How do I chuck a bullet?

[Whiterabbit]

Hi guys,

I want to hollowpoint a couple bullets for fun. I didn't take any pictures yet, but here's basically what I did:

I cut a strip of aluminum 3/8" thick, 1" wide, and ~2.5 inches long. I drilled a hole in this piece at one end at .451" diameter (I need to expand this, but it'll work for experimentation). I then cut a slit in the strip into the hole.

The idea was that I could clamp the strip in the jaws of my mill, closing the hole slightly which would grip the bullet. I put the strip back in my clamp on the mill table and align the hole to made with the .451 drill bit in the mill chuck. Then replace the .451 drill bit with my hollowpointer drill bit, and crank out some hollowpoints.

To get pressure on the bullet clamp, I wedged a piece of paper into the chuck on that side to give some incentive to clamp down on the bullet.

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Long story short, it didn't work right away. I can't get enough pressure on the aluminum to get a good grip on the bullet. The hollowpointer bit invariably spins the bullet in the clamp.

What's a good way to make a bullet clamp that is very repeatable in positioning? At this time I'd prefer to use the mill rather than the lathe.

[Bret4207]

When I read the post title I considered answering, "Take a good stance, wind up and throw it really hard!"

Don't they make collet holders for mill tables? Seems like that would be the simplest, and most expensive, way.

[dragonrider]

Put some soft vise jaws in your vice, close them and line up the spindle with the parting line. Drill a hole. now you have half a hole in each vise jaw, open jaws insert boolit drill HP.

[W.R.Buchanan]

In addition to Dragonriders suggestion I'd clamp a piece of shim stock in the vise before I drilled the hole, that way there will be some room to clamp, but the radius of the hole will be perfect.

You can make soft jaws for your vise out of any aluminum bar stock.

Randy

[akajun]

Probably easier to buy the hollow pointer for a forster case trimmer.

[looseprojectile]

an RCBS bullet puller collet to hold boolits in the three jaw chuck on the lathe.
No problem. If you are going to do more than a few use a stop screwed into the small end. If you don't have a lathe you must know someone that does. You can also set up in a drill press if it has a big enough chuck.

Life is good

[HollowPoint]

The idea you've laid out sounds like it will work.

Try it; you may surprise yourself. There are easier ways but, so what. It always feels better when your own ideas come to fruition.

Once you get it working for you, I'm pretty sure you'll come up with an even better way. That's generally how it works for me. No sooner do I get an idea to work when I think to myself, "Darn, I should have done this way or that way instead."

Have fun.

HollowPoint

[dragonrider]

W.R. Buchanan
+1 for the shim, I forgot that.

[Twmaster]

Do you have a lathe? I put my bullets into an ER collet and drill away.

[Whiterabbit]

yes I have a lathe. But no way to chuck a drill bit into the end stock. And the 3-jaw would crush the bullet. Ask how I know. :)

First step will be exactly what you guys suggested with two pieces in a vise and a hole drilled. I'll start with delrin as I have a good source and it can't get softer than delrin! Maybe try aluminum. Shimmed before drill, and carpet taped to the vise to keep the halves in place. Sounds like a slam dunk.

I nixed the case trimmer idea because the bit I want ot use for hollowpointing is .3 inches in size =D. Won't fit the trimmer!

[Twmaster]

yes I have a lathe. But no way to chuck a drill bit into the end stock. And the 3-jaw would crush the bullet. Ask how I know.

Heh. You need more tooling!

:D

[mazo kid]

A while back I wanted just a few HP boolits to experiment with without much expense. I found a piece of brass tubing that the boolit slipped into; cut 3 slots equally (or kinda) in the tubing a little longer than the boolit. Put boolit into tubing, tubing into lathe chuck and used a center drill for the HPer. Worked good for my needs.