SWAGING Estate sale find. Need help!

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Since I started casting and have followed the conversations on the forum, I have found myself curious about swaging. I am not of the financial position to ever be able to go out and buy new swaging equipment such as Corbin but I have been hoping to find something used and cheap to play with. I think I have found it but am so ignorant of swaging that I am not sure of what I am looking at. The items I have pictured were in an old broken down cabinet of drawer. The first one I open contained some finished bullets in .308, .264, .257 and .224. Then I got excited. After opening just a few more drawers I took the plunge and made an offer on the whole cabinet. Ashamed to say what I paid but I am certain that you probably could maybe buy lunch for you and your wife if you were careful!

Anyway I need help identifying what I have. I can't find any makers mark on anything. I have seriously wondered if the was not homemade stuff. If so he was a good machinist or tool maker.

I really need guidance if I am ever to make these hidden treasures come back to life.157228157229157230157231157232157233157235157 236157237157238Have 4 more pictures but will post them separately.

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Here's more.157239157240157241157242

Some of the items pictured look like he was making molds for a muzzle loading?

[rancher1913]

looks like a real treasure trove, but good luck figuring out what goes with what. maybe you can find a person in the know on here that is close and can help sort things out. wish I could stumble on something like that.

[BT Sniper]

Holy Sheep!

First thing to do is figure out what press/presses the dies fit.

Good find!

BT

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Your are correct Rancher, I definitely need some knowledgeable advise. At least maybe I can be led to the best books on the subject.

Thanks for the reply.
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The threads on most of it is 7/8-14. The dies on the first pictures have a smaller shank. There is one adaptor there that is that size on the inside and 7/8-14 on the outside.

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Think I will go out to the shop and measure the smaller threaded portions and report back.

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Think I will go out to the shop and measure the smaller threaded portions and report back.

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Checked the smaller thread and it is 9/16-18.

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[runfiverun]

if you could go back and find the press or presses he used a lot of it would make more sense.
some of looks like it's for a reloading press and some looks like it's for an S&S type press.
I would spend some time with my calipers and sort things out into groups of the same size then go from there.

[DukeInFlorida]

Worthless JUNK. Send it all to me. I'll pay the postage, and send you gift cards for TWO lunches at some big box restaurant.


J/K.....

It's quite a find that you have there. We'll be hard pressed matching up all the parts that go with each set. I hope that you kept the parts that were in each drawer somewhat together. Most likely the parts that go together were close together.

And, I agree... the PRESSES are just as important as are all the tools. I'd have to bet the guy had the right presses (considering the tools)....

[leeggen]

As excited as BT Sniper seems he might fly out to just touch it. He seems to have a great smarts for this type of equipment.
CD

[labradigger1]

Holy cow you did good!

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Unfortunately the cabinet with the drawers had no back and when they were moving it they dumped a bunch of the drawers out and looks like they just shoveled them back in anywhere to pick things up. I tried to make some order out of it but my severely limited knowledge made it a wild guess at best. As far as the presses are concerned everything and everyone involved are gone, so that is a dead end, unfortunately. I sure appreciate everyone's input. I hope to get more,

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[bullet maker 57]

Some of the dies and punches might be "Pearce". I have a few that look similar.

[.30harris]

Nice find! Some of the dies look like they're off of Bahler and Astles sets.
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Looking for books on swaging but there is not much out there except for the new Corbin offerings. Any suggestions?

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[R.Ph. 380]

You're in the best forum to find help. I'll bet BT, Duke, Bullet Maker 57 can cast an eye on some closer pictures and start you on the right path.

Bill

[clodhopper]

Where are you located in Oregon? BT is in over on the wet side, I sometimes make a trip to see my brother in Nyssa.

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Where are you located in Oregon? BT is in over on the wet side, I sometimes make a trip to see my brother in Nyssa.

I am on the really wet side, Seal Rock (just south of Newport on Hwy. 101)

[clodhopper]

I stopped there summer before last. Nice place.
A few years ago I purchased a collection of swaging tools from an estate. I got three presses in the deal and one had dies and punches installed.
With that little bit of guidance I eventually figured out what most the parts were.
These crazy swagers/reloaders get ideas for projects and acquire stuff that might be useful.
It would not surprise me if you never do find out what some of those tools do.

[Wayne Smith]

If some of those two diameter short dies that have a base pin are not threaded they may fit the CH/Herters press. There would be a separate nose punch that has threads for a 5/16(I think) bolt. This would be a nose punch on one end and typically a larger boss on the other end with the threaded hole for the bolt.

[Bent Ramrod]

If you have The Corbin Technical Bulletins, Discover Swaging and Rediscover Swaging by the Corbins already, about the only other places you will find writeups on swaging dies are in the series of books entitled The Ultimate In Rifle Precision, published roughly annually by the Bench Rest Shooters' Association in the late '40's and early '50's. All these references only cover the more prominent makers of swaging dies, none of whom were large volume producers in any case. Many diemakers just stamped their name and address on the box the dies came in; no marks on the metal at all. It does look like your stuff was homemade to an extent at least. Photos 9 and 10 show the point forming reamers (some made from drills, some half reamers) and what looks like brass laps.

There are a few pictures of swaging dies by the main producers in some of the earlier Handloader's Digests, as well. Bullet swaging had a vogue in the '50's and early '60's and then kind of lost its mass appeal.

Since you got your haul so cheaply, you would do well to invest the money you saved in a set of pin gauges and a good micrometer caliper that reads in tenths. You could at least sort the dies and punches into categories likely to work with each other. Then you could do some cautious experiments on pure lead slugs to see what the dies size and shape to, and which punches fit what dies without squeezing flash out past them or sticking.

There aren't much in the way of "standards" for bullet swage dies, but 7/8" x 14 tpi is what many makers used to fit their dies to reloading presses. The 9/16" x 18 tpi (these varied) commonly screwed into a holder of 7/8" x 14 tpi and had ejector pins to fit the individual dies. Or they could screw into a ram holder in a specialized swaging press, with automatic ejection in the ram and the punch at the end of the press.

[shooterg]

Some old swagers on www.saubier.com , might post there.

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Did a bit more sorting and discovered that in addition to .223, .256, .264, and 308, there is a set of .277. :bigsmyl2: On the some of the dies of the same caliber there are numbers on the bottom of the screw end, such as 8, then 9 on the next. Others have no #'s. These numbers do not look hand punched like a letter set but more like factory stamped or etched. Some of the jacket forming dies had bullets in them that I pushed out (easily). He might have left them in there thinking it would impede corrosion the same idea some folks have of leaving boolits in a lead mold while not in use.

It is an adventure and I am sure I will be learning a lot just by this exercise. One of the dies I was looking at while separating by caliber was cracked so I have a void (at least one) in a set. Thanks to all for your help and advice.

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[Randy C]

Its nice to see some one find treasures like this it makes and keeps our hobby going, I wonder if there is someone at your local sporting good stores / gun shop that could help you sort all the parts out, it helps to have bullet's to match up some of your dies, punches and numbers on them find a pattern to the numbers stamped on everything, keep us up to date.

[bullet maker 57]

Looks to me like you got the other half of the stuff I got. I see some LLF swaging dies mixed in the pile. I have quite a few dies that look just like what you have. I have different rams for different presses. Trying to figure out the ram situation. I have rifle as well as pistol dies and punches. Did you get any jackets with this stuff?