First 32 S&W Long reloads and unmitigated disaster.

[Charles Graff]

I noticed a good pre-war Smith and Wesson Hand Ejector laying about my place and thought I would reload for it. This is a first for me. The barrel is .312 and the cylinder throats .314.

First I needed some dies which I found NOS Lyman on Ebay. It was a combination set for the 32 ACP, 32 S&W Long and the 32 H&R Mag. It comes with two expanding plugs (.311 and .314) and two bullet seating plugs, one short RN and one long SWC. Now the fun begins.

The sizing die works fine.

The .314 expanding plug is too long having been designed for the longer 32 Magnum. If you run it into the case far enough to put a slight bell on the case mouth, the case is bulged so it won't chamber in the handgun. I didn't notice this until I had loaded 50 rounds.

So, I cranked up the lathe to shorten the expanding plug and the pulley was loose and I had to fix that. When the lathe was up and running I bobbed the expanding plug.

I tried to pull the bullets from the bulged rounds with an impact puller, but it damaged the small rims on the case. So, I ran the loaded rounds back into the FL sizing die, which swaged down the bullets .004. Not good for accuracy, but at least I can fire the rounds to empty the cases.

Ah yes, bullet seating. Not wanting to buy a mold, I bought some tumble lubed 85 grain DEWCs from Matts.
They came .315 which proved to be .001 larger than the seating die would accommodate. So I had to run them through a .314 sizer and apply a new coat of tumble lube.

The long SWC plug had a sharp edge on it, which dug into the FN wad cutters, so out it came and it went to the lathe to be turned flat.

I emptied the cases at the range shooting fun double action and it did better than I expected considering the trash ammo it was fed.

So, now I have the empty cases, 400 .314 lubed bullets and dies that now work. It is time to hit it again.

The powder charge was and is 2.0 grains of Bullseye.

If I had know that loading for the little 32 was this much fun, I would not have waited 50 years to give it a try.

 

[Brad]

I love it when people see solutions, not problems.
You had some challenged to overcomes and came out on top. I bet we will soon see photos of little groups on paper.

 

[RicinYakima]

Ah yes, my second favorite cartridge. Sounds like you had a marvelous time, too.

 

[Charles Graff]

I love it when people see solutions, not problems.
You had some challenged to overcomes and came out on top. I bet we will soon see photos of little groups on paper.

After 50 plus years of reloading, it is not hard to deal with the "issues" that come up. I get amused when the newbies on other boards run into a problem and then suck their thumbs while squalling for help. If a fellow understands the process of loading ammo, which is not that difficult to do, the solutions are evident and simple.

 

[RicinYakima]

Charles, you mean before the internet? and texting? and asking friends on social media? You must be able to read and solve problems! Looking for work?

 

[Brad]

I often tell people to think with their brain, not their mouth.
Stop seeing problems and start seeing solutions.
What didn't work and why? What can be done to solve the specific problem?

Charles, this is exactly why I bought a lathe. I wanted to be able to problem solve on my own. Try things and see what works and what doesn't.

It isn't just a generational thing, it is a mnd set.

 

[RicinYakima]

You are correct Brad, it is a mind set. It is just that it seems so uncommon now. But then, I am an old curmudgeon, and admit it.

 

[Brad]

I am an aging curmudgeon it seems. My patience for this behavior is waning rapidly.

People want to be spoon fed, I'm not good at that. I tend to answer questions with questions.

Answer a man's question, teach him one thing. Teach him to think and he can answer his own questions forever.

 

[oldatheart]

My wife hates when I go out to the shop to make something brand new fit! She is always shocked that I can just cut something with out thinking about it. The other day I flat topped a punch for the saeco. Flat topped a 45 acp Dillion seating die. Last but not least cut my own hair! She was about to crap her paints when I told her what I was doing.
I have had worse haircuts!

 

[Brad]

Yikes. I don't cut my own hair!
I really think that some of this goes to being able to visualize what needs to happen. I can picture it in my mind and see how stuff fits together. Drives my father nuts. Built a storage shed with no plans, he hated that too.

 

[oldatheart]

Not to push this to far of topic but.....
The main reason I do things my self is they are done right and I don't have to deal with people. I DONT LIKE PEOPLE. I figure making it myself saves time looking for the "right thing".


Charles my fav 32 mould right now is the noe 32 keith hp. It would be a fun option in that thing!

 

[Charles Graff]

One of my problems, of which there are multitudes, is that I do in fact like people, well most people anyway. I do get frustrated with the younger folks who cant seem to think their way through a problem. Their first step in to get on their digital devices and ask for help. They seem to be looking for the easy way to get things done. The big problem is the folks they are asking are mostly clueless themselves. What are they going to do, when faced with something in life that requires critical thinking skills?

 

[Charles Graff]

I often tell people to think with their brain, not their mouth.
Stop seeing problems and start seeing solutions.
What didn't work and why? What can be done to solve the specific problem?

Charles, this is exactly why I bought a lathe. I wanted to be able to problem solve on my own. Try things and see what works and what doesn't.

It isn't just a generational thing, it is a mnd set.

I have wanted a lathe all my life, but my work invoked moving every few years and I didn't live in my own home. Ten years ago, I bought this 1947 9 X 18 Logan on Ebay. I just took a chance. It came disassembled in three boxes and I had to figure out how to put it together, which I did. When it was all together, aligned, cleaned and lubricated, I ran a 12" test bar between centers and found a .003 taper. I nudged the tail stock over and cut it again. This time I have only a .0005 difference from front to back. I then locked everything down and called it good. It is an old school lathe with old school tooling but it is my pride and joy. It is all I need and more.

 

[smokeywolf]

I don't mind helping people help themselves, but I tend to clam up when someone expects me to become a substitute for buying and reading a book. People who do not have the impetus, the drive to seek out information on their own should look for a different hobby or sport.

It's a fine looking lathe Charles. Reminiscent of many of the '20s to '40s era toolroom lathes I've worked on.

Some of the lathes and mills I apprenticed on were from this era...


Can you guess which one is me?

 

[Charles Graff]

I dearly love old American iron.

 

[RicinYakima]

Great lathe! I have an Atlas 6 x 26 flat bed that does about everything I want, except turning rifle barrels.

My father worked for Aeronca Aircraft, so I had two summers of "pre-apprenticeship" training while in High School. A lot of the old equipment from Cincinnati was moved up to Middletown, Ohio, for WWII production. I was amazing that some of the tooling was from the 1880's next to 1960's state of the art. All the old belt drives had been replaced with DC motors run from steam generators on site at Hook Field.

 

[smokeywolf]

Notice that all the adult machinists are wearing white shirts and ties. I have an old black & white picture somewhere, of a machinist in the Metro-Goldwym-Mayer Studio Machine Shop, wearing dress shirt and bow tie, leaning over a small engine lathe.

 

[RicinYakima]

Even in 1964, the "masters" wear white shirts, vest, ties and canvas or whipcord shop coats or aprons. Plus the little shop flat top shop caps, rolled cigarettes and their first language was German. If you every saw pictures of Harry Pope, that is what my instructors looked like. The whole tool making industry collapsed in the late 1960's in Cincinnati, as computer control machines were made in "right to work" states and factories left Ohio.

 

[Pistolero]

LOL! Sometimes you start a simple thing and it turns into an adventure - each step going
off in an unintended direction. Life is a journey, sometimes there are side trips.

Sounds like my adventure getting the wife's Deere 425 ready for mowing season, finally running
problem free today. . . . . started getting it read a month ago and though it would be just an oil change.
Went to drive if from the barn to the shop, it lives in the barn over the winter to
free up shop space.

It wouldn't crank. Pulled the plugs, wet, so no spark, one plug wouldn't tighten. . . . . . aluminum head
Kawasaki water cooler. . . . Towed it from the barn to the shop with my Great Dane stander. Pulled the
head, decided that I would not trust a short helicoil because the plug threads were only 3/8" long 14mm.
Did some looking and bought one repair kit. . . . reamer and ALUMINUM inserts. Nope. Need steel. Finally
did a really careful dimensional check and had a friend set the head up on his NC mill and drill, spot face
and tap to 5/8-18. My little mill didn't have enough overhead room. Made up a pair of inserts with .980
diam flanges .035 thick. Will us a setscrew to retain the flange (in a hole in flange and head). After a bit
of issues, too complex to describe here, got the steel new design insert in place. Head gasket came in
and engine reassembled. . . . 10 days flow time.

Still no spark. Engine manual, checks of trigger coils and ignition coils says they are OK. Thinking $185
ignition box. . . . . Find tractor shop manual online.... wiring diagram is different from the Kaw engine
manual. . . a "time delay module" was installed by Deere, controls power to spark box. Check power to
out of TD module - none. Jumper power and it starts instantly. OK, Deere dealer has the module, cheap
at $22. Ready to run. . . . Or not.

Runs a couple of days and mower deck starts throwing the belt. Belt has chunks missing. While getting $$$ belt, also pick up
new "cut performance" blade set from dealer, we have tall grass (getting taller every day!). Pull mower
deck off tractor, pull blades, remove idler, unwrap belt. Middle blade drive pulley is wobbly. . . . Turns our it has
spun on the short hex drive section of the spindle, dealer doesn't have pulley, but another dealer across town
does. Drive there, meantime ask wife to check 90 deg drive gearbox oil level. She calls and tells me that can't
reach any oil with finger tip.... buy 85W140 oil. Get back and start reassembly. New pulley hex barely
reaches the good part of the hex on the spindle. . . .HMMM. OK, pop the spindle into the lathe, face .060
off of the top of bottom flange and this will move the hex section up .060, clean section in the pulley drive hex.
All is fine until I put the blade on. Spindle locks up. ????? After pulling entire spindle assy, when I
moved the bottom face of the spindle (blade seat) up .060, too, now the blade seat is below the
edge of the spindle housing casting. . . Crud. Take spindle to the mill and face off .050 from the bottom
edge of the casting (no problems added, after careful thinking). This morning, reassembled all, added
gear oil to gearbox, lubed PTO Ujoints and slider, reinstalled the mower deck.

Wife mowed most of the day, new blades cut much better, unit is quieter and smoother than ever before,
engine starts instantly and shuts down smoothly. Only took a month and two mills, a lathe and about
every other tool in my shop.

BUT - I did fix it all, and it should be good for several more years. And - Like Charles, I had fun doing
it and love getting to use my tools. Retirement is good - more time to play.

So, don't wonder why I haven't been at the range much lately. Did win a team Vintage Sniper match last
Saturday, but used Jbullets, so cheated. ;-)

Bill

PS This is the Cliff Notes version - a whole bunch of other minor dramas along the way that I
left out.

 

[Glen]

Charles, your original post in this thread has me recalling some favorite memories -- what you described (a .314" wadcutter over 2.0 grains of Bullseye) is a personal favorite of mine to use while wandering the overgrown logging roads of the Olympic Peninsula while hunting coastal blacktailed deer. The .32 S&W Long isn't for the deer, it's for the grouse that one encounters along the way. It drops them cleanly without tearing up a bunch of tasty meat.