Need some pre order education

[Ozarklongshot]

Ok someone explain "bullet feeder with one caliber" do I need to change out the feeder with different calibers?

Also "small or large caliber conversion" What exactly am I converting ? Is this the dies or something in the above mentioned "bullet feeder"

The web site also says something about "caliber conversions for bullets under 1/2" " are there a lot of conversions for bullets over .50? or is this referring to length of bullet?

I plan on running 380 9mm 38/357 40/10mm 44 45acp and 45LC so some dies should cover a couple calibers. Would it be best to order extra dies or is it easy to change the punch depth for different bullets. All of mine are single groove MP molds and I planned on ordering all dies from lathe smith as soon as I take the plunge. Just trying to be educated and cover all the bases. This should be an improvement from a couple of Lyman/Ideal 45 sizers.

Pretty sure I have plenty of parts to put an air cylinder together so no trouble there. Will order the heater with the sizer unless someone has a better suggestion. Prices on used ones are nearly as much or more than new so I think I just go all new to start. Any advice is appreciated.

[ReloaderFred]

The bullet feeder has a feed tube and slide that are pretty much caliber specific so the bullets will feed properly. The larger bullets (.40, .44 & .45) won't fit in the 9mm/.38 tube or slide, so those are the parts you get with the caliber conversion. The 1/2" conversion is for bullets that are shorter than 1/2" in length, not diameter. I'm able to run my 92 gr. .380 bullets through my .38 caliber setup without a problem, since they are just over 1/2" long, which is the thickness of the bullet slide.

When converting from one diameter bullet to another, the bullet feeder stays in place. All you change is the feed tube and slide, which only takes removing a couple screws to do.

I would buy the Magma heater (I did, after trying several others), since it's drilled and tapped for your machine and the bullet feeder. it's also a good unit and heats up quickly. It also holds it's temperature really well. Some people have added PID's to their heaters, but I haven't found the need. I have three of the heaters and bullet feeders, plus two other Star lubers that I move around on another heater without the bullet feeder for small lots of other bullets.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Ozarklongshot]

Thanks Fred: Is the slide a pretty basic square piece of aluminum with an appropriate sized hole in it? I'm just asking because I have a 3 axis manual mill and if it's not a complicated compound milling job I think I could make the parts. I've just never seen one so I have no idea. Same with the over half inch conversion. Just a taller slide I would guess. I don't want to be cheap but I also don't want to throw money at something that would be and easy build with material I had on hand. My guess is that it is similar to the way the priming mechanism works on a dillon 550 only bigger. Does the bullet feeder tube assembly have a small catch that drops the bullet in the slide when in the full rearward position keeping the tube from dropping more than one bullet into the slide causing it to jam? Wish someone nearby had one so I could see it work in person. Anyone in NW Arkansas got one?
Or am I just over thinking this?

[ReloaderFred]

The slide, which is the bullet carrier, is made of steel, but the body of the bullet feeder is aluminum. The mounting plate is also steel, so the slide won't gall when moving back and forth across it.

The height of the bullet feed tube in the body of the feeder determines how the bullet feeds into the slide. If too high, it will bind, and if too low, it won't allow the bullet to move forward. The less than 1/2" tall bullet conversion requires a shorter slide to allow the bullet to clear the ones above it when the slide moves forward. Otherwise, two short bullets will enter the hole in the slide at the same time, binding the whole thing. The slide has to be able to strip one bullet at a time from the column of bullets, which are gravity fed into the slide. There is no catch mechanism to only feed one bullet. It just strips off the bottom bullet and the back of the slide holds the next bullet in place until the slide retracts, exposing the carrier hole again. I would imagine there is a spacer for the shorter slide, so it will fit in the original body.

As long as you have a milling machine, you'll be able to produce the caliber conversions yourself. Once you see how the whole thing operates, machining another slide and obtaining tubing the proper diameter will be simple. Having one complete unit in hand is a big plus, though. I checked into having the conversions made at a local shop, and it was much, much cheaper to just buy them from Magma. Since you already have the mill, you'll only be out a little material and your time.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Ozarklongshot]

Fred; Thank you very much. I appreciate that you took the time to explain the minutiae of the system. If there is ever anything I can do for you, let me know.
Those are the answers I needed. Thanks again!

I love this place

[ReloaderFred]

Not a problem at all. I love the bullet feeders, but I'm looking for a cheap way to fill the tubes faster. I like to size and lube my bullets in lots of 1,000, but it takes quite awhile to fill the tubes, and only a short time to size/lube the bullets. I'm getting older every day, and I hate wasting the time filling tubes.......

Fred

[altheating]

Yup, filling the tubes by hand sucks! I use the Mr Bulletfeeder and a bullet flipper that I made on the lathe to fill them. Mr Bulletfeeder is making an adapter that will do the flipping, but you have to have the bullet feeder. The alternative, fill the tubes while watching tv.