Cylinder loading stand

[don hepler]

I'm not an engineer, but I am a machinist, and for a long time, I have thought about building a loading stand. The problem with most loading stands is that they are not applying force, like a reloading press or a bench press does. Look at a reloading press and you'll see it operates, much like the toggle, that mike56 is using. A bench press, uses gears to multiply the force. If a person would find an old single stage reloading press and weld a plate on top of the ram, and make a treaded stem to fit, in place of the die, they would have a nice set up. Might be a little heavy, and over kill, but effective.

Or you could make it fit down over the ram, and use a set screw to hold it in place, and not have to modify the reloading press. You could even have a threaded rod, to adjust the travel, and seat each cylinder to an exact depth. The cylinder would move up and down, and the plunger, would be fixed.

 

[Steve Rosen]

Mike,

Could you tell me what the Granger p/n is for that particular push/pull clamp?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Mike 56]

Steve, The P/N is 3CXR9. I don't have a lath to make the stem i chucked 5/16 bolt in my drill and turned the bolt while grinding it on my bench grinder. I also so use a jam nut not in the pic it lets you set the compression/ball dept as well as keeping the compression the same in all the chambers. I don't shoot 777 but i think would be a real plus if you did.

 

[Mike 56]

I think you could easily use a reloading press. Make a adjustable cylinder plate with a shell holder welded to the bottom. You could buy a bolt that threads in where the die goes drill and dap a hole in the bolt for a adjustable seating stem. I think the problem would be making a stand for the press and keeping it small enough to be portable.

 

[Steve Rosen]

Thanks Mike!

 

[hawkeye2]

While you could build a loading press from a reloading stand it would be overkill. Think how heavy it would be and it's not going to fit into your shooting box either. It's a half mile from my campsite to the revolver range and I'm not carrying anything I don't need. I have used a simple stand like the one in dikman's photo above for over 20 years and my wife uses one similar and they are all you need unless you are shooting conicals, that's a different game entirely. It doesn't require much leverage to force a roundball into a chamber including .457's into a factory chamber. For a conical you need something like Mike 56's stand where the plunger travels in an absolute vertical plane.

 

[don hepler]

I like the toggle clamp set-up, for portability. But, as for the press, I was thinking about the old aluminum Lee press, clamped to a shooting bench. But, I back my SUV right up to the shooting benches, so not to much to carry, for me.

 

[Mike 56]

Sounds like it be a nice set up for you being that load from you SUV. You could build the parts you need in a few hours for not much $.

 

[dikman]

Hadden, the idea of using a loading press is quite clever, but not terribly practical methinks. As mentioned, portability could be a slight problem (I can just imagine trying to set up something like that at the range - I don't know any range here where you would be permitted to back a vehicle up to where you're shooting).
In terms of mechanical efficiency, M.D.'s is doubtless better designed to transfer the force vertically than the slider on my handle, but in reality either method will be more than adequate for the job.

 

[don hepler]

I shoot at a private range, however all our public ranges are set-up to have a covered shelter with a row of benches. A gravel parking lot is right behind the benches. You back right up to the shelter, and have access to all your supplies. A lot of Sharps, guys, including me, carry a single stage press and clamp it on the bench. You can view our range at Ridge Rifle Association, look at photos.