Swaging on the Cheap - 9mm Case to 40SW/10mm JWords

[Cane_man]

diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks...

i get a pretty good buzz just making the dies, the swaged bullets are just icing on the cake!

[nhrifle]

Bannor, I have been a closet machinist for years, and learned how to cut metal through trial and error, and asking questions of those who know how. I think this thread is for those who are already equipped to undertake such a project, or those who have access to the machinery. For myself, it is not about how fast I can make ammo, nor the dollar value of my time. I do this stuff for fun, and for me it is just to see if I can. No other reason than the pursuit of knowledge, and isn't that the basic premise of this forum? Learning and sharing knowledge?

[nhrifle]

Well, let's see if this works. Same pics int he order they were originally posted.

Attachment 108775Attachment 108776

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=108775

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/atta...hmentid=108776

Either the attachments or the links should work, hopefully!

[alrighty]

Well, let's see if this works. Same pics int he order they were originally posted.

Attachment 108775Attachment 108776

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=108775

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/atta...hmentid=108776

Either the attachments or the links should work, hopefully!

It doesn't show up for me but maybe it does for others?

[R.Ph. 380]

I can't get them to work, but I haven't been able to view attachments since the last update.

Bill

[Cane_man]

Well, let's see if this works. Same pics int he order they were originally posted.

Attachment 108775Attachment 108776

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=108775

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/atta...hmentid=108776

Either the attachments or the links should work, hopefully!

i get it now you are uploading the pics to cb... i dont do it that way so i am not sure why it is not working... i upload photos to my photobucket account as copy the url and put the [img] [/img] tags around the pic url

[nhrifle]

Guess I need to finally break down and get a photobucket account!

[nhrifle]

Think I may have finally gotten it!

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[alrighty]

Think I may have finally gotten it!

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Thank you for the pics

[Cane_man]

success!!! looking great, very good job, me impressed

[nhrifle]

Thanks! I'm going to remake the round over insert again after I get the whole system working. Notice the marks on the one in that pic? Those are tool marks -- the trials and tribulations of stuck jackets.

[Cane_man]

so at this point you have completed jacket making?

and now you are moving on to core seating?

[nhrifle]

I have completed what could be called a reasonable facsimile of a jacket. Just this morning before work I assembled the sizing components and ran some jackets through and flattened the bases in another die I have had for awhile. The jackets sized to .349", which is .001" under what I was hoping for, but pretty close. They still have the wrinkles from the round over die, and I believe this is because the sizing punch is smaller than it should be and not really ironing them out when they pass through the sizer. Tomorrow I will make a new punch and see what happens.

When I remake the round over die, I will try to use a smaller ejection pin as the bases are not closing up as much as I would like, but I have not doubt I could seat a core, point, and shoot them.

[Cane_man]

ripples or wrinkles? from the pics above looks like rings rippling along the side of the jacket...

i know that I get those if I under anneal... how are you annealing the material before forming the jackets?

[nhrifle]

I have not annealed the tubing as it is stated as being soft and ready to bend/form as needed. I may try annealing if future developments point in that direction, but I think my problem is that I haven't gotten the proper fit of the forming parts, so dimensional experimentation will be my next try. I think what's happening is the tubing is buckling under the force of forming and I just need to find the proper clearance between the punch and die to allow it to form properly.

[Prospector Howard]

You didn't mention what type of tubing you're using. It looks like brass and it's propably on the thin side and like you say it's buckling under the pressure. Wouldn't thicker copper tubing work better? Nice work so far, this is what I come here for. Members making there own dies and tools too.

[nhrifle]

This is the tube I am using http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/k+s/k+s1153.htm

It's nice stuff. Yes, probably a little thin but I think it will make a nice pistol bullet. At any rate, it's fun working my way through this project. I am having to think about things (being a CNC operator doesn't allow me to do that -- load parts and push start for 8 hours) and every problem or setback is one more chance to learn something and refine my machining skills.

Part of my plan is to make the tooling to swage these bullets from either hard drawn or soft copper tubing, but for now I will make this work.

[nhrifle]

Will post more pics soon. Core seating is done and I am happy with things so far. I am using a 6 cavity Lee 311-93-1R mould for cores, cast from soft lead. Measurement after seating is 354", which I think is just right for this step, and they weight a grain or so on either side of 122 gr. A new larger punch I made for sizing after rounding over made a huge difference and the jackets are now smooth.

I spent some time making the reamer for roughing out the bore of the point form die. I made it as a three flute, and it started cutting well at first, throwing nice chips. Then the cutting edge folded over and it is officially done. Tomorrow morning I will make a new one, probably going to make this one a D reamer. Maybe I will just regrind an appropriately sized drill bit to rough out the die. Tomorrow will tell.

[Prospector Howard]

Looking forward to more pics as you make more progress. Let's see: 108 inches of brass tubing for $14, that's 13 cents per inch. I just checked copper tubing at home depot. 3/8", 20 feet (240 inches) for $16.37. Looks more economical, and probably thicker walled than 14 thousandths. Wonder how it would work?

[nhrifle]

Ok, I have something I can shoot! I'll post pics of the whole setup in a couple days, just wanted to share this morning's success.

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Still have some imperfections to work out to make myself happy with them, but hey -- I made them and the needed tooling! I get to be proud of me today!

What came out of the die weighs 121.9 grains and measures .3555" in diameter. I will have to shorten the jackets as it has a deep hollow point (around .100" deep) and is a bit long, but I am thrilled with my initial results.