Anyone have a 1918 belt loader?

[K. Funk]

Would you consider loading some 100 rd belts for me? The 1919 semi craze has pushed the price of these way up. It may be a while before I get one, so any help would be appreciated. I will supply the ammo, the belts, S&H both ways plus a fee for the use of the loader and your time.

Thanks,

krf

[16R40]

yeah those 1918 belt loaders are very very expensive.....only because they are USGI ones, and hence 'collectable" and there is no one making a aftermarket one........... that I know of

you would be better off buying metal links, and a linker from OHIO ORNANCE WORKS. 185 bucks for the linker, 70 bucks for 1,000 links. which is what most folks with 1919s do.

http://www.ohioordnanceworks.com/parts/links.htm



I would strongly advice you to get a trunion protector, so the links don't dig up your trunion.

http://www.guiettemfg.com/catalog.html

or if you have a router, and are good with working with your hands, you can make your very own linker, for a just a few bucks.........


http://www.liberatorcrew.com/Linker.htm


once you get all that.......then you need to e-mail emory and get on the list, for one of these, so you can put the linker to good use


http://www.1919a4.com/reviews/handcrank/

[K. Funk]

16R40,

I am resisting going the link route, but I think the resistance is futile. I do appreciate the info. I am aware of the trunion protector, and the hand cranker is on my list. I have 2 months to worry about it, the kit leaves for ARS Monday. The vehicle mount for the Ram 2500 is almost done.

Thanks again,

krf

[Hail Mary]

Since you have a few months, you can easily load that belt by hand in that timeframe. Wear leather gloves to hold the pockets and push the belt down onto a round that is standing. New belts are harder but just push them in a bit further each day. If you want to belt 308, leave 30-06 in the pockets for a week or two first to stretch them out (or you can get real 308 belts from OOW).

[K. Funk]

I got this problem licked. Many thanks to my new friend Piratekevin over on 1919A4.com for sending picks of a home-made loader using easily obtained lever clamping devices from MSC. I will have a functional belt loader by the end of the week built for under $40. Now if I could just figure out how to post pics......


In the mean time, if anyone is interested, I can e-mail the pics, just let me know.


krf

[rocko]

I built one of those loaders as well. It was still a bit tough to load new belts using that. New ones are pretty tight and require much more force to load - as a result, the belt would often slip in the half-nut setup used in the original design. What I did, which works better for me, was replace the top nut with a piece of angle iron, which I tapped for three screws on each side. Sort of hard to describe, and I lent out my digital camera, but hopefully you can get the drift if you are familiar with the original design.... When the hold-down toggle clamp is closed, the angle forms an upside down "V". The screws are actually what catch and hold the belt and can be adjusted as necessary, the ones up front are tightened down a bit more, such that the front of the belt is actually caught by the sides of the tips of the screws, preventing the belt from going anywhere, but such that the bullet still has enough room to pass between them. The other two sets of screws hold the belt against the case, just like the original half-nut.

Will hopefully have the camera back this weekend, will take some pics then if you want.

Rocko

[K. Funk]

Rocko,

Yes, I would appreiate that.

Thanks,

krf

[rocko]

Got my camera back - pictures are a bit blurry, but you should be able to get the idea...

[K. Funk]

Thanks for the pics, I have enough angle, threaded fittings and other do-dads to come up with something. I'll be working on it all day today. I'm thinking of splitting a 1/2" pc of water pipe and serating the edges. If that don't work, we'll go the angle/screw route. Hopefully by the time the sun sets, I'll have a few loaded belts.

Looks like you did some serious surgery on the clamp. Hopefully mine will bolt directly to the base without to many mods.

Thanks again!!

krf

[K. Funk]

Well, the sun has set and I have a working belt loader!!. It will need some mods, the serated edges of the split tubing are not enough to get reliable filling with my new belts. I will have to incorporate a split nut to hold the "lip" of the belt, much like the problem Rocko had. I will finish loading a belt or 2 and then tinker with the mods.

Rocko, thanks again for the pics.

krf