Swaging Information

yea thats what im wanting to do its gonna be a while i really dont have the money but i want one eventually next year maybe! for those who have or had thid press are they strong enough to swage on?? i want it to double as my swage press whenever i get into swaging thats why i want the classic it has all steel linkages and the case base instead of the pop metal!

Just want to say sorry Dart for taking your Turret Press question and go beyond that with alot of info about swaging. I know you asked about swaging, but myself and others have taken it further.

So, as not to take away from the Turret Press discussion. and decided to bring swaging discussion here to where it should be.

Reload3006 and Bill have more information on Larry Blackmon regarding his stuff. He has a BSSP press which is dedicated to swaging for 150.00

His number is: 318-387-7257

Not sure what the wait time is. I know Reload3006 stated he has the RC Conversion kit, and if not mistaken, so does Bill. I will let them continue the discussion on this stuff. Both has pro's and cons. The only Cons I can think of, you can't use regular reloading dies on the BSSP Press, they have to be special made which takes time. Not sure how the conversion kit works for the RC though..

Reload3006, I myself not sure how to take vids off of a camcorder and put on PC. I have the small cam's that takes te sd card that just slides into my computer card reader....

No dart, I would not recommend swaging on that. The arms going down from the turrets wiill not be strong enough. If you really want to get into swaging with reloading dies, I highly recommend you just buy a RCBS Rockchucker. The Lee cast like you have will work but you have to have steel linkages. Swaging requires quite a bit of pressure. As much as I love Lee stuff, they are made for reloading. I do believe in getting the right tool for the right job. RCBS started out making their press's for swaging before they even thought about reloading. They still make their press's (well chineese now forges them and then sends them back over here, I have heard that RCBS has brought production back to the us but I am not sure) to handle swaging. Now with that in mind, have it dedictated to swaging. The arm where you press the shellholders into will collapse under pressure making it hard to put the punch in and out. So dedicated it with a punch in place and use a reloading press for reloading.

Just from personal experience do I suggest this.

ok thanks alot that was what i needed to know!

Daywalker wrote:No dart, I would not recommend swaging on that. The arms going down from the turrets wiill not be strong enough. If you really want to get into swaging with reloading dies, I highly recommend you just buy a RCBS Rockchucker. The Lee cast like you have will work but you have to have steel linkages. Swaging requires quite a bit of pressure. As much as I love Lee stuff, they are made for reloading. I do believe in getting the right tool for the right job. RCBS started out making their press's for swaging before they even thought about reloading. They still make their press's (well chineese now forges them and then sends them back over here, I have heard that RCBS has brought production back to the us but I am not sure) to handle swaging. Now with that in mind, have it dedictated to swaging. The arm where you press the shellholders into will collapse under pressure making it hard to put the punch in and out. So dedicated it with a punch in place and use a reloading press for reloading.

Just from personal experience do I suggest this.

You are one hundred % right Day IMO. I have done a video and will up load it as soon as i figure how to get it edited. I just converted my RCBS rock chucker to Larry Blackmons system. It replaces the Ram with a swaging dedicated ram. and you can just change it back when you want to reload. the change out is easy and quick. Doctor Blackmon charges 95.00 For the kit Well worth every penny IMO.

95 bucks is a good price. A dedicated swage ram from RCBS is 75 bucks and you still have to finish machining it. The only problem with this kinda of setup, is for those out there that want to swage on a complete reloading press will have to order special punches or something like that. I am sure the dies still screw in as normal. I do not know much about his setup, so you may be able to explain that portion of it...

Sorry Dart, I know you were asking about the Turret Press but sense you also asked about swaging, this should be able to help ya..

ok thanks guys iv been weighing my options i really like the turret and im not real sure about the swaging i just dont know if its something il get into dont get me wrong i want to but im not sure if its worth it i can shoot cast supper cheap iv got 25 bucks in about 125+ pounds of WWs thats over 3800 bullets for around 100 bucks counting molds camp stove and everything thats less than 3 cents per bullet with swaging im gonna have at least 150 in dies another 100 or so in a press gotta find pure lead copper tubing or brass casing so on and so forth im not sure if its worth it to me i guess time will tell!

dartfreak75 wrote:ok thanks guys iv been weighing my options i really like the turret and im not real sure about the swaging i just dont know if its something il get into dont get me wrong i want to but im not sure if its worth it i can shoot cast supper cheap iv got 25 bucks in about 125+ pounds of WWs thats over 3800 bullets for around 100 bucks counting molds camp stove and everything thats less than 3 cents per bullet with swaging im gonna have at least 150 in dies another 100 or so in a press gotta find pure lead copper tubing or brass casing so on and so forth im not sure if its worth it to me i guess time will tell!

and there is the big question over swaging or casting. you can get into casting a lot lot cheaper than swaging. and you can cast some pretty good bullets. the few advantages Swaging has over casting is you cant cast a jacketed bullet. and If you shoot many autos or semi autos IMO (there are people who do it) you shouldn't shoot non-jacketed bullets in them because it plugs the gas ports. I have a couple rifles that I really really dont want to take the chance that is why i went to swaging. also in the long run swaging Lead bullets is cheaper
Hear me out!!!
a set of lead bullet dies cost about 150.00 from richard Corbin. with that one set of dies I can make any weight you want or can imagine. with a mold you can make one and only one configuration weight.
With a swage set i can change the "nose Punch" and have a different kind of bullet.
Molds you cant.
A punch for a diff nose 40.00
a differnet bullet one weight ? depends on the brand of mold Lee around 20. to saeco 100.
and that is only one weight. with a swage set you can make any weight you want to.
But you are totally correct Dart It is a very expensive thing to get into. I'm not sure that it will ever pay off for me. But I have 2 living boys who are having kids. It should pay off for them. Whether you cast or swage or like I do both you will always have ammo.
I believe the day is coming that unless you are able to make your own you wont be doing any shooting. Just look 3 years ago if you could find 30-06 shells they were over 60.00 a box of 20. If I hadn't been reloading for 30+ years I wouldn't have been going deer hunting. Because I just refuse to pay that for a box of 06 shells.
I had a mosin Nagant that i got back in the early 80s it sat in my closet until the mid to late 90s because Bill Clinton had a ban on importing military ammo. I could get Norma at 60. a box but I wasnt willing to pay that so my mosin was a closet queen. I did manage to get some Lapua brass for it and loaded some but still all these are the reasons for Casting or Swaging.
Did I get a little Long winded?
SOrry

RCBS stands for Rock Chuck Bullet Swage. Some of their early presses are monsters, even compared to the Rock Chucker, and highly prized today. I will admit my main single stage is the Lee Classic Cast. It's plenty strong for reloading and I LOVE the ability to set handle length and angle. I own a Rock Chucker and would never give it up. But I don't swage or load 50 BMG, and like relaod3006 I have children and grand kids that some day may.

Arty,

Could you put a link or give us some more information about the Dr. Blackmon.. kit....


thank you

Blackmon does not have a website that is fully operational the last I check. You have to call his dental office and have his secretary take your number and call you back...

Kc that came from me. I can send you his swaging info if you want it. And I have done a video on converting your press to his system. i dont know how long it will take me to get it done because i know absolutely nothing about videos. its on my wifes cam corder. I dont have the cable to get it from there to my computer. and even then I dont konw how to get it from my computer to Utube. Or upload it to here but if you want Larrys pamphlet pm me with your email and i will forward it to you.

dr blackmon is a very nice and down to earth kind of guy, he will tell u upfront how long it will take to get your order filled (within a week or so) making dies is a hobby for him, he a dentist by trade. i have one of his bssp presses and a set of dies to make 9mm soft lead bullets with a gator check on the base of them, i didnt like the gator checked bullets so i made a set of dies to turn 3/8 copper tubing into jackets ..

thanks for the info guys i really do what to get into swaging eventually maybe a couple years down the road though the press issue isnt that big of a deal cause dad has a beast rcbs that he would let me use if needed its just the cost of the dies if i can get some homemade dies made up id like to give it a try to see how it works but i dont want to drop a bunch a money in it then it not be worth it i dont shoot near as much as some of you guys just guessing i probably shoot maybe 200-300 round through my rifle a year and maybe 1000 pistols iv had my 35 two years and iv shoot 100 rounds throught it my 06 i shot problably 500 or so in 3 years or so so i just cant see spending the money to swage 100 bullets a year when i can buy sierras for 26 a 100 but i do want to start shooting more so we'll see lol thanks again guys