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Posted: 10/6/2013 11:34:08 AM EDT
After trying to full length size some 308 with insufficient case lube, and hearing the wood on my bench crack, I decided that I wanted to reinforce the mounting for my presses. Not so I could continue to overwork the presses with not enough lube, but so that, in the future, any issues with reloading larger calibers would be automatically abated. I also had worked loose the bolts in my wooden tabletop (the wood is too soft), and found that, when mounted flush, my Rock Chucker wouldn't cam all the way because of the height of the lip of my bench. A friend who has been working with metal for most of his adult life lended his skills, tools, and some scrap mild 1/4" and 1/8" steel. After much cutting, grinding, sanding, welding, and with a little bit of Rustoleum, this is what we came up with.
The 1/4" top shelf bolts to the top of the bench in six places, three of which go through to a 1/8" steel plate underneath for extra support and distribution of energy. 1/8" 90 degree supports were welded to a second 1/8" plate that bolts to the front lip of the bench in two places. The presses then bolt directly onto the 1/4" plate. I now have full travel of my Rock Chucker without the clown-like look that would have come had I just dremmeled away some of the 2x4 front lip material to make clearance. I stood on the 4" deep press mounting lip after I secured the shelf to the bench, and jumped up and down a bit. Thing is as solid as a rock now. |
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Quoted:
Your welds .... they're cold. The only thing I would change is the corners that stick out. I would round them off and spot paint the corners. Other than that, looks pretty good. http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh259/scooterinvegas/corner_zps6ce08a56.jpg I'm not a welder so I don't know what "cold" means. Good call on the corners, we'll see how many scars I bear from catching on them before I tear it apart and grind them round. |
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Quoted:
I'm not a welder so I don't know what "cold" means. Good call on the corners, we'll see how many scars I bear from catching on them before I tear it apart and grind them round. Quoted:
Quoted:
Your welds .... they're cold. The only thing I would change is the corners that stick out. I would round them off and spot paint the corners. Other than that, looks pretty good. http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh259/scooterinvegas/corner_zps6ce08a56.jpg I'm not a welder so I don't know what "cold" means. Good call on the corners, we'll see how many scars I bear from catching on them before I tear it apart and grind them round. A cold weld means that it looks like there is not a lot of penetration. One way to change that is to turn up the amperage on the welding machine so that the arc burns hotter. |
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Quoted:
A cold weld means that it looks like there is not a lot of penetration. One way to change that is to turn up the amperage on the welding machine so that the arc burns hotter. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Your welds .... they're cold. The only thing I would change is the corners that stick out. I would round them off and spot paint the corners. Other than that, looks pretty good. http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh259/scooterinvegas/corner_zps6ce08a56.jpg I'm not a welder so I don't know what "cold" means. Good call on the corners, we'll see how many scars I bear from catching on them before I tear it apart and grind them round. A cold weld means that it looks like there is not a lot of penetration. One way to change that is to turn up the amperage on the welding machine so that the arc burns hotter. Well, time will tell as far as the strength of the welds go, I suppose. I'm not worried. Its an order of magnitude better than what I had yesterday. My friend has been welding since he could drive a car, and we threw this together in a few hours. I certainly wasn't looking for master level work, just something that would add a bit of strength. Considering he footed the bill for all time and material, as a favor to me for fixing his kid's PC, I'm perfectly happy with the way it turned out. Prior to this, if I stood a Chapstick behind the presses, the flex in the wood when bearing down on the press handle was enough to tip the Chapstick over. Now the flex is absolutely minimized. I should never, theoretically, have to exceed this setup's strength threshold with the regular cartridges I reload. |
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Quoted:
Well, time will tell as far as the strength of the welds go, I suppose. I'm not worried. Its an order of magnitude better than what I had yesterday. My friend has been welding since he could drive a car, and we threw this together in a few hours. I certainly wasn't looking for master level work, just something that would add a bit of strength. Considering he footed the bill for all time and material, as a favor to me for fixing his kid's PC, I'm perfectly happy with the way it turned out. Prior to this, if I stood a Chapstick behind the presses, the flex in the wood when bearing down on the press handle was enough to tip the Chapstick over. Now the flex is absolutely minimized. I should never, theoretically, have to exceed this setup's strength threshold with the regular cartridges I reload. Quoted:
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Your welds .... they're cold. The only thing I would change is the corners that stick out. I would round them off and spot paint the corners. Other than that, looks pretty good. http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh259/scooterinvegas/corner_zps6ce08a56.jpg I'm not a welder so I don't know what "cold" means. Good call on the corners, we'll see how many scars I bear from catching on them before I tear it apart and grind them round. A cold weld means that it looks like there is not a lot of penetration. One way to change that is to turn up the amperage on the welding machine so that the arc burns hotter. Well, time will tell as far as the strength of the welds go, I suppose. I'm not worried. Its an order of magnitude better than what I had yesterday. My friend has been welding since he could drive a car, and we threw this together in a few hours. I certainly wasn't looking for master level work, just something that would add a bit of strength. Considering he footed the bill for all time and material, as a favor to me for fixing his kid's PC, I'm perfectly happy with the way it turned out. Prior to this, if I stood a Chapstick behind the presses, the flex in the wood when bearing down on the press handle was enough to tip the Chapstick over. Now the flex is absolutely minimized. I should never, theoretically, have to exceed this setup's strength threshold with the regular cartridges I reload. This is very cool. For your purposes, I think that the welds will hold up good enough. There's going to be sufficient penetration to hold the shelf together. This is not in the same safety situation as, say, a trailer hitch or a bridge truss. I like it, by the way, and it gives me some ideas. I currently have a Rock Chucker hanging off of an old repurposed stepped steongraphic desk using a piece of 2x6 douglas fir. Ugly but it works. I need to make a flange across the desk to hold two vises plus another press, and make it easily removable. Or at least threaded so I can swap equipment around. Clever work. Good thinking. |
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