Homemade Bow Press - Part 4

Homemade Bow Press - Part 4
In part four I weld up the "captive nut".
I made it like this to accommodate potential misalignment between the threaded rod and the nut/sliding arm.
I would have prefered to use Trapezoidal or ACME rod, but like the rest of the build I wanted to use material/parts that I had on hand. I did dismantle a trailer Jockey Wheel and was going to use the internals of that as they have a thrust bearing and ACME rod. Ultimately decided not to as the length of the rod was to short and I wanted this press to be able to accomodate target bows through to youth bows.
As you can see I need to sort out my welding vice. It's very unstable and definitely doesn't help with the welds appearance.
You'll also notice that I tack up the captive nut without wearing gloves. I use sunscreen for protection which allows me the dexterity to position parts. On a side note it does contaminate the filler rod.
If you missed previous parts:
Part 1 - • Homemade Bow Press - P...
Part 2 - • Homemade Bow Press - P...
Part 3 - • Homemade Bow Press - P...

[@TheOffCycle]

Why not just weld the nut to the plate…. Get it square. The flex in that all thread is more than enough to account for any misalignments

[@swarfcity]

You definitely could. From experience though a captured nut just lasts a lot longer and ensures smooth threading/winding. Appreciate the comment.