Bullet Molds

[powderburner]

Stephen just keep at it , I bet even pope warped a few before he got it down, probably the hammer swage helped a lot for target but was mostly unnecessary for hunting purposes, I always thought a spoon or half cherry would be better unless you had a real good double vise.

[Stephen Borud]

I agree that the swage was for target work Dean. I should try a spoon design. Another issue is to get the cutting edges smooth and how many cutting edges works the best? I've built from two cutting edges to six cutting edges. I have always built the cherry then mill the cutting edges into it. Maybe I will cut the cutting edges in first then machine the cherry, then smooth the cutting edges by hand.

Stephen

[Stephen Borud]

I will be on a mission in the morning to build another cherry. Will post pictures of the results.

[Dave Roelle]

Hi Stephen:

I have built a bunch of special cutting tools, the creation sequence is always:

1) Rough machine the basic cutter using a lathe and mill

2) Heat treat and draw ( double draw for ultimate stability)

3) Grind all final cutting forms and reliefs

This applies to all tool steels, and will require at least a 6 X 12 manual grinder with spin jigs , sine plates, diamonds for shaping grinding wheels and a trailer load of patience

If i were to try this without the grinder i would create a "d" reamer for the nose profile and single point the shank and lube grooves (if its a greaser) in the lathe with a good fixture to hold the mold blocks----be sure to face the blocks at the same time you ream and cut the cavity.


Best of luck with your next try-----its gonna be tough without the grinder

Dave

[Stephen Borud]

The first form of the cherry didn't cut at all. I had an idea after I had pulled the cherry out of the positioner to use a ball mill and cut another angle in the bevels I had already cut. It worked kind of but unfortunetly once I pulled the cherry out I lost my position in the positioner. They didn't cut exactly right.

I used a piece of brass that I had cut for something else to run the cherry into to test it. It was .001 out of round. You can see a small shoulder on the bullet, that was from a previous cut.

Stephen.

[Dave Roelle]

Looks OK Stephen, the difficulty you face is keeping the back reliefs from interrupting your cutting edge, that and keeping everything running true.

All things considered 0.001 won't matter much at hunting ranges

Dave

[Stephen Borud]

Yes for sure Dave. I didn't run the cutting edge down to the nose of the cherry. I ended up using a ball mill in the nose prior to inserting the cherry into the piece of brass. Should I make a separate cutter for the nose and use a reamer for the straight section of the bullet or continue on with the way I'm going. In the past when I ran my cutting edges all the way to the end of the cherry the nose looked like crap after I casted a bullet. Well maybe not quit like crap but close. I've looked at end mills and such that I have but I do not have a way of duplicating those cutting edges.

The struggle is real.

Stephen

[Dave Roelle]

I understand Stephen !!!!!! the precision needed to create all the cutting edges and reliefs exactly the same is really tough ----- in all honesty a "D" reamer is probably your best shot with just the mill and lathe ----only one cutting edge to cut relief to ----you end up with a single edge cutting tool that you can hand work the relief on------drill your pilot bore as closely as you can to final form and finish the cavity with the reamer.

Dave

[Kurt]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzWct1G_n7M

[Stephen Borud]

He made that look easy Kurt. He uses a CNC lathe then grinds the crap out of his cherry by hand. Love it.

Stephen