Making .22 jackets HELP!

[1z-bar]

I picked up a Corbin set years ago. Press, dies and jacket maker. Now thats its cost effective I decided to pull it out and use it. I'm having trouble forming the cases with the jacket maker. It some times shaves some of the brass on what was the lip. I tryed changing punches, but that didn't help. I used the self clean on the gas oven it cooked the cases for three hours and they were all discolored {no sags}. I'm using Corbin case lube {It's old but it should still be good}. I'm using a big max press for the cases. It shaves a Little of of every other one it seems like. Is this normal???

[shooterg]

Are you annealing before derimming ? or after ? I clean 'em and derim 'em, then clean 'em again before annealing and continuing the process. I see a very slight different "feel" on different headstamps, but doubt there's much difference in thickness between any of 'em.
My dies are Blackmon, but I do have an old "wiper" type Corbin derimmer that was harder to push brass through - derimmed brass is just slightly smaller than that made with the Blackmon, but both dies produced jackets that worked well.

[Ballard]

My experience mirrors shooterg. I have both homemade derim dies, and Corbins. Are you actually getting shavings, or just a shiny spot? You mentioned changing punches. What size punches are you trying to run? I run a .200 punch with Corbin die and get .725", and run a .197" punch and get .685 jackets on my homemade die using sorted brass. You should not be getting brass shavings, though.

[1z-bar]

My punches are .200 the case is coming out at .220 dia. and .708 to .722 long. It is a shaving, like a scuff. But it looks like it's doing it when I pull the ram back down. I do push them all the way through and some of them come back a little on the retract stroke {the ones that are scraped}. I wonder if the die needs polished?
As far as cleaning goes I boil, rinse 2 or 3 times and then cook. Does any one clean them again before resizing?

[MIBULLETS]

1z-bar, I have a Corbin derim die also. I have not noticed it ever shaving the cases though. The only time I have had a problem is when the punch got worn from processing too many cases. When that happens the rim doesn't fully unfold and slides down the side of the finished jacket a little.

I have read in Corbin's old literature that some of his older dies may have had the little tube above the ring die out of alignment alittle. To fix it you could remove the ring die and tube and try to align them better, or if the bottom of the little tube was sharp you could round it some so it wouldn't catch the jacket as it comes out of the ring die. I believe his new die design is a little different, and I don't know which one you have. I got mine about 9 years ago and I have the older version.


Can you post a picture?

[1z-bar]

[IMG]http://d[0202091609] I will try this to see if I can post a picture. I called corbin they told me to use a longer pin to push it through the die so it cant come back down.

[kawalekm]

I anneal my .22 cases red hot on the kitchen stove. They come out looking like this.

[Reddot]

Can someone educate me on what kind of bullet you are making? What caliber is that?

[454PB]

Throw away the Corbin lube! It's absolutely the worst stuff I ever used. I use boot waterproofing, but Imperial sizing die lube works well.

[Red River Rick]

Can someone educate me on what kind of bullet you are making? What caliber is that?

.22 Cal PSP, 0.224 diameter.

[Houndog]

I don't know anything about Corbin's bullet lube, but the best I've ever used is a mixture of 50% Anhydrous Lanolin and 50% Vaselene. Just put the ingredients in a GLASS container and microwave it untill it liqufies, stir it up and I put mine in a big syringe I got at Tractor Supply. Let it cool completely and you are good to go. I've been making bullets about 20 years for Benchrest competition.

[bohica2xo]

Your annealing is where the problem starts. You can "cook" copper alloys for days, and while they may discolor they will not be fully annealed unless they reach a high enough temperature.

I have used all kinds of methods for annealing, but a simple "red hot" with a propane torch is as foolproof as it gets. This is not like annealing case necks - you want jackets dead soft when you start working them. Heat them on a firebrick, anything that holds heat (like a steel plate) will just make heating them harder.

To get rid of the scale, just pickle them. Use a vinegar / water / salt mixture. 50% vinegar is usually enough, about 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon of solution. If you want it to work faster, warm it up (or dump the still hot cases in it). Agitate a bit if things are really ugly. Go buy a cheap plastic collander, and rinse them under running water.

B.

[docone31]

You definately cannot anneal in an oven. Temp is too low.
The best pickle I have used is Pool PH Reducer, in other words, sodium bisulphate. It is what I use in my shop when I work on sterling, or Karat gold.
Absolutely do not get anything iron in the pickle unless you like red.
A real good fireboard, is a 2 X 12. Standard framing lumber. The wood reflects the heat. I use that also on silver soldering sterling. Works better than store bought fire pads. Cheaper also.
It takes more to melt brass than you would think. It will show you when it is melting. Just watch the colours when heating.

[454PB]

To anneal .22 jackets, I fill my old Lyman cast iron pot and cover them with a piece of tin, then put the pot on a hotplate. About 30 minutes works nicely.

[MIBULLETS]

You can most certainly soften your 22 cases in the oven if it gets hot enough. I do mine in a electric oven using the cleaning cycle. The oven goes up to 550 F and the cleaning cycle is quite a bit hotter than that. You don't need or want to get them dead soft, only enough so that when you point them up the tips don't fold. I confiscated one of my wife's old cookie sheets. I fillit up one layer thick heat the oven up, put them in for 30-40 minutes.