Making a core mold

[SeabeeMan]

I'll hopefully be into the swaging game soon and am trying to figure out how to make cores. I don't like the cost of buying wire or an extruder, so a mold will have to do it. I've seen that people are taking a lee blank and just drilling it out for their cores. Is it really as easy as marking it and drilling, maybe using the sprue plate to line up a pilot bit? Do I need to worry about being extremely precise and reaming if I'm going to swage all the cores anyways?

[Reload3006]

thats about the extent of it. you are correct you dont have to be on the money as long as your od is smaller than the core swage die ID. ..... The only thing that may be helpful to you is a way to shorten or lengthen them so you can cast a variety of core weights.

[Cane_man]

if you cant get a Lee blank you could buy an inexpensive round ball mold and flip it over drill it out...

[DukeInFlorida]

One of our members, chuckbuster , makes and sells extruding dies and custom threaded rams for RCBS and other presses.
I started off extruding lead wire (using cast boolits as the raw billet), and then chopping it into raw length/weight. Those then get brought into final weight by swaging in the core swaging die.

chuckbuster's prices were reasonable, and the quality was outstanding on everything he made for me.

I am using a core mold from BT Sniper for .224 bullets, and that makes a ton of cast cores in almost no time at all. I expect to soon see a 30 caliber cast core mold from Brian.

Just to be fair, one of our other members also makes extrusion dies for core wire. I made the chopper for cutting the wire into chunks, but you can also find a Corbin core wire cutter on eBay once in a while.

Most of this stuff requires painful patience to get parts you need CHEAP.

[SeabeeMan]

I think I'll take a stab at drilling a blank mold. I'll keep thinking on how to make it adjustable but without a lathe, I don't know what to use as a plug to move up and down. Knowing I can swage the cores mean I don't have be dead on with the depth, and I can always go a touch deeper.

[Reload3006]

I think I'll take a stab at drilling a blank mold. I'll keep thinking on how to make it adjustable but without a lathe, I don't know what to use as a plug to move up and down. Knowing I can swage the cores mean I don't have be dead on with the depth, and I can always go a touch deeper.
use a set screw. some where on this area I have some pics posted of some core molds I made out of old Lyman and RCBs mold blocks.

[SeabeeMan]

A set screw as the plunger or a set screw to lock a rod at a certain depth in the hole?

[Reload3006]

http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee403/reload3006/2909.jpg (http://s1226.photobucket.com/user/reload3006/media/2909.jpg.html)

http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee403/reload3006/2908.jpg (http://s1226.photobucket.com/user/reload3006/media/2908.jpg.html)

[Reload3006]

back when I made those I was still working as a tool n die maker and had access to a lathe but honestly I dont think you would need the plugs I made to go on top of the set screws. just grind the top of the set screw flat and it shouldnt hold onto your cores. as has been said before cores dont have to be pretty just a slug of lead because your going to uniform them in your core swage die.

[SeabeeMan]

Got it. Would a 3/16" in set screw be able to move through a reamed 3/16" hole in the mold. My other thought was to TIG weld an aluminum (we're talking Lee blanks) plate to the bottom of the mold and weld shaft collars to that to hold a piece of 3/16" aluminum rod that would then be movable in the hole. Which I suppose would be the same as moving the set screw since the threads are outer dimensions. The advantage I see with all aluminum (plate, collars, rod) is no differential expansion.

[Hickory]

NOE has blank molds
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=67&osCsid=ddh09s1l3mtlc97n0b30q9jh15

[SeabeeMan]

New idea, much simpler. Please help me shoot holes in it because this seems a bit to easy to work. Get a Lee/NOE/whatever aluminum blank. Drill/ream holes to .1875. Cut pieces of .1875 aluminum round bar to length and close the mold on each one to provide alignment. Slide a 3/16" 2 piece aluminum shaft collar (http://catalog.climaxmetal.com/item/two-piece-clamping-collars/two-piece-clamping-collar-2c-series/2c-018-a?&bc=100|1001|1280|1004) over each and weld half of it to the bottom of one side of the mold, leaving the other side free to have the mold open and close over it. My buddy is the welding instructor at the local tech so he can TIG the collars for me.

The only hang up I can see is the center-center spacing on a lee 6 cav is right around 5/8", making those 2 piece collars to big and they would have to go every other hole.

http://www.amazonsupply.com/ruland-sc-3-a-screw-collar-aluminum/dp/B0063KT1MY/ref=sr_1_1_child?sr=1-1&qid=1376330813&filterBy.feature_seven_browse-bin=3071222011&filterBy.bore_diameter_derived=0.188+inches

These have an OD of 7/16" and since they are a set screw type collar there would be no flex issues just welding one half of the collar to one half of the block. These should allow all 6 cavities to be used. $40 for a blank mold, $10 in collars, a few bucks of aluminum rod, a 6 pack for the welding, and I'd have an adjustable 6 cavity core mold.

[Reload3006]

sounds like a pretty good plan but you will want to go a bit smaller than 3/16 for your rods or they won't slide you need some clearance but sounds like a plan and should work fine.

[SeabeeMan]

I wasn't sure how much clearance would be needed to keep them from leaking but still slide. I tried looking up different specs for clearance but just figured I'd chuck the rods up in my drill press and a quick pass with emery cloth should take them down a hair.