Rigging a lathe to aid in modifying cases to 56-50 Armisport Spencer

[PvtGreg]

Hi All,

In trying to make Spencer brass I discovered that some sort of lathe to reduce both case thickness after re-sizing or reduce the rim thickness or diameter was going to be a great aid in reforming cases from 32ga brass and 8mm Lebel brass into serviceable 56-50 brass.  After some experimentation I came up with this made from a Dremel tool.  My goal was to make something that anyone else could rig without special tools.  

Here's what I came up with:



I made the jig from a 1x4x6 in piece of Tulip popular and a 1/4 in piece of birch plywood mounted to the end of the board at a right angle.  I drilled a 1" hole in the birch piece in alignment with the Dremel tool's collar.  I secured the body of the Dremel to the 1x4x6 in piece with a couple of screws and some wire.  Anything will do as long as it keeps it secure, aligned and steady when the Dremel tool is turned on.  

I clamp this assembly to my work bench using a spring clamp, which keeps it secure, but allows me to relocate it where I want.



I made a second piece from a 1x4x1.5in piece of Tulip popular and 1 1/4 in piece of birch plywood mounted to the end of the board at right angles with a 9/16" hole drilled in the birch piece directly centered and aligned with the Dremel tool's spindle.  I secure this to the bench with another spring clamp.  This piece keeps the case spinning true while working on either the case body, the case rim's diameter or the rim's thickness.



Next I bought a new Dremel sanding/grinding kit for the 1/2 inch Drum Sander rubber drum.  Since this drum is ~1/2" 32ga brass and 8mm Lebel (after expanding) will fit sungly.  If its a little loose I put a turn or two of masking tape to make it snug on the drum.



This jig has worked well for reducing case diameter, rim diameter and rim thickness.  Keep in mind the case can get very hot as you work on it.  

To take the brass down I use pieces of 220 grit and 440 grid sand paper to work the cases, sometimes I use a set of small files as well, but I've found sand paper seems to work the best.

Hope this helps some of you out or at least gives one of you some ideas on how to make an even better rig.  Remember if you do come up with something better please post it!

Pvt. Greg