Wing Nuts For Lee Bench Plate
Posted: 15 Oct 2015 10:22
I've modified my Lee Bench Plate mounting system by replacing the Phillips head screws with longer sections of thread bar and wing nuts.
A quick and dirty way to accomplish this is to cut two four inch sections of 3/4" by 3/4" square hard wood dowel and drill two holes in each section that line up with the holes in the existing z-bracket. One way to do this is to turn the z-bracket upside down and tuck the wood up under the ledge and use the existing holes as a drill guide. You may also round off one corner of the block prior to drilling in order to get a tighter fit with the z-bracket.
Then replace the four existing Phillips head screws with four pieces of thread bar about 1.75 to 2 inches in length. Screw the four pieces of thread bar into the base plate. Some blue thread lock may be used to keep the thread bar from backing out. Use a hack saw to cut a straight slot in the top of the thread bar sections if needed to allow you to use a screw driver to coax them into the base plate.
Now, drop the z-brackets over the new thread bar bolts followed by the 3/4 x 3/4 x 4 inch wooden blocks. Install washers and wing nuts to clamp everything down. A rubber end protector or acorn nut may be used to cover up any sharp edges on top of the thread bar.
A more sophisticated solution is to replace the z-brackets with two pieces of 3/4 x 3/4 x 4 inch wooden dowel topped off with two pieces of 4 inch long by 1 inch wide metal bar. Drill two holes in each piece using the old z-brackets as guides. About 1/4" of the metal bar should hang over each side of your mounting blocks. Use the tread bar and wing nuts as described above to clamp everything down. You may use some type of adhesive to glue the metal bar to the top of the wooden block, but be careful to not get any adhesive on the thread bar, wing nuts, etc.
After this modification, you will be able to use wing nuts whenever you need to swap out a reloading press or other piece of equipment.
Hope this helps.
A quick and dirty way to accomplish this is to cut two four inch sections of 3/4" by 3/4" square hard wood dowel and drill two holes in each section that line up with the holes in the existing z-bracket. One way to do this is to turn the z-bracket upside down and tuck the wood up under the ledge and use the existing holes as a drill guide. You may also round off one corner of the block prior to drilling in order to get a tighter fit with the z-bracket.
Then replace the four existing Phillips head screws with four pieces of thread bar about 1.75 to 2 inches in length. Screw the four pieces of thread bar into the base plate. Some blue thread lock may be used to keep the thread bar from backing out. Use a hack saw to cut a straight slot in the top of the thread bar sections if needed to allow you to use a screw driver to coax them into the base plate.
Now, drop the z-brackets over the new thread bar bolts followed by the 3/4 x 3/4 x 4 inch wooden blocks. Install washers and wing nuts to clamp everything down. A rubber end protector or acorn nut may be used to cover up any sharp edges on top of the thread bar.
A more sophisticated solution is to replace the z-brackets with two pieces of 3/4 x 3/4 x 4 inch wooden dowel topped off with two pieces of 4 inch long by 1 inch wide metal bar. Drill two holes in each piece using the old z-brackets as guides. About 1/4" of the metal bar should hang over each side of your mounting blocks. Use the tread bar and wing nuts as described above to clamp everything down. You may use some type of adhesive to glue the metal bar to the top of the wooden block, but be careful to not get any adhesive on the thread bar, wing nuts, etc.
After this modification, you will be able to use wing nuts whenever you need to swap out a reloading press or other piece of equipment.
Hope this helps.
