Some claiification needed

A

Andy Cross

New member
A friend is sending a set of bullet swaging dies back to a tool maker because they have been worn. Not sure if they are tungsten or not. He is getting them reworked.

How in the hell is reworking the dies going to add material back to them so that in effect they are not worn. My thoughts turn to metal spraying ie hard facing then machining or make the die inside large enough to accept an insert. I need some clarification on reworking here.
 
swaging die coatings

As a machinist, I often machine graphite electrodes which are very abrasive. High speed steel tools are very short lived, carbide is better and coated (Tin, PVD, CVD) is still better. The very top of the line for coatings for abrasion is a diamond coating which is only slightly costly and seems like a perfect idea for swaging dies. The only drawback I see is the carbide inserts and end mills that are diamond coated are slightly dull in finish. Any input on this one?
 
In case of carbide dies, my understanding is that its possible to cut the carbide insert out, and placing it in a new die with a tighter squeeze to reduce the internal dimension. Hopefully George Ulrich might see this and further explain whats possible.

On steel dies, I have no idea. My guess would be its time for a new set of dies!
 
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What I'm having trouble with is why the fellow would want to do that in the first place. Fat bullets shoot as good as what we call "normal" diameter bullets. There may, however, be something else involved that requires fixing.
 
They may have enough length to have the face machined and then the internals restored based on the new face.

The wear may not be as much on a full diameter part of the die allowing it to be re-formed.

If they are TC that is a relatively expensive piece of material.
 
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