Walnut Hill on the way!

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Can someone please tell me the size of the base of the Walnut Hill. Don't have mine yet but preparing to beef it up like Tiger did. I have a piece of 3/4" steel plate I need to cut to size and get ready. Thanks!

[wonderwolf]

I don't have mine in front of me but its not actually all that deep, if I had to guess I would say its only 4"x 7"?

[supe47]

3 1/4" X 6". Just a FYI, the WH will not fit on a standard base plate from InLine Fab but it will fit on a quick change plate.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Thanks Supe and WW!!!!!!!

[goblism]

How does the walnut hill perform on those quick change plates? I would love to put my swaging equipment on a quick change system but do not feel any of them would be strong enough

[supe47]

Only used the WH on the quick change plate for derimming 22 cals. Seems quite strong to me, no flex in the mount.

[scarry scarney]

Why did you choose the Walnut Hill over the Sea Girt?

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I chose the WH over the SG because it seems a bit more stout, can swage 50 BMG bullets (although I bet the SG can do this task just fine also), and can also be used for reloading. For an extra $150 it seemed like a good deal to me. I currently don't swage 50 BMGs yet, but have 3 or 4 friends that have the rifles that would probably want me too LOL.

Still waiting for the press, though. Even though it is shown as "In Stock" on the website doesn't necessarily mean it is...or Richard is really backed up on orders. Either way, it doesn't really matter as I am in no rush.

[rolltide]

Why did you choose the Walnut Hill over the Sea Girt?

I chose the Walnut Hill over the Sea Girt (other than the fact that the Sea Girt was not yet in stock when I got my press) because of the reloading option and the greater additional capacity for heavier work on the WH. Specifically, the ability to have the extra leverage to full length resize long rifle cases with much less elbow grease. I also like the way the linkage goes directly to the 1" thick top plate on the WH to avoid any "spring" in the press frame under high stress. One of the main reasons I got into swaging was for my 500 S&W, and the SG is only recommended up to .458. I may also get into swaging full bore slugs for my rifled 12 ga barrel, and the WH will handle that. The WH is also recommended for thicker jackets than the SG. Of course I know what is "recommended" for presses is exceeded on a regular basis by swagers, but people spring or break presses often enough as well. I would rather pay the extra $150 and have max capabilities for my heavy stuff in a factory hand press, than save $150 and have a sprung press and/or have to buy the bigger press one day anyway. With the WH I can use all the 7/8 dies made, or use dies up to 1.5" diameter for really big stuff where the pressure approaches the limit of the press, and exceeds the limit of any 7/8 die. I also got the dual handle option on the WH (also available on the SG I believe) so that there are not eccentric stresses on the press frame and/or toggle when doing really heavy stuff. I know the SG will do 500S&W with BTS dies, they are used often on RC's and LCC's, but I plan on doing a steady amount over a long number of years, so I bought a press that I KNOW can carry the freight over the long haul. If components get scarce and I need to swage ww lead instead of soft lead on a regular basis, the WH gives the extra leverage and I can use a larger dia. die as well. I would just rather have more options, and I think the extra $150 is a bargain for the extra options you get.

[scarry scarney]

Coyotehunter and Rolltide

thank you for the info. I will have to look more at the WH, it appears this may be a better option for me. Now I just have to water that money tree.

[goblism]

Richard was pretty straight forward when I emailed him about the sea girt. He said that he didn't support using it for anything larger than 458 diameter bullets. I am sure the stout press would likely handle the load but in my mind why not spend the extra money up front and get a heavy duty press. I would really be kicking myself if in 5-10 years I wanted to swage some 50 cal bullets and the sea girt didn't quite have enough strength for a long term option. The biggest thing that would hold me back is how nice the AES BTSniper makes the sea girt is and how it would not work fully/as smoothly with the walnut hill.

It seems lately that I have been a fan of the , "buy once, cry once" approach. For me the walnut hill is more than I need AT THIS TIME. In my other hobbies I have ended up replacing my initial equipment for higher quality, might as well skip that step and go for the really stout press.

[tiger762]

You won't regret it. Oh, with the linkage in the swage position (2" stroke), I was able to compress/bulge the core seat punch of the CH4D swage die set. I talked to Dave about it. He said they purposefully leave the punch annealed so that it be damaged and not the die. His exact words to me were "Oh yeah, you were putting some @ss into it.."

Was swaging with some range scrap and bleeding off some lead through the 0.03" diameter hole in the punch. What I noticed is that once the lead started to flow, the resistance dropped a little. It was like there is a high initial resistance to extrusion that drops once the lead starts moving. Unfortunately the punch took it in the shorts.

Just demonstrates what the Walnut Hill is capable of...

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Tiger, I know if may be a major pain in the butt...but have you tried preheating your cores? I know if would make them hard to handle, but I wonder if you heated them to say, 200*, and wear a thinner pair of gloves, if they would swage easier???

[rolltide]

I have also heard that heating the die once it is in the press by putting a heater close to it or with a hot air gun helps the lead flow through the core swage much easier. That way you can still handle the cores without gloves. Maybe heat the die and heat the cores in front of a heater, but not to hot to touch, maybe to around 100 or 120 degrees.

I haven't tried it, but I saw another user here post it once, I believe it was AL Floyd, but it may have been someone else.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Rolltide, Blaser.306 is trying to get ahold of you. You may want to contact him.

[tiger762]

Yeah, and it does help a little. Seemed like it has to be very close to melting point to meaningfully reduce the hardness. I was jut impressed that the WH was able to put so much force on the punch that it shortened it and made it ever so slightly barrel shaped.

Tiger, I know if may be a major pain in the butt...but have you tried preheating your cores? I know if would make them hard to handle, but I wonder if you heated them to say, 200*, and wear a thinner pair of gloves, if they would swage easier???

[rolltide]

Rolltide, Blaser.306 is trying to get ahold of you. You may want to contact him.

Yeah. I pm'd him yesterday and tried to call him tonight. We are playing phone tag.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Still waiting for the press, so could someone with a WH please measure the distance from the top of the ram plate to the bottom of the top plate...both when the ram is down and raised to the top position (in swaging mode)? Thanks!

[clodhopper]

Ram down 6.002, Ram up 3.772, Thickness of top plate and bushing 1.160

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Thank you Clodhopper!