memilanuk
Gold $$ Contributor
Apparently your reading skills need some work too, if you couldn't glean anything helpful from the other two paragraphs.
Arbor press issue
- Thread starter Dave M.
- Start date
My thoughts of the subject.. {I do have a KM}
What about a 90* roller handle like the one Inline makes and now Foster has their copy for the Co-Ax ? {I have one on my Co-Ax and love it.
I’m going to get a bit of rod and turn a 90* on it and try to find a bit of plastic tubing that fits over the rod on 90* side and see if that does not help.
At least it will prevent having to roll your wrist with the stroke and maybe even put a bit of downward bend to also bring the handle to a more horizontal position though with the roller that really does not seem to be needed. Just have to play around and see what suits and if it is a “Thing”….
I’m sure some one out there has a better garage work shop than I do {Men’s Shed} and may be able to whip one up in less than an hour.
Just need to grind a flat on the end like the original handle so that the lock screw has some palace to tighten against and a stop washer on @ side of the roller handle so that it stays in place. A vice for the bend and a 4” grinder for the flat… Couple of $ for material.
What about a 90* roller handle like the one Inline makes and now Foster has their copy for the Co-Ax ? {I have one on my Co-Ax and love it.
I’m going to get a bit of rod and turn a 90* on it and try to find a bit of plastic tubing that fits over the rod on 90* side and see if that does not help.
At least it will prevent having to roll your wrist with the stroke and maybe even put a bit of downward bend to also bring the handle to a more horizontal position though with the roller that really does not seem to be needed. Just have to play around and see what suits and if it is a “Thing”….
I’m sure some one out there has a better garage work shop than I do {Men’s Shed} and may be able to whip one up in less than an hour.
Just need to grind a flat on the end like the original handle so that the lock screw has some palace to tighten against and a stop washer on @ side of the roller handle so that it stays in place. A vice for the bend and a 4” grinder for the flat… Couple of $ for material.
I’ve used a standard softball batting glove and it helps tremendously. I was curious about what others have done. The screwdriver idea is interesting as is the longer arm which just seems like a no brainer.
The other two paragraphs contained only your advice to work in smaller batches…..as if I hadn’t thought of that, but thanks anyway.
This is the type of advice and creativity that is helpful to a poster…..thanks
Problem I see with a roller handle is the base is very small and the unit will roll to the side when actuated. This wouldn’t be an issue for me though because I have my arbor press screwed into the table.
Dave
Hummm…. I see what you are talking about and I don’t normally fix the KM down but could use a “C” clamp but perhaps and offset in the lever arm to more centralise the cross handle would address the issue you raise. It will be a while before I get back home to start to play around with the idea but definitely something that I will give a try and post any success story along with pictures if it works out.
The KM handle is off to one side and does not tip the press when used so perhaps just a bit of bend laterally to centre the cross piece handle will keep things stabilised.
As I type this I just had a vision of having the cross handle just angle across the front of the press rather than extend off further to the side…??
My handle is on the right side and by having the handle turn left might just be the solution as that would put the downward stroke more centred.
K&M announced a new arbor press recently with two handle options. Short and long. The handles look similar to the OEM CO-AX handle..
Dave let me make this easy for you, seeing as your loading for you and your lady, you charge the cases and let her seat the bullets.
marine52
Silver $$ Contributor
The bullet seating force as measureed by the added force pack or a hydro gauge is separate from the force it takes to pull the handle down by itself with no die underneath. Is this an old K&M press? Just wondering if the internal gears are worn or out of sync that is causing you to put a lot of pressure on your palm. On my K&M, I can pull it down with my pinky finger (with no die underneath) with no effort at all and repeat this over and over.
Fast14riot
Gold $$ Contributor
My Hornady press will give me a hot spot and potentially a blister, but noticed my Lee doesn't. The hornady press handle ball is textured, Lee is smooth wood. I don't have a K&M arbor press, mine is a custom shop made one, but a glass smooth handle seemed to really help me.
I end up doing 98% of all reloading and I have two sons shooting as well. Ugh
Again, great idea
Yes it is an older K&M arbor press (prob 9-10 years old at least)
Joe R
Gold $$ Contributor
Dave,
It seems to me that neck tension id the reason your getting blisters. You are sizing the neck too small and then experiencing resistance when seating the bullet. Here's an old post of mine:
Some of us know that, of the 3 components of the Holy Trinity of precision ammo (powder, seating depth and neck tension), neck tension is the most difficult to control.
I know that everyone likes to control neck tension with bushings but to me that doesn't seem like a very good way. From my way of thinking bushings transfer any variance in neck thickness to the inside of the neck where they have a direct impact on neck tension. That is not a good thing, because no matter how careful you are turning necks there will be variances, and those variances will impact neck tension.
I believe that the outside of the neck has minimal importance, as long as there is a minimum .003 neck clearance for bullet release. The only important thing is how thick the necks are because that has an influence on spring-back. IMO the part of the neck everyone should be focusing on is the inside of the neck, or more appropriately inside diameter. The inside diameter is what influences neck tension, if one can transfer neck wall variances to the outside of the case it is that much better.
So the question is: How do we control neck tension from the inside of the neck? What if instead of honing die necks (an irreversible and often problematic process because dies are hardened, not to mention that you have to be twice as accurate with a die then with a mandrel, an impossible taskfor most small machine shops) we were to use a mandrel to expand the necks to provide the desired neck tension? What would a mandrel do?
Well, ... a mandrel would control the inside diameter of a case neck much more precisely than any bushing ever can. It could also transfer neck thickness variances to the outside of the neck where it doesn't interfere with neck tension and bullet release. That's good isn't it?
I have been using mandrels for thousands of cases. The problem is that just when I have a mandrel that gives ideal neck tension (down to .0001 precision) it starts to wear, and after a couple of thousand cases it is done. Making another mandrel to .0001 precision is very difficult/not possible for most machine shops and grinding shops. So I set out to look for a solution. I eventually focused on the Hornady bullet puller collet, because that's what I had. I started using the bullet puller to hold pin gages to expand the necks to match the turner mandrel.
However, the bullet puller did not hold the pin gages as co-axially straight as I wanted, so I approached Kenny Porter ( kennethp@portersprecisionproducts.com ), who makes all kinds of things including parts for pacemakers (can you think of anything more critical?). I told him I wanted him to make a die for me that would hold a pin gage, actually a range of pin gages ie .305, .306, .307, .308 and .309. Once I showed him what I had in mind he made a leap to a collet that is ideally suited for what I wanted. The collet holds the cutting bit for a CNC machine. It has real holding power. Here’ the mandrel die that Kenny Porter made for me. http://portersprecisionproducts.com/
Pin gages are small tubes 2" long and can be bought for a few dollars and they are available in dimensions as exact as .0001 (+/- .00002). They generally have a 60 to 62 Rockwell hardness, like tool steel. They are ideal for this purpose, all you have to do is bevel the tip. To bevel the tip all I do is chuck the mandrel in a drill and spin it against a grinding stone until I get the tip that I desire. Takes less than 5 minutes.
Now, when I need a new mandrel I buy a Vermont Gage pin gauge. If you’re looking for +/- .0002 precision they are round $3 each. If you really want to get precise and have a mandrel to .0001 (+/- .00002) precision then the price jumps to around $18 and you’ll have to order directly from Vermont Gage. For $18 you get a mandrel and a certificate of accuracy and the name of the guy that inspected and when.
This mandrel die makes all other mandrel dies I have seen or bought look primitive.
Joe
These may help 
Shooter13
Gold $$ Contributor
Me too!
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