# Home made reloading tools....show and tell thread!



## mike bell (Feb 4, 2011)

Home made reloading tools..........show and tell thread!!

COL gauges, wall thickness gauges, concentricity fixtures....what ever you have made, Id like to see them.  please


----------



## weagle (Feb 4, 2011)

Not really a tool, but my portable , Bar Stool, reloading stand.  

Weagle


----------



## MGD45 (Feb 5, 2011)

Do you have any weights to keep it from wanting to flip over when pressing down on the press handle?  Or do you simply press down on the opposite side with your other hand?  Looks nice & simple.....I need to do that so I can do load development at the range!


----------



## city boy gone country (Feb 5, 2011)

THANKS WEAGLE ! great idea ! I just so happen to have one of those stools in my shop . That solves my problem about reloading on those days when its too hot or cold in the man cave.
good post !!


----------



## weagle (Feb 5, 2011)

MGD45 said:


> Do you have any weights to keep it from wanting to flip over when pressing down on the press handle?  Or do you simply press down on the opposite side with your other hand?  Looks nice & simple.....I need to do that so I can do load development at the range!



I just put my foot on the bottom brace.  It's plenty stable.  I use the little vice to hold my powder thrower. 

Weagle


----------



## Dead Eye Eddy (Feb 5, 2011)

I used a homemade primer pocket cleaner for years until I got a LEE tool that I could chuck up in my drill.

I made it by grinding the sides of a flathead screwdriver blade so that it fit perfectly into the primer pocket and grinding the tip of the blade flat to clean the bottom of the primer pocket.


----------



## BriarPatch99 (Feb 5, 2011)

.75" piece of .5" drill rod ...turned a pilot with small primer dimensions on one end ...large primer pilot on other end. Stops varying trim lengths caused by varying rim diameters on brass. Much faster than chucking in the collete too.

Jimmy K


----------



## animalguy (Feb 5, 2011)

Briarpatch, that is pretty smart. I never considered the effects of variable rim thickness on overall length.


----------



## BriarPatch99 (Feb 5, 2011)

Measure a few and you will see how much they vary!  With the draw type collet that this type trimmer uses... the size of the rim determines how far the collet is withdrawn in ... thus resulting in varying trim lengths. By using the "pilot" I eliminated that problem because it is now between two centers.

Jimmy K


----------



## Flaustin1 (Feb 5, 2011)

Man i like that.  Dang good idea.


----------



## SmokyMtnSmoke (Feb 5, 2011)

BriarPatch, neat idea, but what keeps the case from spinning?


----------



## Dub (Feb 5, 2011)

WEAGLE, that barstool is a great idea that I plan on using.


----------



## BriarPatch99 (Feb 5, 2011)

The case is held with your fingers ... I sometime use a cheap rubber coated finger glove ...the ones at Walmart with the blue fingers... it has a little tack to it. But most of the time I just use my fingers. You learn the amount of pressure you can push with the cutter so that it does not over power your fingers. 

Jimmy K


----------



## MadDawg51 (Feb 6, 2011)

I use a Lee turret press with multiple die sets mounted on turrets with powder measures.  They don't fit in the Lee round boxes and don't sit straight on a shelf.  But, 3" schedule 40 DWV pipe has the same inside diameter as the Lee press.  Cut a short piece of pipe and the die set will sit vertically on the shelf.


----------



## BriarPatch99 (Feb 6, 2011)

This is my photoshopped version of a measuring tool I use... except mine uses a magnetic base on a peice of machined flat plate.  I use the Sinclair Hex bullet comparator and some of my own drilled hex nuts to measure Bullet seating depth and case sizing(shoulder movement). Works pretty good for me! I saw a magnetic base and Indictor in Harbor Freight for $22 ... The Sinclair hex nuts are $19 each so you could put one of these together for not much $$.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pid=34262/Product/Sinclair_Hex_Style_Bullet_Comparators

http://www.harborfreight.com/

Jimmy K


----------



## mike bell (Feb 7, 2011)

nice jimmy.  Im thinking about making something like that with a steel base and use an attachment on the indicator tip for checking seating depth.

what is the I.D. on those .30cal gauges?  Or does it matter?  I'd like to make one that would work for 308 and 243 bullets.    Might have to try a couple of different sizes and see.  The only problem I might see is the bigger 220gr Prohunter 308's, they got a big ol round nose.


----------



## BriarPatch99 (Feb 7, 2011)

Mike 
The Sinclair hex #2
With my crappy dime store calipers(battery is dead on my better one)... I getting .3085 (? on the 5) on the outside edge of the hole and looks like .300/.299 on the inside edge. 

On the Hex # 2 the .338 hole is directly across from the .308 ...so a even a long bullet can stick though with out hitting the other side.

On my home made hex ... I usually drill with a bit one size smaller than I need because the hole I wind up with is always bigger than the bit. Say if I drilling for a .257 bullet ...I may drill with a size D bit or maybe a 1/4" ... so I may wind up with a .255 hole. But to me it really doesn't matter as long as it is slightly smaller than bullet size. I'm not looking to match the throat exactly, but get a relative measurement to one(bullet) touching the lands. Does that make any sense?

Jimmy K


----------



## ScottD (Feb 8, 2011)

homemade powder measure stand.






also the powder bottles I use are homemade - i take two, cut the bottoms off of both and reattach them together with a small funnel in between to act as a baffle.


----------



## mike bell (Feb 10, 2011)

Nice stand Scott, and I did not first see that little set up you got back behind it till now.....two v-blocks...how does that work?

Jimmy,  Im gonna make one to attach to an extra indicator I have in the tool box.   I run two cnc mills and a lathe everyday, so I started thinking, heck I can make this stuff if I knew what the measurements were.  I have just about every drill size from 1/64 to 1/2inch and can bore it to what it needs to be if its in between sizes.   

I have been reading alot of stuff lately...probly to much and more advanced stuff then what I should.  (6mmbr.com ) 

If we can come up with some easy quick stuff I can slide in on weekends........I can always share

hint...hint....lets have some ideas and discussions on home made tools or fixtures.

first on my list is this OAL / bullet seating gauge.

next is a set up for checking run out / neck thickness.


----------



## BriarPatch99 (Feb 10, 2011)

Mike 

My set up is more like the one Scott has in the back ground than what the Photoshopped one I posted. I had also thought about the V-blocks as a way to measure run out, but never got them.

If you have acccess to the CNC Mill and lathe ... you got it made !!

If I were you ...I would make a cerrosafe cast of the chambers and measure and match the comparator to that specific chamber.  

Having said that ...I doubt that I could have one made for the $20 the Sinclair Hex cost. 

I have a friend on another forum that makes them from cut off sections of rifle barrels... he just turns the proper throat and use that to measure his  COL. Do you have access to some barrel sections.

Jimmy K


----------



## mike bell (Feb 10, 2011)

I have some barrels....but I dont have chamber reamers yet.


----------



## BriarPatch99 (Feb 10, 2011)

Can you cut the leade(throat) with the CNC? I think the guy on the other forum cut his with a mini lathe. I saying short sections of barrels may 2" or so.. not whole barrels.
Jimmy K


----------



## mike bell (Feb 10, 2011)

If I can look at a drawing or have one in my hand,  I could probly make it.  At least my boss thinks so anyway


----------



## ScottD (Feb 11, 2011)

The run-out fixture in the background hardly ever gets used.  I check runout when I get a new die or neck bushing and then never look at it again.  If the die is right - the run-out will be fine (usually)

OAL - I use a Sinclair nut - easy to use for different calibers.

You need a bump gauge and a chamber length gauge - easy to make those.


----------



## rayjay (Feb 11, 2011)

Here's a wrench I made for the Hornady loading die lock rings. One of the first things I ever made on my milling machine. The second pic is of some music wire clips I bent up to hold open the lid of the cartridge boxes.


----------



## rayjay (Feb 11, 2011)

Although not a reloading tool the tool in the pic will make every rifle in your safe shoot better. You need at least 4 of them for 100 yds and 6 for 200 yds.


----------



## ScottD (Feb 11, 2011)

I copied Rays music clips - without a doubt, they are the best home made reloading tool I use.

Everytime I buy a new box - the first thing I do is go make a clip.

Great idea - thanks Ray.


----------



## rayjay (Feb 11, 2011)

That's one of those things that fall under the heading of:

The simplest things bring the most pleasure.


----------



## mike bell (Feb 13, 2011)

Hers one from another web site Im on where I asked the same topic.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





Im scrunging up materials tomorrow....


----------



## BriarPatch99 (Feb 13, 2011)

Like the looks of that item!!

Jimmy K


----------

