Anyone try using a 1 ton bench mount press for closing annealed nuts? If so, does it work good enough to justify the press expense?

Armstrong power and a block of steel seems to work just fine for me.

At most, I'd just buy a Harbor Freight vise. But a hammer has always worked fine for me.

That's like using a grenade to kill a Cockroach!

If you are going to spend money buy a swagger and Ferrell's.

I use 1x19 cable and prefer annealed nuts instead of ferrells. I've been using a hammer and steel, even the receiver hitch on my truck on the line to build snares, etc. I just think it would speed up the process. It would be easier to hold the loops and nuts in place then press vs hitting them with a hammer and having the nut or cable move around until it's tight. I can get a 1 ton press that's operated by a lever for 65$.

Where I used to work I had a hand operated press whether it was at least a 1 ton. I used it a few times but went back to the bench vise to compress the 1/8" nuts around the cable then hammered them totally tight hanging onto the cable so I didn't mash my fingers. It was faster and i liked it better than the press alone.
I also took the heat treat out of the annealed nuts (then they won't crack) by putting them in a cast iron skilled on my kitchen range. Once the frying pan was up to temperature on high I left the nuts heat up for about 5 minutes and then let them air cool.
I preferred the 1/8" nuts as stops over single ferrals but preferred the double ferrals to 1/4" nuts on cable loops.
Pete

I just press them closed with the tip of my swager

Assuming they're hardened, unless you get the nuts up to red hot, you're just wasting your time. Regular cheapo nuts are as soft as they ever will get.

What size nuts?

I use to line up the nuts,( I use 8/32) up on the elements of our electric range. Get them red hot and let cool on the element and you have annealed nuts. I buy the cheap ,on sale ,nuts at the local farm store.
We now have a flat top so I don't do that anymore.
just

I don't know. Just large enough for a 3/32 cable to go through ONCE. ALso smaller ones that a 5/64 will go through. The bigger ones are heat treated and I wouldn't want to crush them if they were any bigger. maybe size 8?

Yep, that sounds right Dean. 6-32 make good small deer stops but I have had 8-32 (bigger than 6-32) pull off the snares when used as end stops. They would likely hold on dispatch snares with adjustable loop ends but I won't trust them in an end swivel.

If you smash them slow they won't crack. A snare press or several light taps with a hammer instead of just a couple hard wacks and you'll be good to go Bob.

The 1/4" nuts even annealed ones are way too hard to smash with a bench swagger, you'll break it for sure. The professionals use an electric press, the rest use a hammer for them.

I agree with strike2x. You can get a good bench swagger from Amazon for under $90 and use aluminum stops and ferrules.

I use a 6 ton press. Harbor freight. works fine. Plus I can use it for other things.
I used to use a hammer but my aim ain't like it used to be. too many not smashed straight. Holding the cable straight is the real trick.I was going to make a jig to hold the cable straight but I have about 300 snares made so I won't need to make any for a while.

just

Big Bob,
The nuts I used were generally hardened and would crack if not removed. If you if you leave them on high for 5 minutes in a frying pan it does take the temper out of them and they often do turn red. It worked so it wasn't a waste of time.
I have been told that some boxes of cheap nuts will crack/split when they were not heated and slow cool. It is just an easy and simply way to keep from having a problem.
Pete

Best way I've found is string them on a piece of wire and throw them in a fire til glowing red hot. I've left them in the fire til only ashes.
just

X2