hydraulic arm to cycle a single-stage press

[SheepDog]

Without building a new press you might have to replace the operating handle with an arm that a cylinder would operate. I much prefer hydraulic over pneumatic due to the speed at which pneumatic cylinders operate. Both if used would mean more noise and less accuracy. The accuracy could be a problem when not being able to hand guide the bullet and shell into the press for fear of losing fingers.

 

[Jay Christopherson]

Without building a new press you might have to replace the operating handle with an arm that a cylinder would operate. I much prefer hydraulic over pneumatic due to the speed at which pneumatic cylinders operate. Both if used would mean more noise and less accuracy. The accuracy could be a problem when not being able to hand guide the bullet and shell into the press for fear of losing fingers.

I'm looking at this only for processing (FL-sizing) brass. I actually enjoy the process of building ammo, when all the components are ready to go. I despise processing brass and all the steps that processing entails. I'm always looking for ways to speed up the job and be more efficient without sacrificing quality. If I could come up with a way FL-size using a press modified with a hydraulic arm (or whatever), that would take a lot of my time out of the equation.

 

[LitLBoy]

Jay
Remove all the linkage -- attach a hyd. cylinder directly to the ram --- may need a lever arrangement to speed up the cycle depending on cylinder speed.

 

[Jay Christopherson]

Has anyone ever checked the amount of force it takes to FL-size a piece of brass? I realize it's variable, I'm looking for a ballpark. Or I'm ordering a tool to take a measurement with.

 

[tac284]

Hmmmm..... you got my little brain thinking Jay!

 

[B Nettesheim]

Has anyone ever checked the amount of force it takes to FL-size a piece of brass? I realize it's variable, I'm looking for a ballpark. Or I'm ordering a tool to take a measurement with.

7.62 jiggawatts

 

[Jay Christopherson]

I've got a design in mind (thanks to various responses here) that I'm pretty certain will work, I just need to figure out the required force to determine the right cylinder to use. I might have to buy a force gauge or something to get a swag at it.

 

[Dos XX]

Take your bathroom scale and a 2 x 4 and position them on your ram. Run your belt under that rig and over the top of the press, starting pulling your belt through your buckle and see what your scale reads.

Unless you are going to feed cases, I don't know that this is going to speed anything up? Not saying it's not cool. If you build it, I certainly want to see it. I am a definitely a gadget guy.

If you are going to use a pneumatic cylinder, consider working against a decelerator / hydraulic check. Air cylinders aren't smooth. Air over oil would be another option.

http://deschner.com/products/kinechek/

 

[1066]

I had the bug to have a 50 BMG built and decided to build a reloading press for it. I used a hydraulic ram and a small electric power unit with a foot pedal to actuate it. I fabricated the rest of the press in my shop. It works really well, and I still have all my fingers.

That's a great job on the press - and it looks like you have something pretty hefty chucked up in the lathe in the background.

 

[Jay Christopherson]

...
Unless you are going to feed cases, I don't know that this is going to speed anything up? Not saying it's not cool. If you build it, I certainly want to see it. I am a definitely a gadget guy.
...

Step 1 is to to remove a touch point by figuring out how to get my hands off the press handle...

 

[Pvt.Donut]

With MEC now getting into the Metallic reloading world, I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't already working on a progressive press that could be adapted to use their hydraulic system.

 

[ebb]

If all you want to do is size brass I read an article about roll sizing. The story was the shooter competes in a discipline that requires a lot of ammo and the roll sizer was fast enough to keep him shooting.

 

[Jay Christopherson]

If all you want to do is size brass I read an article about roll sizing. The story was the shooter competes in a discipline that requires a lot of ammo and the roll sizer was fast enough to keep him shooting.

I think roll sizing applies to straight walled brass like pistol cases...