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Corbin Handbook and Catalog No. 7 Chapter 05
.he CHAPTER 5 CORBIN HANDBOOK AND CATALOG NO. 7, PAGE #.op
SWAGING WITH THE MITY MITE SYSTEM
Swaging with the Mity Mite press and dies is a huge step up from
using a reloading press. It's faster, easier to use, more than doubles
the power you have, so that the effort is cut by more than half, and
extends the caliber and design range to dizzying heights.
You can obtain dies to make any caliber from .14 to .458, any
weight up to about 450 grains, with a maximum bullet length of about
1.3 inches. You're read about the CORE SEATING DIE, POINT FORMER, and
LEAD TIP DIE in the previous chapter (or, if you skipped it, you should
read it now). Let's explore other kinds of dies that can actually
adjust the weight of the bullet as you swage, or form boattails on the
normal flat-base jacket.
There are FIVE kinds of swage dies for the Mity Mite system:
(1) The CORE SWAGE die
(2) The CORE SEATER die
(3) The POINT FORMING die
(4) The LEAD TIP die
(5) The REBATED BOATTAIL die set
In addition to swage dies, there are draw dies, and special jacket
forming dies. Copper tubing can be formed into bullet jackets for
those calibers where regular drawn jackets are not available, too thin
for big game hunting, or too expensive and difficult to obtain. Tubing
jackets can be made in the Mity Mite in 0.030-inch wall thickness, in
the calibers from .308 to .458. The quality of such jackets is
outstanding, even if they are produced from ordinary copper water tube.
The literature that comes with the kit of dies explains the process in
detail. The one die that is used in this set and not discussed here is
the END ROUNDING DIE, which rolls over the tubing in preparation for
closing one end. In reality, it is simply a special size of point
forming die, with a round nose cavity and special punches for tubing.
The core swage die is made like a core seating die, except that
both the internal and external punches are very close, sliding fits to
the bore, and the bore is just large enough to accept a cast or cut
lead core. Also, there are three orifices in the walls of the die, at
120-degree positions around the circumference.
You can easily tell this die from the others by looking for these
three bleed holes. It is easy to determine which punches go with the
die: the punches are far too small to fit closely in any other die of
the same caliber set. Just try them by hand. If they fit smoothly
into the die cavity, they are right.
There are really two forms of core swage die. One is the ordinary
core swage, used to adjust the lead core weight shape before making a
bullet from it. The other is a variation called the LEAD SEMI-
WADCUTTER DIE, or LSWC-1. In the Mity Mite system, we place a -M after
the model number of the die set, and for the same kind of set in the
Hydro-press system, we place a -H after the model. There is no LSWC-1
or, for that matter, any kind of core swage or bleed-off die for the
reloading press.
The LSWC-1-M can be used to make a complete bullet in one stroke.
It has a bore size that is finished bullet diameter, and the punches
have ends that are shaped just like a reverse of the bullet nose and
base you want to form. Because the punch forms the nose by flowing
lead into its cavity, there has to be a small shoulder between the nose
and shank, where the edge of the punch presses into the core. The
LSWC-1-M cannot make a smoothly curved ogive without a step.
Let's make a bullet in this die. First, cut or cast a small
quantity of lead core as described in the earlier chapters. But leave
from two to five grains more lead than you actually want in the final
bullet weight. Locate your LSWC-1-M die set. You can see that the die
has no adapter body like the reloading press die.
The Mity Mite dies don't use an adapter body, because they are
made to screw directly into the RAM of the Mity Mite press! The die is
a very tough knurled cylinder of costly, special steel, heat treated in
electronic furnaces with a special kind of atmosphere. The Corbin
process of die-making has been developed over the past twenty years to
a level far beyond that used by most of the mass-production arms and
ammo companies. The dies you receive are superior in construction and
in design to the usual production die, and the bullets you can make in
them should be superior to those you can purchase, if you do your part!
The die has an internal punch, which normally is left in the die
(no need to remove it). It goes into the die from the threaded end of
the die. The threaded end of the die screws directly into the press
ram. This is just the opposite of reloading press dies, which screw
into the press head. In the Mity Mite, the press head holds a FLOATING
PUNCH HOLDER. This black oxide finished, 7/8-14 TPI threaded cylinder
looks like a reloading press die. But it holds the external punch.
The ram of the Mity Mite press is machined so it performs all the
functions of the universal adapter body. There is a shoulder that
stops the internal punch from coming out of the top of the die when you
move the ram forward to swage. There is also a hardened tool steel pin
with a knurled head, passing through a slot in the side of the ram.
This is the STOP PIN. It's job is to stop the backward movement of the
internal punch when you pull the ram back, so that the internal punch
is forced to slide forward and eject the bullet. You don't need a
mallet, ejector rod, or the power ejector unit with the Mity Mite.
When you consider the wide range of calibers, styles, and jobs
that Mity Mite dies must do, then think of the years of development
that went into the complete system of interchangable, simple dies and
punches to fit the Mity Mity press, you may realize why it is better to
purchase the ready-made system rather than trying to modify reloading
presses, come up with custom parts or tools, or try to modify dies to
work in arbor presses, hydraulic jacks, or vises. The universal
interchange of calibers, jobs, and styles in the Mity Mite system is a
major benefit, and the ease which which future changes or special work
can be done in this system makes it far more cost-effective than trying
to come up with one-of-a-kind tools for specific jobs.
The FLOATING PUNCH HOLDER, (Model FPH-1), is included with each
Mity Mite press. Instead of moving the die to adjust for depth of
punch insertion, you screw the die all the way into the ram until it
comes to rest on a shoulder. This shoulder, not the threads, takes all
the force. Adjustment is all done with the micrometer-like movement of
the threaded punch holder. Screw it toward the ram to make lighter
bullets, or to push a punch further into the core. Screw it away from
the ram to fit a heavier core, or to push a punch a little less far
into the die.
To install the LSWC-1-M die and punches in the Mity Mite, first
make sure that the internal punch is correctly placed in the die. The
internal punch has a 1/2-inch diameter head at one end, and a short
"tail" protruding from the other side of this head. The tail is about
5/16-inch diameter, and its length varies from a quarter inch to five
eighths of an inch, depending on the nominal weight (length) for which
the punch was designed. This tail, working with the over-all punch
length and the dimensions of the ram itself, determines the lightest
and heaviest weight of bullet that you can get into the die. Lighter
bullets require less of a tail, and heavier ones take a longer tail.
You don't need to know the technical details -- just let us know
what general weight range you want, and we'll see that the punch
provided will do it. If one punch won't handle the whole range, we may
suggest a second punch. Usually, the range is so great that you can
reasonably expect to make handgun weights with one punch and rifle
weights with another. The punch tail determines how much volume is
left in the die cavity, which
You don't need to know the technical details -- just let us know
what general weight range you want, and we'll see that the punch
provided will do it. If one punch won't handle the whole range, we may
suggest a second punch. Usually, the range is so great that you can
reasonably expect to make handgun weights with one punch and rifle
weights with another. The punch tail determines how much volume is
left in the die cavity, which nger pressure. It isn't necessary
to use a pair of pliers. Now identify the external punch.
The external punch fits the die cavity, but it has no "tail"
section on its half-inch diameter head. Whereas the internal punch has
to be as long as the entire die, so it can push the bullet out the
mouth, the external punch needs only to fit half-way or less into the
die bore. It is shorter. The part that is matched to the die cavity
diameter is less than half the entire punch length. There is a section
of the punch just after the head that is turned to about three eighths
of an inch in diameter.
This section slips into a hardened bushing that you will find
inside the floating punch holder. There are three parts in the punch
holder besides the body itself. First, there is a hexagon-shaped
bushing or retainer that threads into the mouth of the punch holder.
Remove this bushing. It should unscrew easily by hand. Inside the
punch holder are two hardened tool steel parts. One is a half-inch
diameter bushing or ring. One side is flat, the other curved.
This part is called the ROCKER BUSHING. It slips over the
external punch, so that the flat side rests against the head of the
punch, and the curved side faces toward the small end of the punch
(toward the die). On punches that must be made larger than 0.375-inch
diameter, the hex bushing and the rocker bushing are permanently
assembled to the punch. These punches must have the end opposite the
head larger than the standard hole size in the two bushings. We make
them fit the standard system by building them with a removable, cap-
screw secured head. We assemble them here, so you don't have to take
them apart and reassemble them every time you want to install a
bushing.
If your caliber takes a punch smaller than 0.375-inch tip
diameter, the rocker bushing and hex bushing supplied with the press,
in the punch holder, will easily slip over the punch. Assemble them
now. Put the hex bushing over the punch so it will hold the punch into
the punch holder. Look inside the punch holder. If you use your
little finger, or a toothpick, you can probably pick out the last part,
called the ROCKER BUTTON. This part looks just like the rocker
bushing, but is solid.
The rocker button fits into a V-shaped surface in the bottom of
the punch holder cavity. It allows the head of the punch to transfer
all the tons of swaging force to the punch holder in a safe manner, yet
still allows the punch to rotate slightly so it can line up with the
die bore perfectly. If the punch were held rigid, it could not self-
align or float to keep the punch perfectly aligned under stress. This
is another advantage of the Mity Mite system over other swaging
methods.
Notice that the rocker button has a curve on one side, and is flat
on the other. Make sure that you put this button into the punch holder
so that the curved side goes in first. You want the punch head to rest
against the flat side of the button. And the flat side of the rocker
bushing presses against the other side of the punch head. The curved
side of the rocker bushing matches a curve machined in the inside edge
of the hex bushing. When you screw it all into the punch holder, the
punch is held so that the exact center of its head is in the center of
a 1-1/4 inch ball, most of which is not physically present, but the
working parts of which are formed by the curves and their mating
surfaces.
You don't need to take any special precautions with this assembly.
It doesn't need oiling or maintenance. Just make sure you assemble it
correctly. Look at the pictures in this manual before you try it. If
any of the three parts are missing, your punch will not be properly
supported and could be damaged under swaging pressure. Many people
purchase spare punch holders so that they can assemble the punch and
leave it, locking the lock ring on the punch holder to repeat their
favorite adjustment quickly. This is nearly as fast as having several
presses, since it is the only adjustment that ever needs to be made.
With the die assembled into the ram, and the external punch in the
punch holder, back off the punch holder several turns away from the
ram. Pick up a core, moisten it with a little Corbin Swage Lube (or
Corbin Dip Lube, if you want to make a lead bullet with a wax film for
up to 1200 fps velocity), and place it into the die mouth.
The core must fit into the die easily. If it won't fit, it is too
large and you should not attempt to swage it. Never swage anything too
large to fit into the die by hand. If it is far too small, you will
tend to get folds and wrinkles in the shank, and it will be hard to get
enough weight without having the core stick out the die mouth. The
maximum length of core still must fit into the die before any pressure
is noticed on the handle. Never try to swage something that is just
barely inside the die, or sticks out of the die mouth.
Carefully move the ram forward so that you can align the external
punch and die. Don't pinch your fingers! Just help the punch go into
the die this first time, and then, when you have it inside, gently snug
up the hex bushing so that the punch doesn't move freely (it will still
move under swaging forces).
The Mity Mite press is so powerful it can pinch your finger off
just by dropping the handle with your finger between the die and punch.
Always keep your hand firmly on the handle when you are adjusting a
punch, and don't trust gravity or friction to keep the handle from
falling! I never place my finger between the die and punch. Any time
I make a manual adjustment or help the punch line up the first time, I
always keep my fingers on the sides of the punch, away from the tip.
If I should drop the handle on the press, the die would move my hand
out of the way. I might pinch myself against the end of the punch
holder, but that wouldn't be too bad.
If the punch won't reach into the die at this point, move the
punch holder forward. The ram should be moved to its foremost
position, so it reaches as close to the press head as it can go. This
happens at the point of maximum leverage, with the pivots in the handle
lined up in a straight line with the ram centerline. This press is
unique in having all its linkage and ram concentric and in a straight
line with maximum forward travel. Most presses have a side-torque
caused by offsetting the handle, and several can't reach full leverage
because they physically run out of travel before then.
If the die can't be moved forward because the lead core comes up
against the external punch, back off the external punch by turning the
punch holder. When you have the ram all the way forward, hold it there
and screw the punch holder toward the die until you can't turn it any
more. The punch will have come up against the lead core.
Back off the ram slightly, and move the floating punch holder half
a turn forward. Stroke the press forward again. Then pull the handle
back and almost, but not quite, eject the bullet. You can see the
bullet at the die mouth, ready to be ejected. Notice whether or not
the nose is completely filled out. If not, adjust the punch holder
forward another half turn and swage the bullet again. Within a few
strokes you will have the press set up so that the nose is forming
completely.
A small quantity of lead should begin to move out the bleed holes.
I like to make my cores so that about one eighth of an inch of lead
extrusion comes out the bleed holes on every stroke. Also, I like to
swage the cores so that they are double-swaged: every stroke goes over
and past the "top dead center" position, and then passes "over the top"
again on the back stroke. You will notice that the Mity Mite retracts
the ram slightly as you continue through the end of the stroke. This
slight retraction gives you a double-swaging action on each stroke, if
you use it.
If you eject the bullet and weigh it, you can see whether or not
to adjust the punch holder and in what direction. If the bullet is too
light, then you may need to adjust the punch holder away from the ram
(to make more room in the die at the end of the stroke, and extrude
less lead). If it is too heavy, then you need to adjust the punch
holder toward the ram (to reduce the volume in the die at the end of
the stroke, and force more lead out the bleed holes).
Obviously, if your lead cores start out too light, there is no way
to make them all weigh the same by swaging and still come up with a
heavier bullet. The only way to get consistent core weight by this
method is to start out with plenty of lead, and remove all the surplus
along with the variation. The hardness of the lead has a good deal to
do with consistency of weight. Harder lead will flow more slowly. You
may get variations in weight with harder lead, because you don't allow
enough time for the lead to quit flowing. I recommend only pure, soft
lead for the Mity Mite. You can get by with alloys of up to 3%
antimony, in the smaller calibers.
If you don't notice any lead coming out the bleed holes, stop
swaging and figure out whether the core is so short that it lets the
external punch move past the bleed hole location. If this happens to
be the case, then you need an internal punch with a shorter tail
section. Most people assume the external punch is too short. But
making it any other size tends to cause other problems. The right way
to adjust for extreme weight ranges is with the design of the internal
punch tail.
After you have swaged some bullets, the internal punch may be more
difficult to move. This is because the three extrusion holes in the
die become filled with the last lead wire extrusion made. The ends of
the lead wire press against the punch sides. This is normal. You
should still be able to remove and re-insert the external punch, though
there is no reason to do so unless you want to change to another style
(such as going from flat base to cup base).
Read this part over again and make sure you understand the
principle involved. This is the same operation you use with all the
various core swages and lead semi-wadcutter dies. It works the same
way whether you use the automatic proximity detectors and pressure
transducers of the Hydro-press or whether you do it by hand on the Mega
Mite or Mity Mite press. It doesn't matter whether you are making
benchrest .224 rifle cores, handgun .44 Magnum cores, or .40 Sharps
rifle bullets for paper-patching. Airgun pellets or precision lead
weights for phonograph cartridges all are made exactly this way.
Two notes about high precision: (1) Make sure the ram does indeed
go past the "top of stroke" position each time, and (2) try to use the
same timing for each stroke. Timing is important because lead flows on
an exponential curve with time. Lead has a creep rate that can
continue for years under a constant low stress. If you maintain a
steady rate, your cores will come out much closer than if you whip the
handle back and forth one time, and lean on it to drink a cup of coffee
the next.
You should be able to get less than 1% variation in total core
weight on your first attempt. If you are really good, you can get less
than 0.5% variation. Some people actually achieve such high precision
that there is no discernable weight variation on a normal reloading
scale. It is all the same equipment. Your skill in operating it makes
the difference.
But think about what this means: If you start with a 100 grain
core, one percent is one grain. Half a percent is half a grain. With
a 50 grain core, one percent is half a grain. With a 500 grain core,
one percent is five grains. In other words, don't just expect half a
grain or less on everything, because it is very sloppy for light
bullets and beyond any reasonable expectation for heavier ones.
Besides which, weight variation alone has very little to do with
accuracy.
Weight variation that is caused by differences in jacket thickness
or alloy composition is a bad thing for accuracy. It means the trouble
is elsewhere, and it means differences in bore friction, bullet upset,
and other factors. Weight variation that is merely the result of
having another grain or two of lead is quite insignificant. I have won
matches with bullets that varied more than five grains in weight.
Fortunately, there was nothing else wrong with them. A great number of
factory bullets have horrible weight variation from lot to lot. If it
came from having more or less core material, I wouldn't worry about it.
But usually it comes from having differences in jacket material, and
that affects groups.
You've made some nice lead semi-wadcutter bullets now, using the
LSWC-1-M, and they are ready to shoot if you used Dip Lube on them.
Using Corbin Swage Lube, you would have made lead cores that could then
be further processed into bullets. In that case, you would want to
clean off the cores to remove any lube before putting them into
jackets. The reason is that any lube inside the jacket contributes to
a possible unbalance of the bullet.
Put the cores in a strainer or wire basket and slosh them around
in a strong solvent. Corbin Cleaning Solvent comes in pint cans, and
is able to remove any lubricant traces, fingerprints, and grease from
either cores, jackets, or from your guns. It will remove some
finishes, too, so be careful around stocks and table tops! After
cleaning the cores, spread them out to dry. Change the core swage die
for the core seating die.
We've already talked about the reloading press core seating die.
It is exactly like the one for the Mity Mite and Hydro-press systems.
Only differences in size and how it is held in the press apply. A core
seating die looks like a core swage without any bleed holes. That is
your first clue. The second is that the bore is larger, and it accepts
the right caliber of jacket for the bullet you want to make. Try a
jacket in the die -- if it fits, probably it is the same caliber as the
die. A positive test for caliber is to swage a lead core in the core
seating die, and then use your trusty micrometer to measure the
diameter of the lead after swaging.
Core seating dieore swage without any bleed holes. That is
your first clue. The second is that the bore is larger, and it accepts
the right caliber of jacket for the bullet you want to make. Try a
jacket in the die -- if it fits, probably it is the same caliber as the
die. A positive test for caliber is to swage a lead core in the core
seating die, and then use your trusty micrometer to measure the
diameter of the lead after swaging.
Core seating dies or rifle
bullets, and there is no need to purchase another special die for lead
bullets, and (2) you can sometimes get a more precisely formed bullet
for critical applications by doing it in more steps. This is
especially true for harder lead alloys.
The internal punch of the core seating die fits into the die bore,
and either has a flat face, a probe (for hollow base bullets), a dome
(for a dish or cup base bullet), or it can have a cavity (for some
kinds special bases, not usually on jacketed bullets as the jacket edge
has a hard time jumping over the edge of the punch). The external
punch can be almost anything!
If you want to make a handgun bullet, the external punch will have
a nose cavity shaped like a mirror image of the nose. This is only for
lead nose bullets, not for those with the jacket curved around the
ogive. If you want to make an open tip bullet, as most rifle bullets
tend to be, then the external punch should fit into the jacket rather
than the sides of the die. This means that the external punch can be
quite a bit smaller than the die bore.
A hollow point bullet uses a core seating punch with a probe
machined on the tip. This probe pushes down into the lead core and
displaces lead around itself. The punch is made so that it centers
itself either in the jacket (for an internal hollow point, having the
jacket wrapped around it), or on the die walls (a typical lead tip
hollow point). This keeps the cavity concentric with the sides of the
bullet.
You can use another external punch in the same die. First press a
cavity into the lead core, as deep as you wish (you don't have to use
the full extension of the punch into the core, you know...). Then,
change punches and push a Keith nose or a round nose punch into the
die, setting the adjustment so that you don't completely reform and
close the cavity you just made. Again, you will soon see that there is
a lot of control possible between not forming the bullet sufficiently,
and completely forming it to the punch shape.
Your first punch should be used with reasonable force, compressing
the lead core and filling out the jacket to meet the die walls. It
should leave the jacket and core in the die, not pull it out with the
punch. But any subsequent punch that you want to use does not have to
be pushed so far or hard into the core. The shank is already formed.
Everything else is just a matter of styling the bullet. Go ahead and
experiment. Two punches can make twenty different bullet shapes if you
use them with various degrees of insertion and in different orders.
But the point forming die really brings out the power to
experiment! You read about this die already under the reloading press
section. It has a cavity shaped just like the bullet, except there is a
little hole in the tip for a strong, spring-wire ejection pin to push
the bullet back out again. In the Mity Mite system, this die has a
major difference from the reloading press types. It has a captive
internal punch instead of a retraction spring.
You'll recall that the point forming die has a very small ejection
pin instead of a conventional internal punch, and it is held out of the
die cavity by a spring. In the Mity Mite press, there is no spring.
That stop pin we discussed earlier is pulled out of the top of the
press, and slipped into a slot in the head of the ejection pin after
you screw the die into place. Don't forget to do this, or you can
damage the ejection pin.
The first thing I do is pull out the stop pin. Then I place the
ejection pin in the end of my point forming die (it goes in from the
threaded end, just like all internal punches in all dies), and screw it
into the ram as one assembly. With the ram in the right position, it
is easy to grasp the tip of the ejection pin while it sticks out the
die mouth. I do this, and slide and turn the ejection pin until I can
see the slot underneath the stop pin hole. Then I push the stop pin
back into place, and give the ejection pin a tug to make sure it is
actually locked in place.
Now, the ejection pin will be retracted automatically from the die
without any spring pressure, and it will be held in place to eject the
bullet. The Mity Mite system has less of a problem with a stuck
bullet, since you can use the press to retract the pin again and make
another attempt to swage it. If you feel resistance to ejection, it is
usually better to unscrew the die and use a short piece of the same
diameter of spring wire as the ejection pin, along with a small mallet,
to tap the bullet out. This happens when you use over-sized
components, try to reswage a finished factory bullet in the same
diameter of die (many people do this, not realizing that you usually
need a slightly larger die for it to work), or forget to use the right
lubricant.
The most common problem people have when first starting to swage
is bending the ejection pin. After a while, you get a better feel for
the kind of resistance that is normal, and bent pins become less and
less frequent. It is a good idea to purchase spares if you would be
under any pressure because of having your set out of commission for a
little while due to a damaged ejection pin or a stuck bullet (usually
the cause). One or two spare ejection pins can save your day.
Now let's talk about a set of dies that we usually consider one
package: the RBT-2 set, or rebated boattail forming dies. This is
actually a matched pair of dies, not just one. They replace the usual
straight-walled core seater whenever you want to make a rebated
boattail bullet.
A rebated boattail bullet has a step, or shoulder, like a Keith
nose on a pistol bullet. That step acts like a spoiler to break up the
blast of hot muzzle gas just as the bullet exists your barrel. On a
conventional smooth boattail design, the gas flows with the streamlined
shape and zips past the bullet, flows along the ogive, and then breaks
up right in front of the bullet as it tries to get away. A boattail
means that you are probably shooting through your own muzzle blast
turbulence! That can add perhaps another 10% error factor to the
bullet dispersion.
The small rebate has a minor drag effect, but over-all, the
improvement in total performance is greater. Not only do you gain
ballistic coefficient by reducing base drag, but you also retain the
natural good disperson characteristics of the flat base bullet during
that critical exit time from the muzzle. Add to that the fact that the
dies and punches last longer, there is less gas cutting and a better
seal in your barrel. Those are compelling reasons to forget about a
conventional boattail design if you have the option of making your own
bullets.
The process is just like seating a regular core. You use the same
external core seating punch that you would use with your flat-base core
seater. But instead of using the flat base core seating die, place the
core and jacket into the BT-1 or BOATTAIL PREFORMING die. This die has
a standard boattail shape inside. You push the flat-base jacket into
this die, seat the core, and the jacket is converted into a boattail.
Having this taper on the bottom of the jacket makes it easy to
form the rebated step or edge. The next die, BT-2 or RBT FINISHING
DIE, has a shoulder that transposes itself into the jacket when you
once again seat the core. If you tried to use this die alone, the
shoulder would catch the jacket bottom and tear it. But the taper gets
the bottom of the jacket past the shoulder before any real pressure is
applied. The jacket moves outward to take on the die shape, instead of
trying to draw over this shoulder.
Included with the RBT-2-M set (which can be purchased as an add-on
to a conventional three-die or four-die set) is a special external
punch for the point forming die. This punch has a cavity in the tip,
to match the shape of the boattail. The punch supports the rebated
boattail shape, and keeps it from being mashed out of form. The punch
is a little fragile, so don't use it for other experiments without
considering the forces you plan to apply to those edges.
In a short, fat pistol caliber, you can use a Keith nose punch for
a rebated boattail bullet. First form a conventional jacketed bullet
with a nice truncated conical nose. This is done in the point forming
die. In fact, you can make the whole bullet in the point forming die
if you put the jacket into this die backward (base first) and then use
a core seating punch to seat the core. Eject this bullet, turn it
over, and now you have a tapered section facing out of the die and an
open tip flat end facing in. Use the Keith punch to push the bullet
into the die.
The tapered nose will fit into the Keith punch nicely, and will be
made into a rebated boattail base. The flat open end will be formed
into a new nose in the point forming die. It is simple, effective, and
the bullets seem to gain between 20% and 40% in ballistic coefficient
at subsonic speeds. This doesn't work if the bullet is much longer
than its caliber, so don't try it with conventional rifle bullets.
Lead tip dies for the Mity Mite system are just like those
described for reloading presses, except, of course, they are made to
fit the press ram. They look very much like a core seating die. Some
people wonder why we can't use a core seating die. The reason is that
the bullet won't slip back into the core seater after it is finished at
full diameter. It will go in, but only under some force. And the
force is greater than that required to form the lead tip.
Making a lead tip bullet requires a little experience. At first,
you will probably have some experimenting to do, because you need to
have just enough lead protruding so that the cavity in the internal
punch of the lead tip die can reshape it fully. Too much lead showing
doesn't hurt, but too little is a problem. It can't fill the cavity,
and won't shape up properly. With the lead tip die, it is necessary to
use very light pressure. Pressing too hard makes a ring in the ogive
of the bullet. In some small tips, it helps to grind a sharp wedge
shape on the ejection pin of the point forming die. Then, the ejection
pin will split the protruding, deformed lead and come to rest against
the jacket edge.
The jacket edge won't split easily, so the bullet can be ejected.
Then, when you put the bullet into the lead tip die to finish the end,
the neatly split blob of lead will reform nicely and become whole
again. This technique is useful for problem cases, where one must have
a small tip size and bring the jacket nearly closed. Generally it
isn't required. Large handgun-style lead tips, which are probably a
quarter of the caliber or more, don't generally require the lead tip
die in order to form properly. A conventional three-die package for
open tip bullets works well for making large lead tips of this type.
The lead tip die (LT-1-M) can be purchased separately as an add-
on, or it can be included with your set of dies in the LTFB-4-M, RBTL-
5-M, or the FRBL-6-M sets. These all have an "L" in their catalog
number. The "L" stands for "Lead Tip". All it means is that a lead
tip die has been included: you can still make open tip bullets. All
the various sets of dies are assembled from the same basic individual
dies. Everything but the LSWC-1-M set starts with a core swage and a
core seating die, and adds a point forming die, and various
combinations of lead tip and rebated boattail dies.
A "FB" in the catalog number means "Flat Base". It indicates that
you have a standard core seating die in the package, not necessarily
that you are limited to flat base rather than cup, dish, or hollow
bases. In fact, if you order a pistol set with the cup base specified,
you could very well receive a set that doesn't have a flat base punch
at all, but it still has the basic ability to make one if you get the
right punch. We'd still call it a "FJFB-3-M" if it has a core swage,
core seat, and point forming die.
The "FJ" only stands for "Full Jacket", and is primarily to fill
in space in the catalog number, since any set with a point forming die
can be used to make a full jacket bullet. The letters "RB" or "RBT" in
the catalog number stand for "Rebated Boattail", and they mean that the
two RBT dies are included, along with the proper RBT punch for the
point forming die. If the "F" for "Flat base" is also in the catalog
number, then it means that you can make both flat and RBT bullets.
Both the standard core seater and the two RBT core seaters are
included, in that case.
The number in the catalog number tells how many dies are in the
set. For instance, in a "FRBL-6-M" set, you have flat base (F) core
seater, two RBT core seaters (RB), a lead tip die (L), and of course a
core swage and point former, which are assumed present in anything
above a two-die set. That makes six dies, ae both flat and RBT bullets.
Both the standard core seater and the two RBT core seaters are
included, in that case.
The number in the catalog number tells how many dies are in the
set. For instance, in a "FRBL-6-M" set, you have flat base (F) core
seater, two RBT core seaters (RB), a lead tip die (L), and of course a
core swage and point former, which are assumed present in anything
above a two-die set. That makes six dies, a one die with matching punches, and it makes the same kind of bullet
with the exception that you cannot use jackets so long that they cover
the bleed holes. That means half-jacket and straight lead bullets are
the proper kind for a LSWC-1-M.
The techniques of swaging are covered in much greater detail in
the other books. I recommend that you invest a little time in reading
about the process, if you have not done it before. Bullet swaging is
quite simple, but also quite powerful. Because there are so many
possible variations, it is far more important to learn the principles
than it is to try and follow a block of pictures and repeat each step
exactly. With six different kinds of dies, and hundreds of different
techniques and styles in thousands of calibers, can you imagine the
number of pages you'd need to keep on hand, in order to have a "1-2-3-"
cookbook to follow for each possible bullet you wanted to make?
On the other hand, if you understand how a core swage works, how
to use a core seater, and what kind of bullets you could expect from a
point forming die and a lead tip die, you can work out all the
variations for yourself, and probably come up with others that none of
us have yet discovered! In the Mity Mite system, pressures run from
20,000 to 50,000 psi or more. That is some kind of power! And, it's
all under your control.
