I can't be the only one.

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ADIDAS69

New member
Recently I have decided that I want solid brass projectiles for my BMG reloading. I have also decided that I don't want to pay $3.00 a piece for them. I have used CNC lathes before and I am familiar with writing G-code. So I figured there has to be a way of getting my own tiny CNC lathe set up and running. That way I could also make .30 cal. and .22 cal. projectiles for my other guns. All is well till I saw the prices start at $2500 and jump to $6999 and then jump to $15000 and then $40000 then $100000.

So is there anyone here that (a) has a CNC lathe that I could rent time on in the Seattle/King County area. (b) wants to buy in on the $6999 model with me (c) knows where I can get .50 cal. projectiles for roughly a $1.50.

Any input is appreciated.
 
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booker_t

New member
Contact local metal fabricators. Send them a drawing of the projectile and ask for a quote for labor & materials for however many parts you want.
 
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Gunplummer

New member
You might want to check on the raw material cost, it could be some weird bronze or brass casting that drives the price up.
 
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Powderman

New member
There is an alternative.

I know, it's not solid bronze, but still very capable nonetheless. Have you considered swaging?

I recently priced a complete setup from Corbin for .416. There is almost NOTHING out there that can maximise the accuracy potential of the cartridge that does not cost an arm and a leg to get.

The initial tariff is steep--about $1500.00. This, however, buys a press suitable for swaging, a die set for making rebated boat tail bullets, jacket lube, jackets and tips (aluminum, like the A-Max).
 
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taylorce1

New member
Or how about just buying some Bore Tech copper solid bullets. They have a BC of 1.124 and .924 which should get you all the down range performanc you will need. A lot less up front costs than getting someone to invest in a CNC with you.
 
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ADIDAS69

New member
RE

: local fabricators seem curiously un-interested, as I only want 400 to 500 per year. Larger runs end up costing as much as the cheaper machine. so inherently I would just buy the cheaper machine and just not try to impress any real machinists.

: I love the sponsorship idea. It's a chicken and egg problem at this point. I am pretty decent with my 5.56 at 600 meters but still dialing in my fifty. So no competitions just yet.

I will probably end up buying a machine; I am just being impatient. The fact is I am trying to stay merried, so I am looking for alternatives to trying to justify a $7000 lathe whose only use will be pumping out bullets. As aposed to paying off student loans. :)
 
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precision_shooter

New member
Sounds like you will need to "bite the bullet":D and keep paying the money to buy bullets until you get your student loans payed off. Then you can think about buying a lathe...
 
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booker_t

New member
Well you don't need a CNC Lathe to make bullets. A basic lathe with 0.001" accuracy should be sufficient to start, I would imagine. Use a follower (like for making keys, as the other poster mentioned) and you could crank them out fairly quickly.

Check out Grizzly Industrial, they make high-quality entry-level lathes and mills, along with some more expensive but still great-priced mid-range stuff. Find a sturdy place to mount it (bolted to the crust of the Earth, if possible) and you should be able to turn out some excellent projectiles.

Here's a full selection of their metal lathes, from $600 on up to $15,000:

http://grizzly.com/products/category.aspx?key=460000

If you get good, I'm sure you could help offset the cost of materials and the equipment by setting up a little website and selling custom projectiles.

And regarding your chicken/egg dilemma regarding sponsorship and competition, there's an old saying, "Fake it till you make it!"

And for the wife... well imagine all the things you could make for her on the lathe! .....use your imagination. ;)
 
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ADIDAS69

New member
Precision Shooter: it may not come through in my posts but i am a 32 yr. old
white boy. My kind is not used to waiting, plus they're not
my loans. She's the one who wanted to be the Pharmacist.
I paid as i went and instead of a pro-photographer i am now
a custom home builder/shoot-opotamus. At least that's
what she calls it.

Booker_t: Do you know whether or not the manual lathes can be adapted to
CNC?
 
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TheNev

New member
FWIW, I am a machinist by trade. I know CNC 3 axis mills mostly, but I can run just about anything if I spend enough time staring at it.

If you only want to turn out 1 type of projectile, look into getting a manual turret lathe. We have one at work. You pull a lever and it does an operation, release it and it indexes to the next tool, pull the lever forward and it does the next operation, etc.

Heres the wikipedia pagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turret_lathe

If not, man up and pay a machine shop to crank you out 4 or 500 bullets. The price goes down with quantity. Any competent machine shops can turn down bullets. If the lathe has a bar feeder, all your parts can be cranked out in an hour or so. Swiss type CNC lathes would take forever to setup for a small run of 500 pieces. Those are designed for 1000 pieces +.
 
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booker_t

New member
^^^^what he said.

With enough work, yea any manual lathe can be modified with motor drives and a computer to control them, but it isn't worth the time/energy just to pump out bullets I don't think.

And yes, the bar feeder would pretty much be an absolute must have, or else you're stopping and re-chucking after every piece is cut off.
 
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madcratebuilder

New member
A lot of people have converted the cheap Chinese 7X14 lathes to CNC. Lot of info on-line. There are a lot of DIY upgrades you can do to these cheap machines to improve accuracy to .0005 or better. I believe there's a guy up in Stanwood that makes CNC kits for the Seig 7" lathes.
 
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ADIDAS69

New member
I will check it out.

So is it Mr. Cratebuilder or was he your father? Seriously though I will look him up. I was hoping to find some one local, I mean I live in Boeing and Microsoft territory for heaven's sake.

Oh and another thing. Are you angry about building crates or are you really good at building crates?
 
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