As many know the Redding T-7 is my favorite press to work with. I believe it is an excellent balance between a true progressive press like a Dillion 550 or 750 and a single-stage press that many reloaders start with. When talking to a new reloader who is looking to get into reloading and is looking to purchase a Dillion or other brand of progressive press I strongly encourage them to look at the T-7 as their first press, to balance the desire for speed and their need to learn the processes of reloading.
If they progress in the reloading hobby and decide later to upgrade to a progressive press, then the T-7 will still serve them well as a utility press or a press where small batches can be loaded without needing to disturb the more complex progressive press. In my book, the T-7 is a winning press and there is a lot I like about it.
However, there are a few things I do not like. We addressed a few of the weaknesses when we came up with the T-7 Upgrade Kit and you can read the write-up on those here. There was one big issue with the press that became glaringly obvious when I picked up a Triebel die for the first time. The form, fit, and finish of the Redding T-7 were just not on par with these high-end dies. Threading the die into the head made me cringe a bit because of how rough the threads in the cast steelhead were compared to the precision ground threads on the Triebel Die.
Because of this, I was forced to take a hard look at what we could do differently. Was there a way to make what I already regarded as being an excellent press, even better? That is where the inspiration for this head came from. As I tend to do with design, I captured the basic design elements, the number of holes, the inscribed circle, and the dimensions of the head. I modeled it in Solid Works and then look at what things can we tweak to not only offer just a replacement head but a head that was better than the original.
Material Selection
Unfortunately, reloading presses have become a commodity item, meaning they are mass-produced as efficiently and cheaply as possible. In these instances, quality a lot of times takes a back seat to profits. The original material is cast steel, which is soft, but it is also inexpensive to produce, and it can be produced quickly. The rough shape of the head can be cast and then you have something that can be finished quickly with only a few machining operations.
Cast parts, whether they be aluminum, steel, or zinc, are common components in nearly every major reloading press made today. It is often the cheapest way to produce complex shapes and parts with as few machining operations as possible. This does not mean that it produces the best parts.
When I look at the materials for this head, I wanted something that was cost-effective but also would serve host to the form, fit and finish that I wanted to get from a quality tool. Something that would not only function well but would last a lifetime. For us, this was 416 Stainless Steel. It was not the cheapest material out there, but it was harder than the cast steel heads, and we could machine it and get an excellent finish that really “Popped” requiring no extra finishing work.
Threading
My biggest pet peeve on the Redding T-7 head is the quality of the threads. I have seen them vary quite a bit from being acceptable to downright ragged. This was the main motivation for coming up with a new replacement head in the first place. We wanted something that would be as smooth and as neat as the precision ground threads on the Triebel dies. As we looked to spec out the material, we made sure we could thread it with precision. The machinists have paid extra attention to getting things perfect, and while they are not ground threads they are about as close as you can get.
Detents and Track
One of the issues I ran into with the Redding T-7 is how soft the head was. Over time the much harder detent ball will begin to wear a groove into the head. Especially if you tend to use two or three stations on the head more than any other. Switching between bullet seating and crimping constantly will wear a groove between those two detents.
The other thing we noticed was quite a bit of variation between the detents in terms of depth and diameter which left an inconsistent feel what we came to call the “Lock-Up” or the indexing of the head. So we did two things, first, we made sure the detents were appropriately sized and were consistent. Secondly, we cut a shallow track in the head to guide the ball. This, in combination with the harder 416 Stainless, prevents premature wear in the head.
It also makes changing the head easier as the track helps to capture the ball when you remove or replace the head.
Threaded Handle
The Standard Redding T-7 had three positions for their handle that slips in and out of position. It works quite well, but we decided more was better here and since the head had to be mounted to drill and tap the holes it did not really make much of a difference if we only did 3 holes or we did 7. We decided to offer it as a threaded hole it just allows you to keep the handle in place and you don’t risk taking it out and misplacing it. I have had handles vibrate out while using another press on the same bench.
I know some people may prefer a slip handle but we all really like the threaded handle and the additional spots to put it.
Precision
We really put a lot of attention to the fixtures and the machining to hold tight tolerances to make sure the precision of this head would be worthy of hosting the Triebel dies. We wanted a premium head to go with a premium set of dies. Everything we did, from maintaining tight tolerances on flatness the top and bottom of the head, to the perpendicularity and position of the holes, were held to the machine limits.
Brass Bushing
We supply our head with a brass bushing. Redding bushings are lapped and are head specific. We precision machine our bushings and then match them to each head checking to make sure the protrusion is exactly where we want it. This created a tight feeling in the head while maintaining a smooth transition from station to station.
Wrapping it up
As I said in the introduction. I think the Redding T-7 is dollar for dollar one of the best reloading presses you can buy especially if you are starting out as a reloader and want something more than what a standard single-stage press can offer. With that said, the Redding T-7 does not have the premium feel that the Triebel dies have, and they feel a bit mismatched. This head is designed to correct that imbalance, giving the average handloader who wants to use a premium die, an option to match that die with a premium head.