Cutting Lead Cores?

[dluxarms]

I know this may seem like a silly question, but I have to ask. Does anyone here cut their lead wire cores with anything other than a dedicated core cutter? The one I have is quite old and is a real pain to use. It is a homemade cutter that I got through a trade deal. I am constantly adjusting and having to loosen it because it binds. I know this is not an RCE or Corbin, and those probably don't have these kinds of issues. I was wondering if anyone had another method. If not I will most likely purchase the Corbin cutter and not look back. I have only been cutting .185 wire.

[R.Ph. 380]

I made a wire cutter from a pair of wire strippers. Put a fine threaded screw though one of the holes, put a stop in the form of a small holed washer. I can adjust the height iof the washer to give me the exact spot to cut the lead wire. Ends up around 48 to 49 grn so I can put it in the coreswage die to swage to exactly 47 grn for my 55 grain swaged .224 bullets from 22lr. Wish I could put pictures on the forum.

Bill

[Littleton Shot Maker]

Dad, is going to order some mold blanks and have cut into pre-shaped cores for 30. Cal then planned to swage the jackets onto them, way faster than cutting wire, plus we already have between 700 and 1000 or so pounds of pure in 55# bars . Plus it's ( new wire ) not cheap, and if it sits around to long starts to oxidize real bad, I also have spools and spools of wire, he did not want to waste time cutting it.

Casting the core we can hold the weights to 3-5 grains of what we need, It was too hard to cut it that exact every single time.

[DRNurse1]

I helped out a friend who used an end nipper. He rigged it with a washer and a shallow cone for depth.

We sat for maybe an hour talking about stuff and I nipped these pieces for him from a wire coil. He was not paying attention to what I was doing and the wound up with about 1500 pieces.

He said it would take him 3 years to shoot all that. I suggested he get into HP competition to help him get rid of the surplus.

[dluxarms]

Thanks for the idea R.PH.380. Being a low voltage electrician for the past years has left me with at least a few pairs of strippers laying around. Going to give that a try tonight.

[Cane_man]

i saw a pic somewhere where a guy drilled a hole in the wire cutters, then attached a metal offset that was thread so a bolt could act as a stop and get consistent lengths for cutting

[Utah Shooter]

Bill that is what I was doing. I finally forked out the dough for a core cutter and will never go back. It is a great idea though. The wire snips I bought cost 5 buck vs about 50 or so for the Corbin Cutter I have.

[HGS]

Have been using Corbin's core cutters for several years, they beat all other core cutters when set up right.

HGS

[dluxarms]

Have been using Corbin's core cutters for several years, they beat all other core cutters when set up right.

HGS

I went ahead and ordered the Corbin's Precision Cutter. When you say "set up right", what do you mean? Does it come with instructions for "right", or can you throw a new guy some advise? Thanks in advance.

[Lizard333]

There are adjustments to adjust the length of the core for the desired weight. If I need a 45 grain core, I'll cut my cores to about 50, so I can bleed off the extra weight.

[303british.com]

I went ahead and ordered the Corbin's Precision Cutter. When you say "set up right", what do you mean? Does it come with instructions for "right", or can you throw a new guy some advise? Thanks in advance.

Yes, the core cutter comes with instructions. Perhaps someone will post a picture. If not, when I get home, I'll post some pictures. It's a simple matter of adjusting a bolt to allow a certain length of lead wire to be inserted into the cutter. It's very easy to set up.

[303british.com]

Okay, I guess no one had any pix.

Here are a couple of my cutters, side by side. On the left, a corbins.com cutter. On the right, RCECo.com

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/Bullet%20Making/wirecutter1_zps8e234513.jpg

Here is a piece of wire about to be cut. If you ordered the RCECo cutter, you slide the wire into one of the six holes that most closely fits the wire diameter. For corbins.com, you use an insert that is approx. the same diameter as the wire and tighten the insert with an allen key.

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/Bullet%20Making/wirecutter3_zps64497162.jpg

Underneath, you'll see a bolt with a nut attached. You loosen the nut and adjust the bolt so that the length of lead wire that comes through the hole, when weighed, will be a few grains over the finished weight. If you look closely at the next pic, you'll see the lead wire is through the hole and resting on the top of the bolt. From here, you simply swing the arm to chop off the piece.

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/Bullet%20Making/wirecutter4_zpse68350c3.jpg

Here's a better picture of the bolt.

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/Bullet%20Making/wirecutter2_zps27d85d72.jpg

[303british.com]

This is a pic of the camp, just after the septic was repaired. (And has nothing to do with lead wire.)

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/DAD/My%20Pictures/6%20Oct%2012/WIA3_zpsd82d40ca.jpg

[dluxarms]

Thank you 303. I love this forum. Ask a question, get a real answer. The pics are great, they will get me cutting faster and with less waste. Love the camo bus in the background too.

[303british.com]

It's all part of the free service.

You can't tell by looking at the picture, but behind the camp the land drops away to a lake full of walleye and pike. There are also a lot of perch, desperately trying not to wind up as lunch. :)

[HGS]

dluxarms

When I said "set up right" I went down to Dave's shop in White city and viewed his 1,000 core an hour cutting system, and then built one similar to his. Dave has several sizes of lead wire rolls hanging on horizontal steel rods above his mounted core cutters. (similar to 303british.com pictures of his mounted core cutters) Swapping out empty rolls was fast and easy from either end, or put several rolls of the same size up before starting. The wire rolls were hanging about 3 feet above his core cutters. Must have been 6 to 8 rolls or more, heavy but a real nice system. Swapping out cutter inserts is also fast and easy. I took a picture of his set up and if I can find it I will get it posted. If not, I'll drag mine out and post a picture of it. Mine only holds 4 Rolls of lead wire up about 2 feet above the cutters and I wish it was Higher as the more lead wire to work with in a curve from a roll makes it a lot easer.

HGS

[xman777]

When I cut cores, I first straighten the wire up and then cut it into manageable lengths. I run all the lead wire through a wire straightener and then cut it at 36". This prevents all binding while pushing it through the core cutter.
When somebody told me this idea, it literally saved me hours of time. TRY IT.

The cut lengths store up nicely in a pvc pipe.

[B R Shooter]

OK, I need to ask. I bought an old core cutter of Ebay. It works, but the feed hole is kinda big for the .187" wire I cut. So the cores have a "fin" when it is sheared off, and I have to roll the cores between two pieces of steel to flatten these "fins" so the core fits in a 22 jacket.

My question is, the core cutters that use inserts, I assume the inserts are sized for the wire. If I milled out this cutter, made an insert to fit in with a sharp edge where the cutter comes across it, would that reduce this fin? I hope I'm explaining well enough.

[303british.com]

It should.

The trick with these bar type core cutters is to closely match the hole to the wire size to reduce/eliminate the fin. Since you might be making different bullet diameters, it's easier to drop the money on either RCECo or corbins core cutters. They are about $60.

To eliminate the slight bending and fin on my cores, I got a specialty wire cutter and a small piece of 1/4 inch OD copper tube. Whether it's this style of wire cutter, or the corbin type, the principle is the same: cut the wire cleanly, without leaving a gap between the two cutting surfaces.

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/Bullet%20Making/Carpentercutter3_zps069382b3.jpg

Like xman and others, I cut the lead wire into shorter lengths - for .224 bullets, I cut to 22 inches. These small lengths are rolled straight and stored in a box. When needed, they are fed into the copper tube attached to the cutter.

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/Bullet%20Making/Carpentercutter4_zps4502ac05.jpg

I made sure that the copper tube comes right up to the business end of the cutter - where the blade is - with no gap that would form a fin when cutting.

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/Bullet%20Making/Carpentercutter2_zps085f8cdb.jpg

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/Bullet%20Making/Carpentercutter1_zps0a1222ea.jpg

If you are using a corbin or RCECo bar cutter, make sure that there is sufficient tension on the lead wire when you pull it from the reel. Try to straighten it as best you can. Small wavy spots on the lead wire can make it harder to feed into the cutter hole and results in slightly different raw core weights. There's no magic to core prep. Having straight raw cores to feed into the core forming die makes it easier and the cores come out more consistent.

[runfiverun]

notice these guy's keep talking about core forming and core swaging dies??
that is where the technical comes in, if you can operate the press over and over with consistency you will have cores within .1 gr this of course [with consistent jacket weights] helps you keep consistent bullet weights.
using the die also removes air from the core which helps the bullets concentricity in fight.

[303british.com]

I remember talking to some other guys when I first started making bullets. There was a lot of equipment, and it was expensive, so we would sit around and talk about ways to reduce the cost. Some guys never bothered with core forming dies. The result was a few grains of spread with their finished bullet weight. That can be dramatically reduced if your cores are close to the same weight.

I used to weigh the jackets and cores to match them up to attain the same weight, but haven't bothered for a long time. The inconsistency now is with the cases. Even so, I weigh and group bullets after they're done now. I am confident that my cores are close because I use a repeatable core cutting technique and a core forming diw. They're placed into jackets sorted jackets by headstamp.

[B R Shooter]

It should.

The trick with these bar type core cutters is to closely match the hole to the wire size to reduce/eliminate the fin. Since you might be making different bullet diameters, it's easier to drop the money on either RCECo or corbins core cutters. They are about $60.

To eliminate the slight bending and fin on my cores, I got a specialty wire cutter and a small piece of 1/4 inch OD copper tube. Whether it's this style of wire cutter, or the corbin type, the principle is the same: cut the wire cleanly, without leaving a gap between the two cutting surfaces.

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/Bullet%20Making/Carpentercutter3_zps069382b3.jpg

Like xman and others, I cut the lead wire into shorter lengths - for .224 bullets, I cut to 22 inches. These small lengths are rolled straight and stored in a box. When needed, they are fed into the copper tube attached to the cutter.

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/Bullet%20Making/Carpentercutter4_zps4502ac05.jpg

I made sure that the copper tube comes right up to the business end of the cutter - where the blade is - with no gap that would form a fin when cutting.

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/Bullet%20Making/Carpentercutter2_zps085f8cdb.jpg

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr179/S_Redgwell/Bullet%20Making/Carpentercutter1_zps0a1222ea.jpg

If you are using a corbin or RCECo bar cutter, make sure that there is sufficient tension on the lead wire when you pull it from the reel. Try to straighten it as best you can. Small wavy spots on the lead wire can make it harder to feed into the cutter hole and results in slightly different raw core weights. There's no magic to core prep. Having straight raw cores to feed into the core forming die makes it easier and the cores come out more consistent.

OK, I kinda figured it would make a difference. I'll bore the main piece,out, then turn a bushing to fit the hole and fit the wire diameter, with a nice sharp end, that ought to shear them off cleaner.