dikman
10-12-2014, 05:05 AM
I put this here because it's to do with a press, even though it's a bit of a how-to (not sure where else to put it).
My new Lee turret press (basic model, not the Classic) is designed to catch spent primers by the simple expedient of dropping them from the side of the ram and through a hole into the hollow base of the press. Not really a problem normally, as the base will hold an awful lot of primers before it has to be unbolted to empty them out. As my press will be removed from the bench after a reloading session, I figured this would result in spent primers rattling around in the base (my press stays permanently bolted to a heavy steel plate, approx. 7" square). So, after staring at the bottom of it for quite a while, I came up with the following. I used an old brass padlock (!) that I'd ripped the innards out of, mainly because it had a 1/2" hole down the middle where the tumbler fitted. I trimmed it to fit into the gap underneath the bottom of the hole where the primers drop through, and then cut it diagonally so that I ended up with a half-width hole on one end, so that it matched the half-width hole in the base casting. I then silver soldered a short piece of brass tube to the other end of the brass block so that I could fit a piece of plastic tube to lead out from underneath the base. As there won't be any strain on it, I used a hot-melt gun to hold it in place. Hopefully the piccies might make it a bit clearer.
My steel base plate happened to have several mounting holes already in it, and one of them almost lined up with the hose, so a bit of filing to enlarge it soon fixed that. I'll probably just attach a small plastic bag to the hose to catch the primers when I'm de-capping.
I also made a shorter handle for it. The press comes with the "new" angled handle that has the rotating rubber handgrip. It works well, but I found it a bit long and I just know I'm going to catch something on it!! So a piece of 1/2" steel rod, 9" long, threaded at one end, a nice round plastic door knob I happened to have tapped to match the thread and bingo! Almost instant handle. A bit of buffing on a wheel to make it shine, for the finishing touch. It feels much nicer.
118897
118898
118899
My new Lee turret press (basic model, not the Classic) is designed to catch spent primers by the simple expedient of dropping them from the side of the ram and through a hole into the hollow base of the press. Not really a problem normally, as the base will hold an awful lot of primers before it has to be unbolted to empty them out. As my press will be removed from the bench after a reloading session, I figured this would result in spent primers rattling around in the base (my press stays permanently bolted to a heavy steel plate, approx. 7" square). So, after staring at the bottom of it for quite a while, I came up with the following. I used an old brass padlock (!) that I'd ripped the innards out of, mainly because it had a 1/2" hole down the middle where the tumbler fitted. I trimmed it to fit into the gap underneath the bottom of the hole where the primers drop through, and then cut it diagonally so that I ended up with a half-width hole on one end, so that it matched the half-width hole in the base casting. I then silver soldered a short piece of brass tube to the other end of the brass block so that I could fit a piece of plastic tube to lead out from underneath the base. As there won't be any strain on it, I used a hot-melt gun to hold it in place. Hopefully the piccies might make it a bit clearer.
My steel base plate happened to have several mounting holes already in it, and one of them almost lined up with the hose, so a bit of filing to enlarge it soon fixed that. I'll probably just attach a small plastic bag to the hose to catch the primers when I'm de-capping.
I also made a shorter handle for it. The press comes with the "new" angled handle that has the rotating rubber handgrip. It works well, but I found it a bit long and I just know I'm going to catch something on it!! So a piece of 1/2" steel rod, 9" long, threaded at one end, a nice round plastic door knob I happened to have tapped to match the thread and bingo! Almost instant handle. A bit of buffing on a wheel to make it shine, for the finishing touch. It feels much nicer.
118897
118898
118899