I hacked a fatty into a hollowpoint

[feets]

Reading that thread about do-it-yourself hollow points got me thinking. Being one to tinker, I thought it would be interesting to try it with the Thunderheads to see how it would work.

I took a very scientific approach. I tossed a bullet in the lathe and slammed a convenient cutter into it. 90 seconds later I pulled out a hollow point. Can't get any more high tech than that. :mrgreen:
Here's the specs.
Diameter: .452"
Original weight: 265.9 grains
New weight: 235.7 grains
Diameter above crimp groove: .442"
Ogive: straight side
Diameter of cavity: .251"
Depth of cavity: .265"
Face of meplat to crimp groove: .295"
Thickness of cavity walls: .094"
Run out on meplat walls: .003"

I put a light chamfer on the inner lip to smooth things out

Here's a purty little picture:

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/378575_312373992115005_100000272212256_1226431_146 7648490_n.jpg

Whaddya think? What will happen when it hits something furry? It's a pretty hard bullet.
I figure there are three possible outcomes (assuming it flies true).
1) HOLE PUNCH! It's still a wadcutter and refuses to expand.
2) The cavity blows out and it tumbles through the critter.
3) It's a textbook wide open 'shroom and I need to buy a lottery ticket and see if my luck holds out.

[x101airborne]

IMO... If it does expand, it will probably blow the nose off in fragments since the hollow point is straight and the nose is the same thickness as the bottom of the cavity. Plus the hardness of the alloy will shatter rather than deform.

[runfiverun]

a lyman primer hole de-burr tool wil make a nice hollow point that takes out about 15-20 grs of weight.
but the hardness will work against you, like pointed out above.

[feets]

I don't have a tapered cutter narrow enough to plunge into a bullet so I grabbed a cutter that was close. It made a nice clean hole and the swarf curled out nicely. I've never turned lead on the lathe and I didn't know how it would go. I had minimal pressure on the jaws. There are witness marks on the bullet but no flat spots.

My deburring tool is an ancient Luck File & Tool piece with a chubby wood handle. I can't use that in the lathe.

I could put a quickie taper on the sides and plunge a smaller diameter hole. It wouldn't take much longer than it did to do this one.

I might fiddle with a few more and maybe anneal the tops and see how it works. It'll give me something to play with on the bad weather days like today.

[220swiftfn]

Do you have a center drill????


Dan

I think the nose'll blow off too.....

[feets]

Do you have a center drill????


Are you trying to make me feel stupid? If so, it's working nicely. :mrgreen:

I forgot about the spot weld cutter. It's in my shop where I was using it on the hot rod. My machines are in my garage.
I was planning on running out to the shop to fire up the heater for tomorrow. When I do, I'll grab the cutter. The shop is a whopping 30 feet from my front door but it's cold and raining. I might float away or something.


Thanks for the reminder.



*****edit*****

I ran out there to take a look and remembered that I don't have the reshaped cutter anymore. That's the one that hit the floor while still attached to the drill. All I have now is the real spot weld bit.
Bummer.
Oh well, it made a cool hot rod even if it can't do hollow points.

[badbob454]

shoot some wet phone books and show us the results.... the walls are pretty thick i think it'll shroom

[429421Cowboy]

I think you have a chance if you anneal it, however i agree on the thought that the nose might blow off due to the straight walls of the hp. Good luck, shoot some phone books and give us an idea of what happens!

[Wayne Smith]

A lot will depend on velocity. High enough velocity and it will come apart.

[paul edward]

If the hollow point is the right size, you can press fit a .22 blank cartridge to make a very effective short range varmint load.

[skeettx]

What alloy are you using?
96 lead and 4 tin is awesome if the velocity does not lead the gun
Will curl right back, sweet :)

Borrowed but true "For lower velocity HP loads (below 1000 fps), I have grown fond of using 25-to-1 alloy (6 lbs pure lead with ½ lb of 50/50 solder). This alloy is soft enough (BHN of about 9) to expand readily at impact velocities down to about 850 fps (depending on the HP design) and is very useful for things like .38 Special and .44 Special loads. It casts beautifully!"

http://www.sixguns.com/crew/castbullet.htm

Mike

[41mag]

I hacked a "fatty" into a hollowpoint

I must admit that even though I knew in my mind that you were referring to a boolit, there was another thought which somehow took over.......:mrgreen:

Yea I was thinking why not a center drill myself. I have used them for several similar projects while not actually on cast boolits, I have used them in various sizes to make up or change J-word HP's just to see how much difference bigger diameters or added depth would effect the performance.

[220swiftfn]

Are you trying to make me feel stupid? If so, it's working nicely. :mrgreen:

I forgot about the spot weld cutter. It's in my shop where I was using it on the hot rod. My machines are in my garage.
I was planning on running out to the shop to fire up the heater for tomorrow. When I do, I'll grab the cutter. The shop is a whopping 30 feet from my front door but it's cold and raining. I might float away or something.


Thanks for the reminder.



*****edit*****

I ran out there to take a look and remembered that I don't have the reshaped cutter anymore. That's the one that hit the floor while still attached to the drill. All I have now is the real spot weld bit.
Bummer.
Oh well, it made a cool hot rod even if it can't do hollow points.

.......sorry.........

I was thinking a #4 would work nicely, maybe even a #5........


Dan

[leadman]

Stand one of your hp boolits in a pan pf water to the bottom of the hollowpoint, then heat the hp with a torch and let it cool naturally. should soften that portion of the boolit so it will expand.

[feets]

This is one of those eeeeevil store bought bullets. Penn Bullets to be exact. He states in a few places that his typical hard slug is around 20 bhn. That's a wee bit stiff to bend in my book.
I read the thread on water protected annealing. It is what I was referring to when I mentioned softening the bullet.

I didn't play with it again this weekend. Instead, a friend came over and we did a little more work on the hot rod. It's packing a little heavier "bullet" than any of my guns. :mrgreen:

[Buckshot]

...............I'm sure you're aware that lead is VERY sticky, so your spindle speed should be slow and ditto your feed. Use WD40 for a bit of lube. For cutting a HP in lead all you need is a form tool (spoon), as below:

http://www.fototime.com/707B9410AE70036/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/45CD03553B4765E/standard.jpg

Just use an old drill bit shank, or other piece of handy HSS and grind it to the shape (or HALF the shape) you want. Predrill a smaller hole to depth, then plunge in the spoon. The above one is what I use for creating the cavity in nose punch blanks, to fill with epoxy for exact nose fits. I in the 1/2" keystock so it's easier to use in an Aloris type toolblock.

...............Buckshot

[fredj338]

I like the idea, but unless the bullet is soft enough, it's going to frag at best or just not expand, all depending on vel. Soak up some phone books & give them a vouple @ 20ft.