"Ram Chucker" an RCBS Rock Chucker Reloading Press runs on Air

[Dragonheart]

Link to video of Ram Chucker in operation https://youtu.be/t-YWK__2BAc

My "Ram Chucker" is an RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Reloading Press I altered to run using compressed air. It's much faster and a whole lot less work, but it's not for everyone as safety is a real issue. I have slowed down the ram, but a moments carelessness could cause a major injury. This video is a demonstration of what I have done, but not intended to encourage others to do the same. I can size in excess of 2000 powder coated bullets an hour and it works equally well using a Lee Bulge Buster to remove the 'bulge" in straight wall pistol cases.

[minmax]

That is way cool. When I feel better I'll contact you with a few ideas that were very similar.

[dragon813gt]

Making it so you have to activate a switch w/ both hands, as in two separate switches, will make it safe. If either hand comes off the switch the ram needs to stop. W/ both hands occupied your fingers are safe.

[GabbyM]

Very nice piece of work there.

Doesn’t look much more dangerous to me than a Star size press.
If you wanted to add quite a bit of safety I do have an idea. I spent about nine years in metal fabrication and flame cutting. Ran all types of punch presses, shears and breaks. One safety item they used on presses was a simple wrist strap connected by cable to a recoiling real with an interrupt switch . You had to bring your hands back to a pre set position to allow enough cable retract to make live the electric trip buttons or foot pedal. Another setup was to have two electric buttons wired so both needed to be pushed to trip the machine. One hand on each palm pad. With dual operators we could connect two so four pads needed to be pushed.

With your machine I think a single wrist strap on the left hand would do it. Then an electrical solenoid to trip the air valve. All those parts are off the shelf items from tool catalogs. Maybe Enco.

Advantage of the wrist strap is this. You could set it up so it released interrupt with your hand over your bullet box. Thus picking the next bullet while ram was cycling. With dual buttons your hand is idle.

Thing about spending money on safety devises like that is you never know if you saved any fingers or not. I still have all my parts after forty years of metal shop and carpentry. Much luck involved there but you make your own luck. I did take three trips to hospital. All from when thing would be sent flying and I didn’t get out of the way in time. Most of the bloody industrial accidents I personally witnessed were tied to drug and alcohol use on the job. Like a joint plus bottle of Annie Green Springs Apple Wine for lunch.

Like your machine. Very clean design. I'd not be afraid to run it the way it is. Just get a mental discipline to have your left hand in the bullet box before throwing the lever. I would look up the price on one of those hand strap setups however. May only be a hundred bucks or so.
　

[leftiye]

Watch your fingers. Don't ask.

[jeepyj]

Nicely done, super video. It interesting to see what other come up with in this case I'm impressed how professional everything looks and works. Thanks for sharing.
jeepyj

[kbstenberg]

Dragonheart
If I could ask? Just in parts, how much do you have invested?

[Hardcast416taylor]

Making it so you have to activate a switch w/ both hands, as in two separate switches, will make it safe. If either hand comes off the switch the ram needs to stop. W/ both hands occupied your fingers are safe.


The termonology we used for such an operation back when I worked as a skilled tradesman in a pressed metal plant was, "Two hand operation - no tie down switch". The "no tie down switch" means that one of the 2 operation buttons can`t be tied down so the operator can get by using only 1 button. It was all in the type of air switches you used to do this safety operation.Robert

[tja6435]

Very slick and good food for thought for the 70's vintage Rock Chucker I recently found for a killer price.

[Dragonheart]

I considered installing a no tie down switch to begin with, but there was a big difference in price for something that was a project in my mind only. But after running Ram Chucker for over 5 K cycles I just make sure my hand is well out of the way before activating the switch. The ram speed is slowed down and you can also hear it work. I took every industrial Engineering lab my university offered many years ago and I became a general contractor, so I have spent a lifetime around dangerous equipment and hazardous conditions, so I am well aware of how quickly a moment’s break of concentration can have bad consequences. I will probably change out the switch, as you can imagine I have a bunch of friends that can’t wait to use Ram Chucker. I can risk my safety, but not someone else’s. Ram Chucker is just fun to use, not to mention running a task with almost no effort.
As far as the cost, you need an air compressor; approximately 25 PSI will size bullets, but on some badly bulged 45 ACP brass I set the regulator at 100 PSI. The cylinder will support 250 PSI and deliver way more force than I could possibly ever need. The press I already owned, but you can find used Rock Chucker’s for around or under a $100, pay any more and just as well buy a new one. You wouldn’t need a Rock Chucker, but it is about as good of a single stage as one can find. The Air cylinder new sells for $200+, but merchants sell their new old stock on EBay. I bought this new air cylinder for $39 shipped. The whip hoses, connectors and regulator I got at Harbor Freight, around $30 also using 20% coupons. The 2 port, 5 way switch, speed control/mufflers came off EBay for about $18. The scrap steel & TIG welder I already owned, but the scrap steel goes for $0.30 a pound at a local yard. My TIG was considerably more expensive. So my out of pocket cost was under a $100. Ram Chucker is not permanent as the Rock Chucker Press can go back to a single stage by removing 5 bolts and reinstalling the press linkage and handle.

If you have more question pleas ask.

I am now working on Ram Checker, but that won’t be online for a while.

[RG1911]

Very very slick.

It seems as though one way to keep your fingers safe would be a simple mechanical slide. Insert bullet or case into slide and push it forward over the die. Adding suspenders to the belt, you might add a disconnect switch at one end of the slide's travel so the ram would not cycle unless the slide activated the switch.

However, I have minimal mechanical ability, so toss ideas with a large helping of salt.

Cheers,
Richard

[jmorris]

You have gone this far, just keep going and fully automate it.

A cross between this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY0SwjLJge4

FWIW the same proximity switch that causes the can crusher to cycle could also be used as a safety on something like you have. Fingers "in the way" could open a circuit making it impossible for the machine to cycle (using solinoids).

[jmorris]

And this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01zbImsdkbg

[Dragonheart]

Very very slick.

It seems as though one way to keep your fingers safe would be a simple mechanical slide. Insert bullet or case into slide and push it forward over the die. Adding suspenders to the belt, you might add a disconnect switch at one end of the slide's travel so the ram would not cycle unless the slide activated the switch.

However, I have minimal mechanical ability, so toss ideas with a large helping of salt.

Cheers,
Richard

They sell the switches on EBay and I will eventually get around to it, but I have been wrapped up in other projects and haven't spent any time with Ram Chucker. The Chucker is sitting idle as it's duties have been sizing powder coated bullets and de-bulging cases; all my cases were done long ago, I have thousands of powder coated bullets ready to load, but mainly because it was 106 degrees yesterday and just too hot to cast bullets and/or powder coat. What I need to do is figure a easy way to vent the casting pot to the exterior so I can work in the cool.

So at the present I am now working on "Ram Checker" in my air conditioned shop, as well as other honey do's.

[Dframe]

Very nice bit of work there!

[Dragonheart]

You have gone this far, just keep going and fully automate it.

A cross between this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY0SwjLJge4

FWIW the same proximity switch that causes the can crusher to cycle could also be used as a safety on something like you have. Fingers "in the way" could open a circuit making it impossible for the machine to cycle (using solinoids).

Actually, I have thought about building a can crusher, but if I do that then I will need to build a furnace to melt down the aluminum to make something. Seems like one project has a way of expanding.

[Dragonheart]

And this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01zbImsdkbg

Now that is really interesting you could be shooting at the range while more powder coated bullets were being sized. Thanks for sharing.

Richard

[jmorris]

I was thinking combine the pneumatic auto cycling control to your cylinder then make a toggle and slide.

you would have an auto machine that wouldn't eat your fingers.

[Dragonheart]

I was thinking combine the pneumatic auto cycling control to your cylinder then make a toggle and slide.

you would have an auto machine that wouldn't eat your fingers.

Only problem is bullet sizing is half of what Ram Chucker does. It takes very little pressure to size bullets, but sometime quite a bit to bulge bust 45 cases. When I Pick up range brass the first thing I do is a full case prep including cleaning, sizing, bulge busting, uniforming the primer pocket, deburing the flash hole and trimming if needed. So I would have to have a case feeder too.

[jmorris]

Yes, you need bullet/case collators to be completely automated but they can be built too.

This was the first bullet collator I built.
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/feeder4.jpg

That was later turned into a case collator.
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/reloading/DSC02187.jpg

[John Taylor]

While air is a bit quieter than hydraulic, I would go with the hydraulic. Works very well on 50 BMG with a constant speed where air can be a bit jumpy when things aren't moving smoothly, as when going over the expander plug.

[Dragonheart]

While air is a bit quieter than hydraulic, I would go with the hydraulic. Works very well on 50 BMG with a constant speed where air can be a bit jumpy when things aren't moving smoothly, as when going over the expander plug.

One big benefit with air cylinders is the price of the cylinders and the hardware to make them operational. I recently bought a lot of 9 new air cylinders for $83 off Ebay. They are new old stock being cleared out for new inventory. One of those cylinders has a $300 list price. As far as what I do with them, they will be for future projects, but one is already in place on "Ram Checker," he is Ram Chuckers little brother that will be making 30 cal. gas checks. Actually, Ram Checker is operational now, I just need to work out a good way to feed the aluminium ribbon through and try to eliminate as much waste as possible.