picked up some CH dies for half jacket ?, what to they fit in? marketable?

[JBMauser]

I picked up two sets of dies with top punches,  One is market CH and .4520 and half jacket and has two top punches, one
WC and one SWC.
The one is marked half jacketed and so I know what these are for but not how to use them.  I have read a bit and I understand that there should be a bleed hole for a stem of lead.  these have none.  they have holes the will accept a set screw to hold them properly in a die body or something.  one is marked CH 4290 and it has a top punch of wad cutter countour that just slides into the top of the larger (bottom?) stepped die.  the top die is threaded and looks to accept someting like a 1/4 20 shaft.  Are these used anymore?  I can break them up and use them as components to cast cast bullets etc.  or I can sell them on ebay as I am not ready to jump into swaging but then again,  If I had something useable???  I think these fit into something that fits into a press?? Any help would be appreciated.  jb

[talon]

You may have almost  2 complete die sets, missing only the ejection rod which you can fabricate without much work. There should be a sliding component inside each die. If not, CH/4D can supply the part(s). This sliding piece forces the bullet out of the die when you press the rod you will be making into the hole at the top of the die. The CH die body fits into any standard single stage cartridge reloading press, and the punches fit into the ram's shell holder slot. You will have to find a source of pure lead bullet cores( not wheelweights or alloy#2 or some such) that weigh exactly as much as the bullet you want to make, and are only 2 to 4000ths undersize from the 44 or 45acp bullets you want to make. You can make non-jacketed bullets with these dies, but being soft lead, they may not hold to the barrel groves and be very accurate.accurate.

[JBMauser]

So I need to get a CH die body that these fit into?  the rod to push the bullet down and out can be made as you said.  I guess one die body is all that I woud need.  Do these dies have a name or a "type"  I went to the CH web site and found one piece dies, nothing for half jacket bullets. 

since these are for soft lead, can a conventional rock chucker press or an old cast lyman press, the tilted type be strong enough for form these bullets. 

can I use lead balls sold for a muzzle loader as the cores?  I can figure a way to form them from a ball to a rough cylinder.  roll them between plates perhaps. 

My last question is this?  are these used today, I read somewhere that half jacket bullets have fallen from favor and full jacket pills are now the only game.  is this correct?  If I could sell off the one set I have not gun for I could fit out the other and "dip my toe"  into swaging as it were.  Thanks for any info and suggestions.

JB

[talon]

 The CH 1 piece die is a "1/2 jacket die". 1/2 jackets work OK. CH does sell a 2 die set to swage 3/4 jackets, but even those won't do the work of the more expensive/much stronger Corbin dies. However, they are excellent for their stated purpose. They are not obsolete at all. Many use them today, especially to swage low velocity  lead wad cutters.  If I remember the actual die screws into the die holder (body). I'm not familiar with any CH model that uses a set screw that holds the die in the die holder... it may be an older model. Most 'O' frame reloading presses, especially the Rock Chucker are OK for these dies. But remember, swaging even pure lead in .44 and .45 caliber sizes will put more stress on these presses than they were designed for. While it's true that RCBS got it's footing in the business swaging .224 bullets, more than 3 times that pressure is needed for .45 calibers. Again, you can swage on a solidly built 'O' press, but expect some wear to occurr over time in the linkage and on the ram face.
  While it is possible to roll a .429 lead ball until it fits into your swage die, it's not worth the effort. Why spend a minute making something that will only save you 2 cents? Swaging is suppose to be cost effective ( amoung other things).Finally, if you want to sell the one you don't have a need for, try advertising it on this board. ( As swaging is such a specialized field, I believe Graybeard wouldn't mine you doing that rather than posting it on the "Classifieds" board.

[gutshot_again]

It sounds like you may have dies for the old swag-o-matic.  Pictures would tell a lot.

[JBMauser]

I have called CH, no one to speak with, no one calls back.  Googled Swag -o-matic with no luck for any data that would help ID.  I will try and get some pics up.  I will dig through my older books and digests for any info on this device.  Does anyone know of any published personal web sites by swagers? At one time, some time back,  Donna had offered me a Swag-o-matic and I passsed as my interest was not reinforced with $$$.  Thanks for any further info you can provide.  JB

[iiranger]

last time I looked, ch4ddotcom, they had the instructions and parts list on the inet... Print them out, if that is what you have, study them, enjoy yourself... luck