Making Brass Casings

trevj said:
Starline doesn't build their cases on a lathe. They are deep drawn like the rest. They have managed to build a pretty god business up, mainly by filling in the gaps that the other makers have ignored, and by not grossly overcharging for their product. I suspect that their margins are lower than would be acceptable to the Boards of Directors of the big companies, too.

Rocky Mountain Cartridge, was, IIRC, the outfit that made mostly lathe turned brass. It was expensive, life was short, results...variable. Lots of issues with case thickness variations, heat treat and cold work issues, and generally not as good a product as the price reflected, based on what I recall reading.

But they were the only game around, for some of the older oddball stuff.

Cheers
Trev
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rocky mountain cartridge is still up and running btw
 
AlbertaSheepdog said:
So say someone wanted to manufacture brass casings en masse to sell to the reloading community... They would need to purchase one of the machines shown in this video (the one that punches the brass discs into cartridge shapes over many steps). My question is what is this machine called, how much do they cost, and are they for sale to the public or smaller private sector?

Basically... if someone wanted to start their own ammunition company, and wanted to manufacture EVERYTHING from start to finish (like winchester or another competitor) rather then simply be a "handload only" ammunition company (like canada bdx)...
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it's a drawing/forming machine i believe, which i suspect would run several hundred thousand dollars for a starter setup. i also suspect the hardest and most expensive part is getting properly licensed
 
AlbertaSheepdog said:
Does anyone know how to make their own Brass Casings?

ive scoured the internet and havnt been able to really find anything informative. Im interested to learn how Ammunition companies actually make the brass casings... what kind of machinery they use, etc. Also, Im interested to learn if there are any methods to making them on your own without the expensive machinery.
Any thoughts?
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You clearly have no idea what the term "scour" means. It took me all of 5 seconds to come up with this page in a google search. It explains the process and even has pics and everything.

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2007/06/how-cartridge-brass-is-made/

drawset20mmx300.jpg
 
The main machines are called transfer presses. They have approx 11 stations and the cases is "transferred" between each one for the next draw/trim
 
I do fully agree with all the posts that say this would not be a commercially viable undertaking, however we have numerous "basement barrel making machines" (and bullet swaging as well) that hobbyist undertake to make a barrel or two and I think making a hobby brass making machine could be made in the same spirit.
Access to a very large press (either surplus bought or at a close by shop, I have seen 150 ton hyd press on kijiji und $2500) and a hobby lathe to make some sort of extruding/forming dies and cut extractor grooves, might make, one at a time, a few useable brass for an outdated cartridge.
 
fingers284 said:
I do fully agree with all the posts that say this would not be a commercially viable undertaking, however we have numerous "basement barrel making machines" (and bullet swaging as well) that hobbyist undertake to make a barrel or two and I think making a hobby brass making machine could be made in the same spirit.
Access to a very large press (either surplus bought or at a close by shop, I have seen 150 ton hyd press on kijiji und $2500) and a hobby lathe to make some sort of extruding/forming dies and cut extractor grooves, might make, one at a time, a few useable brass for an outdated cartridge.
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it is certainly possible to do all your draws on a single machine and could even have one machine do several draws, moving each case by hand to the next station. you would then need to groove and trim the cases on another machine like a lathe. crazy idea, but possible. likely anyone with the knowledge to make the tooling would be better employed elsewhere.
 
I've been messing around with making brass shotgun shells on my lathe. I know shotgun shells are a little less detailed than some of the rifle casings out there, but it's still a slow, drawn out process on an old manual lathe. Considering what I'm left with after starting with 1" round brass stock, there is lots of material removed (or wasted if you will) that doesn't help with the cost.

I'm doing it for fun at the moment. Something I can possibly use once I get it a little more refined (or simply become better at making them).....as I'm not machinist by any means, so my skills aren't exactly stellar.

I wouldn't dare do this expecting to make a single penny off it though......not the way I'm doing it anyways.
 
ssapach said:
I've been messing around with making brass shotgun shells on my lathe. I know shotgun shells are a little less detailed than some of the rifle casings out there, but it's still a slow, drawn out process on an old manual lathe. Considering what I'm left with after starting with 1" round brass stock, there is lots of material removed (or wasted if you will) that doesn't help with the cost.

I'm doing it for fun at the moment. Something I can possibly use once I get it a little more refined (or simply become better at making them).....as I'm not machinist by any means, so my skills aren't exactly stellar.

I wouldn't dare do this expecting to make a single penny off it though......not the way I'm doing it anyways.
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And that's about the only practical application for Turning cases on a lathe. Large bore, straight walled cases can be readily made. If I wanted to make a 37mm field gun, I would likely choose to turn the cases.
 
I'm practicing with 10 gauge, which are also available to buy, but not very cheap either. If I have the tools and the time, the cost is basically the brass. Based on how much I use to make a shell, it's cheaper than either of the 2 places I've found who sell them. Not by much though......and it takes me a while.
 
Well, keep in mind that ammo brass needs to be work hardened - the usual Rockwell "B" hardness is between 76 to 92 (avg around 82). This will be of little issue with a low pressure, but when it comes to high-power calibers / loads, it's a much different story.
 
perhaps worth while to make some 37x94R, but then you really don't need a few thousand cases.....







Oh and I think this thread fits a little better in the bullet making forum.

a lot more talk of swageing stuff in here
 
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Could you not spin form it like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBKT7o-VRcw would need a large diameter disk that you can cut cut down to make the base so it looks like this
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then spin form it over a mandrel into a straight walled case then turn the outside down to the correct out side dimension. Then take it and form the neck and shoulder area in a press and die?

Well its not posting my picture the way it looks when I hit post(stupid). Like a bowl with a really big rim on it.
 
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