Making My Own 45 Caliber Jacketed Swaging Dies

[Traffer]

Very cool project!
I think your current boolits look very good right now.
That nice wide flat tip will do just about everything you could ever want in a homemade pistol boolit.
Add a cannelure if you think it’s needed and you are set.

Also, look around your area for a used bench top lathe.
A very capable machine can be had for less than you would think and anything will be a big step up from using a drill press!

I second the opinion on the used lathe. They are getting harder to find near me and I ended up buying a HF Mini lathe because I couldn't find a cheap used one. The HF Mini lathe is good to learn on and there are many good videos on how to use/tune/ it. If you do decide to get a HF Mini lathe try to get the 7"X14" instead of the 7"X10". The 14" is $50 more and worth every penny of it. A 10" bed is almost too small to even make dies in. Another negative about all Mini Lathes is the through hole in the head stock. If you are going to do any barrel work on guns you will want a through hole that a barrel will fit into. The Mini Lathes only have a 5/8" hole...very limiting. But there are many videos and forums about lathes that you can get much better info from. In the mean time...those bullets are really nice. Enjoy them.

[Iron45acp]

Same here.... there are no good cheap used ones locally. They are all large units that either look like junk or are way to expensive.

I still have time so I'll shop around but if I do get a harbor freight I will be ordering the larger one. Then if I needs to be even bigger little machine shop sells larger beds but that doesn't help the head size. I did read quite a but that that you can open up the inside to 13/16".

[clodhopper]

My harbor freight lathe was used, it was the shortest bed available. I took it apart, cleaned it up, snugged up the gibbs.

Made some stuff, broke tools, looked at upgrades, counted pennies, contemplated what I wanted a lathe for.

After selling some guns, and a boat ordered this https://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-1228vf-lb/

I spend more time with it than the rifles I sold or the boat.

[Iron45acp]

Whew I'd love to have one that big but not enough wallet lol.

I took the plunge and bought the 7x12 harbor freight mini lathe. It was $510 shipped so now I wait for the brown Santa to bring it. It will be awesome to step up my game and make better dies.

One thing that didn't occur to me is if I need a larger lathe I'll just head to my buddy's house and use his for free lol. Then I'll have this little guy at home to make dies and associated parts.

[Traffer]

Whew I'd love to have one that big but not enough wallet lol.

I took the plunge and bought the 7x12 harbor freight mini lathe. It was $510 shipped so now I wait for the brown Santa to bring it. It will be awesome to step up my game and make better dies.

One thing that didn't occur to me is if I need a larger lathe I'll just head to my buddy's house and use his for free lol. Then I'll have this little guy at home to make dies and associated parts.

Like clodhopper I spend way way more time on this little machine than I do shooting or anything else for that matter. I have my lathe set up in my living room next to my desk and that is where I spend my days. (I live in an apartment and the only place I have for the lathe is in my living room)
The lathe is on a little red Harbor freight cart so I can stash it in the closet when we have company ( I am not lying) or when we have to clean. The chips are a major nuisance. Gotta clean them up all the time cuz they get into the wheels of my office chair and grind up the tile floor. I gotta get one of those chair mats so the tiles don't have to be replaced so often. hah!
If you have half as much fun with yours as I have with mine you will be very very happy with it. Enjoy your new LIFE hahahaha.

[Traffer]

@clodhopper...
I went to the link you provided and read about your machine. WOW. If there ever was a perfect home hobby lathe that has got to be it. If I was young I would be scratching and saving right now to get one. What a beauty!

[Iron45acp]

With the little machine shop bed extension (later on in the future) I believe I could fit a AR Barrel in between the head and tail stock. If I can do that I'll be extremely happy. Either way I'll be set for awhile with make punches, dies, and muzzle brakes lol.

Look at this cute little guy I got in the mail today!

[Traffer]

With the little machine shop bed extension (later on in the future) I believe I could fit a AR Barrel in between the head and tail stock. If I can do that I'll be extremely happy. Either way I'll be set for awhile with make punches, dies, and muzzle brakes lol.

Look at this cute little guy I got in the mail today!

You mean the cannelure tool? Nice. I need to modify one to use for crimping 22lr. But can't afford one. Making an alternative is on the list.

[clodhopper]

Taffer, I'm not young, but have to claim good fortune to be able to scrape together enough money to buy the lathe, and a milling machine after retiring.
I guess right now I need to sell a bucket of brass and buy a diamond cutter for my Dremel. What you have been doing with yours is very interesting.

[Traffer]

Taffer, I'm not young, but have to claim good fortune to be able to scrape together enough money to buy the lathe, and a milling machine after retiring.
I guess right now I need to sell a bucket of brass and buy a diamond cutter for my Dremel. What you have been doing with yours is very interesting.

Thank you...
Those diamond wheels can be had for about 20 cents apiece.

[ReloaderFred]

I buy all my Dremel tool supplies from Widget Supply, in Albany, OR. They have great prices and good variety.

https://widgetsupply.com/category/dr...mit=100&mode=4

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Traffer]

Here are some pictures of the dremel type tools that I use. All were purchased on eBay almost all from China. Very inexpensive. Generally from $.20 to $.60 per piece. Since there are so many types of tools with so many kinds of uses, I have decided to do either a youtube on using them or an extensive post here on a new thread but for now, here is a bit of info: There are two boxes of stuff here. One with mostly wheels. Most are diamond. There are also stone wheels, rubber with diamond and composite wheels. Some composite wheels are reinforced some not. Composite wheels work best for cutting but they are dirty. Diamond wheels wear out quickly when used for cutting. Using water for cooling and lubing helps. There are lots of cylindrical and bullet shaped buffing burrs. I use those for polishing. They can easily be formed into the shape needed by carving them while they spin with a diamond wheel. There are round diamond burrs. Only the smaller ones work good. Burrs in all kinds of shapes. I use the "nail head" ones a lot. There are some carbide burrs there too. They can take a lot of material off compared to the diamond ones. The diamond wheels come in sizes from 11mm to over 50mm. I use mostly 30mm ones. They work best for grinding drill bits. Not all are the same quality. There is no way of knowing what you will get. **** shoot. But for 3 or 4 bucks for 10 wheels it's worth it. I would say that 75% are good. 5% are poor and 20% are very very good. I use a Black & Decker RTX motor. They run about $35 and are the best at that price range. Pretty good power. But I put pipe cleaners under the chuck to keep the steel grinding grit out of the bearings. The biggest problem is the tools getting grit in them. RTX units do not have replaceable brushes. I rebuilt one with new brushes but I had to pry open stamped stuff and literally cut the brushes to fit. But it worked.
I ramble...Like I said there is a lot to convey ...will have to dedicate a video to it.