shortfal offers press plans for cheap. the materials cost about $20-$30 and other than some welding and simple machining skills...it's a no brainer.

the bbl. is pressed anginst the trunnion. the trunnion is the only thing solid enough to press against.

yes, EVERY time a bbl. is re-installed (even to its' original pinned position) you must check the headspace for safety. gages aren't cheap, but your face/eyes costs a whole lot more.

i remove the rivets by end-milling them down to a very thin inner head (which will usually spin when the cuttergets tru the rivet's shank. a sharpened screwdriver and a dental pick remove the debris.

to remove a bbl., i position the stripped rec./bbl. on a plate with a hole in it...muzzle down on the h-frame press. a steel pusher bar makes short work of popping the bbl.. pushing out the bbl's. cross pin usually gives me more trouble than the bbl., itself.

Campy, do you think that it is possible to mill that trunion support with a drill press with an X-Y vise?

yes. you can chuck up an end mill...just be warned that a drill press does not spin as true as the spindle on a milling machine...more runout.

iirc, shortfal's press used a 6 ton ram. i press on a 20 ton H-frame press and rarely approach 2 tons.

an H-frame press is far more versatile, but requires you to make up some custom blocking to supprt things...and safety strapping to keep things from flying. the dedicared press, once built, is far easier to use and much safer, imo.