So I have been wanting a roller handle for my presses.....

[Dawico]

Part of my gun goals for 2017 is to catch up on my bulk plinking ammo loading.

A few months back I got serious and loaded about 4000 rounds in a few weeks. The factory ball handles wore my palm out.

Under normal loading conditions the ball handles aren't an issue but since that extended session I have been looking for a fix. I get these ideas in my head and sometimes it takes a while for me to solve any pending issues before I start the project. This project was just like that.

I know there are commercial units available but I am very much a DIYer and a self admitted cheap skate. If I can do it myself I almost always go that route. I really like to tackle an issue on my own and make things I already have work.

Like most of my write ups I will break this into multiple posts. It makes it easier to quote a smaller section for specific questions.

 

[Dawico]

I am by no means a machinist and have a somewhat limited supply of accessible tools. Because of this I wanted to use the factory arms and just swap out the handles themselves.

Factory roller handles use custom bent arms and the handles stick out the side. They are usually bent in a way to prevent the handle from twisting as force is applied. Bending a thick bar like that is beyond my means and I don't have the tap to thread it for mounting.

I knew that just adding a handle to the side of the arm would cause me to fight the twist and I needed to avoid that. I have to keep the handle centered on the arm.

I also knew it had to be strong. The handle couldn't flex or it would cause issues.

I thought about welding some angle iron to build the handles but it wouldn't really come together properly in my mind.

This has been my biggest hold up. What to make the handle frame out of that would allow it to be centered and strong enough for resizing any case that my press would handle?

Then it came together.

 

[Dawico]

I have some cut off pieces of 6" steel pipe that are about 1/4" thick. After seeing those the project started to come together.

A little rough layout and I was ready to begin.

 

[Dawico]

I wanted the arm mounting section a little wider since that is where the most stress would be. The handle area is thinner just to save some weight and stream line them a bit.

BTW, a steel cutting blade in your Skilsaw makes quick work of this. It only took about ten minutes to cut two handle pieces. A cut off wheel in a grinder would have taken much longer.

 

[Dawico]

I cut off the ears a bit and mounted them in my super fancy drill press to punch some holes.

 

[Dawico]

Both drilled and one cleaned up ready for paint.

I did grind the arm mounting area a little just to square it up a bit. I wanted to eliminate any side to side motion that mounting a round piece to a flat nut/ shoulder may allow.

 

[Dawico]

The next issue was mounting them on the factory arms.

My RCBS arm has a shoulder on it so that one just went on with a nut.

My LnL press arm has no shoulder so I cut a nut in half to lock it on.

Both arms are threaded for 5/8" fine thread nuts which I happened to have.

The roller part is just a half inch bolt with a piece of 1/2" plastic pipe over it.

 

[Dawico]

I did address part of the twisting issue with the design also. The roller part is offset from the arm mount. This should help keep the force inline with the arm and keep me from having to fight any twist issues.

 

[Dawico]

I have resized a couple hundred cases so far and am very happy with the results.

Adding a couple extra inches in length and a heavier handle helps with the operation.

I do plan on adding a 1" pipe over the roller just to make them fill my hand a little better.

Besides that, I am very happy with the outcome. While they aren't the prettiest thing in the world, the function well exceeds the form.

The nicest part is I had everything on hand to make them. Using the pipe made them wide enough and strong enough for a lifetime of service. Besides my labor, the total cost is $0.

 

[DubiousDan]

Nice. Now I regret buying the roller handle for my 550B. Well..except I don't have the talent to do what you did.

 

[Brains]

That's some pretty stellar redneck engineering there, boss. Looks great!

 

[Vaquero]

Very nice. Good looking fabrication.

 

[Dawico]

Redneck engineering is kind of my thing.

 

[orbitup]

Nice. Very professional pictures... no feet in them.

 

[Dawico]

Nice. Very professional pictures... no feet in them.

Not even one toe.

 

[Leadslinger]

https://inlinefabrication.com/collections/levers

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[Dawico]

https://inlinefabrication.com/collections/levers

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

Those would be the commercial units I referred to in my first post.

 

[Downhill]

Great idea. I know from experience the ball on a rock chucker will raise a blister if you are resizing 300 plus cases at one sitting.

 

[motorcarman]

Great idea. I know from experience the ball on a rock chucker will raise a blister if you are resizing 300 plus cases at one sitting.

My RockChucker has a green bicycle handlebar type grip. Maybe it is really old?
I guess I should MODERNIZE IT????

bob