Time to make the donuts....

[Kiwishooter]

Nope. I like to do it vertically. And pressing a little green button is awfully tiring

I, and possibly others would like to see that press working.

 

[andrewc6.5]

I, and possibly others would like to see that press working.

G'day Kiwi. The photo shows my #1 press which I use for bullet swaging ops. I'll try and put something together soon. In the meantime here's a short video of the #2 and #3 presses going which I use for jacket making. All of the the pneumatic presses are rated to 1.2 ton and operate between 70-90psi depending what operation.

 

[Kiwishooter]

Here are Georges videos,
(Please correct me if I'm wrong George)
Pointing up

Core seating

 

[liseo]

Now, regarding the topic of lubricating the core, suggesting that it might not be important to have the core completely free of lubricant, what is the majority opinion on the importance of washing the jackets with some solvent to remove oil residue from the stamping operation?
Everyone probably has their own theory, but in any case, if you can give your opinion...
J4 jackets seem absolutely free of any oil, whereas the batch I received from Sierra, you could feel it in your hand.

 

[jackieschmidt]

Now, regarding the topic of lubricating the core, suggesting that it might not be important to have the core completely free of lubricant, what is the majority opinion on the importance of washing the jackets with some solvent to remove oil residue from the stamping operation?
Everyone probably has their own theory, but in any case, if you can give your opinion...
J4 jackets seem absolutely free of any oil, whereas the batch I received from Sierra, you could feel it in your hand.

I have taken some J4 jackets out of the Buckets, and put them in a clear glass of distilled water.
After several days, the water was still clear, with no film on top.

As far as I am concerned, they are clean.

From what information I have garnered in this very thread, if you do decide to lube the cores, make sure the method you use distributes the lube on an even and consistent bases on each core.

You are right about the Sierras. I do not think they clean them at all.

 

[geo.ulrich]

with sierras you have to tell them you want them cleaned

 

[Marklincoln]

for flat base it really doesn't matter but for bt's where you need to put the bullet in the die so you don't screw up so many punches yes flat or on an angle helps, there's always some in the class that are a problem

 

[liseo]

While core seating a batch of 168-grain .30 bullets, I decided out of curiosity to lubricate a core while maintaining the same setting.
While the normal ones came out of the die with a diameter of .3082X", the one with the lubricated core ended up with a .3080X, but with a lot of bleed-by

 

[liseo]

Hello Liseo,


I had to consult with our Bullet Production Manager to get a definitive answer for you and he did confirm that our jackets are totally degreased before they are packaged for shipment for you to use.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is the answer I got from Berger when I asked about washing J4 jackets

 

[D Coots]

I didn't know that.

It seems that the amount of lube needed for J4's is much less that needed for Hines. If I recall correctly.???

 

[21PHX]

What is the “accepted” min./max. total bullet weights made with J-4 .790 and. .825 6mm jackets?

 

[bichettereds]

What is the “accepted” min./max. bullet weights made with J-4 .790 and. .825 6mm jackets?

You mean the weight of the jackets themselves or the finished bullet? Bullet weight variation is going to come largely from the core weight more so than the jacket weight. At least with J4s, from my experience.

 

[21PHX]

You mean the weight of the jackets themselves or the finished bullet? Bullet weight variation is going to come largely from the core weight more so than the jacket weight. At least with J4s, from my experience.

I thought bullet weight was self explanatory. The total weight of the bullet as ready to load ie., jacket and core. All put together.

 

[D Coots]

How about lighter jackets being better than heavier ones as I've heard, and if actually so, why?

 

[bichettereds]

I thought bullet weight was self explanatory. The total weight of the bullet as ready to load ie., jacket and core. All put together.

Youre right. I guess since you specified the jacket used, I wasnt 100% sure. The jackets weight variation is probably .04 grains tops from what I’ve seen. Most are within .02. The rest will be core weight variation. Everyone has their own standards but I’m not happy with anything more than .06 variation on my cores, but that’s just because I know I can make them with that. I’m sure more will shoot just fine.

 

[RGRobinett]

What is the “accepted” min./max. total bullet weights made with J-4 .790 and. .825 6mm jackets?

A given jacket length will make quality bullets over a wide range of weights: the range somewhat dependent upon the nose/radius configuration of the point-up die. Using .790" long jacket length, the typical [tangent] 7-8 caliber point die will likely make decent bullets between 62- 68 Gr. Only testing with your dies will verify any difference in precision. You'll quickly learn when the core length is too short. RG

 

[21PHX]

A given jacket length will make quality bullets over a wide range of weights: the range somewhat dependent upon the nose/radius configuration of the point-up die. Using .790" long jacket length, the typical [tangent] 7-8 caliber point die will likely make decent bullets between 62- 68 Gr. Only testing with your dies will verify any difference in precision. You'll quickly learn when the core length is too short. RG

Thanks Randy, now what about the .825s?

 

[ridgeway]

Got a few rolls of lead that came out of a musty damp basement. The Avril spools say Wire Solder on it, but stamped in ink, lead wire. The larger bottom roll has a faded hand wrote tag with part of it looks like 1% wrote on it. Its Barely legible. Im assuming that is 1% antimony. Interesting thing is, I cut a same length core from each spool and the 1% is roughly 2 grains lighter. This week, I will see if our XRF gun will tell me what is in each spool. Interesting to see. Atleast this will get me started on making bullets. I will be sourcing new when I learn the process.

 

[liseo]

The difference in weight is expected, as antimony is less dense than lead (almost half)

 

[dcali]

Now, regarding the topic of lubricating the core, suggesting that it might not be important to have the core completely free of lubricant, what is the majority opinion on the importance of washing the jackets with some solvent to remove oil residue from the stamping operation?
Everyone probably has their own theory, but in any case, if you can give your opinion...
J4 jackets seem absolutely free of any oil, whereas the batch I received from Sierra, you could feel it in your hand.

Most of the sierras I've received have been very clean. I've never bothered washing them and the bullets have been very good. Some have been filthy - I suppose it's worth the trouble to ask them for clean ones when you order.

Hines have been crazy clean. I don know what they use to wash them, but they're so dry they kinda crunch when you pick up a handful because of the friction.

Never used J4 - they were a nightmare to order and I gave up. That was a few years ago. Maybe it's better now. But it was BAD. Like they ignored emails after their quoted ship date came and went. After months of silence, I eventually bought some Sierras instead and never looked back. A year later, J4 sends me an email letting me know my jackets were ready.