Taking Bullet Making to a Higher Standard

Boolitcaster

Boolitcaster

CGN Regular
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Location
Vancouver Island
I have cast, made my own gas checks, paper patched and powder coated. Now I am swaging.

180 grain .312" flat points drawn down from 223 brass. During the core bonding step they go the nice copper colour, probably from the flux that I am using.

I hope the photo takes....
 
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For you that are interested in the process, I can describe the steps.

Be forewarned though, that this is a labour intensive process, and the tooling to do the different steps took over a year to acquire from a custom die maker and cost close to $2,000 CDN.

I thought long and hard about going down this road and finally decided to do it only because I knew that the creative process would bring me joy. I really like playing with my toys.

More to follow.
 
1. Cut casings to desired length. For these flat points, I cut the cases to .870" with a pipe cutter and then turned down the last few thousandths to .863" with a Lyman case trimmer. ( done while camping as what else is there to do? )
2. Anneal cases for 20 minutes at 900 F in a Lyman 20 lb lead pot.
3. Tumble for 2 hours with citric acid, soap and stainless media.
4. In my swage press, I draw the .374" diameter cases down to .350" using a custom draw die. Lube used is 50/50 Anehydrous Lanolin and Castor Oil.
5. Repeat step 2
6. Repeat step 3
7. Draw .350" casings down again with custom .330" die.
8. Repeat step 2
9. Repeat step 3
10. Draw .330" casings down again with .316" die.
11. Repeat step 2
12. Repeat step 3
13. Draw .316 casings down to .307" ( let's call them jackets now )
14. Cast cores from soft lead with custom mould
15. Swage cores with custom die which matches the inside dimensions of jackets.
16. Repeat step 3 for jackets.
17. Repeat step 3 for cores.
18. Seat cores in jackets with a drop of flux in bottom of jacket.
19. Melt cores into jackets.
20. Repeat step 3 with bonded cores/jackets
21. Using core seating die, mash lead core into jacket until it swells to inside diameter of die - .312"
22. Using point forming die, form nose of bullet.
23. Final cleaning in media solution to remove last of swage lube. - you are now done.

Now wan't that easy? Ha, ha.
I can provide pictures at certain stages of the process, but do hate trying to post pics on this site.
 
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That is so cool! I need to get better at making all my random projects come to life. Your determination and can do attitude is very inspiring!
 
Of course, the making of the jackets takes the majority of the time.
I will pay more attention to time as I work through the next batch and let you know.
Easily several hours to make 100 start to finish.

Previously the cutting and hand trimming of 5.56 cases took an excessive amount of time. I just acquired a metal lathe, so shortly that step should be greatly abbreviated. I intend to sell some of these bullets, but at a substantial loss and just to avoid turning into a bullet hoarder. I am just in this little exercise to keep busy and play with some really cool toys.
 
2.66 hrs just in the drawing of 100 brass down to jackets. That is timed with only applying swage lube and feeding through the four required draw dies. Additional time is taken for feeding the annealer and cleaning the brass between draws. Add in cutting casings and trimming, changing dies and punches, and the final steps of cleaning, core seating and nose forming......
I would guess conservately, that there must be at least 6 hrs time invested to make 100 bullets. That also does not factor the time while the cases are annealing and cleaning.

I thought about this for almost 3 years before ordering the dies, thinking about the time investment required and the expense.
But, meh, we only live once and need to do these things. Especially when we can't stop thinking about them.
 
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that's next level man.
i've wondered what this process would entail and the cost..... and for .303 bullets too so this answers all those questions
thanx for posting this.
 
I have been using Masters Soldering Paste which I picked up at Home Hardware. Because it is a paste, I have been dipping the core in it and getting a very little bit on, then dropping the core into the jacket. Holding over a propane torch with pliers, I let the core become fully liquid and then let the flux bubble to the top and burn off. I then dip the jacket and pliers into a dish of water.
During this process, the lead settles lower in the case, so I have to assume all voids are being filled. The only way to tell for sure though, would be to cross section a bullet.
 
Boolitcaster said:
I have been using Masters Soldering Paste which I picked up at Home Hardware. Because it is a paste, I have been dipping the core in it and getting a very little bit on, then dropping the core into the jacket. Holding over a propane torch with pliers, I let the core become fully liquid and then let the flux bubble to the top and burn off. I then dip the jacket and pliers into a dish of water.
During this process, the lead settles lower in the case, so I have to assume all voids are being filled. The only way to tell for sure though, would be to cross section a bullet.
Click to expand...

Or you could do the "roll test". Use a piece of glass 12 to 18" long, place on a level table and elevate one end 3 or 4 " high, now start rolling your bullets at dead center on the high end. If your bullets have voids in them they will roll off-center by the time they get to the bottom of the glass...much simpler and quicker than cross-sectioning.
 
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