O-ring tool - for Ian

[Ian]

Same basic drill for this benchtop, Keith. The change gears were 65, 40, 35, 60, not sure of the tooth count of the headstock gear or tumbler gears. I bored my spider through to match the nut ID, then bored the far side out past the .400" of threads to a few thousandths larger than spindle thread OD so I'd have some relief room for the spindle to coast down and stop, then cut the threads leaving the half-nuts engaged the whole time. I used the no-trig method of internal threading per the video that Joe Piezenski has on utoob.

 

[Brad]

That Joe guy has some good videos. I have watched more than a few of his.

 

[Ian]

Joe Pie's parting tool video is a must-watch for any lathe newbie.

 

[Brad]

Get the parting tool even a little off square and it is obvious as you cut.
Tubalcain has some decent very basic videos too.
Look at the hobby machinist forum. Not always a ton of great info but they will answer questions and generally are friendly.

 

[Gary]

Ian, is your lathe "stout" enough to cut/make sizing dies ? Either like the Lee or like Lyman.

 

[Ian]

I think so, it depends on the material used. I think most sizing and reloading dies are cut from a machinable yet highly heat-treatable steel and machined in the annealed state before induction hardening. I have no idea what Rick and Lathesmith use for material, maybe 01 tool steel?

 

[KeithB]

Ian, I'm sending you a package tomorrow that will have a few Lyman type sizing die blanks in it. All you will have to do is drill/bore/ream/polish to size. Oh, and unless you plan to use them solely for push through sizing you will have to drill cross holes and make an ejector pin. The material is 1144 steel, sometimes it's called "Stressproof". It is a resulfurized (free machining) steel with approximately .44% carbon. It can be quench hardened if desired but it's probably not necessary for a lead bullet sizing die. If I were to make a case sizing die for brass cartridges I would certainly quench harden it.

I'll let Ian share the results here as he gets the time to do so.

 

[smokeywolf]

I remember having to withdraw and reverse the spindle when single-pointing on a very old Hardinge second op. lathe. Easier of course with the cam lever on the compound.

 

[KeithB]

Getting rid of a lot of the gear train is one reason why a CNC lathe costs about a what new mechanical lathe costs. No compound slide, no need for a taper attachment, simpler drive train, fewer parts. Nowadays the price of quality machined parts is rising and the cost of electronics is dropping.

Also, you can cut ANY pitch thread on a CNC lathe just by changing the feed rate.

 

[Brad]

Ian, I have made bullet sizers from both 12L14 and O1. I have some Star dies I made from blanks I bought from Keith years ago. Shoulda bought 30-50 of those blanks! Those from Keith were 1144 and it machined very nicely.
A Lyman die isn't that hard to make. I have made a couple. Drilling cross holes is what kills me. No drill press or mill makes it harder, I use a cordless drill!
O1 isn't much harder to machine but I do find it takes more time to final polish the inside of the sizer. Need to bore closer to final size so less polish/home work is required. Much over .001 and it gets tedious.

What do you guys suggest for measuring final hole dimension? I have been using a -pin gauge. When the next size down goes in and the size I want will almost fit I know I am very close and give a little polish and quit. I always run a bullet thru to get a final dimension. Having pin gauges from .050 to .500 in .001 increments is nice. Just wondering if a telescoping hole gauge would work better? Nice thing is that the pin gauge measures only the smallest part of the bore which is usually sliglhtly tapered.

 

[KeithB]

Brad, you need SMALL HOLE GAGES, not telescoping gages, they won't go small enough. Here is a link, you can see the set covers the range from 0.125" to 0.5", exactly the range needed for bullet sizing dies.

Actually, using pin gages and checking the final result in practice is a pretty good way to do things.

 

[smokeywolf]

Pin gage is fine. You don't need inspection dept. instruments for what we do. I think my smallest telescoping gage only goes down to 1/2".
Only thing I have that will go small enough to measure down to say, .220 is precision pin gages or small hole gages. The small hole gages will reveal an out-of-round condition.

EDIT: Didn't mean to repeat what Keith posted. Didn't see his post until I posted mine.

 

[Brad]

Hey, if you two say the same thing I know I can take it to the bank.

Ian, here is a drawing to help you.

I think it is a 30° angle at the bottom but don't quote me on that. Only critical dimensions on the outside are the bottom angle, the length, and diameter at the top. I like a snug slip fit inside the nut that holds the die in place. I don't use an O ring as the snug fit prevents leakage.

A .004-.005 clearance on center plug seems about right.

 

[Ian]

Sweet, thanks Brad.

I use an assortment of lead alloy slugs of various compositions and a 0-1" mic to check my sizing dies. No, really. I don't care what size the sizer is if it makes the particular bullet the size I need. To get in the ballpark when starting from scratch, hole gauges should be close enough for the drilling and rough cutting or reaming.

 

[Brad]

I use pin gauges to let me know what I currently have and know how much more to remove. I like to leave .001-.002 for final honing and don't want to over shoot. Yes, I have a few I screwed up and made over sized.

 

[KeithB]

Oops, forgot the link:

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/06237432

 

[Ian]

Keith, this one's in honor of you, I made it out of that shear-cut rod scrap you sent and is the first actual part I've made yet, and only the second set of threads I've ever single-pointed in my life. Someone tell me A threads are easier to do! Gotta learn that next. All that's left is drill/face the ends of the bolts and make some brass buttons for them, or better yet find some 3/8"x24 socket head set screws so the bolt heads aren't sticking out all directions begging to grab a body part and twist it up.



I left the outboard end as large as I could to make a hand wheel similar to those on the belt pulley of a treadle sewing machine, and for similar reasons. One day I might turn it to the nearest correct knurling diameter and knurl it up.

 

[Gary]

Nice work Ian. If that little lathe will tackle that job, it aught to be able to make some Lyman sizing dies and Lee Lube/size dies. I got to get one of those lathes.

 

[Ian]

Thanks, Gary. The part I didn't mention was the four hours I spent scraping out the threads with inadequate tooling, I think I could have done it in ten minutes even at my skill level once set up if I had a carbide insert threading bar, but I'm used to substituting patience for proper tools . Like tonight when I would have given my kingdom for a jobber-length letter Q drill.

L1A1Rocker and I were discussing tooling options and I mentioned my discovery that it's really, really tough to find certain lathe tools when you have never seen what's available for the job and don't even know what exactly to look for or what it's called.

End view, mocked up with some hardened SAE bolts I had on hand. I don't know what kind of steel that was but it was about all I wanted to cut by hand with a T-handle tap, and about all I would want to thread with the tiny but surprisingly stout little carriage and cross/compound feeds.

 

[freebullet]

That is some darn fine machining there for a first try!

I don't see broken plastic chunks & guess it can handle some work. I had been eyeballing the mini lathe mill combo they offer but, have yet to learn enough about the machines to know if it will do enough for me. I really appreciate all the tips & tricks being provided here. Way to go, Ian!