.he CHAPTER 18 CORBIN HANDBOOK AND CATALOG NO. 7, PAGE #

                             TOOLS FOR BULLET MAKERS

          The  basic  tools  of swaging are the press  and  dies.   We  have 
     already  discussed the core mould,  core cutter,  and the  supplies  of 
     jackets  and  lead.   Beyond this,  most tools are to help you  prepare 
     commercially-acceptable  bullets for sale or to help you  make  bullets 
     more quickly, easily, or with a wider range of performance.
          Some  of  these  special tools involve controlled heating  of  the 
     components.   For  instance,  you  can make bonded core  bullets  using 
     Corbin Core Bond and either a Flameless Heat Gun (FHG-1) or one of  the 
     electronic  Heat Treatment Ovens (HT0-1 or HTO-2).   Heating the jacket  
     materials to precisely controlled temperatures gives you the ability to 
     control  the  ductility  and  expansion in  a  way  that  most  people, 
     including many otherwise experienced shooters (and writers) never dream 
     is possible.
          A  cannelure is not something that your bullets must have in order 
     to function properly, but it can add value to your commercial offerings 
     and  perform  useful functions in your own  handloads.   The  cannelure 
     tends  to  stop  expansion  of the jacket within  a  limited  range  of 
     deceleration  rates,  and  helps  hold the core within  the  jacket  on 
     impact.   It gives you an area into which the case mouth can be crimped 
     if  you wish to do this.   And it identifies the bullet and points  out 
     the correct seating depth if you wish to make it do so.              
          Bullets that have been polished to a high gloss have greater sales 
     appeal than mottled,  dull bullets,  even if there is no difference  in 
     their actual performance.   The BPK-1 Bullet Polisher Kit is a safe and 
     easy way to polish bullets, since it operates on the opposite principle 
     of  a case tumbler.   Case tumblers roll the components around  against 
     the media and each other.   They work fairly quickly, but they are also 
     rough  on the exposed lead tips of your bullets.   Vibratory  polishers 
     work  by rapidly shaking the polishing medium against the slowly moving 
     component.   In other words,  the medium does the moving instead of the 
     component  (although  the bullets do slowly move round in  the  boiling 
     mass  of polishing material).   This keeps the bullets themselves  from 
     striking each other with such force that the tips are damaged.
     
     HCT-1     Corbin Hand Cannelure Tool
          No,  it  isn't for canneluring your hand:   the HCT-1 uses a hand-
     turned  crankshaft  to  put  professional  cannelure  grooves  on  your 
     bullets.   A  cannelure (that's CAN-A-LOOR) is a ring or groove  around 
     the circumference of the bullet.   Little serrations on the groove help 
     the cannelure wheel get a grip on the shiny bullet surface, and let you 
     put as deep a groove as you wish into it.
          The  HCT-1  tool received high marks from  the  American  Rifleman 
     staff  in a report in the "Dope Bag" of December,  1985.   Since  then, 
     we  have  found ways to make it even better,  with  knurled  adjustment 
     knobs  to  set the bullet position and cannelure depth on  any  caliber 
     from .224 to .50 MG.   The comfortable padded handle is wide enough for 
     your  entire hand to press down,  while powerful leverage puts tons  of 
     force on the contact point of the bullet and roller.   A roller V-block 
     supports the bullet as it turns.  
          Unlike  vertical  designs,  the Corbin tool doesn't have to  fight 
     gravity to hold the bullet in position.   Also,  it's a lot easier  and 
     more  comfortable  to  apply pressure by leaning slightly down  on  the 
     handle than it would be to try and press sideways.  The leverage of the 
     Corbin  tool is roughly three times more than the  nearest  competitive 
     model  available  today.   But best of all,  the HCT-1 works as  it  is 
     supposed to do, and then some.   You'll find it handy for hard lead and 
     jacketed bullets, as well as straight pistol cases like the .45 ACP.    


     PCM-1     Corbin Power Cannelure Machine
          This  machine is a model of rugged simplicity.   Housed in its own 
     steel case, with a powerful 115 volt drive motor and torque-multiplying 
     gear train, the PCM-1 takes bullets as fast as you can feed them to it, 
     and  applies precisely located cannelures automatically.   The  bullets 
     ride on a rotating disk,  through a machined steel guide plate, and out 
     the other side.  
          The cannelure wheel itself is unique to each caliber:   you  order 
     the tool complete with one wheel,  and order additional wheels for each 
     caliber  of  bullet.   This arrangement assures precise  alignment  and 
     exact  control that cannot get out of adjustment during production runs 
     of millions of bullets.   The position of the cannelure is set by steel 
     spacer disks that locate the wheel on a keyed  shaft.   Again,  nothing 
     can get out of adjustment because the adjustment is a solid steel disk.
          The machines are individualized for your order:  they are standard 
     products,  but  the  cannelure wheel is set for the  caliber,  and  the 
     spacer disk is made for the proper cannelure height.  Extra spacers are 
     provided so you can set make minor adjustments in position.   While the 
     PCM-1  is  obviously  slower to set up for a job than  the  HCT-1,  and 
     requires different cannelure wheels for various calibers,  it does take 
     all the work out of big runs of cannelured bullets, and is very fast.
          Order this tool by caliber and by the location,  from the base, of 
     the bottom edge of the cannelure groove.  Specify also the width of the 
     groove if you do not want the stock width (.050-inches wide,  serrated, 
     very much like the conventional factory standard -- which it should be, 
     since  many factory bullets are cannelured on a Corbin  machine!).   If 
     you  want  multiple  grooves,  be sure and send a  drawing  and  sample 
     bullets if you have them already.   Cannelure wheels are non-returnable 
     since they are made to your order -- a drawing will assure that you get 
     what you thought you ordered!


     BPK-1     Bullet Polisher Kit
          The  Corbin Bullet Polisher Kit has been popular with  handloaders 
     for  well over a decade:   long before any of the commercial  vibratory 
     polishers were dreamed of,  Corbin customers were happily making  their 
     own for a fraction of the price!  
          This  kit contains a thermally-protected vibrator motor,  a  steel 
     mounting  bracket  to  hold  it  onto  the  bottom  of  any  convenient 
     container  (a 3-pound coffee can is most often used),  a 1-pound bag of 
     walnut  shell  polishing medium,   the self-locking nuts and  bolts  to 
     assemble the polisher,  and instructions.   The motor comes wired  with 
     its  own  power  cord and in-line switch,  and runs on  115  volts  AC.  
     (Sorry,  no 220 volt models for export -- but Corbin DOES have a 220 to 
     115 volt converter unit available).
          Simply  punch four holes in the bottom of your container to accept 
     the four 1/4-inch mounting bolts,  fasten the steel mounting bracket to 
     the container bottom (on the outside), slip the motor into the bracket, 
     and  secure the clamping bolt that pulls the bracket tight  around  the 
     motor  housing.   Suspend the container by means of a coat hanger  made 
     into a bail (punch two holes near the top,  on opposite sides, and bend 
     the ends of the coat hanger wire through them).  A door spring helps to 
     make the unit vibrate more efficiently and more quietly.  The other end 
     of  the door spring should be hooked over a shelf bracket or  suspended 
     from a rafter by a cord.  
          This is the simple and quick way to do it.   Many people have sent 
     us  pictures of attractive stands with walnut bases and a single curved 
     steel  rod made into the shape of a question mark,  with the  container 
     suspended under it.   We don't make a base unit, since most handloaders 
     seem quite willing and able to make their own, and I'm not sure we'd do 
     as well as some of you have!       
          If you have a tumbler now, you may still want a vibratory polisher 
     for your finished bullets.   The large tumblers are hard on bullets  -- 
     they bang the tips and scratch up the ogives.   The vibratory action of 
     the  BPK-1 is much more gentle.   The particles of polishing medium are 
     set  into rapid motion,  instead of rolling the whole contents  of  the 
     container  to get relative movement.   The more massive bullets are not 
     banged into each other as they are with a tumbler.


     WS-1      Walnut Shell Polishing Medium
          Corbin  packages  walnut  shells in the  correct  granulation  for 
     bullet polishing,  in one pound bags.   Two of these bags is just about 
     all you want to put into a 3-pound coffee can.  One is adequate.  Extra 
     bags are economical and will work in your tumbler as well as the  BPK-1 
     bullet polisher kit.


     FHG-1     Flameless Heat Gun
          A  propane  torch can be used to melt lead in a bullet jacket  for 
     bonding  the  core (with Corbin Core Bond),  or to anneal tubing  or  a 
     bullet  jacket for improved performance or for reforming  to  different 
     calibers.  But propane torches apply a very high temperature if you are 
     not  careful.   The  flameless  heat gun applies  a  lower,  very  even 
     temperature.  
          It  takes longer to do the job with the heat gun,  but you can  do 
     many  at one time by making a small enclosure out of boiler bricks  and 
     aiming  the heat gun air stream into the opening.   A metal shelf  made 
     from a cookie tray will hold the bullets.  General purpose heating jobs 
     such as drying washed jackets and cores,  applying a stress-relief heat 
     to gun springs and parts that you have made,  and simlar 600-750 degree 
     F. jobs can be done without open flame, using the super-heated air from 
     the  115 volt FHG-1.   The control switch has three  positions:   heat, 
     cool,  and  off.   Operate  the gun in the cool mode for a few  minutes 
     before turning it off.


     PE-1      Power Ejector Unit
          We met this tool in the section on reloading press dies.   It fits 
     over the top of any Corbin reloading press swage die,  and most of  the 
     jacket-drawing  dies.   Three  set-screws  fit into a  groove  machined 
     around the circumference of the die,  just below the knurled top.   The 
     PE-1  applies the multiple leverage of a minature compound lever  press 
     to  the  top of your reloading press die,  to eject the bullet  with  a 
     quick pull of a handle.  
          This operation replaces the mallet and ejector rod normally  used.  
     A  short piece of 1/4-inch diameter steel rod fits into the top of  the 
     die  instead  of the normal knurled-head ejector  rod.   An  adjustable 
     position ram with fine screw thread can be set to take up all the slack 
     in  the system,  so that you get full benefit of the compound  leverage 
     (no  wasted  motion).   The  PE-1  uses a forked  handle  made  with  a 
     remarkable  alloy,  by  the  way:   it is a high-tech  version  of  the 
     aluminum-iron  bronze which was once tried in the Winchester Model 1886 
     firing  pin!    The  paramagnetic  alloy  took  nearly  100  years   of 
     development  to reach a point where you could have a machined handle on 
     a modestly priced hand tool formed from it,  but there it is:  stronger 
     than  iron,  corrosion and rust proof,  with over 110,000  psi  tensile 
     strength  and  the  combined  characteristics of  stainless  steel  and 
     bronze bearing material.  
          I mention this because if you have a reloading press and  purchase 
     the PE-1, you might want to take a good look at the handle of the tool.  
     The  entire  frame and handle of the Mity Mite presses made  in  1985-6 
     were  machined  from castings of this alloy,  making the Mity Mite  the 
     only  swaging  press  in  the world to have ever  been  constructed  of 
     bronze,  and  also making it the most indestructable hand swaging press 
     ever made (until the advent of the Mega Mite).


     HTO-1     Corbin Heat Treatment Oven, Model 1
          Experimental  labs and prototype shops all over the world use  the 
     Corbin  HTO-1  for precision heating  of  alloy  steels,  manufacturing 
     springs and gun parts,  and of course for routine core bonding,  jacket 
     annealing,  and  heat  treatment  of copper or brass  tubing  prior  to 
     forming into jackets.
          The  HTO-1 is one of the most economical ovens in its size  range.  
     Nearly any other furnace you will see advertised with the features,  or 
     somewhat fewer,  will be priced at two to three times as much!   Corbin 
     purchases lab grade Thermolyne furnaces, strips out the cook-stove type 
     thermo-mechanical  heat  control,  and completely rebuilds the  furnace 
     with an electronic "brain" that applies a precise heating pulse, senses 
     heat  rise,  turns  off the power,  and senses  heat  loss.   Then,  it 
     compensates  for  the amount of heat loss by adjusting the  next  power 
     pulse width.  
          In  this  manner the HTO-1 is able to maintain heat  control  much 
     more precisely than any standard furnace.   It is so accurate that  you 
     can  set  it and forget it -- the temperature will go to the level  you 
     set regardless of the oven load,  and it will not go over it no  matter 
     how  long  you  leave the furnace on.   A stainless  steel  2000-degree 
     sensor probe replaces the original open junction thermocouple,  and RF-
     shielded input cable keeps the electronics from picking up motor noises 
     and other extraneous data.  
          The HTO-1 has a direct-reading knob setting.  It is not calibrated 
     in  relative  units which have no relation to the  actual  temperature, 
     like the furnaces sold by others which look like the Corbin unit.   The 
     furnace you would normally be able to purchase for about half the price 
     of the Corbin furnace has the original cook-stove type  control.   With 
     this  very  simple thermostat,  there is no feedback from the  furnace.  
     The control does not know what the temperature is in the  furnace:   it 
     only  knows  how  long  it has been feeding power  to  the  furnace  in 
     relation  to how hot an internal bi-metal strip is getting,  heated  by 
     its own internal heating wire.  
          You  could  mount the thermostat in another  room,  and  it  would 
     operate just the same way.  If you connected a lamp to the control, and 
     didn't  even have a furnace wired to it,  it would perform exactly  the 
     same service of turning the lamp on and off at regular intervals.   The 
     reading on the dial has no relationship to actual oven temperature.  It 
     is merely the relative amount of time that power is applied to whatever 
     is connected to the control.
          This means that you have to be right there, watching the pyrometer 

     reading,  to  know  what is going to happen to  the  temperature.   You 
     twiddle with the knob, setting it higher to try and get the temperature 
     to rise,  and then watching to make sure it doesn't rise too high.   If 
     you change the mass of material you put into the furnace,  it will come 
     to  a different temperature.   As the oven is used and the radiation of 
     heat  from  it  changes with time,  the settings  will  mean  different 
     temperatures even with the same load.   In other words, it is a type of 
     control that gets you by,  but only if you have plenty of time to watch 
     the meter and play with the knob.
          The  Corbin system is absolute.   You set  the  temperature.   The 
     electronics  takes over and brings the oven to that  temperature.   The 
     pyrometer is still there,  so you can read the temperature if you like.  
     But you don't need to be there if you have something better to do.
          The cavity size of the HTO-1 is approximately 4 inches by 4 inches 
     square, with a five inch depth.  The furnace runs on standard household 
     115  volt current,  no special wiring required.   (Export versions  are 
     available at no extra cost, using 220 volts).


     HTO-2     Corbin Heat Treatment Oven, Model 2
          This  is  the  commercial,  heavy duty version designed  for  more 
     accurate setting and control,  longer life,  and slightly larger cavity 
     size.  It has a built-in forced-air cooling system for the electronics, 
     a  standard  1/4-DIN slip-out,  interchangable controller box  (and  we 
     stock spares so if you should ever need a new controller,  it is a fast 
     and easy job to slip in a new unit).
          The  HTO-2  also comes with a 50-degree plus  or  minus  deviation 
     meter readout,  in addition to the full scale 2000-degree F. pyrometer, 
     and  an  LED indicator tells when the controller is applying a  heating 
     pulse  to the furnace coils.    The main power switch is also  a  5-amp 
     circuit  breaker,  controlling  power  to  the  electronics  and  power 
     switching relay.   The furnace can be ordered with Nitrogen atmosphere, 
     so  that  you  can apply a small charge of inert Nitrogen  gas  to  the 
     cavity and keep scale and oxidation at a minimum.  
          The  cavity size is approximately 4.5 inches by 4.5 inches  square 
     with  a  6 inch depth.   The larger oven cabinet allows for  additional 
     ceramic fiber insulation (a space age material similar to the that used 
     on the Space Shuttle), and for generally heavier construction desirable 
     in a production unit.   If you plan to manufacture bonded core  bullets 
     in batches,  this is the correct choice in a heat treatment furnace you 
     can  depend  on.   (We use this same model every day,  and have  for  a 
     decade, to make your dies!)


     HTC-1     Heat Treatment Compound, 1-lb. 
          If you heat treat steel, this compound is going to make life a lot 
     easier  for  you!   As you know,  iron and steel parts oxidize and  the 
     carbon  "burns  out"  of the surface,  leaving a softer  alloy  at  the 
     surface,  and  often  leaving  pits or scale  that  destroys  a  finely 
     finished part. 
          A nitrogen atmosphere furnace is useful in reducing this oxidation 
     or decarburization,  but at higher temperatures and with more sensitive 
     alloy  steels,       If you heat treat steel, this compound is going to make life a lot 
     easier  for  you!   As you know,  iron and steel parts oxidize and  the 
     carbon  "burns  out"  of the surface,  leaving a softer  alloy  at  the 
     surface,  and  often  leaving  pits or scale  that  destroys  a  finely 
     finished part. 
          A nitrogen atmosphere furnace is useful in reducing this oxidation 
     or decarburization,  but at higher temperatures and with more sensitive 
     alloy  steels, 
     temperatures,  for  as  long as you could reasonable want to  heat  the 
     part.   Then,  when  you quench the part or air-cool it,  the  compound 
     protects the surface from pitting and checking.  
          The  glass  is  almost impossible  to  remove  by  grinding,  wire 
     brushing, or handling.  Only one thing works quickly, easily:  boil the 
     part  in hot water!   The black protective coating  dissolves,  leaving 
     your  part  clean  and heat-treated without any damage to  the  highly-
     finished  surface.   This remarkable compound has been used to  protect 
     Corbin  swage dies,  finished to 50 millionths of an inch with  diamond 
     lapped interiors,  for the past 15 years.   We're willing to share this 
     important discovery with our friends in the gunsmith trade.

