New way to make lead cores for big-bore swaging?

[tiger762]

Using the 50cal 1.25" long jacket itself (weighing 103.5 grains), place in it 496.5 grains of lead extruded wires that one accumulates a bucket of from swaging lesser rounds. Just put the jacket on the scale and add lead scrap bits until the total is 600 grains (or whatever desired weight). Now set it aside.

Once you have 50 or 100 or 200 of them, melt the lead in the jacket. Propane torch or stand them up in a shallow lead melting pot. Let the lead melt. Then let it cool. Then have them re-enter the swaging process at the core seat step, and call it a day...

Just reflecting on how:

1. Lead wire price is obscene
2. Using an adjustable core mold is slow
3. Either of the above two processes require swaging the core.

I might try it this weekend..

[clodhopper]

Good use for the extrusions. Hope they shoot ok.

[BT Sniper]

It's a good idea in theory..... one potential problem with using the small lead wire extrusions (many possible diameters but call it .062ish in diameter I suspect and any variety of length) is that by filling the jacket with these small wires of lead it will allow for too much air space (before the lead is melted) not allowing you to get to the full weight bullet you are looking for. I suppose you could do two melts, adding additional lead wires after you melt the first but this would seem to defeat the purpose of speed and efficiency.

I never had much luck melting cores, I had all sorts of challenges, spilled lead, trapped air pockets, etc.. but as I always say, anything is possible, heck.... I even went so far as to make a powder trickler to trickle lead powder into jacket to get exact weights. In the end I still cast and swage cores.


In the annealing sticky a member posted a pic of his jackets (40S&W) all lined up in a pan of sorts that he anneals and melts the lead core all at once in a kiln. His method looks to be pretty good.

Keep us posted. Good shooting and swage on!

BT

[Sasquatch-1]

Why not cast several bullets that will fit in the jacket and get you near your target weight. Then make up the rest with the squirts. Seems like you would be working at it a long time to get 50 rounds. When core forming for my 44's I don't think I get 500 grns of lead squirts from a couple sessions. Also it goes back in the pot for more cores.

[tiger762]

Yeah, that's a good point. To make 500gr cores, I could take two 230gr 45's or two 240gr 44's. I measured the height of the Lee 6-cavity molds I have. It was around 1.14". If it were taller, I'd take a mold and drill all six out to 0.41" for cores for both 45 and 50cal. Just thinking out loud here...

[BT Sniper]

How heavy of bullet you trying to make? Around 600?

I'll have to check but I'm certain I was able to get that heavy using a standard lee mold. I drilled ALL THE WAY threw it then attached a aluminum piece to the bottom.

BT

[BT Sniper]

.437" @ 1.15" in length gave me 475 grain cores with pure lead.

That was the lee mold I bored out (milled a few thousands off the bottom to make it flat) and attached a new base to it.

I don't think I'll be using it much any more if you are interested.

BT

[tiger762]

PM Sent

[tiger762]

Yes, exactly. The jackets weight 103.3-103.5 grains. So to make 500 grain cores and bleed off a few grains would be perfect.


How heavy of bullet you trying to make? Around 600?

I'll have to check but I'm certain I was able to get that heavy using a standard lee mold. I drilled ALL THE WAY threw it then attached a aluminum piece to the bottom.

BT

[tiger762]

Here's a question for you all. Suppose one puts three 167 grain bullets in the core swage, and bleeds off the excess to 500 grains. Carefully remove it from the die and seat it in the jacket. Will the bullet perform poorly due to the core not being one piece? The swaging pressure will fuse it together, to a point. I have tried it and for the most part it will hold together but if I drop the swaged core it will fall apart. Wondering if terminal performance would be affected?

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I would bet it would be fine as long as you seat it well in the jacket. There *should* still be enough surface area of jacket squeezing the "fragmented" core to keep it from spinning.

This would be an interesting test...

[xman777]

I'm in the process of building a spin caster to try and make say 100 cores at a time. I started it this winter and since the weather has been nice its just sitting there waiting on me to finish.

[BT Sniper]

Here's a question for you all. Suppose one puts three 167 grain bullets in the core swage, and bleeds off the excess to 500 grains. Carefully remove it from the die and seat it in the jacket. Will the bullet perform poorly due to the core not being one piece? The swaging pressure will fuse it together, to a point. I have tried it and for the most part it will hold together but if I drop the swaged core it will fall apart. Wondering if terminal performance would be affected?


The first 50 BMG bullets I made used this 475 grain core with a 148 grain .358 core on top of it with the 200 grain jacket to get me to 825 grains. I didn't even bleed them before I seated them in the jacket, I did squish them in a die first but they performed very well in competition but when you are after the utmost in accuracy I would have to assume one solid core would have to be better????

You can see the two lead cores I used, first as cast, then as smashed :) but not bleed yet as I didn't have a bleed die machined yet back then.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/020_zps9244efd2.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/020_zps9244efd2.jpg.html)

p.s. PM sent

[KAYDADOG]

I made the investment to purchase Corbin's lead core swaging die setup after I completed my hydraulic press. It takes only several seconds to swage a lead wire about 24" long depending on core diameter. Very easy to cut cores with this length. Soft lead however is required.
I thought Corbin's price at about $7.00 pound was high but Roto Metals is even higher with limited sizes.
Using Corbin's setup any diameter wire can be made.
If making only 44/cal cores at $7.00 pound for lead would be about 70/lbs lead=aprox. 2000 cores = $490.00 for lead wire plus shipping.
This alone justifies making the die invesment.