RepackboxWidenersLee PrecisionInline Fabrication
Reloading EverythingPBcastcoLoad DataMidSouth Shooters Supply
RotoMetals2 Titan Reloading
Page 3 of 12 FirstFirst 123456789101112 LastLast
Results 41 to 60 of 223

Thread: Converting Berdan primer pockets to Boxer

  1. #41
    Boolit Buddy sisiphunter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Saskatoon, SK
    Posts
    154
    Great post. Thanks for the very detailed step by step. Im gonna try this for sure.

  2. #42
    Boolit Buddy sledgehammer001's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Moved back to Kearny, Az
    Posts
    160
    Hmmmmm, got coffee cans of berdan 7.62X54, 7.62X51. Gotta try this out. Thanks for posting this!

  3. #43
    Boolit Buddy Twmaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    375
    Larry, Now that's some thinking. I love it. My procedure for converting berdan to boxer cases is loads more real work.

    Bravo!
    Mike

    Politicians should be limited to two terms.

    1 in office. 1 in prison.

  4. #44
    Boolit Grand Master


    Larry Gibson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Lake Havasu City, Arizona
    Posts
    21,289
    Converted the larger Berdan to LR Boxer primer pockets. Go to post #4 for details.

    Larry Gibson

  5. #45
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Indian trail NC
    Posts
    784
    Hi Larry
    I tried this but not having any luck
    using a drill press and holding by hand the shell against the table.
    Your tring to drill the anvil thats about the same size as the drill.
    So before the anvil is drilled out the drill wanders off to the side??

    turtle

  6. #46
    Boolit Buddy Twmaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    375
    Turtle,

    You need to use as short a drill bit as you can. Longer drill bits wander very easily.

    What you may want to try is to drill out the #18 hole and cut some off the top of the anvil.

    Otherwise once you've made sure the divot in the spent primer is as close to center as possible you'll want to take very light cuts with the drill bit for the flash hole.

    Hope that's some help.
    Mike

    Politicians should be limited to two terms.

    1 in office. 1 in prison.

  7. #47
    Boolit Grand Master


    Larry Gibson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Lake Havasu City, Arizona
    Posts
    21,289
    Quote Originally Posted by turtlezx View Post
    Hi Larry
    I tried this but not having any luck
    using a drill press and holding by hand the shell against the table.
    Your tring to drill the anvil thats about the same size as the drill.
    So before the anvil is drilled out the drill wanders off to the side??

    turtle
    That's why you drill the centered flash hole 1st with the #43 - 45 dill using the firing pin indentation (or a recentered one) as the place to drill. The primer face holds the drill in place. If that is what you are doing then you are not holding the case solid enough ( holding by hand the shell against the table). I suggest putting the case in a vise and drilling the flash hole with a hand drill. I did 20 last night using the vise and hand drill with no "wandering" problems.

    Larry Gibson

  8. #48
    Boolit Grand Master


    Larry Gibson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Lake Havasu City, Arizona
    Posts
    21,289
    Quote Originally Posted by Twmaster View Post
    Turtle,

    You need to use as short a drill bit as you can. Longer drill bits wander very easily.

    What you may want to try is to drill out the #18 hole and cut some off the top of the anvil.

    Otherwise once you've made sure the divot in the spent primer is as close to center as possible you'll want to take very light cuts with the drill bit for the flash hole.

    Hope that's some help.
    Drill the flash hole first before using the #18 to remove the base of the Berdan primer. Trust me, it works much better. The #43 - 45 drill takes off the tip of the anvil and makes a guide hole for the #18 to follow with the #18 then taking off the rest of the anvil. If not done that way the bit, even a short one, in a drill press with the case in a mill vise will wander off to the side.

    Drill the flash hole first before using the #18 .....I can't reiterate that strong enough because if you don't you won't be happy with the results.

    Larry Gibson

  9. #49
    Boolit Master

    miestro_jerry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Far Eastern Ohio
    Posts
    546
    This subject comes up everytime ammo gets scarce or just plain too expensive. It can be done, but I find that sometimes my time shooting is taken over by doing these conversions. For me it's nice to know, but I will pay the highers prices and I have never found brass and primers to be scarce, but I keep at least a scouple of years worth of supplies on hand.

    But thanks for the info.

    Jerry
    Honor is a Way of Life

    NRA Benefactor Life Member

  10. #50
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Switzerland of Ohio
    Posts
    6,308
    Larry, how do you control the depth? I finally got some 7.5 Swiss cases converted (made my own primer swage, I was so enthused.) But SR primers seat way too deep in them. Maybe .020 - .030 below the face of the case. They still fire, but this can't do ignition consistency any good. Haven't fired any with powder in the case yet.

    In a Boxer pocket, the tips of the anvil seat against the bottom of the hole at the edges. In the Berdan pocket, there's no metal there - the edge of the pocket is far too deep, at least in my Swiss brass.

    What do you think of leaving some of the Berdan anvil in place for the Boxer anvil to rest upon? It would block up the central hole, but the old Berdan holes are still there. Using a small end mill with a sleeve around it to control the depth to which the Berdan anvil is cut away would do. Final seating the Boxer primer would be a delicate business, but it could be done. Not with the traditional seating punch, but with one that would bear on the face of the case, and thus seat the primer exactly flush.

    More special tools to make ! Life is good !

    Phil W.
    Cognitive Dissident

  11. #51
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Indian trail NC
    Posts
    784
    larry
    you must be a master with the hand drill!!!
    this is like trying to make hp into #6 bird shot !!!!!!!!!!!!

  12. #52
    Boolit Grand Master


    Larry Gibson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Lake Havasu City, Arizona
    Posts
    21,289
    uscra112

    Larry, how do you control the depth?

    With the hand drill it is by feel. With the drill press the cases are held in the same position so the drill press stop controls the depth.

    I finally got some 7.5 Swiss cases converted (made my own primer swage, I was so enthused.) But SR primers seat way too deep in them. Maybe .020 - .030 below the face of the case. They still fire, but this can't do ignition consistency any good. Haven't fired any with powder in the case yet.

    In a Boxer pocket, the tips of the anvil seat against the bottom of the hole at the edges. In the Berdan pocket, there's no metal there - the edge of the pocket is far too deep, at least in my Swiss brass.

    What do you think of leaving some of the Berdan anvil in place for the Boxer anvil to rest upon? It would block up the central hole, but the old Berdan holes are still there. Using a small end mill with a sleeve around it to control the depth to which the Berdan anvil is cut away would do. Final seating the Boxer primer would be a delicate business, but it could be done. Not with the traditional seating punch, but with one that would bear on the face of the case, and thus seat the primer exactly flush.

    Give it a try. I've not done any 7.65 Swiss as i don't have one. Primer depth is fine in the 7.62x54R cases, the 8x57 cases and the 7.65 Argie cases i've tried so far.

    Larry Gibson


    More special tools to make ! Life is good !

    Phil W.

  13. #53
    Boolit Grand Master


    Larry Gibson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Lake Havasu City, Arizona
    Posts
    21,289
    Quote Originally Posted by turtlezx View Post
    larry
    you must be a master with the hand drill!!!
    this is like trying to make hp into #6 bird shot !!!!!!!!!!!!
    Well I did say it was easier with a drill press and I did mess up a few cases in the beginning......

    With the hand press it takes a sharp drill, relatively high drill speed and a gentle "feel".

    Larry Gibson

  14. #54
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Switzerland of Ohio
    Posts
    6,308
    OK, maybe I went off from half-cock. I went at it under 4x magnification tonight, and it's not what I thought.

    The floor of the Berdan pocket at the outer edges measures .137 deep, as best I can do with three samples, a spent LR cup, and a caliper. They seat the cup of the Berdan primer on this floor. If I drill the Berdan post away until the edges of the 137 degree dimple I'm making with the #18 drill are just flush with the floor, then a SR primer can still seat on what's left of the floor, and be about .015" below flush. The firing pin of my K31 still hits it, and the primer is well supported, so my concerns about variance in ignition were groundless.

    Still, depth control is key. If you leave .020 of the post there, the anvil of the SR primer will rest on the burr, and will not be solidly supported. Then there will be ignition variance. It will look good, because the face of the primer is flush, but it won't work good.
    Last edited by uscra112; 03-06-2012 at 11:11 PM.
    Cognitive Dissident

  15. #55
    Boolit Grand Master


    Larry Gibson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Lake Havasu City, Arizona
    Posts
    21,289
    uscra112

    I don't think "match prepped" primer pockets is goona happen, especially with me using a hand drill They look better when I use my drill press and mill tabel but still not going to be bench rest quality. Serviceable with several firings is what I was really looking for, hopuing for 15 - 20 firings So far the SR primer converted Albanian cases have been fired 5 times without a loss of case through split necks or the bushing coming out. Accuracy is on par with the same load using Norma cases with issue sights in my Finn M39, not sure milsurp rifles can tell the difference in primer pockets. I haven't chronographed or pressure tested the converted cases vs Norma cases with the same load yet to see if there is a difference in ignition with the SR vs LR primers. Of course I wouldn't expect any ignition difference in a test with the Bulgarian cases converted to LR boxer primers with the same LR primers used.

    Go ahead and try the 7.65 cases and let us know the results. Are you converting to SR or LR bboxer primers?

    Larry Gibson

  16. #56
    Boolit Grand Master Harter66's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    120 miles North of Texarkana 9 miles from OK in the green hell
    Posts
    5,345
    I made a drill tool after aquiring several hundred 7.62-39s.

    Its just a piece of hardware store 5/16 inch rod and a 1/16 inch drill bit w/ a number 6 lock screw drilled and tapped in. The rod centers in the case mouth and the drill centers in the base divot. While not perfect it works for me.

    I drill only about 80% through the head then run the case through my sizing die as normal, I did have to turn my decaping pin down some to avoid sticking and further flash hole enlargement.

    There is another thread somewhere that describes using a bearing press and ball bearing to swage the pocket down to LRP,that is the method I used for mine.

    In the time of darkest defeat,our victory may be nearest. Wm. McKinley.

    I was young and stupid then I'm older now. Me 1992 .

    Richard Lee Hart 6/29/39-7/25/18


    Without trial we cannot learn and grow . It is through our stuggles that we become stronger .
    Brother I'm going to be Pythagerus , DiVinci , and Atlas all rolled into one soon .

  17. #57
    Boolit Man
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    kansas
    Posts
    80
    A few weeks ago Dad converted some to 209 shotgun primers on his drill press, and it was kinda tedious.

    So he brought the rest over and we used my lathe. He had Lee Loader hammer type reloading die for the cartridge. So we put the resizer die in the lathe chuck, and used a rubber mallet to tap the cases in the die. Then used a drill chuck in the tail stock, to drill them out, and an endmill to add a recess for the lip around the 209's. That made it quick, very consistent, and a clean looking job.

  18. #58
    Boolit Buddy

    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Lebanon. Pennsylvania
    Posts
    462
    Awesome post!!! I saw this and started picking up the left over brass at the range I would have otherwise kicked to the side while picking up all the other brass I reload, I just converted 70 cases in last 2 days with a Dewalt hand drill and only had maybe 5 that walked on me, Sizing dies will be here tomorrow and I am exited to cast for this 7.62x54 I would have never planned to reload, I converted to LR primer so when I swaged the old primer wall it covered the old beredan primer flash holes.
    I used a 5/64 for the flash hole and 3/32 to enlarge the hole, with a drill its easy to feel when it is ready to break the surface for the larger hole, it will grab then I stop grab the case and pull it as I turn the drill and it finishes the hole and pops right out, keep in mind doing all the cutting at lower speeds actually cut better and faster.

  19. #59
    Boolit Mold mrhoward69's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    California
    Posts
    1
    Do you think this will work with 45 ACP cases as well?
    mrhoward69 - calboolitcaster

  20. #60
    Boolit Master Tokarev's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Canada (North of upstate NY)
    Posts
    945
    Here's how I convert the berdan to boxer on a mini lathe (case in the chuck):

    1. Drill a hole thru the primer with a center drill deep enough to drill thru the berdan anvil that it's flush with primer pocket bottom. With my center drill it means drilling almost all the way to where straight drill turns into 45 degree.
    2. Ream the hole with primer pocket reamer held in the rear center chuck.

    I don't drill a new flash hole because there are 2 flash holes already in berdan case.

    This requires only 2 operations after which the case is ready to be primed.

Page 3 of 12 FirstFirst 123456789101112 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check