true problem is that the demand is somewhere south of half the market for the RF100. I think there's a huge demand for the RF100, just not at the current price point.... Yup I would have one if they where half the price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 I sent them a 'tell me when/where to mail envelopes full of cash', but got no specifics as yet. The latest says they'll be showing it at some upcoming matches and the Rio range as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 I sent them a 'tell me when/where to mail envelopes full of cash', but got no specifics as yet. The latest says they'll be showing it at some upcoming matches and the Rio range as well. We will have two complete units on display at the Rio Salado Practical Pistol match this coming Sunday 09/10/2006, starting at 07:00 AM, one unit set-up for 9 mm on a Dillon RL1050, and one in .40 Cal on a Dillon XL650. The units will be set-up for anyone to try out. See you at the range, Thks. I sent them a 'tell me when/where to mail envelopes full of cash', but got no specifics as yet. The latest says they'll be showing it at some upcoming matches and the Rio range as well. We will have two complete units on display at the Rio Salado Practical Pistol match this coming Sunday 09/10/2006, starting at 07:00 AM, one unit set-up for 9 mm on a Dillon RL1050, and one in .40 Cal on a Dillon XL650. The units will be set-up for anyone to try out. See you at the range, Thks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 When can I buy one and avoid going on an engineering expedition re-inventing what is already invented? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 When can I buy one and avoid going on an engineering expedition re-inventing what is already invented? Go to "Bulletfeeder.com" for pictures of our live demonstration at the Rio Salado USPSA match on Sunday 09/10/2006. We will be able to start shipping the week of September 19th. Thks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanM Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 When can I buy one and avoid going on an engineering expedition re-inventing what is already invented? Go to "Bulletfeeder.com" for pictures of our live demonstration at the Rio Salado USPSA match on Sunday 09/10/2006. We will be able to start shipping the week of September 19th. Thks, ok, so what's the cost to attach to the new 650 I'm about to buy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Looks like in the $500-$600 range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliez Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I don't mind a Rube Goldberg machine, so long as it works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted October 11, 2006 Share Posted October 11, 2006 (edited) When I get back from Afghanistan, I'm all over the BulletFeeder. A female "friend" has already offered to fill all the primer tubes I want, so after that, what else is there in life to need? Seriously though, in watching his demo videos, it almost seems too good to be true, but you folks at Rio should know better than most of us. Hope it is as easy at it seems. Roger - I'll get with you about mid-January 2008. Rich BTW - Is an individual unit caliber specific or can it be changed? For instance, if one had a XL650 with multiple calibers, do we just change the collator disc? I have the 2-1050's (.38 Super and .40) and a XL650 (.223). So, I'll be getting 2 for sure, probably 3. Edited October 11, 2006 by uscbigdawg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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