I'm getting closer all the time to putting a cookie sheet under at least my most used of my 5 presses. I'm tiring of chasing loose shot and powder around the bench top and the floor.

I did under the MEC9000. Drilled a hole through the tray and the counter below. Shot is just pushed down the hole into a bucket that is hanging from a hook.

If your 1/4" spacer went under the whole shell holder it would work better. The station for dropping everything and inserting the wad would also be higher. Also the shell holder has a lip for the last two stations keeping the shell located properly, but most of all the shell catching under a lip keeps it down where it belongs when lifting the handle after the final crimp. Many times, at least for me, the shell has stuck in the last die making removal hard when the shell slipped out of the shell holder. One time I had to order a new shell holder because the old one didn't work properly. I have also on the back side drilled a clearance hole for a 1/4X20 machine screw so one could be used to hold everything down and tight. The press plate already had a 1/4X20 tapped hole in it. If I remember correctly the spacer plate from Mec has a 1/4" clearance hole already in it. Bill, you could make it look a lot neater by just tracing around the shell holder, cutting out the wood and inserting the piece of wood underneath the shell holder. Just a idea.

Hi Paul,

Good suggestion and I did just that.

Rick Losey/OH Osthaus loaned me his MEC Short Kit Plate and I traced it out on a piece of 1/4" inch thick maple and used that for awhile.

For some reason I went back to that Rube Goldberg Cheap and Dirty version pictured above. I don't load too many 2 1/2" 12 gauge loads so it does the job for me. And when I do, and as you pointed out, that last station for the final crimp, occasionally the loaded shell stays in the top piece but easily comes out.

I just went looking for that 1/4" thick wood simulated MEC piece that I made but couldn't find it. You got me motivated to try and find it and try that again.

For Science, if nothing else.