Swagging Tips

AirSupply · May 20, 2020

I know there are quite a few guys now using the Corbin swagging gear and making there own slugs.
Im relatively new to the game. I’ve had my gear for about 6 months. I really enjoy the fact I can make slugs of a quality that are second to none. In any weight I like and a variety of bases and hollow points.
I’m interested in how others go about making high quality slugs and thought I’d share a few of the things I’ve learned. If your also swagging and have something to share please do!

My first tip is really clean your lead wirer before you cut your blanks. Any particles of dust sitting on the wire will end up embedded in the outside bearing surface of your slugs. This dust can wear your dies and also fowl your barrel. I wrap a rag around the lead wire and work it up and down until the outside is shiny and clean. It does make a difference to the finished product. You can see the outside of the slugs have a cleaner shiny appearance.
I keep the wire covered to keep dust off

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Before cleaning

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After cleaning

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Please add anything you have learn about swagging to the tread. Or of course ask questions if your interested

Michael

Guest · May 21, 2020

Yes, cleaning the lead wire is the most important step. The white residue clogs the dies and extraction becomes difficult.

Ydunn.223 · May 21, 2020

Something to consider is to use the same wire all the time

this will bring better results and more consistent results, so

always use the same source for your lead wire to swage with.

zan89 · May 21, 2020

That makes sense

AirSupply · May 23, 2020

I’ve only found one supplier here in Australia. My lead came straight from a smelter. The guys who made it were shooters and knew exactly what I wanted. I have 2 X15kg Will take a while to turn all that into slugs...

I cut my blanks with the Corbin cutter. I have found you need to go at least a couple of grain over your intended weight.

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Lots of lead particle after cutting blanks needs to be separated.
My blanks for a 25.5g slug average about 27.7g. This is the lead bled off from that blank.

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When I went less weight in the blank I would end up with a slug that looked great the base and hollow point were well formed but when I put these slugs through a sizer I could feel they were in constant in diameter. I think they would form the base and point but not fill out in the mid section.
Which brings us to the next tip.
Heat the blanks before swagging. I just run a small fan heater on them.

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You can really feel what a difference this makes as you swag. Very smooth and easy and I get more consistent weights. Probably not necessary if you live in a hot climate! I just noticed how much more mailable the lead become when I was rubbing it clean. So thought a little heat would help
Also the slugs are very easy to take off the die. If the lead is cold it can get a bit stuck and it’s very easy to damage your hollow point.
Try as best you can to gently pull the slug straight up and don’t pull it to the side!
Thanks guys for the comments.

lbmalleo · May 25, 2020

Great thread guys!

I just ordered a press, it's coming down to Argentina. I had to give up the lead wire and core mould and cutter due to the weight limit. I am going to be moulding my own cores with aluminum moulds I am having made. Dave Corbin suggested I do my own lead wire with a 10-15 ton hydraulic press, has anyone tried this? Is anyone making their own cores?

I am taking note of all of your suggestions!!

Gracias from Argentina,

Lucas

Swish · May 26, 2020

I think you guys will appreciate this one. Every Corbin press I've seen comes with a rectangular tray that I believe is to catch primers.

If you take a dremel or large enough drill bit you can open up the top large enough to slide over your die.

Then just slip an oring over the die to keep the tray from sliding down the ram while being cycled. No more messy lead bleed offs!

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AirSupply · May 27, 2020

Good idea Swish! +1
I didn’t get the tray but I’m sure I could make something up.
Something else that is worth considering. If you are right handed mounts the handle on the left side of your press & use your left hand to swag. This leaves your right hand free to swap out the banks/slugs.
I had mine on the right for a while and swapped it over. Makes a big difference and speeds things up a lot.
Most of the videos I’ve seen guys mount the handle on the right.....

AirSupply · May 27, 2020

Great thread guys!

I just ordered a press, it's coming down to Argentina. I had to give up the lead wire and core mould and cutter due to the weight limit. I am going to be moulding my own cores with aluminum moulds I am having made. Dave Corbin suggested I do my own lead wire with a 10-15 ton hydraulic press, has anyone tried this? Is anyone making their own cores?

I am taking note of all of your suggestions!!

Gracias from Argentina,

Lucas

Hi Lucas,

Cutting blanks from wire is quick and easy if you can find it or make it. Have you tried a smelter?
Michael

lbmalleo · May 27, 2020

Great thread guys!

I just ordered a press, it's coming down to Argentina. I had to give up the lead wire and core mould and cutter due to the weight limit. I am going to be moulding my own cores with aluminum moulds I am having made. Dave Corbin suggested I do my own lead wire with a 10-15 ton hydraulic press, has anyone tried this? Is anyone making their own cores?

I am taking note of all of your suggestions!!

Gracias from Argentina,

Lucas

Click to expand...

Hi Lucas,

Cutting blanks from wire is quick and easy if you can find it or make it. Have you tried a smelter?
Michael

Hi Michael,

The only smelters around here I believe are industrial, I wouldn't know how to do it, any ideas?

L

lbmalleo · May 28, 2020

I found a guy that sells lead wire here in Argentina. I will be swagging .22 pellets, should I buy the 5mm or 4mm wire? What would you guys suggest since the wire that Corbin sells is .185in would be around 4.75mm? Is the 5mm too close?

Thanks,

Lucas

Swish · May 28, 2020

5mm sounds about perfect to me. I would go a little larger than the .185 if I could.

I just get the .185 from Corbin because I work about 10 min from his shop.

AirSupply · May 28, 2020

Lucas the wire I use is 5mm. Works well. The only thing you’ll have to work out is how you cut it. You don’t want to deform it to much and get a bulge. The Corbin cutter is a shear. It’s a nice clean cut so it slides in the die easy.
Well done finding it. You’ll be swagging in no time.

lbmalleo · Jun 29, 2020

Hi guys,

I wanted to revive this post a bit and need a little advice from you guys.

I am still waiting for my press but I was able to get 5mm lead wire here in Argentina (EXPENSIVE) and I am starting to prep everything up. I am having troubles cutting my blanks or cores, haven't been able to find the right pair of clippers or cutters, don't have much to choose from here and I don't have a shop to make my own. I have taken ideas and pretty much copied the one Mr Tom from Field Target Tech made. The trouble I have is that the cuts are uneven and it leaves a bit of a mark on the core's side, it presses on the base of the cutter. My question is: if I leave enough grains for bleedoff, will all these uneven cuts and markings disappear once I swag them? I have about 2000 cores cut already but I don't want to keep going if I am doing them wrong!

Having troubles loading pictures but you guys get the picture right?

Thanks again,

Lucas

nielsenammo · Jun 29, 2020

In regard to wire size you have to consider your nose (meplat) size. If you go too large of a diameter you risk the nose not filling out. I would think 5mm would be fine for .217 though. The problem if you go too small of a diameter you risk shearing off your HP pins from side loading on the pin. When the wire is too small it feeds on top of die cocked on one side of the HP pin.

The pin can take a lot of pressure as long as the pressure is straight down. If the wire puts more pressure on one side of the pin than it does on the other you get side loading pressure. This will break your pins prematurely. For 22 caliber, as long as the nose is filling out, I would use 5mm because of this reason.

lbmalleo · Jun 29, 2020

In regard to wire size you have to consider your nose (meplat) size. If you go too large of a diameter you risk the nose not filling out. I would think 5mm would be fine for .217 though. The problem if you go too small of a diameter you risk shearing off your HP pins from side loading on the pin. When the wire is too small it feeds on top of die cocked on one side of the HP pin.

The pin can take a lot of pressure as long as the pressure is straight down. If the wire puts more pressure on one side of the pin than it does on the other you get side loading pressure. This will break your pins prematurely. For 22 caliber, as long as the nose is filling out, I would use 5mm because of this reason.

Thanks so much for your reply! I'll keep all in mind!

Funny, I was just watching your "shop tour" video on youtube!!
What about those side "bruises", should they disappear?

L

nielsenammo · Jun 29, 2020

Depends on depth. Sometimes we get wire that has a thin line in it and it will show on the side of the slug. The line is just cosmetic though and has no impact on the actual slug you can just see where the line was.

Xbowsniper · Jun 29, 2020

Ibmalleo,

Something that you did not mention, you have to make sure your lead wire doesn't have a lot of impurities within the alloy. This has the potential of damaging the dies and components if the alloy is too hard.

Also, the uneven edge on my little homemade cutter tool has no bearing on the outcome of the slug, or it's weight.

What I like to do, is figure out what weight slug I'm going to create. I'll add a little bit more than 1 grain extra to the blank core that I'm cutting. This gives enough bleed off to form the slug properly, and not waste a whole lot of lead in the bleed off process. This is with .1775 dies, so with a .22, you might want a little more. You don't want to bleed off more than an inch, any longer than that, is just wasting lead.

I've also made a battery powered version of my homemade cutter, using a cheap set of cordless pruning shears. Goes way faster, I can cut 500 cores in about 6 minutes or so. If I have time, I'll see if I can make a quick video on how it works. Saves your hand muscles from carpal tunnel syndrome....

Tom Holland

Field Target Tech

nielsenammo · Jun 29, 2020

I dont use pure lead and have dies with 2 million slugs on them, I think any reasonably soft alloy will give you lifetime of slugs

lbmalleo · Jun 29, 2020

Mr. Holland, thanks so much for your advice!!

The lead supplier told me that is 99% pure lead so no impurities should be present. I have been cleaning off the lead with a rag and alcohol, rubbing it till it shines and keeping the cores inside a clean container that is shut.

I have been cutting cores that are 25 grains and 22 grains, I intend to make 22 grain and 19 grain .217 slugs with them, hope that is enough bleed-off. I read on several posts that 2-3 grains over the intended weight slug is recommended. I know these numbers will vary along the way and time and experience will teach me the right numbers in order to achieve minimal waste.

I am eager to see your new cutter!!

Thanks,

Lucas

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