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How to Swage Bullets Using The
FJFB-3-H Die Set
Type -H dies fit into the ram of the Corbin Mega-Mite manual (CSP-2), the Hydro, Jr. (CSP-2H) press,
and the Corbin Hydro-Press (CHP-1). The 3-die set consists of a CORE SWAGE (CSW--1-H), a CORE
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SEAT(CS-1-H), and a POINT FORM (PF-1-H) die, each with one internal and one external punch.
The external punch (1) is held in the floating punch holder (2), which comes with the press. A threaded
bushing (3) is removed from the bottom of the punch holder, placed over the external punch, and then
screwed back into the bottom of the punch holder to secure the punch. The punch holder screws into
the press head, so the punch faces the ram. (Large diameter punches, such as 600 Nitro, have their own
captive threaded bushing: do not remove this from the punch.)
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The die (4) screws into the press ram, with its internal punch inside the ram. Some internal punches
require the use of spring powered retraction: they have a quarter inch diameter hole through the head
portion, through which a 1/4-inch diameter retraction pin (7) fits. The pin goes below the large spring
around the press ram, and pushes down on the pin, which then pushes the punch down when the ram
is raised, making it easier to insert material into the die.
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A knock-out or ejection bar (5) goes through a slot in the press ram, below the spring and also below
the retraction pin (if one is required—not all punches have a hole through the head). The knock-out bar
contacts the head of the internal punch (6) on the down stroke, and comes to rest on the press mount-
ing plate. This stops the movement of the bar while the ram continues down, making the punch stop
and ejecting the component.
Once you have the punch holder adjusted to push the bullet just far enough to form a nice tip on the
bullet, and to allow proper ejection each time, go ahead and process all the bullets. The adjustment
and checking only has to be done on the first bullet. The open end of the jacket faces UP when you seat
the core, and it faces DOWN when you form the ogive. In every step, you want a small amount of
Corbin Swage Lube on the surface of the bullet or jacket, but not on the inside of the jacket.
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If you use Corbin Core Bond, the core is swaged first, then put into the jacket by hand, and THEN the
core bond is put into the jacket (one or two drops, which should run down between jacket and core).
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The core is melted quickly in the jacket, and the jacket is allowed to cool. Then, the jacket must
be boiled in hot water to which some baking soda has been added (a table spoon per quart is
sufficient). This neutralizes any remaining core bonding acid, which will destroy the surface of
the dies.
Spread the cleaned, bonded jackets out on a dry towel and let them dry from their own heat, then seat their cores using the
CS-1-H die, and form the ogive in the PF-1-H die as usual. Do not fail to clean the bonded cores in hot water and baking
soda, or you may destroy the point forming die from residual core bond, which attacks the die surfaces. (Core Bonding is an
option for jacketed bullets, not a requirement: it prevents the core and jacket from separating on impact and forces the
jacket to expand evenly with the core).
If you wish to make lead bullets, without a jacket, you can swage the core and put it directly into the point forming die.
However, if you do form it to almost finished diameter in the core seater, you will usually produce a slightly better bullet. To
do this requires a punch that seals the die bore, not the external punch which fits into a jacket. In some cases the external
point forming punch will fit. Try it by hand before inserting it with the force of the press, just in case it is too large to slip in
easily. Never insert any punch under force that will not slip in by hand!
Never try to swage a component that will not go into the die by hand. The swaging operation depends on each component
being slightly smaller than the die bore, and increases the bullet diameter a little with every step. The core seating die and
point forming die are matched to each other for a given jacket and core material to within 0.0005 to .0008 inches with the
core seater being smaller.
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The first die is the CORE SWAGE (CSW-1H). It is used to form a piece of lead to
precise diameter, length and weight. You
can use cut lead wire, or a cast lead core.
Apply a small amount of Corbin Swage
Lube to the cores as you handle them.
There are three bleed holes through the
sides of the die, and its punches are
very close fits to the die bore. They are
the smallest punches in the set and
only fit this die properly.
For power presses, set the bottom
sensor so the pressure stops (red LED
on the sensor goes on) just as the
swaged core is ejected (internal punch
even with the top of the die). Use a knockout bar that allows the punch to come just
to the die face, if you have more than one
height of bar with your press (hand
presses use three different heights of bars
for various punch and die lengths).
Set the floating punch holder so the
desired amount of lead is left in the die
when the press stops moving up (position
of the top sensor controls top of stroke on hydraulic
presses, physical end of ram travel is fixed on hand
press).
After making the desired number of cores, clean them in
hot water to remove the swage lube, then
let them dry and insert them into bullet
jackets (if jackets are used). Select a
diameter of external punch that fits the
jacket ID at the point where you want the
core to be after seating. Thicker jackets,
and lighter cores in tapered jackets, both
require a larger diameter external punch
than thinner jackets or heavier bullets
with a tapered commercial jacket. (See
Corbin Handbook for discussion of
proper core/jacket/punch fitting).
The core seating die (CS-1-H) is the
second die in a flat base die set. It is
NOT used when making rebated boattail
bullets: instead, a pair of RBT dies is
used in sequence to seat the core. The
external punch can also be full diameter
for the die in order to make large lead tip
bullets, or have a projecting cone on the
end to make hollow points. The internal
punch can be flat, domed or have a
conical projection to form the mirror
image of that shape in the bullet base.
The correct core seating pressure is normally in the 300 to
500 PSI range. This can vary with the particular caliber,
jacket thickness, and other features of the bullet, so follow
any written instructions provided with the die regarding
the suggested pressure. Always start with the pressure in a
low setting (300 to 500 psi) and increase is slowly until the
jacket expands to just under the diameter you get with a
swaged pure lead slug in the die. Any greater pressure than
this will only stress the die and could bend punches or
break dies, and serves no useful purpose.
Apply a small amount of swaging lube to the outside of
each jacket as you pick it up to insert in the die; the
amount that you get by rolling a drop between finger and
thumb is sufficient in most cases. Lubricant should not be
allowed inside the jacket: that is why the cores were
washed clean before insertion into the jackets.
The final die for an open tip bullet is the
POINT FORMER (PF-1-H). It shapes the
ogive curve on the bullet and gives the bullet
its final diameter. The diameter of the point
form die itself is usually NOT the same as the
bullet, and is designed to match the core
seater, the jacket material and thickness, and
the lead hardness.
Changing these things can change the
bullet diameter and may cause the bullet to
stick or become hard to eject if the die was
not designed for the particular materials
that you use. This is because materials
tend to spring back slightly, by different
amounts depending on their hardness,
thickness and tensile strength, after pressure
has been removed.
The point form die is slightly different from
the others in that the internal punch must
push the bullet out by its nose, and consists
of a spring steel pin mounted in the punch
head. This pin must be retracted from the
main cavity of the die during swaging, or the
tip of the bullet would form around it and
prevent ejection.
When installing the internal punch, make absolutely sure
that the retraction pin goes through the punch head so the
retraction pin projects equally on both sides of the ram,
and that the die is, in fact, screwed down with the end of
the spring wire punch inside the die hole. Otherwise the
pin may fall out of the hole and be collapsed by the end of
the die when the ram goes down, rolling it like a pretzel
inside the ram.
Shape the bullet by slowly lowering the external punch and
pushing the open end first into the die. Eject, examine, and
re-swage until the tip is closed to about the size of the
ejection pin diameter.
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