Pros and cons on using a loading stand for BP cylinders.

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I just received my Tower of Power stand today. It is very well made. The only minor flaw is, the screws that hold on the base for the cylinder are just a little to long and that makes it rock just a bit if you don't mount the stand down on a bench or something solid. I am just going to put a washer under the bolts.
 
"The plunger on the gun is also steel, so your warning is really meaningless. "

The gun's plunger is a better fit so it's less of a worry, but it's still possible.
 
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Just ordered my Tower of Power

I went ahead and bit the bullet. I ordered my BigLube TOP press.
I may still make one of my own. Dunno. I have some square and rectangular tubing that would be perfect, as well as material for the base and such.
 
my Tower of Power is a pain in the butt... no good for my Walker when i got it, but i sent an email and he has made up a different pin and rod and ill see how they go when they turn up.

had a go at loading my 1858 rem today and i have to be doing something wrong because i need to lean right into it to push the balls into the chamber. im using pure lead too so *** i dunno...
 
FreddyKruger, This might not be the cause of it being hard to push, but the handle will somewhat lock in place if you pull the bushing ( the one that moves with the handle ) toward the handle knob when it is at the highest postion. You might need to push the bushing forward to unlock it when you first start to move the handle down. You might already know this, but it took me a little while to firgure out what they called the clevise weldment bushing.
 
Using a loader makes things easier all the way around for me. It's less messy and more precise. It's easier to check each load and make sure each is driven home with just about the same pressure.

I also use almost exclusively bullets so a loader stand is just a must. I can use the ROA's lever to load 150gr bullets but not the 220's.
 
I have two cylinder loaders from Powder Inc. which I use when teaching the NRA Muzzle Loading Pistol Instructor workshop. They have eliminated bent and broken rammers and marred cylinders and help us keep the guns pointed down range throughout the shooting phase. Removing and replacing the cylinders on Remington 1858s and ROAs is very easy, and helps to keep the cylinder pins from binding with powder fouling. Colt open-tops are a bit more difficult. Tapping out the barrel wedge and removing the barrel gives newbees a chance to drop them in the dirt. Heavy-handed wedge replacement will cause the newly loaded cylinder to bind. Nothing is idiot-proof since idiots are so resourceful.
 
FreddyKruger, This might not be the cause of it being hard to push, but the handle will somewhat lock in place if you pull the bushing ( the one that moves with the handle ) toward the handle knob when it is at the highest postion. You might need to push the bushing forward to unlock it when you first start to move the handle down. You might already know this, but it took me a little while to firgure out what they called the clevise weldment bushing.
Click to expand...
i remember reading it in the instructions... argh! why didnt i think of that while i was swearing at it? haha im gunna go to the range tomorrow and have another go.
 
Junkman: I used to cast my pistol balls using wheelweights until I started buying pure lead online. You can use wheelweights to make roundballs or conicals, but it's a lot easier to load roundballs made of pure lead. It felt like I was putting too much pressure on the pistol to force the balls in. Another thing I do is separate the clip-on weights from the ribbon weights, because the clip-on weights are harder.

Jim: The ROA can use anything from a pure lead ball to a regular hard lead bullet with no problems.
 
I and others use the one from Powder Inc. Several guys at the Nationals
at Friendship use it. I have never seen a Tower of Power there. :scrutiny:
 
Soon after receiving my Triple P loading press, it really started to bind at the bushing and even applying oil to it didn't help. The rammer kept getting stuck in the bushing until I applied some really good grease to the rammer that contained ingredients such as graphite and Slick 50. Then the binding problem immediately disappeared and never returned. Oil alone just wouldn't work but the grease did cure what was a galling problem caused by the angle of the ram passing through the nearly new brass bushing.
 
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I think I need to make a scaled-up version of the NAA loading press that comes with the Companion revolver. That way, I can have my bench model and a field model that's portable.
 
That reminds me of the B-Square arbor press. Wish I'd thought about that before ordering the TOP.
That would probably be more portable. Oh, well.
I've thought about using my drill press for loading cylinders at home.
 
I am curious what it would take for one of you machinist types to rig up someing that uses a metallic cartridge reloading press like a C or O type or even something like Lee's Hand tool nut cracker. A cylinder holder with the bottom like a shell holder and a fixed plunger that screws into where a die goes.

SHell holder equiped cylinder holders in different sizes for different guns and with different arbor sizes and plungers for different calibers and perhaps different shapes for different bullet noses.

Send me one to test for pietta Colt .44s or their Rmington .44 or .31!

Hmm with the Lee nut cracker one might have the cylinder holder on the die end and the plunger on the shell holder end and use it upside down as it were.

Dang I wish I had taken that machinist corse before the kids came along!

-kBob
 
My Biglube TOP arrived a couple days ago. I must say, it looked a LOT bigger in the pictures.:confused:
My only real complaint is that it is advertised as working with Colt, Remington, AND ROA.
Well, the Remington/ROA pin on mine won't fit in my ROA cylinder. It fits my Pietta RNA just fine. :cuss:

Offhand, does anyone here know the thread dia/pitch of the cylinder pins on the TOP?
I guess I could make one to fit my ROA.
Like I need another machining project right now.:rolleyes:
 
Jaymo

Can you give some approximate dimensions? The reason for my question is you said it looks much bigger in the pics. So if it will fit in my shooting box I'll be ordering one.
Thanks
NC
 
Howdy

I started shooting Cap & Ball in 1968. Never saw the need for a separate loading stand. One more piece of paraphernalia that just ain't necessary. All my C&Bs have a loading lever under the barrel. If I bring a pair of C&Bs to a cowboy match, I charge my cylinders back at my cart, then cap them at the loading table. Pretty simple.

I would not dream of using anything other than pure lead for C&B. Using something harder will put too much strain on the joint of the loading lever.

P.S. For what it's worth, I don't know anybody in the cowboy game who uses a separate press to load their cylinders. Just too much extra bother. Plenty of guys use a wooden stand to hold the gun upright, but everybody I know just uses the ram that comes with the gun. I don't know anybody who bothers with extra cylinders either. It really ain't a big deal to reload the same cylinder in the gun after shooting it.
 
Jaymo, i sent the guy an email with my issues and he made up a new arbor to suit my walker and a shorter ram.

the new arbor is great, but i need to take a file to the screw on the jag as the new ram rod isnt drill and tapped as deep as the original one. i already took about 2mm of the 45cal jag screw to make it fit the original, now i need to take another 2-3mm off it again...

im not exactly winning with mine yet, tried it again yesterday and its not the bushing locking up. maybe needs a bigger base, longer lever? dunno.
 
NCWanderer, it's 7-1/2" tall, with a 6-1/2" long handle. The base is 5-3/4" long and 3" wide.
It's very portable and seems to be sturdy.

Hope this helps.
 
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