What's new
What's new

Bullet Collator

  • Thread starter Rustystud
  • Start date
  • Replies 14
  • Views 11,226
R

Rustystud

Guest
A friend of mine designed and makes the Fowler bullet feeder for progressive reloaders. It requires a collator to feed the bullets to the bullet feeding die. He has used a M A Systems collator in the past. M A Systems has quit making the 8 inch model collator and the 13 inch model is very expensive. Does anyone know of a collator manufacture that makes an 8-13 inch rotary collator that is simular to the M A Systems models. Has any body ever made their own bullet collators?
Rustystud
 
Metal Doctor:

Both a Rotary collator and a vibrator collator can share some of the same jobs. Bullets are quite heavy for their size. A rotary collator basically is a bucket shaped containter with an electric motor shaft coming through the bottom and affixed to a plate with groves cut into the outer edges. The whole apparatus is mounted on a hinged pedistol and can be adjusted so the rotating plate sweeps through a pile of bullets in the bottom. Bullets by gravity fall in the grooves, then move upward. Because bullets are fatter on on end and usually tapered on the other end they need to be oriented. Inside the collator there are sweepers that push the bullets incorrectly oriented back to the bottom of the collator. Then the corectly oriented bullets move on up and fall through the grove down a tube to the bullet feeder die in the reloader. There is a micro switch on the tube to control the off/on demand of the feeder. The Fowler Bullet feeder die is an adjustable double gated die that is acutated by the insertion of the cartridge case into the die. This die is put into a 5 station or greater progressive reloader and takes out the manual insertion of bullets. It speeds up the process and takes the only manual process in a truly progressive reloader such as the Dillon 650 or 1050. This die will work on any 7/8 14 threaded die station. I have literally loaded hundreds of thousands of loads with my 1050 Dillon loader. It increases the rate of production from about 1000 rounds per hour to about 3000 rounds per hour if you have everything set up correctly. Again time is money when in production.
Rustystud
 
Just a small reloading business to go along with my gunsmithing business. The numbers add up over time. Pistol amunition has gotten so cheap it almost does not pay to reload. But I don't like supporting third world countries. All my components are American made. And I do the work.
Rustystud
 
Magma Eng has a bullet collator on their Lube Master, what is the price tag on a Fowler???
 
Johnhurd:

Magma uses the M A Systems the same one we have used. M A Systems has quit making the 8 inch collator that cost about $600.00 Their 13 inch Collator is about $1,300.00. So you can the expense is doubled. The Fowler Bullet feeder was available from Hughes Products In Winston Salem, NC but their sales contract is about up if not expired. Mac Fowler in Angier, NC is the Manufacture. I have been selling them for Mac at the Shot Show for the last 5 years. I have a few metal ones left The body on the new ones are made of injected molded nylon. I have used both and don't see much difference between them. I think they are retailing for $249.95. I was selling them for $189.00 plus $10.00 shipping and handling.
This is not the forum to be selling products and Neil may delete this thread. The previous is for your information and not intended to be marketing the Fowler Bullet feeder. I am looking for a new collator to be used in conjunction with the Fowler Bullet feeder.
Rustystud
 
Email on the way sorry folks back to what you were doing
 
Johnhurd:

Did you get the information I sent to you by e-mail? Was the picture self explanitory?
Rustystud
 
Linear thinker:

Did you get my e-mail. It looks like John has gotten a photo from Mac Fowler and posted it.
If you did not get my e-mail let me know and I will send it again.
Rustystud
 








 
Back
Top