Bullet Feeder

[mrcabinet]

I gave up on the Lee bullet feeder, mainly because the coated bullets I load the most of are just too darned slippery for it. Honestly, I really don't mind placing the bullet by hand on the case - it's basically an automatic movement for me when running the Breech Lock Pro. What I do not like though is having to root around in a jar or the bench top to get the projectile in just the right position so I can pick it up and place it properly. The other evening I was watching the case feeder operate and came up with an idea. Some tubing, caps and a little wood later, this is what I came up with. I call it a semi-auto bullet feeder, lol.



It works so well that I ended up making one for .45, and those pesky little .223 as well.



Each tube holds 16 to 21 bullets, depending on their size. It takes three or four minutes to load five tubes so, while it's a little extra time at the start, it's a whole lot less aggravation while actually loading.

[larryflew]

GREAT idea.  I sold my Lee bullet feeder about a week after I installed it.  Could probably do adjustable tube depth and do the 223 and 9 MM with the same loader.

[mrcabinet]

GREAT idea.  I sold my Lee bullet feeder about a week after I installed it.  Could probably do adjustable tube depth and do the 223 and 9 MM with the same loader.

I tried that, but the 9mm tube has too much slop for the .223 and they fall right out. 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" poly tubing was just right.

[larryflew]

Won't matter since wood and me rarely get along other than framing etc.  Nothing delicate etc.  Weld something, tap somthing, fix mechanical things sure but woodworking, not so much.

[Wobbly]

Won't matter since wood and me rarely get along other than framing etc.  Nothing delicate etc.  Weld something, tap something, fix mechanical things sure but woodworking, not so much.

Larry, this made me laugh so hard. For most of my life I simply couldn't work with wood. It seemed  like it would fight me !

[mrcabinet]

Hey Larry - it sounds like your woodworking skills are on par with my metalworking skills! A grinder, Bondo and thick paint are the only things that make my welds look halfway decent.

[larryflew]

How I am with wood.  I can refinish wood fine due to painting skills but beyond that I'm with Wobbly wood just fights me.

[double-d]

How does your feeder work?

[larryflew]

How does your feeder work?

Check the picture, feeder is your fingers taking one at a time out of his "feeder"

[mrcabinet]

If I knew how to post a video on here I'd make one and share it. Larry is correct - it feeds my fingers so the bullet is in the perfect position to grab and place on the brass. This way I don't fumble around and get out of rhythm.

[Wobbly]

If I knew how to post a video on here...

You need a video posting site, like YouTube, Rumble, or Imgure. After you post it on there, you simply copy the URL address and paste it into your post here.

[larryflew]

If I knew how to post a video on here I'd make one and share it. Larry is correct - it feeds my fingers so the bullet is in the perfect position to grab and place on the brass. This way I don't fumble around and get out of rhythm.

Your imgbox will host vids as well as the pics you posted there.


You COULD post a video showing how to make one, then send the one you made to me 
Or make two so Wobbly gets one too   

Start selling???

[mrcabinet]

I never really considered making these to sell. This was more of a challenge for me to see if I could make something that would improve my own process, but it sounds like others might be in the same boat. These were the fourth iteration of the original idea.

If I did make some, I'd have to do them in batches to make it cost and time effective, so there would be more than one available at a time.
What do you think would be most popular - individuals or sets of two or three sizes?

[double-d]

feeder is your fingers taking one at a time out of his "feeder"

Got it, no video required on my behalf.  Thanks

[larryflew]

I would think individual as we loaders are an odd bunch. For instance I load so few 45 I would not do it for those.  For 5.56, 44mag, 300 blackout etc I load individually and would not buy those either. In 9mm I do larger batches and it would simplify those for me so I would do that one.  The next guy may be opposite and do mostly 45 or some other one.  Lastly price and shipping would be a key to sales. IE do you want to make a high margin on each or sell enough to do a smaller margin on larger quantity.  OR sell you design to someone like LEE.

Might also go with simpler design to save labor IE leave the fronts flat, leave tubes so they can be moved up and down to suit the bullet the buyer is using.  Make from larger block so you don't need to have the T at the bottom for steadiness.  All just ideas that may or may not work to make them cheaper to build.

If you think you want to give it a shot come up with a $$ you can live with including shipping (depending on weight first class or priority flat rate padded envelope will be best shipping prices) and post here and see if you can get some pre-orders to help you decide on if it is worthwhile.  Considering other place add 20% for selling them through Ebay or Gunbroker etc.