Does anyone use their Rock Chucker for a press. I noticed Corbin doesn't offer the dies anymore. Any alternatives.
It's not really necessary to alter the press (though some do) - it's just the dies. I can't recall his name, but there's a (powder burner) benchrest guy that mods presses, but it's all about increasing their longevity - boring open the pin holes and bushing them with bronze bushings and perhaps larger pins - stuff like that. Just to get one to swage, you need nothing of the sort, and unless you're loading many thousands of slugs you'll probably never wear down an off the shelf 'Chucker. Another possible mod is an ejector. You need to pop the finished slug from the die, and that's usually done with pressure from above. In my simple setup it's just a post that I rap with a mallet. You can get die springs and set one up to eject automatically though (the Corbin presses do this).@GeneT I too am interested in learning how to alter this type of press to accommodate airgun slug swaging dies. Any more insight in this regard would be appreciated.
@Motorhead I thought we were about to strike gold here with your answer. We gotta figure this out. I gotta revisit some old threads I read a while back. I like some what @GeneT is saying about modding the dies.No .. but would if I could
Agreed, it's a solid press with the ram being supported with about 4" of bearing surface.The Rock Chucker (in all 3 (4?) of its incarnations) is more than capable of swaging pellets. I have swaged 9mm and 40 cal bullets with one, and know several (powder burner) benchrest guys that routinely make 6mm jacketed bullets on them. Dies are the issue. I've been meaning to try to make some, but that's not an option for all. Nonetheless, the press is not the obstacle...
GsT
There is some detailed info on making Airgun projectiles with a PRO Swage die in the link below. Check the “Using a Reloading Press” segment.Read page 2 here http://swage.com/ftp/airgunad.pdf
I'd call and ask about the Corbin PRO Swage PR - pellet swage kit (Kit-PR) for use with and RCBS press.
@IndyDurtdigger You waited almost 2 years? How long ago was this (in which year)? How many dies and presses did you order?I'm late to this thread but having researched this in depth and ran into the same issues and then waited some 20 months for CORBIN to fill an order I then found these. Plan on ordering a set to try…
GMI swage dies are good, I use one.I'm late to this thread but having researched this in depth and ran into the same issues and then waited some 20 months for CORBIN to fill an order I then found these. Plan on ordering a set to try. The arbor press can be found on a budget at places like Harbor Freight and each set of dies can be ordered to make 2 different weights at an absolute fraction of what the swaging press and press conversion kits cost. You can order 3 sets of these for what the kits cost...
https://www.gmiengg.com/product-page/6-35mm-cavity-die-set
Adding an edit to these posts. Discovered that Corbin is under new ownership and any issues I experienced were not with them. Also, the new owners are the ones that finished my order and ended up sending me their current die offering which is an upgrade from what I had ordered at no additional cost.@IndyDurtdigger You waited almost 2 years? How long ago was this (in which year)? How many dies and presses did you order?
GMI SOC dies seem reasonable for the hobbyist as Arbor presses can be obtained relatively cheap. Communication with the customer appears to be good as well. Contact @Engg.Ken if you have questions about GMI dies. Good guy to talk to in my experience.