Swaging Gaschecks

[jimkim]

Has anyone here ever swaged their own gas checks? What kind of materials have you made gas checks from? I heard of people using aluminum cans. Is that true or a myth?
Here's another link if you don't know what I am talking about.
Corbin Swaging Gas Check Maker Dies

[wunhunglo]

Originally Posted by jimkim

Has anyone here ever swaged their own gas checks? What kind of materials have you made gas checks from? I heard of people using aluminum cans. Is that true or a myth?
Here's another link if you don't know what I am talking about.
Corbin Swaging Gas Check Maker Dies

Jimkin, you're a glutton for punishment, or else you have too much time on your hands! I tried casting and using factory gas checks many years ago and found I had very little time left for shooting so eventually settled on buying in the components.

However, good luck.

[jimkim]

I have too much time on my hands. I also have several hundred pounds of wheel weights on my hands.

[billy]

jimkim is G&G's guinea pig i....... mean test pilot.
try it out and keep us posted!

[jimkim]

I gotta get the equip. first. Look what I found Gas Check Making Tool 357 Aluminum Standalone FREECHEX - eBay (item 230270835348 end time Jul-17-08 0637 PDT)

[gandog56]

Never heard of using aluminum for gas checks. It was always copper or brass.

[jimkim]

Originally Posted by gandog56

Never heard of using aluminum for gas checks. It was always copper.

I hadn't either until I heard/read it mentioned on another site. I still don't know If I trust it. It doesn't seem like it would hold(right word?) to the base as well. If you think aluminum is weird, I saw milk jug gas checks mentioned as well. Wouldnt plastic melt?

[gandog56]

I remember reading something in the ABC's of Reloading about why they don't reload aluminum cases. Other than CCI's one use primers, it isn't as slick as copper.

[gandog56]

Originally Posted by jimkim

I hadn't either until I heard/read it mentioned on another site. I still don't know If I trust it. It doesn't seem like it would hold(right word?) to the base as well. If you think aluminum is weird, I saw milk jug gas checks mentioned as well. Wouldnt plastic melt?

What else will people think of trying to save a penny?

Maybe you can use a penny....no wait, aren't they mostly zinc now?

[neophyte]

Wonder what would happen "IF" you used the tin that 7.62xx54's come in?

[GlockMeister]

Read the info under Construction, looks as if aluminum has been used enough to where it gets mentioned as one of the materials used anyhow?

Gas check - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[gandog56]

Originally Posted by neophyte

Wonder what would happen "IF" you used the tin that 7.62xx54's come in?

Mmmmmm, galvanized.

[Remo-99]

Originally Posted by jimkim

I hadn't either until I heard/read it mentioned on another site. I still don't know If I trust it. It doesn't seem like it would hold(right word?) to the base as well. If you think aluminum is weird, I saw milk jug gas checks mentioned as well. Wouldnt plastic melt?

Technically aluminum isn't the best suited material for use as gascheck metal, but they can be cheaply made from junk materials that are normally thrown away. Aluminum is not a gliding metal like copper, and has the potential to gal in the bore at high velocities, although i haven't heard of this as a major problem, possibly due to the practice of lube used on the bullet as well.
As well if exposed to air aluminum will form a very thin layer of oxide, this Al-Oxide is extremly hard (rating 9 on the diamond scale of 10) and is commonly used as an abraisive for making grider wheels etc.
This taken into account it wouldn't be the best idea to run Aluminum gaschecked bullets at super high velocity without the bullet lubed.
I use a cast 250 grain hollow point bullet with a copper gascheck in my 44mag levergun for closeup-fast shooting work, and i don't need to lube them, so i can bypass a sometimes somewhat messy step. And the cost is still cheaper than high performance 22 rimfire ammo per round, with more range and ALOT more hitting power, so i use it for most work i would've normally used a 22 for anyhow.
As for plastics, that's what they use as shotshell wads, they have self lubing properties, and if the right plastic is used have good high temp properties aswell.
I'll just briefly tell you about a project i was involved with, we used a special purpose plastic wad/sabot to launch a soft/pure lead AAA shotgun pellet from a .270 winchester with case FULL of hercules 2400 ( i can't remember the exact charge weight, but it was very carefully worked up to that level, not to mention a particular action for it's strength )
This load was used against a new ( at that time ) armor material. To compere it was also tested against half inch thick steel plate, to which this soft lead pellet penetrated with ease, like a hot knife through butter. It was estimated that these loads were exceeding +5000 fps, although i would liked to have seen the figures on a chronograth, i think they would've been interesting to say the least. It all reverts back to the formula, Energy = Mass (or bullet weight) X Velocity squared. So if you increase the bullet weight by say times 2 you double the energy, but if you increase the velocity it dramically increases the energy. And having a soft projectile, it helps to expend that energy into the target.
Accuracy wasn't very good out past 50 yards, but small fury targets that it did find were basically, atomized/vapourized. (i'm sure you get the idea).