Core mold for BT one step

[ETG]

Here is a pic of the modified mold. Trying to get as close a fit as possible. the last size I used would not slide all the way down because of the inside taper of the case. I used a smaller ball endmill to take out the final .1" - too much. Fine if your using a core seater but too big for the one step. I have one more cavity to play with before this mold is history. I would like to get it down for both the hollow point and a flat point. Really nice not to have to bell cases or size your cores and just drop them in. Probably have to order a couple of 6 cavity molds to play with to find right combination.

http://members.cox.net/etgoddard/IMGP1428.JPG

[buck1]

Thanks for posting the pics! Let us know how the seat die works out for you.....Buck

[BT Sniper]

I came across a great signature from one of the members here on the sight. It was somthing like" there is no mistakes in swaging only boring out to next caliber". Not word for word but when it comes to altering core molds it holds true. Don't scrap it completely as I'm sure it will be usfull in some aspect of future projects.

Nice work by the way. Was that the 175 TC to start with? What weight core are you shooting for? Do you want exposed lead at the tip of your finished bullet above the jacket? I was setting these dies up to make the lead flush with top of jacket with 175 core, atleast that was my goal. Looks like that much lead may make for a FN nose with the lead flush with jacket.

Keep us posted. I have severial modified molds myself, actually tortured is more like it.

Swage On!

BT

[ETG]

Actually it started out as a Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold 356-120-TC 9mm Luger, 38 Super, 380 ACP (356 Diameter) 120 Grain Truncated Cone. That ended up being too small for the 40 from 9mm one step - LOL.

[runfiverun]

but with the seater/notching die they would fit?

[ETG]

but with the seater/notching die they would fit?

Not real sure what you are asking. A core seater die will bleed off any excess lead from the core. Not sure what you are referring to about notching.

[BT Sniper]

Not sure it will help but when I seat a core and I want to have the lead and jacket meat at top I usually have the core seated .10 deeper then top of jacket. Might need a little deeper with the larger HPs you guys have with the one step. I'm sure you go slow you will eventually get the perfect size.

BT

[ETG]

Yeah - that's what I want is a small edge of lead right at the lip. When I anneal with the cores in the cases most of time the lead is way below the lip when I swedge it requiring 3-5 #8 shot to get it where I want it. I know there will be differences with different cases but I would like to try to get a setup that will work most of the time with minimal re-swaging. The only thing I can figure is that the cast cores are not filling out the bottom of the cases when cold swedged.

[ETG]

but with the seater/notching die they would fit?

I think I know what you are asking. The 120 grain 9mm was to small for the 9mm to 40 bullet - lead way below the lip. That's why I took that mold to experiment on making cores for the 44 bullets. It could have been 17 caliber - I was boring it out to just sub shot 40 cal case id so it would just slide right in without belling the cases.

[runfiverun]

yeah i am using bt's notching thing to seat cores and notch the jacket/core with.
if i had the slip fit core i could seat and notch at one step without belling then swage the hollow or flat point in the point forming die.

still super new at this and don't know all the die names but i know what they do. or what i use them for anyways.

[ETG]

Well, there is more variance in different cases which makes a "perfect" core mold impossible. A winchester case weighs about 72gr. With a 186gr core the lead comes up slightly above the jacket. Same 186gr core in a Fiocchi case which weighs 63gr and the lead is .050" below the top of the jacket and not filled out evenly around. Thinking it would be better to stick with one or two brands of cases and have the core large enough to slightly overfill the case then trim it off. Yeah, it's quite a few more steps but it sure makes a purdy bullet. The front one is the Fiocchi case with the same weight core used in the others that I had enough to trim off the excess.
http://members.cox.net/etgoddard/IMGP1436.JPG

[buck1]

Looking good there ETG! What dia. hole did you decide on for the drop in .44 cal boolits?


I might add that I have been useing a tapered crimp die and not adding a canalure. One less step and seems to work fine in the 44 mag. NO jumped crimps at full house mag loads.....Buck

[runfiverun]

the fiocchi case could be filled with a few bird shot to even out the core and case.
as could other brands.

[BT Sniper]

ETG

Looks great! Are you trimming extra lead with a camfer trimmmer of some sort? Does look good. Keep it up.

BT

[ETG]

Buck1 - I'll have to measure it. I bought a bunch of resharpened endmills off flea-bay and just chose one that would fit fairly snug in a fired 40 case. Drops around 185-186gr.

Runfiverun - yes I have used #8 shot to fill out. The fiocchi takes about 5-6 pellets to fill it out but takes several additional sweges to do. As long as I have a bunch of cases it's faster to just use the cases that work with one swege and use the others to load 40 cal.

BT - I'm using a 90 degree carbide countersink. I'm going to make a head to fit on an old Lyman Universal case trimmer to hold the countersink. Having trouble finding a 7/16x20 bolt so will have to turn it down from 1/2" stock. Anyone have any tricks for getting out a hex head set screw that has been rounded out? Bought the old case trimmer at a yard sale probably 20 years ago and never used it.

[DukeInFlorida]

Which is EXACTLY why I am using the WCC head stamped brass that I got a 1/2 barrel of. Those are all dead nuts exactly the same. Never any variance.

However, I am feeling (still) that the length of the bullet is too long for the .40 case. That's why I am still persuing a way to shorten the 9mm cases, and make a core that gets me to 165 grains. That would be a good length, and a good weight, and I can hit that consistently with my WCC brass.



Well, there is more variance in different cases which makes a "perfect" core mold impossible. A winchester case weighs about 72gr. With a 186gr core the lead comes up slightly above the jacket. Same 186gr core in a Fiocchi case which weighs 63gr and the lead is .050" below the top of the jacket and not filled out evenly around. Thinking it would be better to stick with one or two brands of cases and have the core large enough to slightly overfill the case then trim it off. Yeah, it's quite a few more steps but it sure makes a purdy bullet. The front one is the Fiocchi case with the same weight core used in the others that I had enough to trim off the excess.

[ETG]

I am also looking at shortening the 9mm - a little too long for my liking. The 44 is fine. What I plan to do is take two aluminum bars .5"x1.25" about 7" long and clamp them together in a mill vice. I'll bore 12-14 holes the diameter of a 9mm case and to the depth I want the case. Next I am going to take .005"-.010" off the face of one or both bars. That will let me put the cases in the holes and they will be held tight when clamped in the vise. Chuck a thin slicing saw in the mill, set it at the top of the plates and hit the power feed. Can reload the bar and cut going back in the other direction. I think it should make uniform cases rather quickly. You might possibly be able to do this on a drill press with a cross-slide vice unless there is too much chatter.

[sargenv]

I bought one of those $30 chop off saws from harbor freight.. and then created a mount for trimming 38 spl cases. Initially I bought a 1" x 1" bar of steel that was 12" long and cut off a one cubic inch piece of it. I then bored a 3/8 Inch hole in it and then carefully expanded the hole to accept a 38 spl case.. using a half round jeweler's file. I finally got the case to fit it and tried it in the saw. I found that it was a bit too tall for the little vice it has and then trimmed about 1/8" - 3/16's of an inch off one side and tried it again. I was then able to get it to fit where the chop saw vice is and the blade cuts it perfectly through. I proceeded to trim about 500 pieces of 38 spl brass. I'm doing this so that I can fire the shortened cases using moon clip holders I already had for my 627. I didn't want to go the route of using short or long colt since I'd have to buy new (read as expensive) moons from Hearthco and brass from Starline. I trimmed the 38's to about 38 super length and they load nice and quick now.

I don't see why this can't be accomplished for 9mm brass. I know 9mm is tapered, I think the next thing I try will be to make up a mount only 1/2" thick, and formed to the 9mm taper. The difficult part would be to make them consistent since with the 38 spl, I could shove the brass all the way in up to the rim. Since 9mm is rimles, I may have to do it based on the taper of the case. It will likely take a little more work. If I had a chamber reamer for 9mm, that would likely make it much easier than my "drilling a hole and enlarging it with a file" method. It will likely take some trial and error but in the long run would make it all worth it.

I can post pictures later once I get home showing the 38 spl mount. It is ugly but functional. The only tools I have in my arsenal for metal working are files, a drill press, drill bits, a vice, a dremel, and elbow grease..

[airmung]

Has anyone tried a .40 bullet made from .380 cases? Is it way too short?

[runfiverun]

the 380 cases kinda work but leave a bit of lead exposed.
you ideally need a case about half way between the two.

[ETG]

380 cases are worth their weight in gold right now - not practical to use for jackets.

[ETG]

I bought one of those $30 chop off saws from harbor freight.. and then created a mount for trimming 38 spl cases. Initially I bought a 1" x 1" bar of steel that was 12" long and cut off a one cubic inch piece of it. I then bored a 3/8 Inch hole in it and then carefully expanded the hole to accept a 38 spl case.. using a half round jeweler's file. I finally got the case to fit it and tried it in the saw. I found that it was a bit too tall for the little vice it has and then trimmed about 1/8" - 3/16's of an inch off one side and tried it again. I was then able to get it to fit where the chop saw vice is and the blade cuts it perfectly through. I proceeded to trim about 500 pieces of 38 spl brass. I'm doing this so that I can fire the shortened cases using moon clip holders I already had for my 627. I didn't want to go the route of using short or long colt since I'd have to buy new (read as expensive) moons from Hearthco and brass from Starline. I trimmed the 38's to about 38 super length and they load nice and quick now...

I use to make 38 short blanks out of 38 special for my 37mm. I got a 2' piece of square tubing and drilled about 36 holes in it that the 38 cases would fit in. Clamped it to the workbench top and ran a die grinder with a 3" cutoff wheel across the top of the tubing. The rim on the 38 case makes it a lot easier to cut down. I did buy one of those little cutoff saws a year or so back to cut 1/4"x 1/2" aluminum bar stock. It wouldn't cut it without constant flow of coolant/lube so I returned it. Maybe it would work better on thin brass but sure would be slow.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Has anyone tried a .40 bullet made from .380 cases? Is it way too short?
I trimmed some 9mm Luger cases with the LEE length/trimmer to the length of a 380. then used a 120gr Soft Lead core. end result is 180 gr. FN.

see the large group of about 20 in this photo.
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/100_1045.jpg
the next single on to the right is a 193 gr. FN with a 9 case
the next few to the right are 180gr. HP with a 9 case trimmed to a 380.
the last group on the farthest right are 193 gr. HP in a 9 case.
Jon

PS the 193 gr. bullets have a core that weighs about 132gr.

[sargenv]

Maybe it would work better on thin brass but sure would be slow.

I can get about 5-6 cases per minute with the way I have it set up.. I was able to crank out about 500 in a couple of hours over two sittings. These are my pictures below.

[DukeInFlorida]

I like your saw fixturing design. Something like that should also work for cutting the 9mm cases down to size. I want to try plugging in the core, and then cutting both the brass and core, so that I get less weight and less length at the same time.

[ETG]

You may have trouble trying to cut case and core at the same time. The one I had wouldn't cut 1/4" aluminum without continuous coolant on the blade.

[BT Sniper]

Looking good guys. Now that you have the mini chop saw the next step is to find some berdan primmed riffle brass or any brass really. I'll show you the next step in free bullets/jackets in a new thread.

Swage on!

BT

[ETG]

What I want are some 650-700gr 50s from berdan 308.

[BT Sniper]

Belted mag cases with rim macined off is closer match and yes that would be cool! Someday. I am working my way there.

[blaser.306]

You will likely have to go to a "belted" magnum case withe the belt sheared or turned off for the big .50

[bohica2xo]

Should be no problem to run a .473 rim out to .510 If I can make .452's from 9mm brass, you can make 50's from 308's

No need to turn belted cases.

B.

[ETG]

I have read other threads where 308 and 3006 were used to make 50 BMG. Your only talking 45 thou or so. Rim doesn't have to be full size - a boattail sure isn't .510 at the back. Sure would be a good use of all that berdan brass I pick up.

[ETG]

Belted mag cases with rim macined off is closer match and yes that would be cool! Someday. I am working my way there.

Belted cases could be sold for more that you can buy pulled projos. Turning the belts off and then processing wouldn't be cost effective - might be cool just to say you did but the raw material would be worth more than the end product.

[BT Sniper]

True unless they where worn out cases I suppose. Thats a lot of lead too. Someday.......