RCE Presses

[ANeat]

This is the Mega Mite.

[bohica2xo]

ANeat:

The walnut hill & the mega-mite are still two different critters when it comes to where the force is.

The mega-mite is a hybrid between the other two. The guide plate does have an advantage for the average home shop machinist. The other big change in the mega-mite is moving the cross pin for the ejector up to the top of the base plate.

While adding a needle bearing to the link will smooth things up, the ultimate force applied is still limited by the roll pin.

The walnut hill places all of the stress on the links. the top plate does not need to be secured to the rods by any great strength. The mega-mite is trying to stretch the rods, and the top plate needs to be well secured.

I believe you mentioned McMaster-Carr for guide rods. They sell a simple case hardened SAE1566 alloy rod. In a 1.00 diameter the case depth is .080, and they tap fairly well if you face the end off. About 20 bucks for an 18" length. If you go with the walnut hill design, a tapped hole in the ends of those should do fine. Even as small as 3/8 - 24, although I would probably go with 7/16-20.

B.

[hardcase54]

A little different from my S-press

[ANeat]

Thanks for the info B. Yes I really like the linkage setup on the Walnut Hill compared to the others.

[ANeat]

Yea Hardcase, there are a few variants out there, including the ones that lay down horizontal.

More than one way to squeeze a bullet out

[Willbird]

Man I would like to have one of those to look at, pictures are just not doing it. I agree however that walnut hill is the design type I am interested in. They did get back to me with a quote, they quoted the wrong lengths...but the good news is the price is only $.84 per inch, $5.04 for a 6" length....so that would be just over $15 for an 18" length.

Although I generally hate the metric system, metric socket head capscrews do have one nice feature, the heads are bigger in dia in proportion to the bolt size, sometimes that is a feature worth having.

Bill

[MightyThor]

As far as the roll pins in the CSP I believe they go thru a bushing and the links actually ride on needle bearings.

I like the CSP design that was posted by Manleyjt but there is a very long piece in the base serving as the "guide" for lack of a better word. Looks like that would be a little tougher to pull off with what I have to work with.

Something like the Walnut Hill or Mega Mite has the seperate guide attatched to the top of the ram. That requires the polished/ground rods on the sides but I think makes for a stronger setup.

I think one of the best features of the Walnut hill is that the guide rod alignment is not really critical until the ram gets to the top of the stroke and at that point the alignment is held most securely because the guide is closest to the top plate and exerting less leverage on the guide rods. With the use of the floating punch holders that the Corbins tend to favor, there is a fair amount of room for alignment variables without negative effect on the swaging process.

[scrapcan]

While you guys are in a building mood here are some additional press types that could be built and most likely some easier than others.

First is the SAS press by Ted Smith or the corbin mighty mite

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=56653

you could make the press out of large square stock and the ram from round-ground-hardened stock.

Here is a link to an old thread by Elk Hunter, this pictures are now down but I bet he would show them again if interested.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=47506

And here is a picture of the herters 9ton press, you should be able to make one like this if you have a mill

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=31165

And here is an o frame type press that was shop made.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=32725

[Willbird]

OK I just got a quote for 18" long pieces of 1" dia

$15.12 each.

Bill

[dragonrider]

I checked the web site for speedy metals and found this for the guide rods. Quite reasonable prices I think.
Speedy metals 1144 stressproof Turned, ground and polished
1"x18"=$10.31
3/4"x18"=$5.98
7/8"x18"=$8.09

Guides rods such as pictured in post 48 are the way to go I would think, but the price tag is outrageous. They can be made from the material listed above for considerably less. If using the 1" material I would turn the threaded end to .750" and thread it 24 TPI. A few bronze bushings and some flat stock for the rest of the press, some shoulder bolts for the swinging arms to pivot on.
I am more than a little interested in building such a press, the walnut hill style would be my choice.

[ANeat]

I was thinking that as well Paul, a couple of the guys pointed out how soft they were. (compared to what else is available) A little more searching and either the place Wilbird found or McMaster had regular case hardened shafting, ground and polished, the outside a tough R60 hardness about .080 thick.

1"x 18" is $20.00 If you could get away with a 12" piece its $13.16

Adam

[dragonrider]

Unless someone who owns one of these presses can tell us for certain that the shafts are hardened I am inclined not to go that route. I don't believe it is needed. The bushings will wear long before the shaft will and are easily replaceable. Turning hardened shaft be will difficult to say the least, not impossible and I can do it, but difficult. If the case harden is .080 deep that will make threading very difficult also as you will not be under it at .750". So then the thing to do would be to turn it down further to say .625". Another alternative would be to drill and tap the ends of the shafts and fasten it together using grade 8 bolts, this will require machining a counterbore into the top plate and possibly the bottom. Drawings will need to be made and methods of attachment discussed.
In short I think the only thing the case hardened shafting will do is make the job more difficult.

I did find this but at only 12" overal length I think it would be too short.


Part Number: 1144K47 $35.75 Each
Application
Linear Motion Shafts

Type
Shafts

Shaft Type
Machinable End Shafts

System of Measurement
Inch

Material
Steel

Steel Type
AISI 1566 Steel

Finish
Plain

Surface Finish
8-12 rms

Hardness
Case Hardened

Minimum Hardness Depth
0.08"

Rockwell/Brinell Hardness
Rockwell C60

Outside Diameter
1"

Outside Diameter Tolerance
-0.0005" to -0.001"

Straightness Tolerance
0.001" per foot

Overall Length
12"

Ends
Chamfered

Test Report
Without Test Report

Specifications Met
American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)

Note
Shafts come with 2" of each end already annealed (softened). Are precision ground for exacting diameter and straightness tolerances.

[ANeat]

Honestly I couldnt say whether the stressproof would be hard enough or not. With the case hardened I was planning on what you described, drill/tap the ends, slight co-bore on the plates. Bolt together.

Plus with a bolt on version the 12" would be long enough.

Seems like I read somewhere the ram on one of those presses was chrome plated I cant recall if Ive heard how hard they are.

Unless someone does a hardness check on one were all just guessing as best we can.

[bohica2xo]

Might want to check that math there dragonrider. A 1.00 shaft reduced to .750 for threading would have .125 stock removal for threading - well below the .080 case.

If you are afraid of the hardened material, just make it out of drill rod. For the walnut hill design, the rods are not in tension. You could easily turn them down to .500, and thread them .500-20


For a mightyMite design, the rods should be up to the force generated by the linkage.


B.

[Buckshot]

...........The guide/support rods on the Walnut Hill are hard chromed.



I made these dies for a 1871 Brazilian Comblain carbine. The material was the shafts from the front struts of an '87 Chevy Celebrity. They're 7/8" in diameter and hard chromed. Now I do not know what the steel was they're made of but it machined well. I had to use a carbide threading tool to cut the threads as a HSS bit simply and totally failed to penetrate

Of course it probably wouldn't pay to go mucking around in an auto dismantelers looking for something similar, or hasseling with taking them off on top of it! However, if someone was to stop by a couple automotive shops to check out their dumpster, who knows? I sure wouldn't be afraid to use them.

.............Buckshot

[jixxerbill]

im very interested in this thread ! i dont have alot to offer as far as helping. i just got my lathe finally and in the process of making some dies for my bss press from mr. blackmon.. but it seems to have some kind of oddball internal threads in the ram, i cant match them. so if this press thats being designed on here comes about , please let me know !! im interested in getting one ! thanks...bill

[teddyblu]

jioxxerbill:
I don't know about blackmon press but my Ted Smith press has a 5/8x24 thread in the ram. I have taps and dies for this thread I purchased from MSC

Larry

[dragonrider]

"Might want to check that math there dragonrider. A 1.00 shaft reduced to .750 for threading would have .125 stock removal for threading - well below the .080 case."

OOPS your right. I hate it when that happens. And this could change my mind about useing case hardened shaft. Not the method I would prefer but absolutely doable and less work involved too, at least on the shafts. Buckshot has provided a valuable piece info about the shafts being hardchrome plated. I'd be all over that if I could find some. Did not see it listed anywher yet. I am sure it is out there though.

[ANeat]

The chrome plated shafting is available but the stuff Ive found is pretty expensive. Ive looked at a lot of different linear shafting but I seem to recall $50.00 for the plated rods compared to less than $20.00 for the case hardened.

[bohica2xo]

The case hardened shafts should be just fine - unless you are making bullets in an acidic swamp.

Anytime you get a case that deep on SAE1566, the core is plenty tough too. That should make an excellent part, and thread well. I would rather thread heat treated material than ferro-manureite.

Really, with a bolt together design based on the Walnut Hill you only need precision holes in the moving plate. Bolt clearance holes top & bottom are all you need to hold it together. No counterbores are really necessary, the plate with the bearings is used to align the rods.

B.