Upside Down boolit sizing press-purpose built, for lee dies

[sukivel]

Yeah I’m interested as well...


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[CGT80]

I have not forgotten about producing these. For the last 7 weeks, I have been working out of town on replacing 30,000 feet or so of barb wire fencing. Originally, I hoped to work on the project on the weekends, but the fencing work has hammered my body and I have had to rest. The second prototype is functioning but not powder coated. With the long weekend, I'm hoping to cast boolits to use for testing out the sizing press. This job should wrap up in a few weeks and allow me to get to a point of doing a small run of these. Of course when it is ready for production, I will post in the for sale section to comply with forum rules.

Chris

[oteroman]

Interested!
Please consider allowing it to utilize NOE Star insert, then each size “button” you need are sold for $6 each.
Cheap and works great.
I have two Stars I use for sizing only that use these.


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[LongRangeAir]

I am really enjoying the NOE system.

Knife

[Cue]

Here is my upside down press.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnugW7zMbFs

[Loudy13]

I would be interested in one of these if you ever produce them, I had a redding boss that was flipped upside down but it wasn't quite stout enough so I traded it away. I miss having the upside down press with a tube and a catch bucket.

[CGT80]

Here is my upside down press.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnugW7zMbFs

That is a slick upside down press and all the better with a boolit feeder.

[CGT80]

Interested!
Please consider allowing it to utilize NOE Star insert, then each size “button” you need are sold for $6 each.
Cheap and works great.
I have two Stars I use for sizing only that use these.


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I saw the NOE version of the lee sizers, on the NOE site. Is that what you are referring to?
I'm not sure how it relates to star sizers.

If you want to lead me to more info on the system, I would be happy to consider building a press to accept them. If it is the NOE system, I was tempted to buy it and make the press around their system, but decided the lee would suit my needs. It may or may not be worth building, but it would be fun to at least look into it and explore what would be needed.


Looks like I have about two weeks of work left on Camp Pendelton, Ca. with that barb wire work. This week, we have seen constant convoys going in and out of the base, I'm assuming down to the Mexico border. As of right now, we don't have the next job scheduled yet, so I'm hoping for a break from work to spend time on this sizing machine.

Two weeks ago, I did manage to cast some 45 cal and 30 cal boolits to test my press with. The 30 cal need another coat of powdercoat on them. Hopefully, I will get to test those this weekend. We got rained out for Thursday and today, so I started the weekend early (worked all Thanksgiving weekend on an emergency water main leak for a golf course and another monthly lighting maintenance job I do for another company).

[Cue]

That is a slick upside down press and all the better with a boolit feeder.

I have since added one

[CGT80]

Today, I managed to test out version 2 and make a few videos. I'm pleased with how it works and was happy to find out that my 45 cal boolits are about 8 thousandths over size when powder coated. This was a decent test for this press.

I'm no youtuber and hate hearing and recording my voice. Hand holding a phone, trying to stay steady, narrate and also work a press all at one time is not exactly easy. About 18 years ago, I got an AS degree in still photography, using film and printing in a darkroom............a far cry from doing video. Hopefully, the amateur videos give you guys a good idea of what this press is like to actually use.

Any constructive input would be appreciated.

Other than the idea to use NOE sizing die with this press, I think it may be ready for me to post something in the for sale section.

I have not decided whether to offer various colors or to just stick with one combo. While I love the candy purple, it requires polishing the parts before coating. The textured black (on version 1) is a great finish and solid colors are also practical.

Overview with short handle and extra leverage:


Extended handle, extra leverage with lube:


Short handle and full throw (less leverage), with lube:

[Traffer]

My first impression while looking at the OP was ... "Wow, that is an absolute work of art."
I am even more impressed now.
It has also given me some ideas for flipping my 22lr swaging setup. A problem I have is balancing the boolit on top of the base die. Flipping would alleviate that.
Yay for Castboolits!

[kevin c]

Salivating here...

My hat is off to folks like CTG80, whose mechanical skills combined with ingenuity bring a lot to the table when it comes to solving practical problems. Looking forward to the time when you decide to put this in production.

[Loudy13]

yup yup still want one, solid color is fine with me although the purple looks great I am sure the production time and cost will be less with a solid color!!

[Loudy13]

I forgot I would be interested if it accepted the NOE sizing system, I think the only issue and I am sure someone can chime in is that there would maybe be a clearance issue with the NOE system. I could measure mine and let you know what the interference is above the threaded area.

[Grmps]

Looks like no sweat with the full throw

[44magLeo]

With my low speed internet I don't do videos.
Some have asked about making it left or right handed.
I can see in the pics for the videos how the roller part of the handle is bolted to the inner part of the handle. To make it so you can have it left or right handed leave one steel strap straight with the 45 degree bend out close to the roller. Then adjust the bends in the other strap to match so the roller sets at 45*. this would move the roller off to one side or the other bolting in on for which feels best for the operator.
Leo

[CGT80]

With my low speed internet I don't do videos.
Some have asked about making it left or right handed.
I can see in the pics for the videos how the roller part of the handle is bolted to the inner part of the handle. To make it so you can have it left or right handed leave one steel strap straight with the 45 degree bend out close to the roller. Then adjust the bends in the other strap to match so the roller sets at 45*. this would move the roller off to one side or the other bolting in on for which feels best for the operator.
Leo

That is a great idea!

I wonder if it would make a big difference when actually used...........a test would be necessary.

The press is currently made with 3/8" plate for the bottom and 1/4" plate steel for the rest. It does have some flex, but the forces are downward and not side to side with the centered handle. With the angle, it may be necessary to move to 3/8" plate to compensate. This is doable, but would require longer bushings and more time to finish the heavier plate. The other option is to go back to the drawing board for a design that is not prone to flex.

A test with a single piece of bent flat material would be a simple test.

[CGT80]

I forgot I would be interested if it accepted the NOE sizing system, I think the only issue and I am sure someone can chime in is that there would maybe be a clearance issue with the NOE system. I could measure mine and let you know what the interference is above the threaded area.

Please do give me some measurements on your setup!
I had the same concern. The press may need more throw to run the NOE system as the die threads in from the inside of the press.

The amount you thread the die in could vary, at least it does with the lee dies. This could create a variable. I considered ordering an NOE setup, but don't necessarily need it for my sizing purposes..........just to build a press to accept them.

[sagebrush rebel]

Great press. Would you ever consider selling a kit and letting the buyer assemble. Might just need the hard parts that a normal person would have a hard time finding. Thanks Don

[CGT80]

Great press. Would you ever consider selling a kit and letting the buyer assemble. Might just need the hard parts that a normal person would have a hard time finding. Thanks Don

This isn't designed in such a way to prevent the need to assemble while building it.

The tube that accepts the bushing has a stop tig welded in the bottom, and the tube is tig welded to the upright which is tig welded to the base. It is aligned with a purpose made alignment tool to get the hole for the die centered and on axis with the ram. Since I am not working with a full production shop and the parts are cnc plasma cut and then hand finished (vs. cnc milled) each press would be hand fit and aligned. If there were many of these to be made, I would use the CNC mill, but that is my brother's machine. It is an hour from my shop and I have not run his machine before, so would be dependent on him showing me the ropes. Instead, I used a manual mill and lathe where needed. If there was enough demand, I would consider running the parts on the cnc mill.