Homemade powder measure stand for $14

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Homemade powder measure stand for $14

    I posted this on the FAL Files website first, but I thought I'd reproduce it here, too, because the Grendel has an avid group of reloaders.

    I recently resumed reloading after a lengthy hiatus. I dusted off my reloading equipment, sized some cases, and seated some primers, but I couldn't find my darned powder measure stand. After searching my garage for what was nearly an eternity, I threw up my hands and resorted to using my Rockchucker press as a temporary powder stand. (The die holder on the press is the same thread pitch as the powder measure stand.) After using the press once as a stand, I decided I'd shell out $10 and buy a new stand. A quick google turned up an RCBS stand, but that cast aluminum stand was around $25. I didn't feel like the RCBS stand was worth that much coin, and I always hated that I had to loosen and remove a locking ring to take the powder measure off the stand to dump unused powder back in the keg, so I decided to build my own stand.

    I googled again and found some nifty homemade powder stands, but many required welding, and I don't have a welder. Some guy mentioned using a ball drop hitch turned upside down, and that sounded like a great idea. I headed to Home Depot.

    The drop hitch and female adapter (the part that remains bolted to the vehicle) were going to run me quite a bit more than $25, and although that didn't deter me for such a sturdy stand, the weight of the drop hitch made me give up on the idea. Leaving the powder measure attached to the ball hitch while dumping unused powder would have been cumbersome.

    I decided to go with another idea I read about, a simple steel flat bent into kinda a stretched "Z" shape. Home Depot wanted $20 for a suitable piece of steel, and being the cheapskate I am, I knew there had to be a better way. I hit the tool aisle, found one of these, and the light went on upstairs:



    I got the 12" version, slightly different than the one in this stock photo. It cost me about $14 out the door.

    I drilled out the rivet fastening the stationary arm to the bar, removed both arms, shortened and drilled a 7/8" hole through the stationary arm, and fashioned a makeshift pin from a wood screw to hold the arm and bar together. I planned to buy a clevis pin to replace the wood screw, but the hole is an odd size at slightly less than 1/4", and the wood screw has just the right taper to make for a tight fit between the arm and bar.

    I now have a stand I can C-clamp anywhere on my workbench, and removing the powder measure to dump unused powder is a snap. It did take a little filing to fit the arm to the bar so I can remove the arm with only hand pressure, but the fit is still tight enough that the whole unit is rock solid.

Working...
X