MrB Posted October 6, 2014 Posted October 6, 2014 (edited) Star plates DO press evenly across the whole plate, and they are then CUT to length, pressed to density, cut to length- voilaAs i said before, this is certainly one way to get near perfect stars, but i don't know anyone that actually does it. Everyone i know at most cuts the stars to size after pressing, and then eject them. This leaves room for the stars to be of different density simply since they might have had different fill-rates to start with. Typically the stars in the center of the plate gets more compacted just from the fill since thats where you dump the stuff, and then you scrape it all over the plate ending up with an uneven distribution. Press, and, with a starplate, they are now the same length, but not necessarily the same density. And thats assuming a ideal starplate / press combo that doesn't introduce any flexing in the plates. Anyway, they end up looking identical, but being of different density. The only way to eliminate that, without measuring up the amounts for each star, is pressing singles to a known density, and then cut them to size. Well, as far as i know. Wish we could have medical pill press machines to make our stars with. Dosing, and pressing for a near identical result every time. And, just for the record. If your using a press anything like the one most people use, then you got a cylinder with a rod, and a comparatively tiny head on said rod as the contact point between the press, and the starplate. Putting that in the center of the star-plate, and pressing, it's going to flex. This is the reason behind why Erik turned his cylinder upside down. Erik being the guy behind the press you linked to earlier, in the YouTube clip.There is a few linked pictures on a different forum, i'll just copy / paste the links: http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/9657/dsc03649g.jpghttp://img85.imageshack.us/img85/2629/press4.jpghttp://img31.imageshack.us/img31/8546/dsc03600k.jpgOn a different note. I'm not so sure it's an hydraulic press. I cant find the post he made about it, but for a hydraulic system, it seams to have a poor amount of return lines, and the feed hose looks a fair bit like what i got for air... Pretty sure it's pneumatic, but, it doesn't really make any difference. B! EditOh, and Erik? He's not available for questioning. He left pyro a year, a year and a half ago, after that Norwegian "incident" when his supplier got involved in the terrorist attempt. He wrote a small essay on the why's he was quitting, and it seams he was intent on taking up photography instead. Safer, cheaper, and... legal./Edit Edited October 6, 2014 by MrB
Maserface Posted October 6, 2014 Posted October 6, 2014 I put a 2" or so thick plate between my press and my starplate, which eliminates flex, it's probably overkill. As for overfilling and cutting, Imo OPs would be subject to the same or worse problem, and his offers no solution, whereas cutting the stars to length solves it. Also, if this method is so much better than a star plate (faster, more accurate etc) why wouldn't every company and hobbyist alike use one ?
schroedinger Posted October 6, 2014 Posted October 6, 2014 (edited) There are quite some people using pumps and plates because they are easly available from the common suppliers and cheap. Also some people are using homemade gang pumps, the problem with those are that they aren't really available from suppliers, and it often is the easiest way to just go with things you can buy, instead of making 'em yourself due to the lack of tools/machines. I bet that if good gang pumps would be available for a god price that they would be used more often then now. Edited October 7, 2014 by schroedinger
dagabu Posted October 7, 2014 Posted October 7, 2014 There are quite some people using pumps and plates because they are easly available from the common suppliers and cheap. Also some people are using homemade gang pumps, the problem with those are that they aren't really available from suppliers, and it often is the easiest way to just go with things you can, instead of making 'em yourself due to the lack of tools/machines. I bet that if good gang pumps would be available for a god price that they would be used more often then now. +1!
schroedinger Posted October 7, 2014 Posted October 7, 2014 (edited) Just found something interesting http://www.askari-fishing.com/__WebShop__/product/fishing/fishing-accessories-1/hook-ground-baits/bait-accessories/maros-mix-pellet-punch/detail.jsf?reset=0Just remove the center pin and you got a nice and cheap gang pump. Comes with a board to roll a patty on for making cut stars too (-; Edited October 7, 2014 by schroedinger
Mumbles Posted October 7, 2014 Posted October 7, 2014 You guys sure do have a lot to argue about for what I think is a relatively cool tool. Every tool has it's pros and cons. It looks like this works reasonably well, and is pretty quick. Who cares if some amount of the stars turn out soft or different sizes. With the ease and speed this operates at, sorting out stars for a ring/shell still saves plenty of time in the long run. Unfortunately the link I have to a gang rammer is dead. They're not difficult to make though. That's a matter for a different thread though.
Col Posted October 7, 2014 Posted October 7, 2014 Got to give Zmuro credit for trying something original, buying stuff involves less effort and you can get a refund if it doesnt work
Maserface Posted October 7, 2014 Posted October 7, 2014 I don't mean to argue, although I've seemed to gained quite a following of haters. Guess they are still upset about what I said (and apologized for) elsewhere. It is a neat design, I would like to build a pneumatic disc puncher at some point.
MrB Posted October 7, 2014 Posted October 7, 2014 If one really wanted to "improve" Zmuro's design then that would be done by having it go through the fill cycle a couple of times, before ejecting the stars. I don't think it's needed, but it's an option. And its a clever bit of engineering. I don't really see a fight here, i just see pro & cons being discussed. Guess they are still upset about what I said (and apologized for) elsewhere.What did you say, and where? I just remember the circle jerk... Anyways, i'm not one to hold a grudge. Unless you did something with my girlfriend, against her will. The only dude that did that (that i know of) is (mysteriously) dead at this point. Accident, they say.B!
Zmuro Posted October 7, 2014 Author Posted October 7, 2014 In the video, I'm pumping 10mm brocade stars, where the burn time is not so important as for the color stars. I fill the pump twice, so that the holes are fully filled, but in the video I coulden't do that because I was holding my phone. You must have enough composition in a container so that the pump doesn't touch the bottom. I will weigh 30 random stars and repeat four times and post results later.
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