Knurling

Does anyone knurl plain side bullets with a file? How do you do it and does it make a significant reduction in the size of the bullet?

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

I use a knurling tool from Corbin. Was pretty expensive but IMO worth the money. Now to your question. You can get a couple Rasps and roll your bullets between them and do the same thing. Unless you really smash it down It will effectively increase the bullet OD because the metal that is pushed in around it is pushed out. Tool makers and machinists use that trick to seat bushings in a hole that is slightly over-sized by "peening the ID" or Peening the O.D. so it has a press fit. works and it holds the lube well. If you smash too hard you will make the OD smaller and the bullet longer. Like rolling out dough.

My home made knurler increases diameter up to about 0.003" depending on how much pressure is applied.

Longbow

I use the CH tool. If you hit BT up the next time he places an order, he can get you 10% off of the retail price.

"The right of the people to keep and bear...arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country..." (James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434 [June 8, 1789]) Once the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.
Benjamin Franklin

Not sure why everyone was talking a Cannelure Tool for?
But knurling normaly isn't done on jacketed bullets, now if done to lead boolits it can reduce the size by some but not enough to worry about unless you really press the files together super hard. I've played with it a little on boolits that I added alox or 45-45-10 to.

And sorry if I was wrong and miss read the OP post and you all were right

"Life isn't like a box of chocolates...It's more like
a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn
your *** tomorrow."

Well, my home made knurler increases diameter of both lead boolits and "J" bullets by up to about 0.003" ~ a little more with lead actually.

I think you would have to apply an awful lot of pressure to reduce diameter because as reload3006 said, the displaced surface lead moves out to increase diameter. You would have to extrude the boolit in length to reduce diameter.

I use the CH tool. If you hit BT up the next time he places an order, he can get you 10% off of the retail price.I have the CH tool for cannelure groves. Just wish I had the wheels for doing the knurling. This was mentioned a while back and some one stated that the wheel to convert were not cost effective when ordered through CH.

I just tried using a flat file on a smooth side bullet and it seem to do some knurling. I am just wondering how well this works for anyone who may have used it.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Back in late Jan & early Feb 2013 there is a thread titled "Knurling wheels". In it I posted pics of the knurling wheel I got from CH4D. It fits right on the CH cannelure tool. 3006 posted pics of knurled bullets. I paid $13 and silvershooter paid the same. They may have some left. Dave made some extras about 10yrs ago when he did a special order for someone. I'd post a link to the thread but I don't know how.

Bob

Not sure why everyone was talking a Cannelure Tool for?
But knurling normaly isn't done on jacketed bullets, now if done to lead boolits it can reduce the size by some but not enough to worry about unless you really press the files together super hard. I've played with it a little on boolits that I added alox or 45-45-10 to.

And sorry if I was wrong and miss read the OP post and you all were right

You don't have to swage a jacketed boolit you can swage straight up lead like the old speer and hornady lead bullets. But they have to be lubed someway. Knurling them allows you to tumble them in 45/45/10 or LLA and gives the lube something to hold on to. Unlike casting swaging does not offer you any lube grooves in a practical way.

Got ya 3006, I change gears once I enter this sub forum and think jackets bullets and not really consider the lead swager (hangs head in shame). But yes knurling lead boolits I've done but just to try out with LLA and 45-45-10 for what ever reason it was at the time(seamed right then lol).

"Life isn't like a box of chocolates...It's more like
a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn
your *** tomorrow."

You may not post new threadsYou may not post repliesYou may not post attachmentsYou may not edit your postsForum Rules

Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

View the original article here