WidenersRotoMetals2MidSouth Shooters SupplyInline Fabrication
Lee PrecisionReloading EverythingTitan ReloadingRepackbox
Load Data
Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 21 to 38 of 38

Thread: Has anyone ever machined the bevel base off a Lee 6-cavity 452-200-SWC?

  1. #21
    Boolit Master yondering's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    NW Washington State
    Posts
    1,519
    A 29/64 reamer can be had for $6-$8, and will do a much better job. Whether using a reamer or drill bit, I wouldn't do either by hand, unless you just really don't care about the quality of the end result.

  2. #22
    Boolit Grand Master

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Northwest Ohio
    Posts
    14,454
    A simple drill press and vise then a stop on the table to keep vise from spinning. You want the vise to be able too float allowing the reamer and mold to self alighn. Chuck the reamer in the spindle and set the stop mid driving band and bring it down lightlyy slowly turning the spindle by hand Lube reamer flutes with beeswax or oil, some waterless hand cleaners will work for this also. Under spindle pressure turn spindle by hand keeping the reamer cutting slow and easy. Cut to stop and repeat each cavity. Next cast some bullets with the mold IDing each cavitys bullets. Drill an 3/16" hole into base of each bullet only part way thry and glue a pin in them. Coat number 1 bullet with flitz or metal polish and insert in cavity give it several back forth twists making a full revolution, repeat with each cavity1-6. Repeat with another number 1 bullet cavites 6-1. Repeat with bullets from other 5 cavities and cavities will be as close as possible to each other and any issues from reaming should be removed.

  3. #23
    Boolit Master


    williamwaco's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Dallas Texas
    Posts
    4,690
    Quote Originally Posted by C. Latch View Post
    What are the chances that a 29/64 drill bit would work well enough, if I just put a t-handle on it and eyeballed it? Can I get it straight enough to clean up my errors in the sizing die?
    It depends on the diameter of your individual mold. 29/64 = 453125.
    The bit you buy will probably drill .453 to .454
    I like my bullets to size at .452.

    You can see how mine worked here . . .

    http://reloadingtips.com/pages/exp_b...b-accuracy.htm
    First reload: .22 Hornet. 1956.
    More at: http://reloadingtips.com/

    "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the
    government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian."
    - Henry Ford

  4. #24
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    TN
    Posts
    1,895
    A box from brownells showed up today. I installed the new sight, ran a magazine through (sights appear to be very close to regulated now ) then turned the pot on while I cleaned the new lee mold. I cleaned it with soap and water, heated it with a torch, smoked the cavities lightly, heated it again, and one cavity dropped a good bullet on the second pour; the other dropped good on the fifth pour. That's hard to beat for $20. I made a nice little pile of bullets then loaded up a few test rounds to try before work tomorrow.

  5. #25
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    TN
    Posts
    1,895
    So far so good. I only loaded 10 rounds and fired 7 this morning (they fed fine, offhand) then the other three this afternoon. At 20 yards (over 4 grains of 700-x) they went into a nice, round 1.25" cluster. That could easily be a fluke; this particular 1911 has never shot better than 3" at 25 yards with any ammo, but I've never shot a SWC in it before. I'm going to try and load up more ammo tonight and shoot a full magazine off a rest in the morning.

  6. #26
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    TN
    Posts
    1,895
    After shooting this bullet a bit more, I'm a bit worried. I have always shot RN or FMJ or HP type ammo in my 1911s, and both of them have ran 100%, with any magazine and any ammo.

    Now, the 1911 in question (my carry gun, with thousands of trouble-free rounds under its belt) is being quirky with this new bullet. I'm having every 3rd round or so jump ahead of the slide, so that the round ends up in the chamber but in front of the extractor, creating a malfunction that is difficult to clear. That might be handy for malfunction drills, but I really want something that runs as reliably as this gun has always ran. FWIW, I get this malfunction with both wilson 47 mags with a smooth follower and metalforms with dimples.

    In light of the fact that I now have a taller sight (200's print a touch low at 25 yards, 230's are pretty much dead on, 250's are just a tad high, all depending on velocity) there's not much reason to stick with the lighter weight of this bullet. Should I just scrap the idea and buy one of the round-nosed or TC designs that Lee makes? I want something cheap that drops bullets at a faster pace than I can keep up with the NOE HP mold.

  7. #27
    Boolit Master yondering's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    NW Washington State
    Posts
    1,519
    That's odd. You might try adjusting the powder charge up or down a bit, or changing the recoil spring if yours is worn. I'd suspect the magazines though, and you're not the first to have issues with the Wilson 47 mags, despite their price.

    If you're looking at different molds, and want a fast-casting Lee 6 cavity, the only other Lee 45 Auto bullet I like very much is the 230 TC. That one can benefit from having the top of the mold milled off, as it often casts heavy anyway, and has a thick rear driving band. The 230 RN-TL is OK if you like tumble lube grooves, but the standard groove 230-1R RN isn't even worth considering, IMO.

  8. #28
    Boolit Grand Master

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Northwest Ohio
    Posts
    14,454
    It is probably a issue with the oal of the cartridge try loading a little longer or shorter if possible.

  9. #29
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    TN
    Posts
    1,895
    OK, I tried that; I had been seating them around 1.226" and I tried 1.221" with no change; I then tried seating them flush or slightly below the case mouth; no change. I then backed my seater plug out a full turn and tried 1.254" or so, and I only had 6 rounds of primed brass left; those 6 ran fine.

    I suppose it's possible that a shorter round has more room to get moving out of the magazine, and comes out too fast, and the longer OAL forces them to come out a bit slower and the extractor has time to stay in front of the case mouth. I've often read of the intricacies of getting SWCs to feed.......if this cures the problem, I'll be thrilled; if not, I'll switch back to heavier RNs.

    Headed out for Saturday with the family; will try to test further tonight.

  10. #30
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    TN
    Posts
    1,895
    I tried several rounds today seated to 1.255" or so. I had one malfunction in two magazines - again, the case jumping out in front of the extractor - but one in two magazines is an improvement. I'll try 1.27" or so tomorrow.

    In the meantime, when I lengthened my seating depth, my current load (3.9 grains of 700-x with a 200) won't activate the slide lock on the last round. That's almost certainly due to a light load, light bullet, and heavy recoil spring, so I'll go up to 4.5 grains tomorrow (still nowhere near max) and expect that problem to disappear. I don't want to get into swapping recoil springs, etc - it's not worth it to have to keep up with which spring is in the gun, etc.

  11. #31
    Boolit Master Boogieman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Western Ar.
    Posts
    599
    The 200gr. Lee H&G style should feed at 1.240 or longer. A weak recoil spring will allow the slide to hit too hard & jar the top round in the mag. forward ahead of the extractor.
    The 3 people a man must be able to trust completely are his gunsmith his doctor & his preacher ..,his gunsmith for his short term health ,his doctor for long term health ,and his preacher incase one of the others mess up.

  12. #32
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    TN
    Posts
    1,895
    At this point it appears that seating depth isn't critical in this gun. Every length I have tried has fed - and while longer rounds have had fewer instances of jumping in front of the extractor, it's still happening - but I have tested both of these magazines (this weekend!) with NOE 452-230s and they do not exhibit this behavior, nor have they ever with any other ammo.

    The recoil spring is an 18.5# Wolff. Could it be that the lighter mass of the SWC is making them more susceptible to this 'jump' than a heavier 230-grain ammo? If so, it owuld appear that switching to a lighter spring might help - but, then, I have to keep up with which spring is in the gun, unless I just moved to a 16# spring and left it there.

  13. #33
    Boolit Master Boogieman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Western Ar.
    Posts
    599
    You might want to check your extractor shape & tension. If it's not holding the fired case long enough the empty can prevent it from catching the next round. It happens on the last round because there isn't anything in the mag. to push it out. Try loading 1 round, removing the mag. & firing it to see if it extracts properly .
    The 3 people a man must be able to trust completely are his gunsmith his doctor & his preacher ..,his gunsmith for his short term health ,his doctor for long term health ,and his preacher incase one of the others mess up.

  14. #34
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    TN
    Posts
    1,895
    The only thing that makes sense is that the rounds are jumping the extractor because of a mismatch between recoil spring weight, magazine spring weight, and the actual weight (mass) of the loaded round.

    To that end, today I tried a #14 recoil spring. With the dimpled metalform magazine, one round malfunctioned out of two magzines. With the WC mag, there were 3 malfunctions. I lean towards this being an issue with the follower shape, not the spring stiffness.

    Anyway, 1 malfunction out of 2 (dimpled follower!) magazines is a step in the right direction. I don't want to decrease spring weight further. I will try increasing magazine spring weight next.

    As an aside, the gun still eats the NOE 452-230's, in HP or flat point configuration, so easily that I'm tempted to buy a 5-cavity version of that mold. The extra weight would be fine, now, with the taller front sight. I've loaded them with variable charges of 700-x and some warm to downright hot charges of 800-x, and the pistol seems to be more accurate with the solids than the HPs. I'm thinking that's partly due to the solids deforming less on the feedramp. I may try to actually group them off a rest this weekend.

  15. #35
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    TN
    Posts
    1,895
    ....and I couldn't wait to test a stiffer magazine spring.

    Seven rounds. Three malfunctions.

    I'm done, for now. Too many other projects to work on.

  16. #36
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    TN
    Posts
    1,895
    Ok, I lied. I tried something else.

    I dug out some old USGI magazines - vietnam era, tapered feed lips, not supposed to feed wadcutters......and I just ran a magazine through the gun with no 'extractor jumps'.

    Unfortunately, I had one failure to completely feed. I may or may not be able to 'tune out' that one malfunction by tweaking seating depth. I'll load a magazine a half-turn of the seater long, then a half-turn shorter than normal, and see what happens. I'm thinking the long ones will run 100%.

  17. #37
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    TN
    Posts
    1,895
    I tried seating to 1.285" or so. Ran perfect, but one failure to go into battery. No surprise there. Shortened them to 1.262" or so (crimped to .471", random mixed brass, switched from 700-x to 5.0 grains of Green Dot because I have a rusty can I need to use up) and it runs like a sewing machine. Not a single 'extractor jump' this afternoon.

    Finally!

  18. #38
    Boolit Master yondering's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    NW Washington State
    Posts
    1,519
    I never had issues with that Lee 200 SWC bullet in GI mags either; it always ran great. Glad you got if figured out.

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

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