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duke76
12-14-2007, 12:51 AM
A guy gave me this press and dies, I do know the press is a Corbin but I do not know what model it is, but I would like to, also it came with some dies, I am wondering if I have everything I need to swage, there was one bullet that came with it and it was a 41 caliber, If some of you could help me identify the dies I would appreciate it and also tell me if I need anything else. There is no markings on any of the dies, here are some pictures, again thanks for your help.

here is the press

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j189/duke76_photos/DSC00318.jpg


here is the dies I got with it

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j189/duke76_photos/DSC00316.jpg

Red River Rick
12-14-2007, 01:34 AM
Duke 76:

Looks like a earlier model of the "Silver Press". The die on the extreme left looks to be a jacket reducing die along with the punch next to it. You mention .41 cal, I'm assuming the jacket reducing die is for reducing 45 cal jackets into 41 cal jackets. 3rd item from the left is a ogive/point forming die with the ejection punch coming in from the top. 4th item is the base punch used in conjuction with the ogive/point forming die. 5th & 6th items look like nose punches which are used with the final die, 7th item. This is an LED die used for swaging cores for "J" bullets or it can be a LED die for swaging lead bullets.

RRR
RRR

duke76
12-14-2007, 03:14 PM
Is there any thing else that I am missing? What else do I need to start swaging bullets?
and how do I go about doing this? Sorry I dont know anything about this.

Red River Rick
12-14-2007, 07:14 PM
You'll need some lead slugs, either extruded wire (cut to approx weight) or cast slugs. An adjustable core mould would probably be best. Both are available from Corbin.

If you check out Corbin's web site, there is lots of good reading material which should help you get a better understanding of what you may be getting into. They also have books available that you can buy (not cheap), that help explain the process.

Hope this info helps.

RRR

creekwalker
12-15-2007, 10:12 AM
That's a nice looking set up duke, are those standard 7/8 size dies?

Creekwalker

duke76
12-15-2007, 09:09 PM
Just the far left die is 7/8, I think,I have been looking at Corbins site but it is kind of confusing there is so much stuff on there and so many different things to look at. I am going to ask around at the club and hope that someone there has a similar setup that can come over and help me out. Also I see on Corbins site they have a die to make.224 jackets out of 22lr cases, have any of you guys used any of these, they look pretty slick. How do they work on varmints? do they really explode them or is it like a fmj and just go through? If I decide to get one of these die sets for.224 what else do I need besides a core mold and the dies for making the jackets or is that all, Oh, and one other thing how can I tell what caliberdies I have right now, I think it is 41 because there was a bullet in with the box of goodies.Again thanks for your help

Bent Ramrod
12-15-2007, 11:44 PM
Sticking my neck out 20 feet or so--

The "loading die" looking thing on the left is a holder for core seating and base punches. It should screw into the stationary end of your press, with the punch pointing toward the ram. It appears to me that you have three core seating/base punches, the last three items on the right. You can see the hex nuts on the top of two of them, that are like the one on top of the "loading die" on the left. These nuts should hold and allow the punches to be adjusted in and out to vary the length of the bullet and the completeness of compression. It looks like you have maybe a hollow base punch and a flat base one, in addition to a core seating punch. Measure these carefully; the smallest diameter one should be the one that fits inside a bullet jacket as it goes into the core seating die; the punch that goes in the point former will be slightly larger in diameter. The base punches should be a slip fit in the point forming die. The second flat base or core seating punch is the bare one to the left of the ones with the hex nuts on them. I imagine it goes with the hex nut at the top of the "loading die" punch holder.

The second and third dies on the left should be the core seater and point former, respectively, with their corresponding ejectors. If so, they screw into the press ram as laid out in your photo, with the ejectors first. The second ejector (like the third) should have a little notch in the shank for a set screw that should go through the bottom of the casting of the press frame into a slot in the ram.

Put a lubricated jacket with lead core into the core seat die closed end first. Make sure the core seating punch goes inside the jacket and the jacket is guided into the die. When you raise the lever and push the ram forward, the die (with jacket and core) moves toward the core seating punch, swaging together as they contact the punch and press against it. Turning the latter in or out (with the ram withdrawn!) sets the compression of the lead core in the jacket, which should be enough to make a solid bond with no empty space, but not so extreme that lead squeezes past the punch. When the lever is pulled back, the die, with core swaged into jacket inside of the die, should move back a ways until it contacts the ejector, which is held by the set screw. A little more pressure on the lever should gently eject the seated core from the die.

The point forming die, with ejector, is then exchanged in the ram for the core seat die/ejector assembly. This time the swaged jacket/core combination (lubricated) is put into the die open end first and the lever moved as before. When the lever is withdrawn, the same thing will happen: the die, with bullet inside, will move back until the bullet contacts the ejector pin, and a little more effort should eject the bullet. Again, sneak up on the maximum compression and pointiness of bullet by careful adjustments of the base pin. That little press gives enormous leverage; you can crack a die open if you heave on it too much.

I am winging this whole instruction/description/surmisement from the parts of my SAS "Mity-Mite" swaging press and dies and some of Corbin's books and Ted Smith's "Bullet Swage Manual", which you should get and digest thoroughly before setting up to swage. The description given is how my press and die set works, and it looks like your press is a copy of that one. Measure the punches with a micrometer to see what caliber you have. The ultimate test, of course is to measure a bullet made in the dies.

You ought to get a look into those dies with a bright light ASAP. If the rust is as bad inside them as outside, it may be they are badly damaged. I had a .30 caliber point former with a ring in it that I sent to Corbin and he said it wasn't worth the diamond paste that would be wasted in the salvaging. Dies can be ruined beyond repair with only minor carelessness or rough treatment, just like that. Much less forgiving than boolit moulds, which can still cast decent boolits even though they are more or less pitted.

I don't see a jacket former in your set, although one of those punches may be something of the sort. A jacket former for .22's is just a cylindrical die with a conical leade and a loose fitting punch that irons the rim off the shells. With a .41 caliber, you would need to order jackets or get a Corbin gimmick (don't know what one looks like) that makes them from copper tubing.

Bent Ramrod
12-16-2007, 08:01 PM
Oops--knew I'd get something wrong.

The ejectors are not inserted in the ram as in your photo. They would be turned upside down, with the pin ends pointing out, inserted into the ram and the dies themselves screwed in afterwards.

I've meant to get my Mity-Mite out and mess with it, but too many priorities in the way.

creekwalker
12-16-2007, 09:42 PM
BR...When you pull out that Mity Mite would you mind posting some pictures of it, I'd really like to see it if you don't mind. If you ever decide to upgrade drop me a line and we'll discuss it. I remember reading something about the Mity Mite some time back but can't recall when or where, but as i recall it was a very well thought of piece of equipment.

Regards

Creekwalker

Bent Ramrod
12-16-2007, 11:41 PM
Creekwalker,

The pictures will probably have to wait until the holidays are over, although I may be able to get them in after Christmas. The Mity-Mite press is basically like duke76's only with a round bar handle and no top strap on the frame. I believe the new Corbin presses also have different threads in the frame and ram, which means that any new dies ordered from Corbin for the old press would incur extra cost, if they would agree to make them at all. Corbin took over from Ted Smith's Shooters' Accessory Supplies, and a continuity of product and support of the old equipment would have been nice for SAS equipment owners, but I imagine more or less of a headache for Corbin.

I'm hoping to make some dies on my own (probably when I retire) and use them in the press to make paper patched slugs, bump up bullets to larger diameters, etc. Right now I have a .243 die set which I will get to when I can get hold of some jackets. I "need" to make some extra length bullets for my .236 Lee Navy rifle.

Bullet swaging equipment is not common on the used market; I scrounge every gun show and store for the stuff and don't find much at all. I doubt if bullet swagers were ever one-tenth of one percent of the number of people who cast boolits, and they are definitely in the minority of reloaders, who in turn are a minority of shooters. You might get some results by advertising in periodicals such as Precision Shooting or posting on some of the Benchrest websites.

bullet maker
12-22-2007, 06:30 PM
Look`s like a might-mite press, I got four of them, but mine are black, with the broze handle.

bought my set up 25 years ago. or there abouts.

bullet maker

duke76
12-23-2007, 10:26 AM
I emailed the picture to Corbins and he said it is a early mighty mite from around 1980 csp1 bronze, he said it was kind of rare. now if I could just figure out how to use it, I need to find a core mould and some dies, m dies if anyone has any they want to part with PM me, I just cant justify spending 400 on new ones

infoman
12-28-2007, 12:43 AM
The press is a Corbin Mfg. Mity Mite press that preceeded the Silver Press. It is made from Ampco 18-8 aluminum bronze alloy. That alloy is extremely strong but was very difficult to machine. Only a few hundred of that model were made. Later the press was redesigned to use ductile iron which was more than adaquate for the pressures the dies could handle and it was renamed the Silver Press.

The die and punch on the left are for reducing a 44 or 45 jacket to probably 41 caliber. The next die is a point form die that will make a bullet that does not have a step where the ogive and bearing meet.

The punch to the right of the point form die is the point form external punch that pushes the bullet into the die. The punch has a spacer bushing on it and there should be a hexagon hollow nut that goes over the punch. Likely the hollow nut has been lost.

The next punch forms a deep hollow cavity in the lead slug and is used with the die on the far right to make a hollolw point bullet. Then there is a punch that probably makes a flat ended lead slug or it may have a cavity in it to make a Keith type of bullet, again used with the die on the far right.

The die on the far right is an LSWC die or Lead Semi-Wadcutter die. It is similar to a core swage die and is used to make either a finished semi-wadcutter bullet or, in this case, probably a lead slug that is then finished in the point form die.

The punch all the way to the right is probably for a sizer-lubricator like the Lyman Lubrisizer.

The dies are badly rusted and may need some TLC. A little polishing with some crocus cloth and oil would not hurt anything however the tolerances are pretty tight so not much polishing can be tolerated.

duke76
12-28-2007, 01:20 AM
Thanks, welcome to the forum infoman, I feel honored that you answered my question with your first post on this forum.

infoman
12-28-2007, 01:02 PM
I am not certain that the dies you have were made by Corbin Mfg, not saying that they weren't, but Corbin Mfg dies were held to fairly tight tolerances and these dies don't look quite right.

Corbin Mfg. keep the standards that Ted Smith worked out many, many years ago. All of the Corbin small hand presses from the earliest ones to today use the 5/8"-24 thread. The thread length cannot exceed 5/8". Dies were made in two lengths of 2" and 1 3/4" overall. Some early dies were also 1 1/2" long. Point form dies and jacket making dies use the 2" long die while core seat, core swage, lead tip, and most pistol point form dies are 1 3/4" long.

The 5/8" diameter thread is used as that was the largest size that could be used with the 3/4" diameter M dies while still leaving a shoulder for the die body to contact the press ram. The 1.0" diameter S dies use the same thread. The 24 pitch thread was used as it is easier to cut when using a self opening die head on a turret lathe.

The length of the thread on the two dies appears to vary somewhat, more than would have been allowed on Corbin products. But they could be early dies before things were well standardized.

External punches were and are made in two styles. If the punch tip is .377" or smaller a removeable spacer bushing and hollow nut were placed on the punch and then the punch is put into the punch holder in the top of the press. If the punch tip is larger than .377" then the punch was made in two pieces. The hollow nut and spacer bushing were placed on the punch and the punch head was fastened to the punch body by means of a 10-32 socket cap screw. Later the screw was changed to a Torx head screw to prevent owners from taking the punch apart and loosing the parts.

The latest external punches made by Corbin Mfg no longer use the spacer bushing. The punch head has been lengthened 3/8" and the bushing is no longer needed.

Bent Ramrod
12-31-2007, 01:31 PM
Enclosed are the pictures of my Mity-Mite Press which were requested.

Infoman, thanks for the briefing on the Corbin stuff. As I mentioned, a lot of my post was kind of surmised and extrapolated.

Upon rereading some of the Corbin Technical Bulletins, I think the holder with the hex nut at the end was designed to allow the punches to "float" slightly, for better alignment with the die. Mine is the old style, which holds the punch rigidly.

creekwalker
12-31-2007, 02:32 PM
BR,
Very good pictures, great detail and look's very well made. This make's me wonder why a similiar model isn't offered now. I realize that current presses are stronger and such, but why were swaging presses such as yours dropped?

Creekwalker

Bent Ramrod
12-31-2007, 10:32 PM
Creekwalker,

Just a guess, but I would say they simply didn't sell as well as either the hydraulic setups for the small business bullet swager, who needs quantity production, or the Walnut Hill type press which could be used either for small runs of specialty bullets for home use and/or for sale, and for reloading as well. The output of a single-stage hand press, when you consider core cutting, core swaging, core seating point forming and all the applying and cleaning off of lube in between, is probably no more than a single cavity boolit mould. Few people would want a dedicated press like the Mity-Mite or the Silver, when they could get most of the same result in a loading press that they could also reload ammo with. Corbin's business plan is quantity marketing, whereas Ted Smith was content to supply a small niche.