Swage die woes...

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

1 for 3 so far. Learning a ton though. These 44 cal dies will just have to be 45 cal LOL. 2 point form dies....fail. 1 core swage die...success. These will be good practice for lapping though.

[hardcase54]

Took me 4( I think) tries before I got a good PF die. Good luck

Just like shooting practice ,practice ,practice.

[kc3ak]

I give you lots of credit for trying! Hey, ya got one of them right. That's better than most, 'cause most won't even try. Therefore you are way ahead of the pack. My compliments, for what ever they're worth. I guess my compliments and a buck will get you a cup of Joe. Seriously, they look good, and my hat is off to you.

[runfiverun]

the point form dies are the hardest to form and to get the polishing right on.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement!

[BT Sniper]

You got the right idea. When we make dies we never make mistakes....... we simply make the next larger caliber.

Lapping and polishing sucks. It's always a gamble, are you going to get the smooth finish and be within half a thou of bullet diameter? are you going to be too small and have to start all over again? or the worst...... you gambled and lost and it got too big aka. the next caliber up. Only way to get good at it is lots of practice. I had a lot of patience before making dies, a lot of that patience was used up in the trial and errors of perfecting that challenging point form die.

Keep at it, best advise I can give....... when you get frustrated stop and take a break! Same as making bullets goes for making the dies.

Good shooting and swage on!

BT

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

What was once destined to be a 44 cal core swage die is now a 45 cal swage die lol.

[just bill]

Curiosity has me, what point are you making. I am planning a truncated cone hp for my 1911, after I get this 300 blackout round nose figered out.

[andyt53]

I officially understand the swage die woes......made a core swage die, it came out better than i thought. Next was the core seat die......that's where I screwed up. Just got done boring it and I miscalculated. Ended up with a core seat die with an I.D. of .403". Was going for .398" for 40 cal.

One small miscalculation turned this die into another project, a 45 cal core seat die. Just means I get more lathe time!!!!! I'm sure the wife will love that...

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Core swage dies are easy because the core can be swaged to a very loose tolerance...basically as long as it fits in the jacket LOL. For core seat and point form dies just remember to machine it a bit undersized so you have enough material to lap and leave a nice smooth finish for easy extraction. I am still learning. PICS! We need pics! LOL

[andyt53]

I dont have pics at the moment. But I got distracted and didn't double/triple check where I left off before going back at it. I probably would of been off anyways if I reached my target of .398". I want it to be .398" AFTER lapping, not before. Would .395" be about right before lapping?

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

That should be fine. A lot depends on the surface finish you have. If the surface finish is rough, you may need 4 thousands..or even more. I like to be 2 to 3 thou under for lapping, as I have some aggressive diamond paste I start off with and that can take a thou off pretty quick.

[andyt53]

That should be fine. A lot depends on the surface finish you have. If the surface finish is rough, you may need 4 thousands..or even more. I like to be 2 to 3 thou under for lapping, as I have some aggressive diamond paste I start off with and that can take a thou off pretty quick.

10-4. I may just go a tad smaller on the next one. I have a variety of different diamond lapping compound from very aggressive to super fine. I'll just start small and work my way up to find the sweet spot. Thank you.