223 gas check maker, no lathe

For the time and effort involved, I don't recommend this one bit. But I wanted to give it a go.

While I didn't use a lathe, there's plenty of turning involved. I used a half inch drill. I often clamp it to a bench and put a small clamp over the variable speed trigger. Then I plug it into a foot pedal.

I went ahead with making the top punch part, first, before even planning how to mount it. I figured I could find some way to attach it to one of my surplus dies. Turns out a 3/8" rod can be given a light taper to friction fit into the crimp ring of any of the 9mm/357 family of taper dies. I had a variety of rare-to-never used dies to choose from, and I went with my Lee 9mm FCD. I cut the top off the adjustment stem, so that I can just take out the die when it's full and dump them out.

I would have removed it from the 9mm crimp ring for a photo, but it's seized in there really good.

The bottom part is made from 1/2" steel round. I turned down the OD to 432 to true it up, leaving it full size only where the slot goes for the extra support. 432 is the diameter of the thinnest part of a shellholder. Then I threaded the base to attach a brass ring. It goes into the press like a push through stem.

Because it's for 223, I could turn the button down from a 1/4 bolt and just screw it in from the bottom, so it's infinitely adjustable. The extra bolt sticking out the bottom fits in the hollow in my press. There's no room for a lock nut, but it doesn't seem to need one. This makes it easy to tweak the shape of the button without stressing out about the exact height.

I ordered some 9 thous aluminum, which seems to be the thickness of a Hornady 22 check. But I couldn't wait and bought some 13-14 thous from the local store. It looks like they'll work, too. Now I just need to figure out how to unclog the spout on my lead pot, so I can make some decent boolits. Pardon the atrocity in the photo!

https://i.imgur.com/3UCsCFS.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/65NGIuf.jpg

Beautiful job!
No lathe, impressive!

Thanks.

I've looked at buying a lathe more than once, and I'm convinced that for anything worth buying, I'd have no where to put it, let alone the 30 other things I'd have to buy to use it.

OD's mostly cut with freehand grinding, using a rotary tool, and that's the easy part . ID's bored with a drill bit in a vice, held in my hands. I broke 3 drill bits and had to toss a couple attempts where I got off line, trying to rush it.

Then some burs and stone bits to fine tune the ID's. And a needle file to even out the mouth of the punch after noticing the first checks came out a little lopsided. I've read the 22 cal is the trickiest to get working right. I'm not sure mine is working 100% right, but I'm happy it's working!

Nice work! It just shows what a determined person can do if they really want to.

Good work.

Nice job on the checks. I too have used a drill press for small jobs, I can see the time you have in it.

A finnish nail in vice grips will allow you to clean the spout from the bottom when the pot is full and hot. When the hole is clear watch out it might supprise you how much lead can flow thru that hole...

^Very true. I was thinking I might want to make the hole bigger. But after clearing it, the floodgates opened!

I made up a small test batch and got carried away a bit. I'll have the 9 thous material in just a few more days!

These 13 thous checks are a little too tight. If I run them through the sizer, they barely clip onto the end of the bullet and easily pull off. But I found I could just tap them on with a hammer before sizing, and they come out great. The check can't be pulled off, and the bases are flat and perpendicular. I stood up 20-30 of them, and they all stood straight. I hope the 9 thous checks will be even better.

I made a simple holder so I wouldn't need to hold the bullet with tweezers while tapping the checks on. Of course I expanded the brass tube for a perfect slip fit. No cramping in my hands getting the gas checks pre-seated. Still getting some cramps when feeding them through the sizer, though!

https://i.imgur.com/FAAuivd.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/1OWQzTE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Tzg0ugy.jpg

I finally got around to making a new button for the 9 thous material and doing the final tuning.

It went smoothly, no issues. So my latest gas checks will fit on by hand. Every now and then you can feel the check snap on, but mostly they just push on nicely and stay put, ready for sizing.

Checking OAL after sizing, they're even more consistent than the previous ones I seated with a hammer. Mostly within a few thous, with some occasional longer outliers I believe are from artifacts on the base of those bullets. They stand up nice and straight.

Here's a pic. There are 5 in this picture with the 13 thous checks. I cleaned out my tumble lubing pan between these batches, and that's the only reliable way I can tell them apart!

You can see the Hornady check is way sharper, flat all the way to the edge. Mine are slightly more of a boat tail.

Now, I'm just praying they'll shoot straight!

https://i.imgur.com/g9j40EK.jpg

did they shoot straight?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nanuk

did they shoot straight?

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By the average shooting standards of the internet, I have no idea. I'm sorry to say I haven't shot paper from a benchrest. I at least put one of my best scopes on my 223 bolt gun, and I could easily make sitting and offhand hits farther than I can with my scoped 22LR Savage.

With 10 grains SR4759, I can't tell any difference between Hornady, 13 thickness aluminum, or 9 thous aluminum. If I keep pushing, maybe I'll find out where one works better than the other. But I'm happy with the range and recoil, and 10 sounds nice.

I have tried shooting these boolits without the check, both naked and with badly-done PC. Even I could tell they didn't shoot straight without the checks, except maybe the powder puff load with 3 grains Promo. And I'd rather shoot 22LR at that point.