Ian
Notorious member
First, don't buy one of these things. The press is a fantastic idea, poorly executed.
But if you do buy one, and the holes in the top plate don't line up with the shell holder because the ram wobbles and there are no guides for the shellplate carrier, don't despair. Don't despair if you have a milling machine, some tool steel rod, and a bunch of fixturing tooling laying about, that is.
Since the shell plate is drilled for an alignment rod in the press base to pass through on the bottom of the stroke, and there is just enough material between the die holes in the top plate to replicate that guide pin on the top, and the steel part of the shell plate carrier is relieved in not one but two places for alignment pins, then all one has to do is drill, ream, and press some 1/4" steel guide pins into the bottom side of the top plate. You just have to get them in EXACTLY the right place.
I didn't photo the 3 hour process but basically I used the shell plate and cartridge cases in all the dies as a guide so I could spot, drill, and ream two holes a thousandth undersized. I disassembled the plastic cladding on the carrier and clearanced it for the additional guide pin. The other guide pin runs in the same hole the bottom guide pin does. Now, as the carrier nears the top of the stroke and cases begin entering the dies, the two new guide pins stab through the shell plate and force it into alignment with the dies.
But if you do buy one, and the holes in the top plate don't line up with the shell holder because the ram wobbles and there are no guides for the shellplate carrier, don't despair. Don't despair if you have a milling machine, some tool steel rod, and a bunch of fixturing tooling laying about, that is.
Since the shell plate is drilled for an alignment rod in the press base to pass through on the bottom of the stroke, and there is just enough material between the die holes in the top plate to replicate that guide pin on the top, and the steel part of the shell plate carrier is relieved in not one but two places for alignment pins, then all one has to do is drill, ream, and press some 1/4" steel guide pins into the bottom side of the top plate. You just have to get them in EXACTLY the right place.
I didn't photo the 3 hour process but basically I used the shell plate and cartridge cases in all the dies as a guide so I could spot, drill, and ream two holes a thousandth undersized. I disassembled the plastic cladding on the carrier and clearanced it for the additional guide pin. The other guide pin runs in the same hole the bottom guide pin does. Now, as the carrier nears the top of the stroke and cases begin entering the dies, the two new guide pins stab through the shell plate and force it into alignment with the dies.
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