making a new bullet

[Dusty Stevens]

I can see where this is gonna get me in way over my head I need to make sure that once I start this project
I am in it for the whole deal...so I better study up on the various machines and years of operation
and find one that I can figure out and run and can afford to run in the first place

Good thing about making bullets is the only machines you need are some thumlers tumblers and maybe a small electric concrete mixer. All you gotta do is call mr ulrich and send him a blank check. Youll be ready to make the very best bullets you can put out and not be limited by equipment

 

[crustyrusty]

thats for sure,, as I really wanna build light for caliber bullets in various sizes and then build heavy for caliber bullets as well...... I am pretty sure I just want bullets in 257 diameter and 284 diameter and 323 diameter and 375 diameter but if i had to choose just one to start it would be the .284 diameter....thats why the intrest in a CNC machine to make those pills. I just looked at Ferris ST University's manufacturing program and I just might enroll to learn machine trades and CNC skills, its a 2 year program but I just wanna cherry pick the classes to learn the machines skills,, i dont need another degree. so classes will set me back a little bit but well worth the time and effort if just for the learning experiance

 

[geo.ulrich]

I'm going to jump in again. You will be much better served learning ballistics before you start down this road. I did some quick math for reference a standard 103 gr long range bullet that is used now is 1.22 long and takes about an 8 twist to stabilize the same bullet make with a copper alloy will weigh 85 grs and take an 6.8 twist to stabilize. to reach 110 gr. the bullet would need to be 1.500 long and takes a 5.4 twist to stabilize. thats just a start what are you going to do when you find that the BEST you will hold is maybe +- .0003 in diameter (and thats with a cooled spindle) if you make them a little oversize to take into account groove size variation you Will see a hugh pressure spike......Turned bullets are still sized to hold diameters...

 

[crustyrusty]

george what diameter are you referencing? yeah I do have alot of territory in balistics that i need to learn
however its all learn able and I have a pretty good head start in that department and I have guys like you
That I can bounce ideas off of,, thats the real value in my book..my pet diameter is 7mm and I wanna build bullets from 78gr to 150gr if CNC made,,, question is can the machine do it.. or am i better served
and have you make the dies necessary to make what i want? i do want to relate some information
i discovered when i measured my 7mm bullets..... when i measured the 100gr hp they meas. .282
when i measured my 110gr hp they meas. .283 when i measured my prvi 120gr hp they meas. .283
and for the rest up to 175gr sst's none measured better than .283, with a couple at .282 .. so it would
seem to me there would be room for diameter control......

 

[dcali]

Diameters should be tighter than you can measure with calipers. Listen to George. Turned bullets are a bit of a specialty, and will probably be more expensive to get into than jacketed bullets. The trouble with jackets is that they can be a pain to get, and may not come in the lengths you want unless you buy quite a few. This is particularly true of the 7s, although they're not as bad as some other calibers. When you order dies, you will only be able to optimize for one jacket length - you can make them so you can get away with more than one if they're close, but you'll either compromise or have one of them be less than optimal. I wouldn't even think about starting into it until you are comfortable with the ins and outs of ballistics and are intimately familiar with the dimensions of the bullets on the market and what they imply for performance. What you don't want to do is drop the cash on a set of dies only to find out that you've spec'd a mediocre bullet, which is very easy to do.

 

[crustyrusty]

yeah I was very surprised at how my bullets spec'd out at,, maybe it was the way I was measuring the bullets I dont know I just know of the data that I got out of it.......as for turned bullets its just an option worth exploring right along with jacketed bullets....right now I have many more questions than answers,more ideas than money ectra.... so I have to just narrow it down

 

[liljoe]

The first step would be to buy the best measuring tools money can buy. Then you can start to get some meaningful data.

Joe

 

[1lnbrdg]

I think I have everything I need to start making bullets except time, tools, dedication. What did I leave out?

 

[Tim Singleton]

I think I have everything I need to start making bullets except time, tools, dedication. What did I leave out?

A healthy stubborn streak
No telling how many have started and gave it up!