30 Cal swaged bullets and equipment that i made.

[lead chucker]

Hi. I have been busy. I made dies to make 120 gr bullets out of copper tubing. I have never run a lathe before so its been a real learning experience. I made a core mold that makes a 75 gr core. I had a friend make the ram for my rock chucker press. It works real slick. I shot some to see if they would feed in my AR Blackout and they worked good. Now to see if they are accurate. What do you guy think for my first try.




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[lead chucker]

When I took the pic I had not finished the core swage die. When I finished it and tried it and the lead bled off like its supposed to It was exciting to see. I must say you can make a pretty repeatable core.

[lead chucker]

141650Here is another pic. The pressure band on the base of the bullet is from the round over die. They are perfectly smooth. I will have to make more and then run them through my SS pin tumbler.

[varmint243]

You have never run a lathe before and you did all the turning, threading, knurling, grinding, and polishing to +/- .0001 to make the swaging dies out of high grade steel shown in the pictures for your first project ?
You must be truly gifted

[xman777]

Well he is from Alaska. I'd say that automatically qualifies for fast learner status.

[clodhopper]

Looks great! anxious to see your targets, and how did you shape the point form die?

[Cane_man]

those look fantastic, great job!!!

[skeettx]

Wonderful, wonderful
Please give us updates when possible
Mike

[lead chucker]

I turned a 3/8 O1 rod to the diameter I wanted and used Remington core lock for a reference. Milled the drill rod in half ground the relief and sharpened it. I then Heated it up so that it was orange and little white spots started to appear. I then dunked it in peanut oil that had been sitting around for awhile. While it was still real hot to the touch I put it in my toaster oven that I use for powder coating bullets and let it sit in there at 400F for an hour. Once hardened it cuts like a drill bit. I will post pics of the reamer. I went about it the same way when I made a reamer for the round over die. The cool thing about making a reamer is I find my self using them for other things.

[tiger762]

That's 1st class work there, LeadChucker.

[lead chucker]

141729141730141731
I cast some cores this evening and ran them through my core swage die. It is so satisfying when you make something and it works like its supposed to. I need to come up with some way to catch all the lead that bleeds off.

[clodhopper]

I made a lead bleeding funnel from a milk jug.
The threaded mouth fit over the die, then using scissors and heat, formed a spout to land the wires in a can.
This works pretty good when the squirts are long.
If you first attempt goes bad you aren't out much.

[lead chucker]

141732141733Here is the d reamer I made for the point forming die. It seemed to work real good. it doesn't look very sharp but it is. One thing I learned was to go real slow and clean chips frequently and lots of cutting oil. Once you get through where you step drill go another 1/8th of an inch real slow and then start lapping forever it seemed like. I have a lot to learn and I might not be doing it right but it seems to work. I learned a lot from this forum. Watching jixter Bill's, im sure I didn't spell that right youtube video gave me the inspiration to try making my own dies.

[lead chucker]

That's a great idea. A couple more bowels of Captain Crunch and i will be in business

[hardcase54]

Really good job. Interested in how the swaged core comes out of the core swage die. Thanks

[runfiverun]

I just cut a hole in a big flat piece of plastic and pushed it down over the die.
once I get a little pile of the bleed off tabs I wipe them off the plastic and dump them in a cup to be recycled.

[lead chucker]

The core comes out the top of the die. The die screws into the ram. It is ejected on the handle up stroke. It's like the Dr. blackman ram for the rock Chucker press. I made up a set of plans and had a friend machinist make it for me. There is a slot that runs up the ram and a stationary pin goes through the reloading press into the slot in the ram.
My cores are 69.5 grain once I get every thing dialed in. My jacket and core come out right at 120 gr. Perfect for what I wanted for my 300 blackout.

[lead chucker]

141810Cleaned some bullets tonight and loaded some test loads. Going to head out to the range after work if weather isn't too bad. They look a lot nicer when they get all cleaned up.

[LoopSoosStroop]

Fantastic work!

[hardcase54]

Thanks

[Prospector Howard]

Good job lead chucker, nice looking bullets. Good to see another one joining the ranks making their own dies. A little surprised you could get a d-reamer to cut good enough. You must have done a dang good job making it. Have you thought about making a point die that has a shorter nose profile, so there's more bearing surface on the bullet riding on the bore? I've found that the shorter ogive bullets shoot better for me.

[lead chucker]

Prospector Howard I think you hit the nail on the head. When I shot these I tried three different loads. best I got was 1 1/2 " at 75 yards. The interesting thing was there were a coupe that were real flyers. I believe that they were not as concentric in my bullet seating as the others do to the tapper. So now That I chucked up the die in the lathe and tried to lapp that area of the die so as to get more bore bearing surface. It worked but now the base is .3095. So I ordered a Lee .308 sizer die to run them through. It took along time to make this die so if it works at least it wont be all for nothing. Any advise or insight would be apriciated.

[blaser.306]

When you say "chucked it up" What is your means of work holding? I built a ER-40 collett chuck that ( greatly ) increases repeatability. If you are using a 4 jaw you should be able to indicate it in to a very close tolerance, however if it is a 3 jaw scroll chuck chances are all bets are off as far as getting the die back into the lathe in the same relationship to the lathe's axis .

[just bill]

When you say "chucked it up" What is your means of work holding? I built a ER-40 collett chuck that ( greatly ) increases repeatability. If you are using a 4 jaw you should be able to indicate it in to a very close tolerance, however if it is a 3 jaw scroll chuck chances are all bets are off as far as getting the die back into the lathe in the same relationship to the lathe's axis .
It has been told to me that a 3 jaw can be trued to very tight tolerances as well as accuracy, however that I shouldn't rely on a used 3 jaw as such, only a new or used from a notable source, not evil bay.
I'm no lathe operator, just a garage wannabe with h hunger to make swaging stuff.

Bill

[blaser.306]

It has been told to me that a 3 jaw can be trued to very tight tolerances as well as accuracy, however that I shouldn't rely on a used 3 jaw as such, only a new or used from a notable source, not evil bay.
I'm no lathe operator, just a garage wannabe with h hunger to make swaging stuff.

Bill
Not that a 3 jaw can't be held to tight tolerance, If you have a "set tru " chuck and it has been indicated you will be closer. The wear , and mechanical parts of the scroll in the chuck itself all compound to allow for variance , I have been led to believe that a good 3 jaw scroll can be set to 1-2 thou. TIR.

[flyingmonkey35]

I'd love to see some swaging dies for my 30-06.

Just awesome work

[lead chucker]

I have been using a 4 jaw. It's time consuming but my 3 jaw is only good for things that doesnt need to be perfect. I really enjoy playing with my little lathe. I hope to make another core mold so I can make heavier cores for a 160-165 gr 30 cal. What is your guys take on using a lee push through sizer to make sure the bullets are the right diameter. I could make one but for $20.00 I will buy one. It would take me probably three hours to make one and that's if I got it right the first time.
D

[sledgehammer001]

Lead chucker, in MY experience, running a jacketed bullet through a Lee sizer die resizes the core to a certain diameter, while the jacket sizes to the correct diameter, then springs back a few thou. Lead is a 'dead' metal, meaning it has a very small amount of flex. Copper, however, is a 'live' metal, in that it tries to return to it's original size/shape. In MY experience, the lead core stays small but the copper springs back a few .0001 leaving the core to 'rattle around' inside inside the jacket.
Just my experience....

[Fishman]

Nice work! What lathe are you using?

[Ole Joe Clarke]

If your 3 jaw chuck has soft jaws, you can bore them out to fit your part and it will be concentric to the center line.

[lead chucker]

I have the sieg C 3 7x14 mini lathe. It's sold by little machine shop. I have had a lot of fun with it. It has it's limitations but I made my dies with it. Lots of small cuts. I have been giving it a work out. I think the bearings in the spindle are wearing out. Im starting to get a little play in the spindle. I'm not looking forward to taking it apart to see what's up.

[lead chucker]

143083Here are some 160 gr 30 cal bullets I made. I'm going to load some up and see how they do first chance I get. I hope they shoot good. they will be perfect for black bear and deer with my 308 Win.

[Fishman]

I have the sieg C 3 7x14 mini lathe. It's sold by little machine shop. I have had a lot of fun with it. It has it's limitations but I made my dies with it. Lots of small cuts. I have been giving it a work out. I think the bearings in the spindle are wearing out. Im starting to get a little play in the spindle. I'm not looking forward to taking it apart to see what's up.

Wow. That's really interesting. I keep reading where the small lathes are just toys but clearly that is incorrect. I would like to be able to make items like this and don't really care to do larger stuff. I'd just like to try it out. Thanks for the reply and the inspiration.

[Cane_man]

143083Here are some 160 gr 30 cal bullets I made. I'm going to load some up and see how they do first chance I get. I hope they shoot good. they will be perfect for black bear and deer with my 308 Win.

those look fantastic, I am sure they will group with no problem... you have a real talent there!

[lead chucker]

Thanks cane man. I don't know that I'm talented. I was just determined. I have a lot to learn.
The 160 gr bullets best I could get was 2 in at 100 yards and an occasional flyer. The 120 gr I had one three shot group that was 1/2 inch. This is all with my 308 win. It has a 20 inch three groove 1-13 twist PAC nor Barrel. I expected the lighter bullet to be more accurate. I think I will try to make a better point forming die with more bullet to barrel contact. My 300 blackout AR likes the 120 gr and feeds 100 % so far.