tampers...

mcraeotb

yeah i dunno whether im prepared to spend 70-80 dollars on a piece of metal and wood... oh well, christmas is comin up ;D might as well try

nunu

Maybe if your local high school had a metal shop, you might be able to have one made for cheap. Give the teacher the specs, and either have a student make it, or the teacher themselves. Back in high school, our metal shop used to help fund itself by making trailers for clients. The client really only paid for the cost of materials.

mattyj

[quote]yeah i dunno whether im prepared to spend 70-80 dollars on a piece of metal and wood... oh well, christmas is comin up

Reschsmooth

Matt The only complaint about the pullman tamper (and it is a small complaint) is the sharp edge on the handle - it does create a callous on your hand. Apart from that, couldn't be happier. P

[deleted]

I collected a Pullman Tamper today - beautifully made - dont care if it works or not because it is simply georgeous to look at!

mcraeotb

[quote]Maybe if your local high school had a metal shop, you might be able to have one made for cheap.

FullSpeed

I think it would work out to be cheaper to just buy a tamp from a roaster or supplier than to make it. Unless you can get the steel from scrap, you would have to spend way too much money just on the metal. Also buying from scrap would mean you would have to cut it. and cutting a good-grade steel 20-30mm thick takes a lot of patience and cooling. If you were to cast it, the piece would be able to chip easily and may have air bubbles. Alternatively, you could just buy the metal tamp base and make yourself a nice handle.

[deleted]

The steel rod would have to be at least as big in diameter as the final size of your tamp.. so you would actually be cutting a steel rod approx. 60mm in diameter, not 20-30mm.. 😡

gregpullman

Hi guys, It can be done; as mattyj said it's the method I use. 63.5mm is the smallest size you can readily get hold of but unless you're proficient with a lathe it can take a long time, and the result may not be as good as a commercial thing. Nonetheless, from a personal satisfaction's point of view there's no doubt some merit. Greg

melbournecoffeeguy

Steel is not a good Idea why not use alluminium it's light, easy to machine and can be polished

One-a-day

A mate at Army reserve turned up some 1:1 scale rounds , he did 50cal 30cal and 5.56 at his civi job (helps to be a fitter with access to cnc machines) out of brass as paper weights. They looked great and with a larger base would be very unique tampers. Ill see what a case of beer will do. And post a photo later in the year

gregpullman

Steel is not a good Idea why not use alluminium it's light, easy to machine and can be polished

It's also soft, unstable and non-food safe, so it dents and corrodes. Being used in a food environment around moisture and regular impact, I'm not sure how that makes it a good idea :-? Aluminum looks fancy to start with especially when polished, but after a few months of use it's a different story. Stainless steel avoids all of these, which is why you pay for quality.

askthecoffeeguy

The added weight of stainless steel is also much nicer to work with

psaigh

And i beleive helps keep a more consistantly flat tamp