MEC 12ga Graber press

truck driver · Dec 7, 2024

My Neighbors husband passed, and she called to tell me she wanted me to have his reloading equipment. He was big into duck and goose hunting and had a pair of MEC 12ga presses. A 600jr and a 76 Graber. The manuals wasn't with either of them and the Graber needs to be striped and cleaned. Looked on MEC's web page and the model 76 Graber is discontinued so the manual isn't available.
I was wondering if anyone has a 76 Graber and could copy the manual for me.

RL338 · Dec 7, 2024

https://www.mecoutdoors.com/Images/document/grabber.pdf

This one?

truck driver · Dec 8, 2024

RL338 said:
https://www.mecoutdoors.com/Images/document/grabber.pdf

This one?

Yes, thanks for providing the link to the web page.
The press has 20 years of Break Free build up I've got to clean out of it along with pieces of small shot everywhere it shouldn't be. Now that I can see it doesn't have any small plastic parts in it I can hose it down with break free to clean out the junk and build up.

JD338 · Dec 8, 2024

Roger
I have the same MEC Grabber loader. Bought mine back in the early 80's and have no issues with it.
It's what I use now for my 12 ga trap loads.

JD338

truck driver · Dec 8, 2024

JD338 said:
Roger
I have the same MEC Grabber loader. Bought mine back in the early 80's and have no issues with it.
It's what I use now for my 12 ga trap loads.

JD338

Jim this one seems to have a tight spot with the actuation rod in the back and the roller on the operating handle.
Sometimes it will bind and sometimes it won't. I don't know if it is supposed to or not or if a piece of lead shot has worked in behind it is causing the end of the rod to bind on the roller. I'll try and take a picture of it tomorrow.
I also have its little brother that doesn't have the grabber case head sizer.

JD338 · Dec 8, 2024

truck driver said:
Jim this one seems to have a tight spot with the actuation rod in the back and the roller on the operating handle.
Sometimes it will bind and sometimes it won't. I don't know if it is supposed to or not or if a piece of lead shot has worked in behind it is causing the end of the rod to bind on the roller. I'll try and take a picture of it tomorrow.
I also have its little brother that doesn't have the grabber case head sizer.

Roger
Send me some pictures and I'll try to help you out.

JD338

truck driver · Dec 9, 2024

JD338 said:
Roger
Send me some pictures and I'll try to help you out.

JD338

Thanks Jim I'll email them to you.
Just to let you know I call MEC and it seems the machine is one of the first model 76 they made in 1976.
The problem stems from the actuator rod for the grabber. T rod in question has a 45degree bend on the top which contacts a roller that lifts the rod back up after the grabber sizes the base of the shell casing. The end of the rod binds on the roller. Naturally that part which they call the cane is no longer available and the newer presses have a cane that has a 30degree bend but may not work without some major part replacements. His fix is to bend the cane to lessen the angle.
I'm afraid to do that since I know work hardened metal gets brittle and will break without heating and his idea is to use a 1/4" box end wrench to bend the cane up to lessen the angle.

truck driver · Dec 9, 2024

Hi Jim, PM sent.

JD338 · Dec 9, 2024

Thanks Roger

JD338

truck driver · Dec 10, 2024

Well, I stuck my neck out and started taking the press apart to find out what was causing it to bind after reading all the manuals and talking to a MEC tech on the phone, whose response was to bend the cane which actuates the grabber case sizer. On the newer presses the top of the cane has a 30degree angle where this one is 45degress.
I don't believe in bending things that were made in the 1970s when this press was made. There had to be something else going on with it.
I figured out how to take the grabber linage apart so I could remove the top end from the base. several pieces of shot fell out of the frame so I was thinking that may have been the cause of the problem but when I looked at the grabber sizing mechanism it was so dirty it was unreal and had cake grease and powder that had to be scraped off everything, even the grabber fingers were clogged with hard grease and dirt, soaking and scraping got most of the gunk out of everything at least enough for me to feel I could reassemble it to see if it helped.
It ran 100% better but was still binding so I looked at the cane/grabber actuating rod which was now free where before it was hanging up, so I decided to remove some metal. At first with a file just to take off any high spots and then coat it with a magic marker and then cycled the press which was still binding, it rubbed the marker off, so I knew I was looking at the right area. It got better but still too tight, so out came the Dremel tool and some rubber polishing wheels.
After several try's I finally got it where it was just touching the roller and not the hard binding, so I called it good.
Funny thing about after cleaning it up I had to readjust the powder bar linkage since the buildup had tightened it up also and now it was loose without the dirt and the powder/shot bar catch hook wouldn't release the powder bar when cycled with a case in it like it should have.
Break Free is not your friend, the original owner had used this exclusively to lube the press and the varnish build up was thick and hard to get off adding to the problems.