A makeshift jacketed bullet resizing die - 7.62x54 to 308 diameter 

Thank you Elmo.

You are an awesome dad, as well as gunsmith. So glad you didn't get upset with the child. Fantastic patience and appreciation for children being allowed to be children.

Thanks for making this video. When you doubt your skills remember that the entire world was made by those brave enough to try.

I hate watching cool videos like this because it only makes me want to pick up other great hobbies. Great video. Thanks Ammo Channel and Elmo.

That takes a level of determination that I could never hope to match. Well done!

Im a machinist, and I'm pretty sure thats what center drills are for.....

You are a craftsman. Your son is a comedian. Together you can take over the world. I'm on your side, ok?

Cool. I got several Lee dies that were .002" undersized from their stated numbers and honed them up to spec using super fine automotive sand paper wrapped around a rod. It resulted in true specs and a very fine surface finish that was superior to the factory finish. Lower friction. You might try making your next attempt bored to .306" and hone up the last couple thou using this method. It was very easy to be precise. I would start with a .25" brass rod and tape on a bit of 800 grit and wrap it until it would not fit. then snip off until it was snug but would turn easily. then hone with a drill for a minute and find I had removed maybe .00001" per minute. Once I got close - aprox .3079" I switched to 2000 grit. The whole process takes about 10 minutes with a hand drill and made very true sizers. p.s. I also checked what size the bullets were coming out rather than just the actual size of the die as I got close.

I can’t believe I’ve been sleeping on this channel all these years. Love the content

I appreciate this is an old video, but you tried. And everyone likes a person who at least tries! Well done to you!

I use center drills a lot too. They are stiff and don't tend to "walk" like a regular drill sometimes does. I drill straight down in mills on 30 degree angles sometimes too. No way I could do it with a regular drill. Great video.

We love you too Elmo... You are for sure the king of rusty bolts...8)

Elmo's awesome how did the rounds perform on the range in comparison to factory .308 ???

Great job! I need to get a lathe too.

I.love the cameo from your kid.

Nice vid, great idea! Just a thought, calibers should only be used when you have a plus minus .005 wotking tolerance anything closer than that you should be using an OD mic, calibers can vary easily. 003 where an OD mic is accurate within .0001 im posting with no bad intentions just want to be helpful anyways nice vid great build!

You can always order a custom reamer to rough out the bore after drilling, and a finish reamer to finish just short of the desired results. Then you polish the hell out of the die until it's damn near perfect. I would suggest making the taper consistent from start to about most of the way through the die but keep the last .100 straight walled at the desired finish diameter. This is after polishing the inside to a very smooth surface. Don't forget a good heat treat for longevity. --Just my two cents.

Valve lapping paste for mechanic work would polish the bore up a bit. You can turn a shaft under size to fit in the bore chuck it in the tailstock while the die body is checked in the headstock. I've done that to smooth out where I made odd sized dies for my lyman 4500 lubri-sizer.

Next time you need to bore out a hole with an end mill, just use the largest end mill that will fit the undersized hole and rotate the tool post just enough to clear the shank of the end mill so that only the cutting edge will come in contact with your work piece. By doing this, you save time not grinding the tool, worry about softening the metal and have increased rigidity. I have used unmodified end mills as boring bars and have had great results. For increased precision, you can also finish the bore with a tapered reamer.

Great video, I look forward to having a lathe soon and learning as well. For those without a lathe I accomplish the same thing with the lee bullet size and lube kit. I size .338 jacketed down to .330 for my Steyr 95's, it works great.

I miss this channel.

Im utterly blown away every time I watch one of your videos. So much thought and time and detail put into every vid.. Its amazing. Great job sir!

I used a Lee Bullet sizing die, heavy lubricant. Works just fine

1:58, ELMO LOVES YOU :3

Your "Improvised ammo" very nice, man. Thank you.

Nice! Loved the Elmo lesson! Wow your lathe vibrates when it powers up to speed!

McMaster-Carr sells custom spacers, you specify the internal and external dimensions to the thousandth (their tolerances are in the low ten thousandths). use a 14-30 degree (7-15 degree per side) countersink reamer/ tapered end mill to relieve the entrance side of the die/ guide the bullet in. The smaller the angle (from centerline), the easier it will be to push the bullet through and it will be gentler on the bullet, you may wish to switch to a 4 degree tapered end mill for the last couple hundredths prior to the parallel section. If you want it to fit a common reloading press, get a die and thread the outside. Pacific Tool & gauge also makes reloading die blanks (fairly affordable), pre drilled to various bore sizes, you may need to use a boring bar to open up the hole a bit, but then run the countersink reamer in to relieve it. In my opinion, you want a parallel section at least 1 caliber long (1.5-2x is better, will last longer) , then you can counter bore the exit end to ease passing the bullet through

this is amazing! feel like I just saw an episode of "How it's made"

you should do more machining videos that was very interesting to watch

Very cool that you're able to do this. But are you aware Lee has such die for 20 bucks? Have you had any problems with core separation after re-sizing?

They already make this. But proud of you on doing it yourself!

If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid. Keep up the great work and videos!!

Elmo we all love ya :)

To smooth it out cast a lead slug in it then use lapping compound to smooth it out. Use the tail stock to run the lap in and out. Its crude but cheap.

Useful idea too, for Hornady 6.5 Carcano bullets which measure ~ .267". Carcanos however use ~ .266" bullets.

Very interesting video and good machining skills. Thanks for sharing!

I have using a lee 308 sizer run 2 or 3 times with lot''s of lube. Works. The copper jacketed ones 1 time will do.

That's awesome. Great video.

To cool man, what a great machining project.

For the sizing die, maybe size it to 307.5 and polish it with some scotchbright pads or JB bore paste to get it smooth?

Thank You So much I have enjoy and learned so much from what you show us

I know this is an old video but I took alot away from it....not the least of which is that elmo loves me.

Ammo Channel guy needs to be in MENSA.

Really cool! I wonder if you could figure out a way to do this in reverse so you could make .308 into .311's? cool vid man!

Just drill it slightly undersize, then take a small long bolt & cut the head off & hacksaw a slot in it at one end. Then you can take strips of say 800grit sandpaper & slide them thru the slot and then lock it in an electric drill, or your lathe. This will act as a polisher/reamer and keep going until you get the size & smoothness you require. Cheap & easy! Great video and idea, though! Thanks!

I tried to make an interesting tool once... Your "crude" tool might well still be viable It might needto be ground differently for a cleaner cut. Looking forward to what you do next :+)

I know you want this to be DIY, so the whole process is improvised, but did you consider how Lee does it? Take the carbide sizing ring out of a .308 full length sizing die and insert that into your bolt/die to do the actual swaging? Just saying as I know this is how my bulge buster works for brass with a base bulge from unsupported chambers in .40S&W, 9mm, etc.

who tells you not to use a center drill like that? I'm taking machining in high school at a trade school and our instructor told us to only use center drills or spot drills for things like that, whether on a mill or lathe. whoever told you that don't seem very intelligent

Nice milling machine! Oh the things I could make with such tools.;-)

Interesting, thanks for posting

AWESOME JOB! GREAT IDEA

thanks for posting

Thank you much for that video

"turned the head down" TURN DOWN FOR WHAT

I was searching for a video exactly like this so I could resize some 452 to 442. What I see as the issue is the step between 311 - 308. It should, at least initially act like a knife edge lacking a taper. Eventually either a build up will cause more and more friction, or a way must be found to convert the step into a taper. Perhaps a third drill run through at .309 to make a smaller step?

Really enjoyed this video. Next video, can you try running a few copper jacketed, lead core, .312 FMJs from .303 rounds?

That's awsome!!!

Wish you could go the other way around sometimes! I'd love to be able to pull some .308 or .30-06 black tip AP bullets and shoot them out of a mosin but I'm guessing it would be very iffy even if you could go from .308 to .310-311ish

Impatient people who lack machining skills can play too! Just throw a $20 bill @ Lee Precision and buy an off the shelf .308" die for turning odd foreign diameter bullets into something familiar. Works a treat for turning Kalashnikov bullets into .30 projectiles.

I'm sure if you really needed to you could just shoot the .311 bullet in a .308 bore rifle. The early ruger mini 30 were .308 bore if I'm not mistaken. I read an articles a few years ago about using over sized projectiles and he shot .323 and .35 cal buckets in a .30-06 without catastrophic results. I looked for it but couldn't find anything.

I need to make one of those aluminum holders.

Way kool,thanks

Your kid is cute lol. We have many elmo in my house hold also.

Good video. I'm wondering what it would be like with cast bullets? I live in NZ and reloading gear is very expensive, the cheapest starting at $40 and up. Have you tried with cast bullets or would it chew them up too much?

you sir, are amazing

And now with things going the way they are, you’ll need to make a die to size down something still available to make 7.62

I have a cnc lathe and milling macheines at the farm shop and I could spend hours doing this but wow my .308 Lee sizer die for sizeing cast bulleta for 18 bucks does it with no issues and is micro polished hell I could use my Lyman sizer die and 4500 sizer lube unit to but why lube . The bullets you get are not accurate becouse you are forcing .002-.003 down in a jacketed bullet so I guess 100 yard 3 plus inch and would be accurate enough in a s.h.t.f scenario but iv got over 3, 500 pounds of lead stock piled and over 500 punds of scrap 40-60 saulder scrap from a local rad shop. 40% tin 60% lead , I can alloy this with the 3, 500 pounds of pure lead . I allso have 600 pounds of lynotype and moulds for every caliber I shoot and allso for ca, ibers I dont but are popular so I can cast and trade allsk have thousands of range brass that are cleaned inspected and then fully prepped , primmer pockets uniformed , trimmed to o.a.l flash holes deburred case mouths deburred and cha fered and cases seperated by brand , I have allso stock piled powder, primmers and bullets for all my firearms plus loaded rounds so I dont antisipate needing to do this to 7.62x39 so I can shoot the bullets in a 308 or 30-06 , but its good to show it can be done I allso have swagging press and dies to swag 22Lr cases into 22 cal jackets for cup and core bullets made by myself and I do this for the 223 and 22-250 just something I enjoy would take my lifetime to pay for the gear with the ammount I shoot witch is a lot lol lol

My second good laugh of the day 2 minutes in.

I am confused. Why wouldn’t you use a center drill to start the pilot hole?

Why would you not use a center drill to make a pilot hole? I thought that was their main purpose, to get the pilot hole centered!

When the inner diameter changes from .312 to .308, is it just a step change ?

I highly recommend using a micrometer to measure bullets. Calipers are notoriously inaccurate for critical measurements.

way late to the party, great video. My only question is why?

Some good information. I need to do something similar to swage down pistol bullets for use in high-powered air rifles. How did you polish the inside of your die?

Are There Any Chances That The Bullet Fires In The Process ? It Seems Scary To me

Have you thought about making and selling these? I ended up with about 8k 7.62 projectiles and want to swage them down to .308 for 300BLK loads, but the only dies I've seen are over $800.

Great video, I also like to make projects like you did here. Just wandering, would a Lee Bullet Resizer do what you made or not? Just wandering, thanks, Ron.

AWESOME

You should have finished the die a thousanth undersized, then put lapping compound on the bullet and push it through several times. It will lap the inside of the die finishing the inside to keep it from scratching bullets later on.

how much to make me one ?

Why not use the Lee resizing die for this purpose? I'm guessing it might not be strong enough or something...great video as always.

Do you make your own Small Pistol Primer Cup and anvil?

Reading my comments a year later :) now I am at the stage I can do that, even cut my own 7/8 x 14 threads probably. You got nasty finish because that bolt is made from cheap crappy metal that doesn't machine well. I am actually quite surprised you got 308 after resizing, I bough Lee 308 sizer and AK bullet DID NOT came out 308, even after several passes. I've read the metal springs back. I've read you can also shoot them as is, so I did in my 300 BLK without problems.

Once again great video. How finely did you polish the bore of the die?

you are making all these cuts in steel w/o lube?

nice

Say hi to Elmo.

You must have a lot of 7.62 bullets. ;)

you would get a much better surface finish if you hone it.

Very very goood

Found it. Nevermind

don't you think 55k psi pushing those through a .308 barrel would do a better job?

Can you make a point form die which can produce berger or sierra bullet styles ?

Pretty sure they are copper jacket steel core.

I'm thinking that if you have a large quantity of 0.311 bullets, the solution is to buy a gun to use them in, not to resize them. :)

can the 7.62x54r steel case be reloaded using the LEE DIE? ASAP

Oh wow this video is old. How did they perform?

Where did you get the bolt for this project ?

Your boring tool was ok, you probably would get WAY better results if you put an 80 grit white norton wheel on your grinder. That makes it a lot easier to get good results. They are cheap too. The wheels that come with Chinese grinders are sad at best.

What about .308 projectile to .312 or 313 ??? for Mosin SVT SVD AK SKS and so on :-))