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MBF pipe mount solution


kmcdonou

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Long time lurker, first time poster. Been doing a lot of reading on this and other forums/sites on reloading, as I am gearing up to do so for the first time.  I read about a few people creating their own make-shift mounting system for Mr. Bullet Feeder, to mount the unit separate from the case feeder.  I contacted Dan at Inline Fabrication about making something like this and he said he will consider it, but for the meantime pointed me to a solution by Range Panda: https://rangepanda.com/collections/misc-products/products/mr-bullet-feeder-pipe-mount.

 

I did some searches and surprisingly I haven't seen anyone talk about this product, which surprises me.  I have read about people wanting to mount their MBF independent of the case holder to fix bullet flip issues, and Rick's solution (inventor of MBF) I heard only works with the older, hockey puck style mount.  I don't know enough details about the older and newer styles of MBF, but this product seems to fit either the round style or square style versions of MBF.

 

Just curious if anyone has used this mount. It looks like it is 3-d printed and I am not sure of the strength of the plastic used in those applications.  I'd appreciate any feedback. 

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Looking at pics on that site, they look kinda the same. The MBF one is made of some plastic. And comes with screws / ubolts. The only downside to it is that it locks the angle of the MBF Collator. You can't adjust it +/- 45 degrees.  I have a spare one somewhere. I'll take a pic and post.

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13 hours ago, kmcdonou said:

For Rick's version is there an advantage for it being adjustable?  What angle is the MBF set at when attached to the case feeder as originally designed?  Also what is Rick's version made out of?


his isn’t adjustable. It’s made of plastic.   I’ll find my spare and take a picture.   Really, they look the same as the rangepanda one.  As for angle, I would like for it to be adjustable. For example, in one of my jacketed 147s - I think Montana Gold flatpoints, I had them getting bunched up in front of the collator plate and spilling over the lip of the bullet-feeder and onto the press and bench.   But just that one bullet type.  I switched to a run of coated since then and tweaked the shims , and haven’t gone back to MG to test yet.  But being able to adjust angle was a nice step to have in troubleshooting.  I’ll measure the angle, but I think it looks it at 45 or something very close to it.   

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Too much work and not enough time.  My project list is probably a couple hundred items, including two motorcycles, five cars, about a dozen guns, more welding projects than I can keep track of, and all the usual house and shop items.  If someone wants to copy the design, I'm fine with that.

Edited by ltdmstr
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ltdmstr,

 

Yes, I saw your wonderful design. I not a welder, though, so I will have to find someone to make it for me.  How has the capability of adjusting the angle of the MBF been beneficial for you?  As OptimiStick mentioned he had a particular bullet issue that adjusting the angle could have solved.  Just curious as to the circumstances you needed the angle adjusted.  It might determinate if I go your route or just buy the fixed plastic solution.

 

OptimiStick,

 

Sorry I misread your earlier post about Rick's plastic piece being adjustable.  Thanks for the pict. Rick's mount does look similar to the the Range Panda. Slight differences, but practically the same.  

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9 hours ago, ltdmstr said:

Too much work and not enough time.  My project list is probably a couple hundred items, including two motorcycles, five cars, about a dozen guns, more welding projects than I can keep track of, and all the usual house and shop items.  If someone wants to copy the design, I'm fine with that.


oh I completely understand.   I’m in the same boat,  but on top of that , don’t have the skills  fo to build it.  My reply was tongue in cheek.  

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Can anyone see a downside to the video I posted?  Pretty simple, drilling of two holes in the plate and you are set, still angle adjustable as well.  I think I am going to try that setup, the only thing I am thinking may be an issue is if it will tend to slide on the pipe with only one u-bolt versus 2 in these other designs.

 

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3 hours ago, kmcdonou said:

lHow has the capability of adjusting the angle of the MBF been beneficial for you?  As OptimiStick mentioned he had a particular bullet issue that adjusting the angle could have solved.  Just curious as to the circumstances you needed the angle adjusted.  It might determinate if I go your route or just buy the fixed plastic solution.

 

Getting the MBF to work 100% is a combination of four things: the angle of the collator, the slide adjustment on the part that's under the flip ramp, the shim stack that's under the flip ramp and making sure there's zero resistance on the dropper.  My MBFs had the older style puck mounts, and adjusting the angle on the collator was a pain in the butt, not only because you had multiple parts to loosen and adjust simultaneously, but also because it was hard to get at being on the back of the case feeder (partly because I had several presses mounted close together).  With the mount I made, I have a single set screw that I loosen, adjust the angle, and tighten.  Takes about 10-15 seconds.  I can also remove the entire collator to clean or check in about the same amount of time.  In fact, with this mount, you could move the collator from one press to another in about 5 minutes or less.  The other reason I did the stand alone mount was to remove any vibration from it being on the case feeder, which was also causing problems.  That was partly due to the bench I was using at the time not being super sturdy.  Now I have a rock solid bench and separate mount for the MBFs and everything is rainbows and unicorns!

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I've got Rick's, the older/original version - as others have stated, a little adjust-ability is nice to have, if you need to tweak the angle a bit.  The older version does not have a groove or slot so you can move it around a bit if needed.  It's also a MDF part, and has held up fine.

 

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And a separate temp bar I used when setting up/changing calibers over/etc.

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Edited by 78Staff
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On 3/24/2020 at 9:46 AM, OptimiStick said:


his isn’t adjustable. It’s made of plastic.   I’ll find my spare and take a picture.   Really, they look the same as the rangepanda one.  As for angle, I would like for it to be adjustable. For example, in one of my jacketed 147s - I think Montana Gold flatpoints, I had them getting bunched up in front of the collator plate and spilling over the lip of the bullet-feeder and onto the press and bench.   But just that one bullet type.  I switched to a run of coated since then and tweaked the shims , and haven’t gone back to MG to test yet.  But being able to adjust angle was a nice step to have in troubleshooting.  I’ll measure the angle, but I think it looks it at 45 or something very close to it.   

 

Any chance of you posting pics from both sides of the one on your press?  Just trying to figure out what is bolted through each hole and what the set screws are for?  

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I took a 2x4, same height as the case feeder, then notched it 1" down & 1" in so the original MBF Bracket slid over it.  Added a thin plate to the flat side of the wood for support.  Then screwed through the 2x4 to the shelves & bench.  There's an extra hole in the MBF Bracket & I ran a screw through that into the 2x4.  Solid as a rock and then can add attachments to the 2x4 for tools, etc... to hang from.  All stuff I had on hand, since I can't get out to shop due to the Pandemic?! Fits right into the look of my Bench and Works great.

Edited by pskys2
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My garage roof is too high and angled, so I mounted mine to the bench.  I used these parts from Lowes.

 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SteelTek-3-4-in-x-Silver-Black-Steel-Structural-Pipe-Fitting-Floor-Flange/1000421965032888206410.jpg?size=xl

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SteelTek-3-4-in-x-36-in-Black-Steel-Structural-Pipe-Plain-End-SCH30/1000462571 032888206700.jpg?size=xl

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SteelTek-3-4-in-x-Silver-Black-Steel-Structural-Pipe-Fitting-Rail-Support/1000421973 032888206458.jpg?size=xl

My MBFs have the new style brackets so I use the same method as in the Spartan Armaments video above, but used the above bracket rather than a U-Bolt.  It works perfectly, I can still adjust the angle by pivoting the original bracket just like before.  Rather than swap plates, etc... to change calibers, now I just loosen the single set screw on the bracket, remove the .40 cal. MBF and swap to my second MBF in 9mm complete with second bracket.

Edited by Ming the Merciless
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