Success with my adjustable core molds.

I decided to use a core mold instead of wire but I needed a way to adjust the weight of the cores. I bought a used Lee 9mm 6 cavity mold and drilled it out to .375 then added a plate to the bottom with setscrews and some hardened pins. So far it's working out very well! I also bought a used single cavity Lyman mold. This one I drilled out to .451 and added the same plate and pin system. The idea with this one was to load a sized brass into the mold and pour the core into it. This will allow me to produce a very heavy bullet or a bullet with a large lead nose. Well I tried it out last night and it works perfectly!! Here are some pics of the molds and some cores and some bullets I made from the single cavity mold that weigh in at 440 grains.

Very impressive!!!

Excellent bit of work!

As Darth Vader would say "Impressive!"

Thanks guys! It would of been easier if I had more than a bench top drill press to do the work.

For no more than a bench top drill press to work with they look fabulous. Kudos on your ingenuity.

Thanks! I'm actually looking to get a small CNC machine and a small lathe for a business venture. I'm very excited and nervous at the same time! I wonder...........how large of a lathe is required to build dies? I don't have a ton of space nor money and was looking to start out with a fairly small machine.

Those look fantastic! I use a Harbor Freight 7 x 10 that does all my die making. It is definately not a business class machine nor is it the fastest, but it handles what tinkering I do pretty well. I dream of owning one that has a little more power and will handle longer stock but as they say "untill then ---". A small mill would come in handy too but I can't swing that just yet.
Once again, Great job on the bullits. Keep us updated on how they fly ...

eagle60 wrote:Those look fantastic! I use a Harbor Freight 7 x 10 that does all my die making. It is definately not a business class machine nor is it the fastest, but it handles what tinkering I do pretty well. I dream of owning one that has a little more power and will handle longer stock but as they say "untill then ---". A small mill would come in handy too but I can't swing that just yet.
Once again, Great job on the bullits. Keep us updated on how they fly ...

Thanks for the info I ran onto something yesterday you may be interested in. It shows how to use your lathe as a mill.

http://users.picknowl.com.au/~gloaming_agnet/mill.html

I wonder how these are? http://www.ebay.com/itm/7x12-Precision-Mini-Metal-Lathe-2500RPM-400W-7-x-12-new-/270853958974?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f10276d3e#ht_752wt_1270

Thanks for link Stealthshooter. I have entertained doing something similar, just haven't made purchase of a small vise yet .
I have one of the 7 x 12 mini's also that looks almost identical to the one on the ebay link. Not bad if you could get it for the starting price with free shipping. The ones on HF are 699 plus about 90 shipping. They are somewhat of a pain to do much threading on, especially the larger diameter stock. But if you take the time to go slow the results are good. Overall though, if properly adjusted and maintained they are fine. I have no problem turning to within 1 thou and finish by polishing.
I have seriously contemplated converting the 7 x 10 into cnc with the use of stepper motors and controllers but haven't had the extra cash to persue that yet..
I am by no means an experienced machinest but just love seeing what the little lathe will do. My suggestion would be to get as much lathe as you can afford. These are fine to start with but when you get hooked on making stuff for you reloading bench, you're gonna want all the lathe you can get LOL!