Clever checkmaker

Ian

Notorious member
"Friend who has a wire EDM"...:rofl:

Yeah, I don't have any friends who even know what that IS.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
they can spell EDM,,, 'we' [as in I,, cause I don't got no friends] all listen to it.
it's on the BPM channel.

since we are dreaming and drawing, how's about incorporating changeable sleeves so a guy could buy one die body and get a sleeve and a punch as necessary or replace the sleeve or punch from a 'set' as they dull.
he could also dig one of those presses out of the pile in the basement and set it up as a punch press.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I'm currently trying to engineer something around the Lee universal expander body to eliminate all the externally-threaded parts that need made.
 

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
I have friends in lots of places :) One of my friends and now a part time employee is retired guy with two MFA degrees (blacksmithing and jewelry making). I've seen him cut some very narrow cuts with a jeweler's hand saw. If some way could be figured out to hold the part and guide the blade that might work, maybe some type of hard steel could be used to guide the blade.

Just thinking, a hardenable steel block with a hole in it with a clearance fit for the die body, a set screw to hold it in place, and a smooth face at right angles to the hole. Clamp the die body in place and run a jewelers saw down the face. Kind of like a case trimming die that you use with a file, the steel would be harder than the saw teeth.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
like a mitre box only purpose built like we use to cut down cases before forming into something else.
 

Ian

Notorious member
That would work, Keith. I cut the shoulder on a #4 takedown rolling block barrel tenon with a jeweler's saw once.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I still think that if one wanted to go to the trouble, making the forming die body in two pieces joined by a threaded sleeve with a slot cut completely through it might be the way to go. The bottom half with the forming mandrel inside would have the cutting edge and it could be faced and honed quite sharp. It could also be domed slightly to decrease the cutting angle from 90⁰. Screw the punch guide part into one end, the cutter/form die into the other, adjust so they meet in the middle of the oversized window slots in the sleeve, and lock it down with jam nuts. Slotting windows in the sleeve could be done with a hack saw or better yet a 3" abrasive wheel so it would leave two points of support, one on each side.
 

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
That's the idea Fiver. I checked, jeweler's saw frames are $15 and up and 5" long blades are pretty cheap in bulk packs.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Kid says punch needs to be hardened as it is the part that wears. She said punch needs to be diameter desired and the die a bit bigger based on thickness of material to be cut.

If you has the die in 2 parts you could file or mill off a bit of top portion to create the slot.
 

Gary

SE Kansas
Good Lord, this project is really taking off. I am in the process of making a GC maker according to the listed plans (kinda) and I can testify to the necessity of a straight slot.:mad:
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
the three pieces need to fit.
it's similar to a de-rim die for making 22lr cases into jackets.
if you have too much slop you'll tear the rims or pop the punch through the bottom of the case.
you pretty much end up ironing the whole jacket down around the push stem but with about .001 total clearance.
the die does all the ironing.
it has a small radiused entrance and a slight taper to the interior of the sizing portion.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
My daughter said the die and punch need clearance based on material thickness. In the drawing he mentions roughly .002 which for our material thickness is about right.
The pin, which forms the check, needs to be check diameter minus 2x material thickness smaller than internal bore of the forming section. That is what makes the check the right size. I would want that forming section at or maybe .001 over desired final size.
We could even make one for check that are .360 to fit Marlin 357s.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
As far as the idea of using an arbor press vs a reloading press- Inexpensive arbor presses available from multiple sources these days. It wouldn't be unreasonable or particularly hard to obtain one and rig a tray beneath it to catch the checks. Of course the die would have to be a self contained type unit for an arbor press instead of 2 part as with a reloading press.

Actaully, a spring loaded "whack-a-mole" tool could also work and the hammer could do the job. Lots of options I suppose.
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
I love the direction this thread is moving! The technicalities are way above my pay grade, so I have nothing to contribute- but I follow your exchange with great interest.