Need Mini CNC to turn bullets
- Thread starter 358Scout
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NavyShooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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- XMU Local .303
The smallest would be Sherline.
I had a Sherline 4400 Mill/Lathe combo.
Buy something bigger.
Sherline is precise, but if you want to do anything else with it, it'll be too small.
NS
I had a Sherline 4400 Mill/Lathe combo.
Buy something bigger.
Sherline is precise, but if you want to do anything else with it, it'll be too small.
NS
What kind of bullets?
If you have aspirations towards making the next Long Range record with your output, you are not gonna do it with anything 'mini'.
What's your budget?
Know anything about CNC?
Do a Google Search for the term "Hardnge Super Precision" and have a look around at what they go for. They pretty much represent about the lowest end of what might qualify as a decent CNC for bullet making, available for less than the price of a really nice new pickup truck (Full size, diesel, dually's, kind of nice, not new F150, no options kind). You'll be shopping used, and probably doing some repairs before you get up and running, unless you wish to spend that truck amount..
Pissing around with a lathe that has repeatability measured in full thousandths is gonna drive you to distraction.
If all you want to do is drill out some pistol bullets, or similar, look at the Sherline or Taig machines.
Cheers
Trev
If you have aspirations towards making the next Long Range record with your output, you are not gonna do it with anything 'mini'.
What's your budget?
Know anything about CNC?
Do a Google Search for the term "Hardnge Super Precision" and have a look around at what they go for. They pretty much represent about the lowest end of what might qualify as a decent CNC for bullet making, available for less than the price of a really nice new pickup truck (Full size, diesel, dually's, kind of nice, not new F150, no options kind). You'll be shopping used, and probably doing some repairs before you get up and running, unless you wish to spend that truck amount..
Pissing around with a lathe that has repeatability measured in full thousandths is gonna drive you to distraction.
If all you want to do is drill out some pistol bullets, or similar, look at the Sherline or Taig machines.
Cheers
Trev
I've designed a bullet for hunting and silhouette shooting. These are not long range bullets. Right now I have designs in .458 for both my Magnum and 45-70 and .452 for my 45 L Colt. The design and calculations are also applied to my 357 magnum and the 44 magnum.
I looked at the Sherline and Taig. They look cute. I have people interested in bullets and I know I will not get the consistency I need out of these machines. Dollar Wise?
You get what you pay for. I'm a perfectionist maybe to much so - but when your pushing a bullet through a barrel you cant mess around or have a "close enough" attitude.
I looked at the Sherline and Taig. They look cute. I have people interested in bullets and I know I will not get the consistency I need out of these machines. Dollar Wise?
You get what you pay for. I'm a perfectionist maybe to much so - but when your pushing a bullet through a barrel you cant mess around or have a "close enough" attitude.
You are looking at buying new, in the $80-125K range for a suitable, capable lathe. Options I would not consider optional, would be a parts catcher, and a bar feeder or puller with a pneumatic collet closer. Another $10-50K to cover tooling, software, shop supplies. You are going to need some accurate measuring equipment and a temperature controlled room, to keep it in, if you expect to be able to reliably say what the actual size of the bullet is. At the least, an decent bench micrometer, and an assortment of gage blocks to check it against, as a start for the measuring equipment. An Optical Comparator is going to make seeing what is wrong or right with the finished product, that much easier.
Or somewhere in the $5k range for a used Hardinge, accepting that it is a crapshoot that it is still in good enough condition, close to that again for tooling and supplies to get started (everything from cutting oil for the lathe, as they are not set up to deal with soluble coolant, to some bar stock and spare carbide inserts).
Trying to do this stuff on a manual machine is not impossible, but it will get to be not fun in a hurry, followed by feeling like torture, then hatred develops, and you don't want to be near the stuff any more.
Trying to pull it off with too light a machine, will make you wish you stabbed your eyes out with a fork, as you will be chasing tolerances back and forth all day.
Have you considered just farming the work out to someone that is suitably equipped? Not me, by the way. I'd be looking for someone with a CNC Swiss lathe, that was looking to keep it running, if I were going down this road. At least for the beginnings of this adventure.
The price quotes that you get back, at least, will give you a really good idea of what the cos of these should be, in real world terms.
Standard fact of life. Decimal places in the tolerances add decimal places in the bill. If you really want to spec them to .00000x, be sitting down when you see the quotes, eh.
Cheers
Trev
Or somewhere in the $5k range for a used Hardinge, accepting that it is a crapshoot that it is still in good enough condition, close to that again for tooling and supplies to get started (everything from cutting oil for the lathe, as they are not set up to deal with soluble coolant, to some bar stock and spare carbide inserts).
Trying to do this stuff on a manual machine is not impossible, but it will get to be not fun in a hurry, followed by feeling like torture, then hatred develops, and you don't want to be near the stuff any more.
Trying to pull it off with too light a machine, will make you wish you stabbed your eyes out with a fork, as you will be chasing tolerances back and forth all day.
Have you considered just farming the work out to someone that is suitably equipped? Not me, by the way. I'd be looking for someone with a CNC Swiss lathe, that was looking to keep it running, if I were going down this road. At least for the beginnings of this adventure.
The price quotes that you get back, at least, will give you a really good idea of what the cos of these should be, in real world terms.
Standard fact of life. Decimal places in the tolerances add decimal places in the bill. If you really want to spec them to .00000x, be sitting down when you see the quotes, eh.
Cheers
Trev
