Low Budget $6 check maker

[tshrcav8r]

I couldn't afford to buy a well made commercial check maker, so I made this one. It is the ultimate in crappy, low budget, low technology. I made it from a 7/16 grade 8 bolt, a 3/8 bolt, some 3/8 and 1/4 grade 8 washers and scrap oak. The disk punch is made from the 7/16 bolt with the threads cut off and the end cupped, using a Dremel tool. The 3/8 washers are used as guides for the bolt. The two halves of the disk cutter are seperated by three thicknesses of .010 flashing to give the clearance for the 5/8 strips of flashing.

The check forming cup is made of the 1/4 washer under two of the 3/8 washers. I ground down the end of the 3/8 bolt to make the check forming punch. A couple of 1/4 washers were used to create the guides for the punch in the top check forming assembly.

I am making the checks from 0.10 flashing and a layer of soda can. I hope to find some .014 flashing soon. The checks fit well on bullets dropped from a beagled Lee 312 mold. I then push them through Lee's .314 sizer. I am putting the bullets on top of steel cased 7.62x54r, that have been reworked to accept shotgun primers and sending down a Mosin 91/30.

The checks are crude, but shoot well. As you might have guessed, I have way more time than money.


Disk Punch Assembly
21124
Cupped end of disk punch, 7/17 grade 8 bolt
21125
The inside of the punch, showing 3/8 washers and spacers
21126
Check forming assembly
21127
Check forming cup and punch
21128
Guide washer on top assembly of the check former
21129
Checks and .314 cast bullet with check
21130

[JeffinNZ]

Brilliant!!!!!

[Dframe]

Looks pretty clever to me!

[jmsj]

tshrcav8r,
They say necessity is the mother of invention. It is really cool that you figured out how to make something work with what you had at hand.
Like you, I enjoy tinkering. Sometimes figuring out how to make the tools is enjoyable than the job itself. Great job.
jmsj

[edsmith]

that maker is great, any body can now make a check maker, $6 sure beats $150.00 really great thinking.

[muskeg13]

Great post. I'm off to the garage.

[wistlepig1]

Good job, it works, and didn't cost much, how can you go wrong!

[jhrosier]

tshrcav8r,

Nice work!
Sometimes just the satisfaction of making something with your own hands and limited resources is better than saving money.
I made a perfectly satisfactory priming tool to put .250" primers into 577 Snider cases with nothing more than a hacksaw, file, and hand drill. All of the materials were "found".

Jack

[.357]

I'm headed to the garage tomorrow, i wonder if i can get this done with the minimal tools that i have access to.

[tshrcav8r]

Thanks all. If you look at the pictures, you can see that the second washer on the base of the check former is above the top surface. This washer indexes the the top half of the check former assembly. On the sixth picture from the top, you can see that the 1/4 washer is recessed. The top washer on the base fits into this recess. I just used speed bore bits to recess the washers. This resulted in a kind of sloppy fit. I just used thick superglue to align the washers and hold them in place. Then I locked them into place using epoxy. This elminated the need to get the holes lined up perfectly when drilling them. I just got close and adjusted as needed to get everything lined up. I started with .010 flashing, but I was getting a tight fit on the base of the bullet. I added the soda can disk and now after sizing, the gas checks are crimped tightly into place. I just ground down the end of the 3/8 bolt until I got a good fit on the bullet base and the gas check won't tear when trying to form it. I would just grind some, try it, then grind again, until it seemed good enough. I did use calipers to make sure that outside diameter of the check was greater than .314.

Let me know now it goes, if you decide to build one. If you have improvements, please post those as well. May heads are better than one.

Thanks again, Tim

[Le Loup Solitaire]

To echo the praises of the previous posts; super thinking, courage to succeed, and nice work. I'm going to work on this for the calibers that I need checks for. I have a hacksaw, a few files, a dremel, a grinder and the luxury of a Harbor Freight drill press. And by the way, a big welcome to the forum. Thanks for sharing. LLS

[Outdoors]

Genius!

Pat

[Kskybroom]

Outstanding .....

[RugerFan]

I am putting the bullets on top of steel cased 7.62x54r, that have been reworked to accept shotgun primers and sending down a Mosin 91/30.


Really? How is that working out? Been to the range yet?

[RayinNH]

Really? How is that working out? Been to the range yet?


I'd be interested to know that also. My son and I tried that as well to one steel case. We where going to try the usual conversion that has been posted before. We removed the berdan primer and found it took a primer approximately .230" diameter. We did the drilling on a drill press for the shotgun primer. It wasn't tight enough and we had a bit of gas leakage. We need to use a lathe to bore them out for a tight fit. I know, we can buy cases, but we're guys, we like a challenge. Sorta like when you were little, mom would say don't go there. What was the first thing you did when she turned away :twisted:. Your honor I rest my case...Ray

[tshrcav8r]

I have sent a couple hundred of the rounds down range, so far no problems. I lose a couple of cases to neck splits after every reloading, I just replace them. The neck splits occur on the factory surplus rounds anyway. I had some leakage around the shotgun primers on the first reload, but I started using Harbor Freights red locktite on the primers and haven't had any issues since then. I just use a punch to knock the primers out far enough to grab them with pilers and pull them out. I started with 9 grs of Trial Boss and have increaed that to 11 grs without any excessive flatening of the primers. I use a drill with a diameter smaller than the Berdan primer to pierce the primer. Then I use a small screw driver to pry the primer out. I use the same bit to drill through the bottom of the primer pocket. I then used a letter C bit to enlarge that hole. The C bit is still smaller than the existing primer pocket, so it tends to just self center. A 21/64 bit is used to create the counterbore for the lip of the shotgun primer. I use Lee's 7.62x54r dies using their .311 expander, not the expander that comes with the die set. I am trying to figure out if after the first reloading I can just expand the neck, seat the bullet and crimp. I shoot with a couple of other guys that have Mosin's, so the supply of stell cases is almost endless. I just pick them up and throw them in a bucket of hot soapy water, let them set, then wash and rinse. I sure wish there was a source for affordable brass cases.

I agree with what Jack said. I like to putz around with stuff. If it works so much the better.

Time

[Charlie Sometimes]

Excellent! The mother of invention is necessity- and a tight budget, or empty wallet!
I like the Freechex simplicity of design, but I think I will be trying to make my own from now on, too.
Prices are getting too high, me thinks- and it's much more fun and rewarding.

Now, I'm just waiting for someone to complain that it will be too slow........

[WILCO]

brilliant!!!!!

Indeed!!!!

[saskgunowner101]

I'm going to have to try making this set up.

[David2011]

Seems like I read somewhere, maybe in this forum, that you can solder a ring of .22 casing into Berdan primer pockets so they will hold conventional large primers. Doesn't sound any harder than boring them out for 209 primers.

This is not something I've tried- just recalling from the memory banks.

David

[JIMinPHX]

Seems like I read somewhere, maybe in this forum, that you can solder a ring of .22 casing into Berdan primer pockets so they will hold conventional large primers. Doesn't sound any harder than boring them out for 209 primers.

This is not something I've tried- just recalling from the memory banks.

David

A .22 case...I never thought of that.

I've done some Berdan to Boxer conversions by using press fit bushings that I made on a lathe. More on that here - http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=50789

[GT27]

Well done sir!