converting blanks ?

[gabrielfrombelgium]

I can get a pretty good amount of 5,56 & 7,62 fn-made blank brass cases (and yes, those are boxer-primed). I cut one of the 5,56 and thickness look similar to regular ball ammo. Would it be possible to cut cases to the correct length (got the tools) and use it as regular brass cases ? thanks

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[Patrick Chadwick]

With regard to safety, this is in no way a recommendation. To all the steps described here there are those who will say it is hazardous, and others who will say it is no problem. As in all reloading operations, ultimately it is YOUR responsibility. But if they were my cases, this is what I would do...

On the basis of simple production economics I would imagine that blank cases are probably overlength normal cases, formed in the same extrusion machinery. This assumption will be tested later.

You need to be able to remove the excess length without creating a mess of powder and brass turnings, so simply using a lathe will not be a good idea, and the sideways force of a turning tool would make it difficult to hold the case with sufficient stability - you would need a steady rest - which leads us to a better method.

Get a small pipe cutter - the kind of hand tool used for cutting small-bore copper heating pipes. Get a really good one with a sharp blade. Do not try to cut the case instantly to the correct length, as the metal is somewhat distorted around the cut. How close you can get is something you will have to find out by experiment.

You also need a running-down cutter, a.k.a. case trimmer, as made by RCBS and others. And, of course, a set of case-forming dies.

Use the pipe cutter to cut the end off say 5 cases while holding them over a bucket (to catch the powder). The end of the case will be rounded over by the cutter, so, after tipping out any powder still in the case, you have a choice: either deprime the case, to remove the live primer, an operation which could be hazardous, or leave the primer in position and reform the neck by using a neck sizer die with the decapping pin removed.
The next step is to trim the neck to the correct length. I use a lathe set up with a stop to trim cases, but there are plenty of trimming tools around to do the job.

The next step is decisive: weigh the 5 trimmed sample cases you now have, and compare them with other cases FROM THE SAME MANUFACTURER before you (possibly) waste any more time. We assumed at the start that the cases you have been treating were basically the same as cases made for live ammunition. The weighing will show you whether that is likely. If the cut-off cases are significantly lighter than live-ammo cases (you must judge how much is significant) then this would indicate that the blank cases are made by overstretching the "normal" case blanks. In that case, I would forget the whole business.

But yes, I would try it, with all due caution.

Patrick

[Patrick Chadwick]

Sorry everybody if I got the wrong end of the stick. I assumed, from the text "cut the cases to the correct length" that the blanks are the type where an overlong case is crimped together at the front end, beyond the normal neck, where a bullet would otherwise sit. If they are NOT that type of extended case, then what I wrote is, sadly, way off the mark!

Patrick

[dogtag]

If this helps any - I bought some Rem 8mm Lebel blanks a while back
I also bought some Rem 8mm loaded rounds.
Cases are the same - I reload and shoot all of them.
I never shoot max loads !!