Cheap and Easy Air Feed Kit

[RydForLyf]

Yesterday I built my own air kit for my sizer and it only took about an hour. The secret was an air cylinder from Grainger that is on clearance for $11.60. (http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/SPE...Cylinder-3ARU3).

This is a 7/8” bore with a 5” stroke. The nose threads right into the cap on the sizer and the only thing that took anything more than a piece of 1/8” pipe, was coming up with a plunger that would work.

The plunger I came up with is made from one 5/16 x 3” bolt, a short piece of 3/4” SCH40 PVC for a ‘body’, a couple fender washers and one nut. I stole the hycar piston (S107) from the stock plunger.

To make the plunger:
1. Stick the bolt with a washer through the hycar piston from bottom to top.
2. Cut the PVC to a length that would leave about ½” of exposed threads
3. Drop a couple of fender washers onto the bolt and center onto the end of the PVC
4. Run a nut onto the end of the bolt.
5. **IMPORTANT** Make sure the bolt does not stick out of the nut. Leaving the end of the bolt one thread inside the nut provides a natural ‘seat’ for the end of the push rod.

That’s it. I already had a regulator and the appropriate fittings lying around to make the connections. I hooked it up, ran it up to 60psi and I was done. It works great!

Now, I admit that my quickee plunger is not great, but it works. I will most likely replace it with a piece of tapped aluminum bar stock. Other than that, it’s done.
One extra advantage of moving away from the screw plunger is that my lube sticks can now be 4.5” in length. When the sizer is empty, my lube sticks come all the way up to the bleed hole.

I haven’t included a picture because my feed looks like the Magma model. My cylinder looks to be a bit shorter, but other than that, they are very similar.
The real secret to the success to this feed kit is the cheap cylinder. These are on clearance at Grainger, so no idea how long they will last.

Good luck,

Chuck

[RydForLyf]

I got to work with the new feeder today and am really starting to enjoy not having to mess with the screw anymore. An added benefit is now being able to actually be able to find the correct pressure / temp sweet spot and keep it there.

I wish I had done this a long time ago. It's a totally different machine now.

Chuck

[RydForLyf]

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are some pictures of my "Air Feed on the Cheap".

(In the background you can see the best modification I've done to my press. I mounted the case feeder into the countertop to stop the shaking and jiggling that I got when it was mounted directly to the press.)


One big benefit is that I can now use lube sticks that are 4.5" long which means I'm adding lube a lot less frequently.


Here are the plunger internals. Everything is right out of the hardware drawer except for the hycar plunger which I stole from the original plunger. The PVC core is lightly held between the plunger and top washers. It's not loose enough to flop around and not so tight that the hycar plunger is distorted, but just slightly snug. Both nuts were installed with a drop of red Loctite on them to ensure they won't come loose.


Here's a shot of the PVC core's length. I just eyeballed it and the length is perfect with the washers I'm using.


It is a very simple design and even after buying a new $20 regulator and a nipple, I have less than $40 invested, even after shipping from Grainger.

- Chuck

[simsra]

How do you pull the plunger up when you need to add more lube? Did you have to something that would screw into the nut on the end?
Ron

[RydForLyf]

How do you pull the plunger up when you need to add more lube? Did you have to something that would screw into the nut on the end?
Ron

You are exactly right. I use a long bolt or even the original plunger if it's more convenient to grab. However the much longer lube stick means I'm not adding lube as often.

Chuck

[simsra]

I made the same setup you described with one small difference. I used a three inch 1/4" bolt instead of a 5/16" bolt. I then used a coupler nut and screwed the piston and plunger together. It seems to work fine. I still need to get a heater because I need to crank the air pressure over 60 lbs. to get it to flow very well. I would be a little more comfortable around the 35 lb. mark. Thanks for the plan and the heads up on the Grainger air cylinder. By the way, the size of the PVC is 3/4". Once again, excellent plan, thanks!
Ron

[RydForLyf]

I made the same setup you described with one small difference. I used a three inch 1/4" bolt instead of a 5/16" bolt. I then used a coupler nut and screwed the piston and plunger together. It seems to work fine. I still need to get a heater because I need to crank the air pressure over 60 lbs. to get it to flow very well. I would be a little more comfortable around the 35 lb. mark. Thanks for the plan and the heads up on the Grainger air cylinder. By the way, the size of the PVC is 3/4". Once again, excellent plan, thanks!
Ron

Sounds like you've got a good set-up. I don't like "fishing" out the plunger and will be making changes to address that the next time I need to add lube.

Thanks for the correction on the PVC. I had 1" in my head because I had just cut new lube tubes and used 1" SCH40 for that, but you are correct, the plunger is 3/4"

Chuck

[simsra]

Works good. Still waiting for a heater. Hoping Casting Timmy is going to start production. Looks like a good heater. I'll wait for a bit and see.
Ron

[badluther]

Thanks to the OP who posted this. Quite ingenious.

I stopped by Grainger and managed to order an air cylinder for the project. This along with my heater will definitely pimp out my star sizer.

[bbqncigars]

Dang, the cylinder now shows OOS! Guess I'll have to see what I can scrounge at work.


Wayne

[RydForLyf]

Dang, the cylinder now shows OOS! Guess I'll have to see what I can scrounge at work.


Wayne

Try this one... Air Cylinder, 7/8 In Bore, 5 In Stroke it's a 7/8" like the original but this one is only $7.07 and with the rear port on the side, you don't have deal with any elbows to get the regulator horizontal which may be even better.

Chuck

[Rockchucker]

That's a darn good price on that Air Cylinder, If I were to do this project over I definably would go this route.

[Cmemiss]

Just ordered one. Will let you know when it (and the Star) comes in and is set up.

[chasweav]

I do not see how you would mount it on the star... Charlie

[RydForLyf]

I do not see how you would mount it on the star... Charlie

Charlie,

The nose of the cylinder is threaded 5/8-18, the same as the stock pressure screw. All you do is remove the pressure screw and thread the nose of the cylinder into the cap.

Chuck

[chasweav]

Chuck the one you used has a threaded mounting end, The specs on the $7 does not have that threaded fitting.. That was why I was wondering how to attach it to the Star.

I found one in graingers With the same spcs as yours for $31, the 6CPW2
now that the $11 dollar one is no longer in stock. Charlie

[RydForLyf]

Chuck the one you used has a threaded mounting end, The specs on the $7 does not have that threaded fitting.. That was why I was wondering how to attach it to the Star.

I found one in graingers With the same spcs as yours for $31, the 6CPW2
now that the $11 dollar one is no longer in stock. Charlie

Charlie,

You are correct in that their specs do not have a nose thread specified.

But, since the picture shows two nuts, one on each end, I called Grainger and their tech support person checked and confirmed that the cylinder does have a 5/8-18 threaded nose.

I would recommend using their pop-up call-back feature to make sure they tell you the same thing they told me before ordering one. Or, if you're close to a branch location, they'll ship it in for free to the Will Call counter so you can make sure that way too.

I haven't had one in my hand and am only going on what I've been told over the phone.

If someone does find out for sure, please post results.

Chuck

[chasweav]

Thanks Chuck, I will call and if so I will order.. I will keep you posted. Thanks again.. Charlie

[RydForLyf]

Thanks Chuck, I will call and if so I will order.. I will keep you posted. Thanks again.. Charlie

I looked at the printed Grainger catalog and they have a table of information showing the different cylinders and specs. Page 3778 is one example. In each of these tables, the 7/8 double ended units are all 5/8-18 nose threads. This correlates with what I was told.

Chuck

[badluther]

How did you get the hycar plunger off? Clamp it in a vise and use an allen key on the head of the bolt?
I am having a heck of a time getting mine loose.