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Thread: CH Swag-O-Matic missing parts?

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy Expat74's Avatar
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    CH Swag-O-Matic missing parts?

    Gentlemen.. another Swag-O-Matic thread/question .. I'm hoping someone can help out.

    I just wiped off the WD-40 from the press that I received in the mail yesterday.. couldn't say no at that price. Came with a .45 resizer and a 6.5 Carbine sizer. At least that's what's written on it.

    The below is a

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    .3080 die set, have a .4290 with the same parts as well

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    bullet nose punch thread - does anyone know what the thread size is? (.277 dia)

    What parts I am missing? From the manual found on castpics it seems the die set is missing the parts

    A - bullet punch lock bolt (thread size?)
    P - floating spacer, which I understand is supporting part A

    If I find a bolt, can I live without the floating spacer?

    Thanks!
    E Svizzeri sono armatissimi e liberissimi.

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCY...7s-n6LwwJNbPGg

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    GONRA has 3 CH Swag-O-Matic's purchased cheep over the decades.

    Top punch is 5/16-24 threads.
    Use a commercial "5/16 National Fine" bolt, trimmed to suit. Use the floating spacer too.

    Ram top die holder is 7/8-20 threads.

    Looks like these olde CH swaging presses are pricey now.
    You can make yer own tooling to derim .22 LR and .22 Mag cases.

    With care, 7/8-20 holddown, die, punch - you can draw perfect primer cups
    from flat copper sheet in 2 steps. Slow, but perfect.
    Blank it out with a Harbor Freight hole punch.
    STP Oil Treatment is a great die lube. Messy, but perfect.
    Have Fun!

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy Expat74's Avatar
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    Thanks Gonra!
    E Svizzeri sono armatissimi e liberissimi.

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCY...7s-n6LwwJNbPGg

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    P mostly just centers the top punch. Check to make sure you have an H. It's just a thick hard washer beveled on one edge. It is what the ejector punch sits on. Mine came with a couple of different thickness washers to add to the H washer for spacing purposes. One about 3/16" thick the other about 1/4" The H might be stuck in the bottom of the die hole.
    I have a HF mini lathe and have made dies, ejector punches and top punches for mine in a few different sizes. They make a great press for swaging already cast lubed boolits. Run the through the Swag-O-Matic and they come out with perfectly flat bottoms, perfectly round and uniform size top to bottom. I bought a Lee mold for my 45/70 that casts from 2 to 6 thou under size depending on where you measure it and same with out of round. I run them through a 458 lube sizer which only lubes them as they are already to small. Then swag them up to .459. Accuracy went from 4"/6" at 50 yds to just under 1" at 50. Your 308 die can be used with an empty 50BMG primer and a 75gr .258 boolit as a core to make a neat 308 85gr swc half jacket. Or you can make/ have made a .314 die to make it in .314 then push through size it to whatever your 32 cal pistols like best. Makes a great bullet for the 32S&W, 32 mag 7.62x25 etc and dirt cheap if you know some one loading 50BMG. You can totally change the nose shape of a boolit by changing the top punch and running them back through. The longer i have mine the more things i find to do with it. Been thinking on making some dies to make 224 J bullets.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    More thrilling CH Swag-O-Matic projects:

    Thinking back over the decades, GONRA made 7mm Nambu FMJ bullets
    using deheaded Lapua copper .22 LR cases,
    also 183 grain .44 AutoMag FMJ bullets using commercial jackets.

    Also used one press a LOT as a "dead weight primer pellet consolidation press"
    in connection with primer mix shelf life tests. (Test fired in my trusty DCM .45 ACP Colt 1911.)
    Bottom line is, buy up any cheep CH Swag-O-Matic you stumble across. REALLY HANDY!

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Yep. I wouldn't mind having another one and a few more dies, top punches and ejector punches. Making the dies takes a lot of time on my toy lathe.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    GONRA just remembered - making those FMJ bullets waaay back in 1970's WAS successful,
    BUT was afraid the press might break!
    It didn't but am NOT gonna make more....

    As usual, better die design, more forming steps probably would cure this problem.
    Be careful - have heard of Swag-O-Matics breaking. (Assume this is the frame?)
    Last edited by GONRA; 03-15-2016 at 08:31 AM.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Yeah, they are not all that strong but I think you could safely swag annealed 22 brass into a bullet, especially a hollow point with a soft lead core.

  9. #9
    Boolit Mold
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    Nose punch holder

    Years ago, when I first started casting, I received a Swag-o-Matic from a friend who picked it up at a gun show for $5. He wanted to use it as a single stage press but gave up on the project.

    It came with a thread adapter for standard reloading dies but didn’t have a means of connecting a shell holder. With a little finagleing I got it to work with the Lee push through sizer. Several years later I adapted it to use a Corbin -R die to make .32 wadcutters for ISSF Center Fire pistol matches.

    I’d like To use it to true-up my .45 cast bullets but do not have the nose punch holder or the bolt spacer. I’m patient enough to wait for dies to hit the auction sites but the nose punch holder is unlikely.

    Could one of you kindly provide photos and or measurements so that I can look into getting one built?

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    The nose punch holder (part A) is nothing more than a 5/16 fine bolt 2 1/2"long and the bolt spacer (part P) is a tube 1/2" OD ,5/16 ID, and 1.93 long. You will need the bolt spacer to keep things aligned but it is nothing fancy. Anyone with a lathe could bore a 5/16 hole through a piece of 1/2" dia steel rod in a few minutes. Part H (a hard washer is needed to support the die) and a couple of thinner washers ( don't need to be hard) are sometimes needed for spacing.
    Utemarksman shoot me a PM with address and I'll make you a bolt spacer.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master Lead pot's Avatar
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    The swage o matic press has some weak points. The nose form die will split trying to form a bullet to long if you don't get the nose form punch fully supported by the die body. The toggle link is another weak point when you get the alloy too hard. Broke a couple of them.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    They are not very strong but they work very well uniforming cast boolets, bumping up size and changing nose profile provided you stay away from large very hard cast boolits.
    The guy that had my press before me worked it pretty hard as the toggle link pin was bent and a 45 cal top punch was split. I think trying to swag normal jacketed bullets would get you a broken press.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master Lead pot's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rbuck351 View Post
    They are not very strong but they work very well uniforming cast boolets, bumping up size and changing nose profile provided you stay away from large very hard cast boolits.
    The guy that had my press before me worked it pretty hard as the toggle link pin was bent and a 45 cal top punch was split. I think trying to swag normal jacketed bullets would get you a broken press.
    They are a handy press that take up little room on the bench and they work just fine for reworking a bullet ogive like changing it from a semi wad cutter to a round nose. Just fill the lube grooves with a solid lube and run it through the press. The lube will hold the grooves from getting pushed in/deformed/.
    You might call Dave at CH-4-D and ask him if he still has parts for that press and dies and also ask him if he can make a push through sizing die you feel you might need. It's a great press for this job. Also for making .22 rimfire jackets.

    It also is a great press for swaging 1/2 jacket semi wad cutter pistol bullets with soft alloy. I made a bunch 185 gr .45's and .38 3/4 jacketed and full wad cutters for the 52 S&W master for pistol bulls eye. This is what the press more or less was designed for.
    Last edited by Lead pot; 04-16-2019 at 10:54 AM. Reason: I might add;

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    GONRA suggests if yer gonna usea CH Swag-O-Matic BEYOND ITS INTENDED PURPOSE (lead bullets , NOT jacketed bullets, etc.)
    be sure to hava SPARE CH Swag-O-Matic on hand in case yer FRAME busts. Good Luck - THINK and BE CAREFUL!

  15. #15
    Boolit Master Lead pot's Avatar
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    When you make 1/2 or 3/4 jackets all your doing is seating a core in the jacket and forming the ogive. The 3/4 jacket all you do is turn a small portion of the jacket in and not much pressure goes upon the press, but you might have a problem splitting the die

  16. #16
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by rbuck351 View Post
    The nose punch holder (part A) is nothing more than a 5/16 fine bolt 2 1/2"long and the bolt spacer (part P) is a tube 1/2" OD ,5/16 ID, and 1.93 long. You will need the bolt spacer to keep things aligned but it is nothing fancy. Anyone with a lathe could bore a 5/16 hole through a piece of 1/2" dia steel rod in a few minutes. Part H (a hard washer is needed to support the die) and a couple of thinner washers ( don't need to be hard) are sometimes needed for spacing.
    Utemarksman shoot me a PM with address and I'll make you a bolt spacer.
    Sorry for the late response I missed the reply notification.

    Thanks for the offer but the part I need is (B) and maybe (C) along with dies. Having the dimensions and thread specs I hope to find a machinist to make (B) that will not need (P) (maybe that's wishful thinking). Thankfully, I have parts (H) and (E).

    I picked up a 38 SWC nose punch off eBay, and a 5/16 fine bolt with washers from the hardware store to kluge together (B) using a .357 mag die but would rather not implement it as such. It's a project I'm in no hurry to complete so I'll keep waiting for something to come up on eBay.

    Thanks for the warm welcome to the board.

  17. #17
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    Thanks for the info guys. I bought a Swag-o-Matic a few years ago and it just sits. (no dies) but if I can make primer cups with it I have a use for it.
    Gonra, do you have the specs for the copper blanks? Diameter and thickness" Did you make a drawing die for it?

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    Unfortunately GONRA's project was for 9mm (diameter) Berdan primer cups for 14.5 mm Soviet PTRS-41 Antitank Rifle ammo.
    (Book will be mailed Thursday morning.)

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by GONRA View Post
    Unfortunately GONRA's project was for 9mm (diameter) Berdan primer cups for 14.5 mm Soviet PTRS-41 Antitank Rifle ammo.
    (Book will be mailed Thursday morning.)
    Woooohooooo!

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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