bannor
06-23-2014, 08:14 PM
I no longer have access to a horizontal mill. I need to precisely slit (as narrow a kerf as possible) some hp boolit from the nose back to about 2/3rds of the length of the boolits (depth of the cut varies, by diameter of the bullet, velocity at impact and alloy used)? Exacto made (makes?) a tiny hacksaw that might suffice, if I can come up with a way to force the saw to cut straight. I'm willing to sacrifice a cheap mold to make a holding jig. I have access to plumb bob, a bubble level, a square, a drill press (cheap bench mount).
I'm thinking in terms of leveling the drill press (or a vise held in another vice?) then using the square to ensure that the mold is mounted with the long axis of the boolit perpendicular to the press-table. A single cavity lee aluminum mold aint that hard to cut the bottom off of, leaving the bullet expose, but giving me a way to clamp the boolit in place.
So what I need, (I THINK) is a way to force the saw to make a straight cut down the center of the long axis of the boolit. Would clamping (or welding or expoxying) a cube of hardened steel to the mold suffice? Would a pair of squares work, or do I need another sort of hardened, machined 90 degree angle metal? I might be able to buy a gauge block, I suppose. Haven't checked the price on such things in a decade. :-)
I'm thinking in terms of leveling the drill press (or a vise held in another vice?) then using the square to ensure that the mold is mounted with the long axis of the boolit perpendicular to the press-table. A single cavity lee aluminum mold aint that hard to cut the bottom off of, leaving the bullet expose, but giving me a way to clamp the boolit in place.
So what I need, (I THINK) is a way to force the saw to make a straight cut down the center of the long axis of the boolit. Would clamping (or welding or expoxying) a cube of hardened steel to the mold suffice? Would a pair of squares work, or do I need another sort of hardened, machined 90 degree angle metal? I might be able to buy a gauge block, I suppose. Haven't checked the price on such things in a decade. :-)