What do I have

[coalgeo]

This was my Dad's swager. He swaged 38 caliber bullets and added half jackets - two of which are in the photograph. I suspect it was homemade in the shop but what about the dies?

[nicholst55]

I've got a press just like it that I got from Bullshop. Mine came with 9mm, .38, .44 and .45 dies, plus a BUNCH of jackets and lead wire, and two core molds. One of these days I'll bolt it to something and try it out!

I don't know for sure who made the tooling because there are no markings on any of it; Bullshop said it was old Herter's stuff.

[Bent Ramrod]

coalgeo,

You have a Herter's "9-Ton" Bullet Swaging Press (and the dies of course). Had one myself back in the '70's with .22 dies. As I recall, it swaged a half- or 3/4 jacket bullet with a wadcutter shoulder and a cone-shaped point. It was allegedly 0.224" in diameter; I took that on faith for several years, shooting it in my .22 Jet revolver and marveling at the neat wadcutter holes it put in everything. Years later I invested in a micrometer and found they were more like 0.226" which explained the extra loud noise the Jet always seemed to make with these bullets.

The press worked well enough; it has a lot of leverage. As I recall, the swage action depended on a hardened washer on one side of the cylindrical portion of the die. I had to order a couple of these from Herter's to replace the ones I cracked in use. Don't know if it was a design weakness or just my inexperience; back then I didn't know my own strength.:mrgreen:

Check the diameter of the bullets you make; if they're close to your gun's bore, they ought to work acceptably. I don't recall any leading, and I used mine in the Jet and a couple of .22 Hornet rifles.

[creekwalker]

coalgeo,

That's a nice looking set up and Herter's swage die's are easy to find, I'd mount that press to a bench and put it back in action. You can alway's add another swage press later, but still find a use for your father's. Nice thing to have from your dad, enjoy.

creekwalker

[coalgeo]

Thanks for the information guys. I am just getting back into casting after a 35 year hiatus - may wait a bit for the swaging. Herters makes sense, by the way, as it is more or less the same color as the reloading press, scale, and powder measure (I started buying my own in the mid-1970's so they are all green!).

I would not mind trying swaged .44 or .45 caliber as I often shoot 200+ grain 45 Colt and 44 Mag loads at around 800 fps. That to fast for the pure lead that I assume I need for swaging?

[Buckshot]

................Looks like a copy of the early Corbin press. I think it was the CSP-1 or somesuch. It too was open topped and worked the same way.

................Buckshot