Date stamp on RCBS dies

[OLD SKOOL]

Hello fellow reloaders.

Does anyone know when RCBS first began to date stamp their
dies? My oldest one is from 1968 ( 38 special & 243 Win.) I
bought a die set that is not date stamped. The owner of them
says he got them new, in 1954, he thinks?

How would the quality of new RCBS dies rate when compaired
to dies from 30-40 years ago? Any good or bad opinions would
be welcome. Thanks.

 

[2152hq]

I've been told,,but I don't know if it's true or not,,that RCBS started date stamping (at least their rifle dies) in the mid/late 60's.
At some point in there they started heat treat/hardening them to the point that a common file wouldn't cut them. Perhaps that is the time they started date stamping them,,I'm just guessing though.

Old or new,,they still give me good service.

 

[Alk8944]

RCBS date stamped dies virtually from the beginning when Fred T. was making them in the back of his dad's laundry in Oroville. They just started numerically dating them somewhere around 1966-68. Before that they were alphabetically date stamped. Used to know what years the letters meant but it wasn't important enough to remember this long. And, they were always hardened by nitriding in a Cyanide bath. This has nothing to do with the dating.

So far as quality, current production is far better than in the old days. When I worked there the shop joke was that the term "Precisioneered" was just a fancy way of saying "All F****d up".

 

[Paul5388]

The date really shouldn't make any difference. They will warranty anything you send to them that isn't right. I sent a 1968 .35 Whelen sizing die back to them for some reason that escapes me right now and they just sent me a new one in a new box.

 

[Homie]

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but I decided to see for myself.

I have a set of 30-30 dies with a P, and a set of .225 dies dated '64.

Good shooting.

 

[OLD SKOOL]

Thanks for the insight. The dies mentioned in my origional post are 375
H&H caliber. The only marking is a "N" on the top of the die body.

 

[Alk8944]

Thanks for the insight. The dies mentioned in my origional post are 375
H&H caliber. The only marking is a "N" on the top of the die body.

Those are close to the end of alphabetic date coding. This may be wrong, but the last alpha code I recall seeing was "P". My recollection is they were still using the alpha stamps when I worked there in 1964. The change could very well have occurred sometime that year.

 

[Skeet 028]

I have a set of RCBS 243 dies

The date code is an "F". The 243 was introduced in 1955 so I would say they are an early set either made in 1955 or 56. Earliest code letter I have is a set of 44 special dies with a "B" on them..

 

[n4zov]

I don't know if their quality is better or worse, but RCBS has always had excellent customer service. They have always done everything they could to satisfy me, and I have had very few problems over 50 years of reloading with their products.

 

[Jellybean]

I don't know if their quality is better or worse, but RCBS has always had excellent customer service. They have always done everything they could to satisfy me, and I have had very few problems over 50 years of reloading with their products.

Same here. I went "green" long before it was politically correct.