After seeing so many of the custom bullets being made, i.e.: JeffreyDenmark, I'm interested...

Was considering the purschase of one of the "mini-lathes" for completing my shop.

But everyone seems to be CNC machining thier bullets. Would a mini-lathe work? Is anyone using something this simple for their bullets?

It's a tough field. Like art nearly. Figure out your costs and what you can expect to earn. Subtract what you have to have to live and that will give you the answer. I'd think everyone started on an non-CNC tool, but everyone making money has got one and it's running as much as possible.

If you need $1500 dollars a month to live on. you'll need to gross (sales) nearly $2300. If you work 200 hours a month and get $2.00 a bullet you need to make a bullet every 10 minutes. (rough numbers) remember, this includes answering the phone, e-mails, sales, marketing, writing checks, cooking lunch, walking the dog, NO VACATIONS... and so on... Prototype on the manual and then pay a kid $8.00 an hour to watch the CNC make money... Of course you have to have something that makes your product unique. Any idaes?

no, no, no... i'm not quitting my day job, and i'm sure not getting into the bullet business.

Just wanted to have some fun with a lathe!

I would buy some of the Solid bullets you want to duplicate for a pattern and try to find out what alloy they have in them. While it is not impossible to make them with a mini lathe it will be time consuming. If you are only in it for a hobby you can have a lot of fun and learn why others are using a CNC lathe in the process.

Good luck and have fun.

You could check out Corbin's web sight for bullet Swaging expensive but consistant.

http://www.corbins.com/

I think you'd find a mini-lathe would be lacking for turning bullets. You'll have to custom grind a form cutter to cut the ogive, and form cutters are very slow cutting, was well as put alot of force on the lathe, and the stock.

A Cnc is the way to go. You can easily change the profile of the bullet while using the same tooling, and you'll get consistant bullets.

A mini lathe is a great tool for the shop, but it isn't the way to go for turning mono-metal bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by new_guy:
no, no, no... i'm not quitting my day job, and i'm sure not getting into the bullet business.

Just wanted to have some fun with a lathe!

OOooooooh!
Me too. I got a microlux 7x14 mini. There's a lot of posts here about NOT getting a mini-anything, but I'm learning and don't want to plumb the house with 3 phase and I'm moving soon and Blah blah blah... I bought some delrin, brass, copper, and a piece of tungsten and I've been playing for 3 days now. It WILL kill time. I cut my first threads in the brass rod. They ended up gorgeous, (but LEFT-HANDED! oops) I think I will grind a form cutter and see how it works. If it's too much force I'll just put it together in sections and cut a section at a time. Tell me where you are in the process and we can share notes.

Do you have equipment yet?

I'm still in the "thinking about it" mode.

Did someone say ... ? your supposta make money making bullet's?

When does that happen

Hell guy's i make bullet's in
.750
.700
.618
.550
.510
.483
.475
.458
.423
.416
.403
.375
.366
.358

And all i do is ..Spend Spend Spend

i normaly spend $ 750.00 to make a $2,00 doller bullet.


Ok Ok Ok i make more them one two doller bullet


If your really going to make bullet's for your self and you are set on making solid's .
Buy a CNC or CNC Compatible: Designed to be upgradable to CNC operation.

Were have you been looking at mini lathes at ...


Have you thought about a Granite Machines
Or a Midas Machines by Smithy

Smithy Metalworking Tools

I have a Smithy and it is a POS.
Wish I would have bought something different.
It works and fun to play with, but can be a real pain.

Which smithy there are a few of them ?

CB-1239XL
The handles started breaking off around day 4. If I tighten them any less, then things slip.

quote:

Originally posted by Lar45:
CB-1239XL
The handles started breaking off around day 4. If I tighten them any less, then things slip.

Sorry to hear that, but a little glad too. I was really kicking myself for NOT getting one. But I'm doing nothing more that playing with mine so there's nothing that I want to do (yet) that I need a bigger machine for.

Let me get this right the first time around ?
You ?

quote:

tighten them any less, then things slip

Did you try using teflon tape .
I just don't see how thay broke mine are steal
and so are the handle's...
A few of the Smithy's are made in China.
the rest are made here in the US


You get what you pay for

And unless your ready to lay out hard cash.. your not going to get a CNC worth anything.

Even the one Saeed got is a baby CNC and he over payed for it as it is

There is another way another way around buying a CNC ..and still copy bullet's on the lathe .

Your going to have to build a rack and rail system for the top of the lathe and your going to need to buy a 2 Hp router you wind up with a half ass lathe duplicater your going to need to buy the right kind of bit's and your going to need a lot of set up time .
and all your bullet's must start out the right Diameter becouse all your doing is the taper and the nose of the bullet this way.


I did just this for my 400 grain .458 diameter bullet's i made from solid rod stock.

And it does work ..

quote:

Originally posted by new_guy:
After seeing so many of the custom bullets being made, i.e.: JeffreyDenmark, I'm interested...

Was considering the purschase of one of the "mini-lathes" for completing my shop.

But everyone seems to be CNC machining thier bullets. Would a mini-lathe work? Is anyone using something this simple for their bullets?

I hate to tell you, but you will find making bullets on a manual lathe too much of a hit and miss thing.

It is extremely difficult to turn any length of rod to the exact diameter of the bullet you wish to make.

That is the reason we went to a CNC lathe for our bullets, and the one we have is an extremely accurate machine.

I make bullets for my own rifle slightly under size, and have just turned and measured six bullets out of the machine.

0.37455
0.37455
0.37455
0.37455
0.37455
0.37455

When we turned them on our manual lathe, we could NOT get two to be exactly the same!!

Saeed ...

Anytime i do rod stock i have it already turned down to the right diameter before i touch it .
That way all i am doing are the nose's/point/taper's .
And the jig i use make's it easy... I really don't like to use solid's for hunting..

There are not that many Rhino's here and the one's here in Oregon ... a person would get shot himself if he were to shoot at them..

quote:

Anytime i do rod stock i have it already turned down to the right diameter before i touch it .
That way all i am doing are the nose's/point/taper's .
And the jig i use make's it easy...

I learn so much by just shuttin' the hell up. Could you post a picture of the jig? or e-mail it to me and I'll post it.

TIA

my picture's are always fuzzy..i use a camera ment for video confrensing.


all it is two 2x4's and end cap's nailed /screwed to two 2x6 's layed over the top of the lathe ..

I will try and get picture's for you ..


Pottsy

while this email was written about mills, the same applies for lathes

I too was in that delimea, and made some bad choices along the way...

first BAD choice, a grizzly 3 in 1 machine... it's a pretty decent beginning lathe, a good drill, but the milling was horrible, for several reasons
1: round column - this meant repeatable alignment was impossible

2: length of throw.. the weight limit was such that a tall enough vise weighed too much to have any useful depth

3: rigidity... milling on what amounts to the lathe saddle had LOADS of movement, in X and Y, unless it was totally locked down and you only took conventional cuts... this means, for a beginner, you alway had chatter.. i did for a long time

i then looked very hard at some of the smaller tools, which are generally the rong fu 31, which is sold by everyone of the importers... from 700 to 2000 for the same machine.

this is STILL a round column. My friend mike bought one, and as it stood, was marked in metric but has an inch leadscrew. so, dials from grizzly (about 35 bucks) and it worked OK.. he converted it to CNC, and it's a far better machine.. but the head is still on a round column... that means WHENEVER you move the head up and down it swings left and right... degrees off, and hard to align perfectly.


I got a used bridgeport, which i paid, to get running, about 2k....

You asked what you should look for? well, if you are in the NE, which is the land of milk and honey for milling machines... i would find a used machine dealer there and work with him.


Important things to consider when buying a mill (other than the obivous)

1: it MUST be 220, 1ph or 3ph.... 110 machines bog and SUCK

2: it must have a standard taper.. R-8 is heavily preferred, as that is the BP standard, and all machine tools will have that shank available. there's tons of it on ebay.

3: backlash -- this is an interesting one... any machine has SOME backlash... ah, what IS backlash... with you turn a knob RIGHT a couple turns, then stop, and then turn it left, the dial WILL turn but the machine will not actually move for X amount of travel.. .050" is still okay, you just hve to KNOW it. the smaller the backlash the better

4: sufficent power... my bp (and my new to me hurco) are 2 ph 3phase.. that cost an additional 250 to convert regular 1ph to 3 phase... i can NOT bog these machines in gunsmithing stuff. so, a 1.5 220 to a 3 hp should fit within that window.

5: overall condition.... most machines will have a gouge or three in the table.... and this drives the price DOWN... it also intimates that the user wasn't expert, and might indicate wear

6: name -- name doesn't always mean better, but it DOES mean parts can be found.


there are several square small mills, which i think are a better buy, and a NEW large one (if i can find the link) that is like 1500

jeffe

a

quote:

grizzly

is no better then one from Harbor Fright.

Whats that got to do with the Smithy pictured
it's made in the USA .
Yes some of Smithy's lathe's are made in China
but not all of them.

Hell if were going down this road ..


CNC

How about CNC retro-fitting the SEIG mini-lathes and mini-mills. A friend of mine has done this and is selling the conversion kits:
CNC Mini-Lathe & Mill Conversions
JP

That is just to cool guy





The total cost of the hardware to build this CNC retrofit is between $180 to $220.

The plans cost $49.95 (US Currency)

Thats a nice home use little bullet maker

tell your buddy

quote:

Way to go

Mind if i post this up on my Bullet web site guy ?

Martin

Su-weeeeet!

It will be mine, Oh yes, it will be mine.

(appologies to Wayne)

Now, Is there firmware, software? having a couple of stepper motors bolted up doesn't make a CNC tool.

Interesting notion: turn your own bullets... if you don't like or don't find what you want, then make it yourself... I like that.

Question though: these mini cnc lathes - do then tend to each speak their own language, or, have M-code/G-code interpretors/decoders become commonplace, ie, one can design the bullet on their CAD pgm of choice, and have it send the fanuc pgm to the lathe, or is one stuck with lathe/vendor specific design software?

I see Smithy gets panned above; any recommendations, especially given the small nature of the work, ie, are there cnc mini-lathes that can hold a ten-thou? Or is one better off with a mid-sized precision unit? [and with the understanding such a box would come out of the general gunning monies, ie, monies spent on a lathe are monies not spent on bullets, powders, guns, etc - or, asked differently: how cheaply can one get a viable unit, but without wasting their $'s on a P.O.S.? (it is possible to be too cheap)]

do shoot straight,
greg
http://www.gmdr.com

Tolerances are often the product of the machinist and his measuring tools. Then again I wouldn't waste my time putting out bullets that you can buy for less than 75 cents a piece.

quote:

Originally posted by rickt300:
Tolerances are often the product of the machinist and his measuring tools. Then again I wouldn't waste my time putting out bullets that you can buy for less than 75 cents a piece.

Oh God no. Neither would I, But I would make a Tungsten cored, front heavy, solid brass, VLD, HPBT with a void in the rear... (Just typin' out loud)

quote:

Originally posted by rickt300:
Tolerances are often the product of the machinist and his measuring tools. Then again I wouldn't waste my time putting out bullets that you can buy for less than 75 cents a piece.

Could i have your bank account Please


Alot of bullets that i make and sell ... sell for alot more then 75 cent each.. bullets ranging from 600 grain .458 upward all are more then 75 cents each.
My .700 diameter 1000 grain bullets in a 0.050 copper jacket are given away at 2.15 each.
My 585 diameter bulets are all in ever weight more them 75 cents each and i dont make a .618 or .620 bullet for under a doller each and i sell alot of them .

And we dont need to go into my 8 Ga or 4 Ga or 2 Ga bullets there ....on the high side of a good six pack of beer per bullet...

So those lathes do have there place just not sure its making .308 diameter bullets

I guess I was looking at it from my use in calibers less than .338. All my larger diameters are for my 45-70 which mostly gets cast bullets as do my muzzleloaders. There are things that are much easier to do with a CNC lathe and I make my living doing it. That said There are a lot of parts out there that you can make a lot more that $100 dollars a piece off of. The parts I am running right now are aircraft grade aluminum, take 15 minutes to run and go out the door for $850 dollars each. The order was for 65 and from first to last operation are going to take 3 days to finish. Thats what I mean by wasting time making bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by rickt300:
I guess I was looking at it from my use in calibers less than .338. All my larger diameters are for my 45-70 which mostly gets cast bullets as do my muzzleloaders. There are things that are much easier to do with a CNC lathe and I make my living doing it. That said There are a lot of parts out there that you can make a lot more that $100 dollars a piece off of. The parts I am running right now are aircraft grade aluminum, take 15 minutes to run and go out the door for $850 dollars each. The order was for 65 and from first to last operation are going to take 3 days to finish. Thats what I mean by wasting time making bullets.

Can i have your job ..PLEASE