Gas cheks

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Last Post 30 December 2009

CBA Member

acdman posted this 28 March 2009

Just bitching since I am frustrated. Price of gas checks have run up so they are on a par with primers. Primers have 3 compnents and involve technology to produce. Checks have one component and zero technology. Makes no sense except the old story of the run up in copper prices drove check prices. Copper prices have plummeted but not checks. Sounds like the old gasoline BS we get fed all the time.

Does anyone have any contacts within Hornady to see if we are going to get any relief? Or, can we work on some type of CBA member discount?

Sorry, bad hair day..

Mike

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codarnall posted this 30 December 2009

Before our local range shut down a fellow actually had a heart attack and expired mining lead from the butts. I suspect there is about 20 tons still there. Burned by zinc etc in the WW's I do find it fun and part of the hobby mining after shooting when possible. Lead just happens to be the most recycled metal substance today. Something Al Gore and buddies know nothing about in reality. I am also in favor of organizing a condor hunt to get rid of the illegal Mexican migrant birds, think there's 20 or so left.

Charlie

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Johnny Breedlove posted this 29 December 2009

Dicko: I'm sure you knew that I was just joking. I also know that we have to do something right here. My only problem is that I'm not sure when people are going to wake up and do something, and hopfully befor it is to late. I have read horror stories about SF.

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mcskipper posted this 29 December 2009

Good looking system Mrbill2!

He is right about the force needed.

I use a 1/2 ton arbor press because the ram comes down. That way the disc's fall into a small try. I can make blanks @ about 12 a minute. Forming takes a bit longer, maybe 6 a minute. That's about 250/hour. I consider making the checks part of the casting time.

Richard Lee will not take advise from anyone. It seems he got burnt bad by some guy way back when.

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CB posted this 29 December 2009

codernall makes one as well, just got one in 30 cal but havent sat down to make any yet.

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tturner53 posted this 29 December 2009

I hear a lot of good stuff about 'Pat Marlin's' check making tool over on boolits forum. I guess it's time I try one, they're not expensive.

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codarnall posted this 28 December 2009

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Just playing around before XMAS vacation. JB weld holds it together in its present form. Unsure if I'll go in to production, but I will know in mid January. Material is .014 Aluminum. Didn't try anything else. About 10th time at making a video camera work, it's not in my interest at all! Not sure if it any faster by the time we took off. Still less than $40 the way I see it.

Charlie Charlie

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mrbill2 posted this 28 December 2009

biddulph wrote: I'm wondering why Lee hasn't developed a gas check maker kit for their bullet presses? This would appear to be right up their alley. I'd imagine the classic cast press would handle the strain of pressing them out.

And, given Lee has ready access to most of the cast bullet community, this would seem to be a sure fire concept.

Lee gas check die.

Here is a picture of a Lee 22 Hornet necksizing die with parts that I converted to make gas checks in 30 and 357 cal. I have ordered more body dies from Lee so I can make more. Lee tells me it could take up to 30 days for them to ship. When I get more made I expect some will end up on Ebay. I have made other dies without using the Lee die but they require much more machine time to produce.

This die makes one check with each stroke of the press. I make 30 cal. from .015 to .018 aluminum and 357 from .010. The notion that your reloading press can not handle to task is false. My die does not punch the disks that form the check, it cuts it. I can make checks with no more pressure required from the press than any then other reloading jobs. Case forming for one. I sometimes work harder lube and sizing bullets that need to be swaged down. You don't need an arbor press.

All good things take time, so I'll just keep plugging along in the shop and see what develops. Might even send one to Lee since they already make half of what is needed.

Maybe they would like to make it all. I really don't want to spend a lot of time making and selling them on Ebay. Been there, do that in the past with gunsmithing tools. I'm more interested in shooting.

mrbill2

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mugs posted this 28 December 2009

Ck. my post #31. Pat's using a Lee press in his pictures. Lots of pictures and good step by step instructions. His dies will work with beer cans up to .020 material. Mugs IHMSA 5940L

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biddulph posted this 28 December 2009

I'm wondering why Lee hasn't developed a gas check maker kit for their bullet presses? This would appear to be right up their alley. I'd imagine the classic cast press would handle the strain of pressing them out.

And, given Lee has ready access to most of the cast bullet community, this would seem to be a sure fire concept.

Reading the latest Lee manual, I noticed Ed Harris' name mentioned as the one who introduced liquid Alox to Mr. Lee. Any chance of putting the gas check concept to him Ed?

cheers and happy new year to all! I'm off to Seattle tonight to go skiing up in Canada so look forward to checking out some US gun shops and getting out of the Darwin wet season humidity (90%) and into some dry sub zero snow.

cheers

James

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tturner53 posted this 28 December 2009

I'm stocking up on Gator checks. Making my own is a chore I don't want, but may get there. The Gators are very high quality at a good price. On a side note, I've been reading amazing stuff about paper patched bullets. Another chore, but what amazing results, if you like full power loads. I'm also studying on plain base, you can do a lot of cheap shooting with either.

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JetMech posted this 28 December 2009

ebay

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shastaboat posted this 28 December 2009

Where can I buy the Free Chex ll tool?

Because I said so!

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shastaboat posted this 28 December 2009

Dicko wrote: shastaboat wrote: Maybe producing GC's for commercial sales is the wrong approach. I wonder if a hardened steel cutting die/mandrel could be made to fit in reloading presses? Could we buy flat sheets of copper, brass, aluminum from a metal supplier and make our own?

Somewhere in the depths of the crap that passes for my filing system I have an article from a British shooting magazine that describes tooling made for use on a Rockchucker or similar. It is a simple two stage tool. As Dollar Bill points out, these home made tools and tools made for home use are OK for that but too slow for commercial production.

The Rockchucker is a rugges tool but I'm not sure that it would like punching discs. Better use something like the Freechex tool for that. The British tool uses a simple hollow punch for punching the discs on a lead pad. It is also designed for beer cans. Thicker brass or copper might need more punching power, like an arbour press. The cup forming second stage is what's done in the Rockchucker in the British tool.

Dicko, could you spend some time and dig up that article about the British tooling for a Rock Chucker press dies using beer cans. I don't recycle but would certainly do that type.

Because I said so!

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35Whelen posted this 28 December 2009

Personally, I can't find any reason to not make my own checks. For a little more than the cost of 1000 .30 caliber checks, I bought a Free Chex II tool. At first I was somewhat skeptical about the quality of home-made gas checks, especially aluminum, because I shoot High Power and am particular about accuracy. But I like saving money and it makes no sense to me to cast bullets from my free WW's only to have to check them with a 3Ã‚Â¢ or 4Ã‚Â¢ copper gas check.

I've been making my own aluminum checks for several months now and unless copper checks really drop in price, I'll never use them again. The only thing I prefer about the commercial copper checks is I don't have to make 'em! Making checks with the Free Chex tool is a little time consuming, but I can turn out 100 in less than 1/2 hour. I make my checks from the aluminum “No Trespassing", “Garage Sale", et al signs. They cost less than $2 ea. and I can get a little over 500 checks per sign. Consistency of the checks is very, very good and I experienced absolutely no loss in accuracy over the copper checks.

As someone else mentioned, a gentleman on the Cast Boolit site designed and sells a check making die that works in a reloading press. Another gentleman over there made his own gas check forming die out of plain, cold rolled steel, using nothing more than ordinary handtools and a drill press. I know his checks work because he occassionally spanks some a$$ at his local High Power match. Necessity is the mother of invention...

I guess I'm saying if you're going to fuss about the price of copper checks, make your own.

Regards, 35W

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mugs posted this 28 December 2009

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=51605 Look here for press mounted gas check dies. Mugs IHMSA 5940L

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codarnall posted this 28 December 2009

kokojoe wrote: Am I reading it wrong or is the Corbin kit near $400 to make these? The last catalog sheets I saw were $599.00 for a single caliber two years ago. Everything I've seen out of his shop was was quality too. Presses, dies etc. Charlie

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codarnall posted this 28 December 2009

kokojoe wrote: First, we need to support the efforts of the NRA. . Multiple attempts for assistance to enlist help from the NRA to keep from closing the Ventura CA range failed, it opened to the public about 1954. Now the only noise polluters are the 5.56 rounds fired buy the police, day or night. We'd been limited to a maximum of .357 level of noise. So somehow we're to win the big wars in DC and forget the little ones at home. People had better wake up. It's called the salami technique!

Charlie

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Dicko posted this 28 December 2009

Johnny Breedlove wrote: this does not work we can all move to South Africa and live with dicko and take what lead we have left and start our own country. Sorry to disappoint you, Johnny, but that would out of the frying pan into the fire. We have a communist government. I'm serious, about half the leading members of our governing party belong to the SA Communist Party that was and still is Stalinist. That's why we are in trouble on every front, health, education, you name it. 65% of the voters think its OK. We shall have no firearms left if the present assault on firearm ownership continues.

So actually its the other way around. If I were in the US I'd be into pro gun politics big time. I've spent a good few years doing that in SA where its pretty much farting against thunder. So why aren't I there ? Twenty five years ago my name came up lucky in a green card ballot. My wife didn't want to go. Seen too many movies that really did not present the true picture of American life. I'm too old now and opportunities like that happen only once, but trust me, I'd rather be there than here.

The other day I said on another thread on this forum that my “take” on the US is that there are still enough people who believe in traditional values and freedoms to fight for them. I gotta tip for ya. Get yourselves copies of “Confrontational Politics” by retired California Senator Bill Richardson and get busy.

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Dicko posted this 28 December 2009

shastaboat wrote: Maybe producing GC's for commercial sales is the wrong approach. I wonder if a hardened steel cutting die/mandrel could be made to fit in reloading presses? Could we buy flat sheets of copper, brass, aluminum from a metal supplier and make our own?