Bullets Not Completely Forming

[gvanzeggelaar]

Hi There,

I have just started swaging and have been doing a bunch of experimenting. I am using C4H Dies in a RCBS press.

I am swaging 44 bullets for trimmed 4o s&w casings with the rim removed. Now the problem is the bullet is not forming completely. The tip comes out roundish and rough. I am using plenty of pressure.

The picture I have attached is off a bullet that I have played with by moving the ejector up and down and swaging it over and over. This the end result I am looking for but it takes forever and about 5 passes through the die to get it. Could it be that my lead is to hard or am I not using enough pressure?

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn222/gvanzeggelaar/IMG_1789.jpg

[ReloaderFred]

Are you annealing the brass before swaging? This makes quite a bit of difference, as well as the purity of the lead being used for the core. The softer the lead and brass, the easier it is to squash into the shape you want.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[gvanzeggelaar]

gvanzeggelaar,

You want to use just enough pressure to expand the jacket and core to die diameter, any more than that is just placing undue stress on the die.

I have encountered the same situation that you describe, especially when making hollow points.

Check to see that you do not have a build up of swaging lube in the die, as this will prevent the lead core from flowing out to conform to the internal cavity of your die.

Set your swage die up so that the press cams over center when you form your bullet. This will permit you to give the handle two or three strokes over center before ejecting the bullet and helps to get the lead nose to fill the die completely without having to use as much pressure as a single pass would require.

PB


I will give this a try and see what happens. Thanks

[Southron Sanders]

I was swaging HP bullets and found that the HP was not forming completely. The curlpit turned out to be TOO MUCH LUBE collecting in the part of the die where the HP is formed.

SO, after that, I would use a Q-Tip to clean out that area of the die and for a while, perfect bullets would result until the lube built up again.

I was using that COMMERCIAL SWAGING LUBE that is probably lanolin. I PERNAMENTLY SOLVED THE PROBLEM when I quit using that commercial swaging lube and started LIGHTLY SPRAYING MY CORES WITH "PAM", i.e, the "Non-stick" stuff my wife uses to spray down the frying pan before using it for cooking.

Now, I use the generic "Pam" as my swaging lube and it WORKS MUCH BETTER THAN THAT COMMERCIAL SWAGING LUBE (Cheaper also!) BEST of all, I no longer have a problem with partially formed HP's due to a lube build-up in the nose of the die!!!

[sargenv]

I'm curious about how much lube you were using? Were you coating this stuff on or putting a little dab on your finger and lubing the bullet as you were inserting it up into the swage die? It only takes a very small amount.. I ask since I use a 50-50 mix of Anhydrous Lanolin and Castor Oil to form my 40 cal bullets from 9mm brass and cores.. I no longer anneal the brass as it doesn't appear to need it. Most of mine are coming out between .3995" and .4000" (same as when the brass was annealed) and my method is run my index finger across the lube, picking up just a dab, rubbing it between my thumb and middle finger, grabbing a handful of seated cores and lubing them between thumb and index finger as they go into the die..

[Southron Sanders]

I knew that it took 'just a little bit of lube' to swage bullets. I was applying the lube by rolling my cores on a "ink pad" that instead of ink, had lube in it.

Using the "commercial swaging lube" I was lubing my cores "one at a time" which was slowing down my bullet production. With the "PAM" I lightly spray an entire tray of my cores, roll them around to spread the PAM and forget about any more lubing.

THIS HAS REDUCED THE TIME IT TAKES ME TO LUBE MY CORES BY 1000%!

So the advantages of PAM are: 1. Much faster to lube your cores. 2. No "hydraulic dents" in the nose of your HP's!