Woodysrocks Puck die

[Thundermaker]

Is the die any good? Is there a good option for less money?

https://www.woodysrocks.com/store/p275/Black_Powder_Puck_Press.html#/

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Check the black powder thread. Lots of people use PVC pipe. It's cheap but will break after some use. I found hemp oil dies on Amazon that work for me with my smaller press but pucks are smaller too. If you're going to do it a lot I think it's a good investment.

[LAGS]

I bought Two dies from Fly a few years back.
I have just about worn one out.
But I have had no contact for a couple years with fly.
That die that you show , looks like it is very good.
That may be a good investment.
When I first started making powder , I made my dies out of PVC pipe and sheets of high impact plastic.
They worked.
But I spent more time making the die than making my powder.

[sharps4590]

Forgive my ignorance. I assume these have something to do with making your own BP? May I ask what they're for?

[swamp]

The dies are used to compress the fine meal powder into a solid mass before grinding and sifting to get the right size granules for the grade of powder that you want. F, FF, FFF. Hopefully I helped and not confused.
swamp

[sharps4590]

You did swamp, I understand exactly what you're talking about. Thank you sir.

Your post is another example of why this place needs a "like" button.

[mmb617]

I have the Woody's puck die in 3" with 2 extra spacers. It works great and I can't see myself ever wearing it out or breaking it.

[T-Bird]

pardon my ignorance, but how does one apply pressure to these dies?

[Thundermaker]

pardon my ignorance, but how does one apply pressure to these dies?

You set the ram in and put it in the hydraulic press.

[HamGunner]

I ordered a 3" puck die and piston along with some heavy duty plastic spacers from Woody's probably a year and a half or so ago. The puck is stainless steel and the piston is solid aluminum. They are virtually indestructible, and be sure to order a couple extra delrin spacers so that your pucks can be kept fairly thin. I use a 12 ton press on mine with great results. Calculations made by those smarter than me on the Homemade Powder thread indicated that I needed at least 10.6 tons of pressure for a 3" die to get somewhere over 3K psi on the green meal. I thought the price a bit high, but then you do get excellent quality and tight fitting components. When I received the components, I discovered that Woody's is less than 10 miles from my house. I could have saved a good bit on the postage by just driving there had I checked them out a bit closer. But, I am happy with the tooling and I have made well over 15 lbs. of very decent BP since I started making it. I started making it shortly before GOEX had the fire/explosion and then of course they did shut down the end of last year. For anyone wandering about pressure needed for puck size, without going back and reading for a week in the thread, I will give you the calculated pressures needed. You need around 3K psi pressure to make the pucks. 1 1/2" puck dia. = 1.77 sq. in. which needs 5,300 lbs of force or about 2.6 tons. A 2" puck dia. = 3.14 sq. in. which needs 9,424 lbs. of force or about 4.7 tons. A 2 1/2" puck dia. = 4.9 sq.in. which needs 14,726 lbs. of force for about 7.4 tons. A 3" puck dia. = 7.0 sq. in. which needs 21,205 lbs. of force for about 10.6 tons.

[CWME]

I got my Woodys 3" puck press last Friday. I pressed 2.5 pounds of powder over the weekend. Worked great. I had tried the hemp oil press die they sell on Amazon for $40. I over did the pressure in my 20 ton press and put a bulge near one end within two minutes of getting it out of the box. Sure it would be fine if you don't get carried away with the tonnage applied.

Long and short, I would buy the Woodys again. Wish I had just started there to begin with.

[brian1]

For those you you who use the Woody's puck die set, I don't understand all the parts and how they are used. The piston and cylinder, I understand. But what are the Delrin inserts for and what is the tall steel sleeve for, and how are they used? I tried to find a YT video of someone using one, but I didn't find any.
325250

[indian joe]

For those you you who use the Woody's puck die set, I don't understand all the parts and how they are used. The piston and cylinder, I understand. But what are the Delrin inserts for and what is the tall steel sleeve for, and how are they used? I tried to find a YT video of someone using one, but I didn't find any.
325250

If I was describing my die setup it would look a lot like a junkyard version of this

1) a large steel collar like on the right of the pic (mine is taller - about double height and came welded to a half inch steel flat base)
2) aluminium piston
3) spacers - I made from fiberboard top and bottom spacers - one at the open base of the die - other under the piston
4) the tall piece at the back of the pic - in my setup would be the schedule 80 PVC die body that is a slip fit in the metal collar (1) - when the pressure is on the PVC expands a tiny bit until the outer metal collar stops it - otherwise it would burst under pressure - (some guys use hose clamps around the PVC)
Woodys fourth piece may be different

5) my setup has a fifth piece that looks like Woodys no 4) and is just a piece of thin wall PVC (schedule 40 instead of 80 ) or drain pipe same size OD and larger Internal - this is set under the die body and we use the piston - drive it right through to release the pressed pucks into the larger size collar. I press 5 or 6 pucks at the time - they are about 100gram each puck - I have two PVC die bodies and spacers and while one is under the press I load the other ready to go.
The best trick of it all is that strong metal collar to hold the PVC inner die while its under pressure - there was a lot more happy coincidence went into this than smart

[HamGunner]

I have that die set up pictured above. The thin white Delrin plastic discs are spacers. You place the die (Die is actually the tall black painted stainless steel sleeve piece) on a flat piece of steel in your press and pour in a volume of dampened green meal and level it out. Place a spacer on top and then add more meal and another spacer, etc. before finally topping off with the aluminum piston. I have five spacers for my 3" die, so my pucks are all thin and easy to bust up for grinding.

To use the aluminum extraction ring or collar, you just raise the ram enough to slip this ring under the die and crank the ram down to force the pucks out of the die. The pucks have to be pressed out under at least a bit of force as they are certainly pressed into the die.

If you order a set from Woody's, be sure to order a few extra Delrin spacers. They make busting up the thinner pucks so much easier.

My 20 ton press works just fine. I originally used a 12 ton press and it was a struggle, but it worked well enough. My 12 ton jack shot craps and I got the 20 ton. The 20 ton works much better for a 3" die.

Edit: Oh, and I posted above on post #10 (back in 2022) the pressure someone calculated that was needed for pucking. I have read more recently that one actually needs more like 3.5k psi to get best results, rather than the 3k psi.

So the corrected amounts would be 1.5" puck die would need 3.10 ton pressure, a 2.0" puck die would need 5.50 ton pressure, a 2.5" puck die would need 8.60 ton pressure, and a 3.0" puck die would need at least a 12.25 ton pressure.

[brian1]

Oh, now I understand how it works. Thanks for clarifying. I thought the ring was the die; now I can see the little shoulder where the black die sits on it for extraction.

[Swineherd]

I have a woodys die, its nice enough. Nothing super special. Definitely overpriced, imho.
Here's another option, from Amazon. I had scouted a round puck mold there, but can't seem to find it now.
I've not used this particular die, so I can't speak to the quality of effectiveness.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPQGHNJZ/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?psc=1&pf_rd_p=4a7f2b76-1b30-4bc1-9f09-df19881410f9&pf_rd_r=1NSFS7WQ7DZG3AG4MHDX&pd_rd_wg=pYKck&pd_rd_w=zSurP&content-id=amzn1.sym.4a7f2b76-1b30-4bc1-9f09-df19881410f9&pd_rd_r=f439c46c-864c-44e0-84e7-481f5082743e&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF 0aWM

[Graysmoke]

Swineherd, I I think the side walls are to thin for high pressure and noway to beef up the lower end to stop bulging it.
CWME, I tried the 30mm dab press and also belled the lower end, cut it off and found a steel ring to fit tight on the end no more bulging. I also got a 40mm dabpress and banded it before use to strengthen it nicely. Both work well for me
Graysmoke