Gas Check Maker Dimensions

[bstone5]

The attached PDF file are the drawings made to fabricate gas check makers.

The dimensions are" neat" there are not any dimensional clearance in the parts.

The cup making punch should be made first and the hollow disc cutting punch made next.

The disc cutting hollow punch is made from water harding drill rod. This is the only hardened part. After harding the hollow punch can be annealed in an oven at 500 degrees with the part at temperature for one hour.

The bodyof the check maker was made from 4130 bar stock left over from another project. Any steel should work for the body.

The base was made from aluminum again left over from another project.

The body is machined once the two punches are finished so the bores in the body can ge cut to the dimensions of the two punches.

Keeping the bores concentric is important and keeping the clearances close is also desirable.

The gas check makers are pushed with a small press from Harbor Freight. The same small press is also used to installed the gas checks by pushing thru an upside down Lee push thru sizing die.

The soda can material will not take much axial stress when pushed thru the Lee sizer. A little Imperial sizing wax will lube the check and not stress the check to a point of tearing. as it is being installed on the bullet.

These punches have work well for my use, others milage may vary.

The dimensions were derived from the data furnished by Ed Smith in his PDF file.

bstone5

[little willie]

bstone5,

Thanks for sharing this, between this info and Ed's info, I should be on my way.

No use in trying to make all of the mistakes myself.

little willie

[longbow]

Yes, thanks for sharing.

I made my own "freechex" style check maker and posted some time ago but I know a fellow that may be able to use this info.

Longbow

[tjones]

Yes, thanks for sharing.

I made my own "freechex" style check maker and posted some time ago but I know a fellow that may be able to use this info.

Longbow

It's a cleaver design isn't it.

tj

[longbow]

The Freechex are a clever design. Mine is a little cruder and more manual than a Freechex but it works well for me.

One of the benefits is that I am making gas checks form old 0.019" gutter material of which I have lots. It is soft and draws a bit as it thins going through the die so the checks are a little deep but still fit my boolits.

Longbow

[arjacobson]

Nice drawings. Just remember you need a good lead/chamfer going into the lower stem. This helps prevent cutting a rim instead of forming the check. Also set your forming spud about .020 lower than the upper part of the slot. A short forming id will help prevent checks from sticking to the spud also.

[Model29-2]

Can someone show me the direction to Ed's PDF file with the data? A search for "ed smith pdf" doesn't seem to bring it up.
Great work on the dwgs btw. This could be a fun project.

Thanks!

[little willie]

Here is a link to the download post.

If that doesn't work, I saved it as a PDF and would be glad to share it with you.

Ed is a great and knowledgeable guy, we haven't heard from him in a while and a number of us are concerned about him When you read his work, you will understand why.

little willie

[little willie]

Model 29-2,

Oops, here is the link http://www.datafilehost.com/download-c7a0815b.html

Be careful and "un-check" the box about using their download manager and only click on the small link under the checkmaker 1 &2

It's a bit of a hassel but there is GOOD INFORMATION there.

little willielabel.

[DukeInFlorida]

btw, I am still trying on Ed Smith

[MBTcustom]

I take all of my dimensions for a GC maker off of the boolit itself.
The diameter of the punch needs to be exactly the same as the GC shank of your boolit.
The disk diameter is determined by the height of the GC shank X 2 - .020 (you want it as tall as it can be) + the shank diameter.
The material thickness needs to be the final size of your boolits, minus the shank diameter, divide by two.
The hole in the body of the checkmaker that forms the cup around the punch, needs to be tapered and about .010 larger than your final sized diameter so that it doesn't extrude the check material and make your check too tall, and higher on one side of the check.
Also, it doesn't hurt a thing to harden all three parts of the checkmaker. The only cutting edge that is going to touch is the outer edge of the disk punch, and it will have the soft aluminum check material between it and the body of the checkmaker to protect the cutting edge (if you don't get crazy with the hammer that is).

[little willie]

Thanks Duke. I never heard anything from the realtor, unfortunately it sounds rather discouraging.

I keep on hoping, he seemed like a really great guy.

little willie

[bstone5]

Over the last few months several gas check makes have been machined and used to make gas checks for plain base or bevel base bullets.

The relationship and derived dimensions came from the PDF file furnished by Ed Smith.

The gas checks have work well on all of the bullets so far.

Picture of gas check makers made so far. Started out with the two hit type but found the single stroke type makes the gas check very fast with the use of a small hand press from Harbor Freight. The single stroke maker is easy to make and has about the same number of parts as the two hit type all that is extra is the base and the spring.

[little willie]

bsone5,

Which press do you use? The smallest one or the next size up?

I looked at them, and thought their lightest one would work but I'm thinking a little larger might be better to later use for a "bulge buster/case sizer".

little wilie

[bstone5]

little willie

I purchased the smaller press, if I remember it is the 1/2 ton press.

Any press will work, the bigger press at Harbor Freight is not that expensive, go for which one you like.

I have a larger press used on another project some years ago, this press is heavy and hard to move around.

I got the smaller press so that it can be move easily and used just for making gas checks and installing gas checks with the up side down Lee push thru sizing die.

I increase the bevel in the Lee push thru die and polish the bevel in the Lee dies with a drimel tool to make starting the bullets with the gas checks easier.

Putting some lube thru the bore of the die also helps in reducing the friction as the bullet and gas check are pushed.

I use the flat face of the ram to push the bullets, the bullet is pushed so the nose of the bullet is even with the lip of the Lee die, the next bullet and gas check are then set on the nose of this bullet and then pushed. This arrangement results in a place to set each bullet and gas check before it is pushed.

The process is similiar to the the use of the die in a reloading press. One bullet pushes the next bullet thu the die.