Making .32 Remington Brass

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jim18611865
Posts: 101
Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 9:16 pm

Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by jim18611865 »

It doesn't look like Buffalo Arms is going to fill my year old order.

I was considering this before, but now that there are Chinese mini-lathes for under $150, and S&S Hunt Club keeps buying up all the ammo on Gunbroker, I may actually tool up. What would be the best parent case to start with? I am thinking .32 Win Special. Only down side is availability.
I will of course need dies.

I am thinking a good winter project.
Has anyone done this yet?

Thanks

Jim
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Sarge756
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Location: N.Florida on the coast

Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by Sarge756 »

Jim, Always good to have a project and keep out of mischief. For the outlay of funds for equipment and finding the 32Win Spl brass a far easier alternative is available. A set of 32 Rem dies and 30 Rem brass and you are home free. Each time I have put out a call for 30 Rem brass someone has come forward with some. There is a post on here now with an offer. If that doesn`t keep you busy enough you can convert 30-30 brass to 30 Rem first (as we have discussed in prior posts) and run the converted cases through the 32 Rem dies. Using a 30-30 as the parent case would seem to be more practical than trying to find 32 Win spl brass. Good luck.
Joe
".......ain't many troubles that a man cain't fix
With seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six."
jim18611865
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by jim18611865 »

.30 Rem is what I ordered from Buffalo arms, as I assumed they were resizing to .32 anyway and .32 Rem was 2X the price.
I already found .32 Win Spec on gunbroker, although not a lot.
Maybe the project should include a new gun in .32 Win Spec. and lots of ammo.
I was shocked at the prices of the lathes though. They look perfect for this project.
Lots of thinking to do now. Are there reasonably priced dies any where?

The stuff is only getting rarer, so my though process is if I can make it, I am all set for a long time.

Thanks again

Jim
Jerry_H
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by Jerry_H »

Midway shows to have Redding .32 Remington dies available/ships today for just under $80.00 plus shipping. I don't know if you consider that reasonable but it's better than the RCBS dies for $150.00.

They show up on ebay once in a while. I got a nice set of Hollywood dies in .30 Rem. for around $35.00 a while back.

Jerry_H
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Phyrbird
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by Phyrbird »

Phyrbird
SOKY
GRUMPA
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by GRUMPA »

Lathes are 1 thing, they could almost just give you the machine it's the tooling that costs.

I would look into using 30-30 brass instead of 32 Win brass.
jim18611865
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by jim18611865 »

I agree about the 30-30 after studying the various drawings.

Thanks

Jim
GRUMPA
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by GRUMPA »

I look for the simplest way to get things done, 30-30 brass is cheaper and more plentiful than 32Spl brass. What's nicer is when something happens along the way that ruins the case, I don't get all that upset about a .15¢ case and the 32Spl cases cost more than that. I messed up more than a few when I was figuring a way to make this all happen. Let's face it, there really isn't a place labeled "how to" when it comes to things like this. And some of what I do I wont talk about either, technique is key in something like this.
jim18611865
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by jim18611865 »

What do you guys think of this lathe?
It is on sale now, and shipping is $23.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-x-6-M ... athe/G0745

Those $100-$200 ones on ebay look OK but I want this to last.
I was contemplating a trip to Harbor Freight, but for $23 shipping...

Help picking out bits or bit sets would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jim
curdog
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Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:32 pm

Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by curdog »

That little lathe would be OK for doing the rim cuts to make your brass.

However, they are kinda fiddly to use. I have a 7X10 which I use occasionally for little stuff if the 14X40 is tied up, plus it will cut 27tpi and the bigger machine won't. I have small hands, but find the little machine very cramped. They have a larger one - 11X20 - or close, which you may want to look at.

I have made a lot of .25 brass for myself from 30/30 on the 14X40, you only need one $2 piece of high speed steel, ground to remove the rim, chamfer, and plunge cut the extractor groove. I made a slip fit plug to go in the case neck after resizing to .25, then grab it in the 3-jaw and support it with a live center in the primer pocket.
srs
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by srs »

I use a 30-30 die as a collet. I ground a piece of HSS to cut the rim and extraction groove in one pass. I've even used a bench top wood lathe for this work when the other lathe is setup for something else.

My steps:
1. Once fired or new 30-30 brass, de-prime and clean if needed. Stick in lathe and cut.
2. Anneal.
3. Resize in full length 30 Rem die.
4. Trim.
5. Reload.

I know the shoulder is off a bit, but it works fine and is fire formed on the first shot. No over pressure signs or inconsistent velocities in my experience.

I anneal the necks every 3rd reload and generally get 10-15 loads before having to scrap the brass. I'm sure 25 Rem and 32 Rem would work using this method too.

Steve
jim18611865
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by jim18611865 »

This information is extremely useful. Thanks!
srs, can you post a pic of the tool you are using to cut the groove and rim in one pass?

I like the idea of using the 30-30 die as a collet, I may get one.


Thanks again!

Jim
srs
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by srs »

It is on loan to a friend at the moment, but I'll try to find some pics soon.

I just milled the correct profile based on the SAAMI drawings, ground some relief and then polished a bit. Easy Peasy. I have a non cutting edge to reference the base so that the chamfer and extraction groove are placed correctly and another non cutting edge for depth of cut reference. The non cutting edges are rounded and carefully polished.

I've cut a few hundred cases without needing to really sharpen it yet, just honed it a little.

-Steve
TRX
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by TRX »

I found a small amount of .30 Remington ammo, and someone here sold me some brass, so I haven't done the .30-30 conversion yet.

For those who are thinking of it... I used to convert .38 Special brass to 9mm Largo, back when it was unobtainium and 9x23 didn't exist yet.

At the time I had an elderly Atlas lathe with a three jaw chuck. I turned a piece of scrap metal to be a slip fit inside a .38 Special case, so I could grip it with the chuck jaws without collapsing it. Then I ground a HSS bit into the shape of the extractor groove. I'd plunge cut to remove the rim, scoot over and eyeball the location of the extractor groove, plunge, use a small file to knock off any burrs, done. It took about fifteen seconds per case.

I only used the file on occasion. Running the modified cases through the tumbler took care of general sharp edges.

I started off using the cross slide dial to set rim diameter and a dial indicator set up to do the rim width, but the it turned out that "flush with base" and "line up the groove on the rim and cut by eye" were repeatable within a few thousandths, and my Star Model B thought the homemade cases were just fine.

The lathe bit was just ground to shape and clearanced by eye. You generally don't want any rake when cutting brass, which simplifies grinding a lot.

You can't just grab onto bottlenecked brass with the chuck or collet. My plan for that is to drill and bore a socket to hold the brass. That's a .332" hole with a .416" counterbore, measuring from my fired brass. That'd be an 8.5mm drill followed by a 10.5mm drill, or 5/16 and 3/8" followed by the boring bar to open them up.

Chances are all you'd need to do is give the case a tap to seat it, then tap it out with a rod when you were done. But if cutting load tends to pull it loose, you'd have to run the tailstock up to keep it in place. Which is the proper way to do it, but takes a bit more time.

Any kind of lathe will do... and in favor of the micro-lathes, something that you can put back in its box and under the bench when you're not using it has its advantages compared to a "proper" bench-mounted lathe.

If you have been squashing the urge to DIY... it may be reloading at an advanced level, but it isn't rocket surgery. And compared to what reloading tools cost now, a micro-lathe isn't *that* expensive.
jim18611865
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by jim18611865 »

Thanks TRX.
I actually ordered a lathe yesterday.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-x-6-M ... athe/G0745
jim18611865
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by jim18611865 »

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Santa did show up.
In The Ten Ring
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by In The Ten Ring »

I have SO MUCH to learn. :shock:

I have a Lee single stage press. Can I make .25 and .32 Rem cartridges using Lee products?
jim18611865
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by jim18611865 »

I bought a Lee single stage just for the .32 Rem.
My Dillon 550 is a little much, until the brass is made.

Jim
jim18611865
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Re: Making .32 Remington Brass

Post by jim18611865 »

It is finally warm enough to work in the garage. I love winter.
I managed to get one 30-30 shell to spin without wobbling.

OK, I have a question.
How do you keep the tail stock from chewing up the primer pocket?

I made a pretty decent tool for the extractor groove. It could be better.

I used a purchased tool for the rim cut. It chipped in 2 seconds? I must have done something wrong?

I guess I will make a tool for that as well.
I put 2 new wheels on my grinder and they don't wobble at all.

Thanks

Jim
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