Swaging Accessories

[ricklaut]

At the end of this thread, I described how I intend to use my new 3D printer to create accessories that will be useful when I'm swaging bullets. I successfully created my first item from scratch, and wanted to share it here.

This is what I'm calling a "bleed tray". On one hand, it's very simple and doesn't look like much. On the other hand, I created it using tools that (in my opinion) are revolutionary... a 3D printer, that literally takes a computer drawing and prints it in plastic. In this case, ABS.

I do most of my swaging indoors (it's hot in Vegas & I have no AC in the garage)... so I try to run a clean shop (keeps the spousal unit happier than the alternative). When swaging lead cores, the lead wire that bleeds off falls to the floor. So, seeing a use for the two holes that were thoughtfully included on my Lee Classic Cast press, I designed a simple "bleed tray" that catches the wire.



Using a CAD program and after taking measurements, I came up with this tray. My printer came yesterday and after one failed attempt (see the linked thread, above) this is the next thing I tried to print from my list of "swaging accessories". I think having this capability will be tremendously useful!

I don't have the knowledge or the tools to make dies like some of you, but I know my way around a computer & technology .

[scarry scarney]

I like it! Depending upon the price I'd take one. I'm waiting to see what else I need, that I didn't know that I needed.

[williamwaco]

WOW,

Design a good primer catcher and you could get RICH!!!!

[khamill2000]

I have something similar. I drilled a 1" hole in an old butter tub and threaded the die through it into the press.

[ricklaut]

Thanks for the interest . I realize there may be a place / market for this kind of stuff; I'm taking one step at a time and I think I have a bit to learn before jumping into the deep end.

Other stuff I've got some plans for include a catch tray for the swaged cores and / or bullets so they too don't head to the floor, a derim catcher and a jacket/core shaker (based on the work done by supe47 in the other thread). But honestly, the first two are kind of solutions in search of a problem... there are simpler ways to solve some of them (i.e. a cardboard box under the press to catch cores and a soda bottle to catch derimmed jackets). khamill2000 hit it also on the bleed tray - there are simple / effective solutions. Then, like the core shaker, others came up with the idea and are already covering the need.

I have a habit of over-complicating things . But I have fun doing it!

[anotherred]

Very nice.

[MOcaster]

Nice! I'll be really impressed when you get the jacket tray/core seat/place/what-have-you tray done. Is that a repurposed flexible desk lamp that I see to hold your cores? I like that. And are all of your presses on a lazy Susan? That's a great idea. How does it hold up?

[ricklaut]

Nice! I'll be really impressed when you get the jacket tray/core seat/place/what-have-you tray done. Is that a repurposed flexible desk lamp that I see to hold your cores? I like that. And are all of your presses on a lazy Susan? That's a great idea. How does it hold up?

The arm you're seeing is a flexible arm (usually used in photography - on a tripod to hold accessories), and on the end of it, I have a stainless steel bowl that holds the cores. That way, I can position them right next to the press, at the right level so they're easy to pick up. It helps tremendously with the speed at which I can swage them.

The presses are mounted on a Lazy Susan of sorts... it's a ginormous (very heavy) stool. A regular wimpy bar stool wouldn't work too well, but this thing is big enough & heavy enough to do the job. For some tasks, I do brace the opposite side against the desk but believe it or not, that's only necessary on the priming / up-stroke (effectively a horizontal motion / push on my RCBS Pro 2000 press). The downward motion is quite stable. The idea is I can rotate them into play in my relatively small room (10x10, with two desks in there) or drag it out into the garage if friends are over and we're having a reloading party. I'm derimming on this thing, so it's taking a lot of force... (but I found that I did need a steel subframe to make it work well).

The catch tray is pretty large, so before I attempt that I'm going to solve temperature issue first (the outside edges of the print are getting too cool too fast, causing one edge to lift). I've got a busy couple of days at work, but hopefully by the end of the weekend, I'll have that and the core shaker tray figured out (same issue with temp / lifting of the print).

[plus1hdcp]

Looks great - two thumbs up

[Dryball]

That's wayyy awesome! Plus one on what Williamwaco said! If you could make a primer catcher that you could attach a tube to for the Rockchucker I think you'd be rich!

[ricklaut]

That's wayyy awesome! Plus one on what Williamwaco said! If you could make a primer catcher that you could attach a tube to for the Rockchucker I think you'd be rich!

Allright... I'll put the Rockchucker primer catcher on my list of stuff to look into . I have a Rockchucker too, so it absolutely would be helpful (I just don't use it to decap much any more, so I've forgotten the pain of primers under bare feet).

[ricklaut]

Here's a short video I took this morning when I started to print this part:

[ricklaut]

Allright... I'll put the Rockchucker primer catcher on my list of stuff to look into . I have a Rockchucker too, so it absolutely would be helpful (I just don't use it to decap much any more, so I've forgotten the pain of primers under bare feet).

It turns out there is already a primer catcher already designed for 3D printing (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:84047). I reached out to the designer via e-mail and encouraged him to post here, noting the interest the idea generated. As for profiting from another's design, I'd prefer to ensure explicit permission first (even though I'm sure that's becoming a widespread occurrence & most things have Creative Commons licensing). Hopefully he'll post here; otherwise if he e-mails me I'll report back.

On a related note, you'd be amazed at the amount of stuff that is available for downloading / printing. Check out the www.thingiverse.com site to get an idea (lots of stupid little things and some true gems). All downloadable & printable.

[MOcaster]

Don't forget about www.defcad.com. They have some useful files. Okay, maybe not entirely practical but at least really cool.

[ricklaut]

Don't forget about www.defcad.com. They have some useful files. Okay, maybe not entirely practical but at least really cool.

Oh, Absolutely! Some of their best stuff got taken down and you have to go to a torrent site to find them... and much is just a mirror from Thingiverse, but yes - definitely check out Defcad!

[midnight]

ricklaut: Thanks for the idea. I just made a bleed catcher from a plastic cup that comes on clothes washing soap. I picked one that fit between the posts on the Walnut Hill & cut a 1 inch hole in the center. It slides tightly over the 1 inch OD Walnut Hill dies and will catch even those tiny bits of lead when I swage cores the second time. Thanks again for the bright and simple idea.

Bob

[ricklaut]

ricklaut: Thanks for the idea. I just made a bleed catcher from a plastic cup that comes on clothes washing soap. I picked one that fit between the posts on the Walnut Hill & cut a 1 inch hole in the center. It slides tightly over the 1 inch OD Walnut Hill dies and will catch even those tiny bits of lead when I swage cores the second time. Thanks again for the bright and simple idea.

Bob

You're very welcome! Simple is good (I say that to myself often, since I over-complicate so much stuff).

I'd be embarrassed to post my first version of this thing... it had cups that dropped over the edges of the press on the sides, a deflection plate to direct the wire into the cup in case the hole was pointed directly forward / backward - all because of how I initially dealt with the height between the top of the press and the lock ring / bleed hole. Glad I thought it through before I actually printed it. Turns out, a simple flat dish seems to work pretty good!

[lcecil]

It turns out there is already a primer catcher already designed for 3D printing (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:84047). I reached out to the designer via e-mail and encouraged him to post here, noting the interest the idea generated. As for profiting from another's design, I'd prefer to ensure explicit permission first (even though I'm sure that's becoming a widespread occurrence & most things have Creative Commons licensing). Hopefully he'll post here; otherwise if he e-mails me I'll report back.

On a related note, you'd be amazed at the amount of stuff that is available for downloading / printing. Check out the www.thingiverse.com site to get an idea (lots of stupid little things and some true gems). All downloadable & printable.

Anyone is welcome to print, use, sell, whatever the 84047 design. Could not embarrass RCBS enough to get them to consider it! Lots of good ideas and stuff on thingiverse. Not all of them are worth the plastic and some won't slice and print. 3D printing has lots of use in reloading, but many ideas are very specific to the model of press/dies, so it is hard to get anything that would sell on the auction sites. I do 'print for friends' if any board members want one of these for a RC3 or RC4 press. It does not fit the old RC presses very well, but no one seems to need something new for those units.

[ricklaut]

Anyone is welcome to print, use, sell, whatever the 84047 design. Could not embarrass RCBS enough to get them to consider it! Lots of good ideas and stuff on thingiverse. Not all of them are worth the plastic and some won't slice and print. 3D printing has lots of use in reloading, but many ideas are very specific to the model of press/dies, so it is hard to get anything that would sell on the auction sites. I do 'print for friends' if any board members want one of these for a RC3 or RC4 press. It does not fit the old RC presses very well, but no one seems to need something new for those units.

lcecil: Thanks for stopping in & giving some background on your primer catcher / Creative Commons (and thanks also for the e-mail!). I've definitely got this on the list to print & try for my RockChucker; I'll report back here so those interested know how it works!

[ricklaut]

Here's the second part that I created - a derim cup. Again, nothing extraordinary. Most recently, I was using a soda bottle to catch the jackets as they come through the die, but why do that when I can print my own parts .



These show the inside of the base (but both pictures also represent mistakes I made learning how to print). The first picture - I got in a hurry & forgot to select all of the components before sending it off to print, so there is no sleeve that fits over the die, but it shows how the jackets will push up and over an internal lip. On the second one, I made some poor decisions about printing support material - but it works for a proof of concept, even if it's ugly.





Now that I have physical copies of these, I'll be tweaking them slightly (increasing the diameter of the die sleeve slightly and tightening the fit between the base and the cup). But, these are done ahead of the weekend when I hope to focus on successfully printing the larger pieces like the catch tray.