KCSO
03-30-2011, 01:14 PM
Prior to cutting a new mould or modifying an existing mould it would be nice to be able to see what the modified bullet would actually shoot like. If you own a small Milll Drill and a rotary table of collet set up there is an easy way to test bullets before you go to the expense of cutting or having a mould cut.
First install your collet or rotary table on the mill and center it. A handy hint here is to use a set of Brownell's Lathe center buttons. Simnply put one button in the collet and put a 60 degree center in the mill quill and dial in the buttons till the mated buttons read 900 on your mike and you are centered. No need to dial in and the finished set up is accurate to less than 1/2 of a thousands, way more accurate than a bullet comes from the mould.
Now put the bullet on a stop, I just use a strip of aluminum cut for the purpose. (figure 1) Then put in the appropriate cutter. For example (figure2) here is a 3/8" milling cutter set up to convert a round nose bullet to a flat point for a Rossi Carbine. In (figure 3) the next photo we see a center drill being used to make a hollow point bullet.
The last photo shows the original round nose bullet and both a flat point and a hollow point bullet all from the same mould. Bullets of 240, 230 and 225 grains are now ready for testing and if they don't work out, it's back to the mill to try other configurations. This system also works well for making a coupld dozen special hunting bullets for special purpose. I use the 225 hollow points for deer hunitng where the factory roound nose bullets would penetrate too much. By adjusting the stops bullets can be hollowpointed to any weight or depth and the finished bullets are accurate to within 1/10 of a grain and the hollow points centered closer than the mould is round.
First install your collet or rotary table on the mill and center it. A handy hint here is to use a set of Brownell's Lathe center buttons. Simnply put one button in the collet and put a 60 degree center in the mill quill and dial in the buttons till the mated buttons read 900 on your mike and you are centered. No need to dial in and the finished set up is accurate to less than 1/2 of a thousands, way more accurate than a bullet comes from the mould.
Now put the bullet on a stop, I just use a strip of aluminum cut for the purpose. (figure 1) Then put in the appropriate cutter. For example (figure2) here is a 3/8" milling cutter set up to convert a round nose bullet to a flat point for a Rossi Carbine. In (figure 3) the next photo we see a center drill being used to make a hollow point bullet.
The last photo shows the original round nose bullet and both a flat point and a hollow point bullet all from the same mould. Bullets of 240, 230 and 225 grains are now ready for testing and if they don't work out, it's back to the mill to try other configurations. This system also works well for making a coupld dozen special hunting bullets for special purpose. I use the 225 hollow points for deer hunitng where the factory roound nose bullets would penetrate too much. By adjusting the stops bullets can be hollowpointed to any weight or depth and the finished bullets are accurate to within 1/10 of a grain and the hollow points centered closer than the mould is round.