HB-9 updated text (PDF) - Corbin Bullet Swaging

3. Bullet Swaging Secrets
Before I start telling you about the various kinds of swaging presses
and dies that work with them, and why you might want to select a given
type of press and die for a certain kind of bullet making, it would be useful
for you to know some facts that have taken decades to figure out, and
which most of the people who have figured them out wish to keep from
you, since it might affect their own income if you knew.
If you don’t care to wade around in the backwaters of history, skip
this chapter and go on to the “How To” chapters that follow. It isn’t absolutely
necessary to be aware of all the misconceptions, phony physics,
and junk science that is tossed about as if it were gospel. A lot of people
make a good living based on these misconceptions, whether on purpose
or because they believe it too, and it is not helping them a bit if you
become aware of the errors in thinking that make this possible. But I
suppose someone has to support those people: you can, if you wish!
The Myth of Exclusion
The most common misconception about bullet swaging is that only a
few people really have the money and expertise to do it right—that equipment
to make a good bullet is far too costly for you to buy, and the techniques
are filled with “secrets” that only a few bullet-makers are smart
enough to understand. In other words, stay away from swaging because
(1) you are not smart enough and (2) you cannot afford the right equipment.
Leave it to the “experts” who know best, in other words... the same
“experts” who are eager to tell you this, and to scoff when you mention
that you might have found a way to try it yourself.
The reason this myth is repeated in print every year is simple. Think
about it: if you were making a reasonably good income from selling your
own custom swaged bullets and someone asked you to tell a magazine
audience all about your business, would you tell them “It’s easy: anybody
can do it with a little reading and a few hours of experimenting with
moderately priced equipment!”
Or, would you be more likely to think about it and then say “Man, it’s
hard: the only equipment that works costs thousands of dollars and takes
years to figure out. You guys are way better off just to pay me to do it for
you and keep on buying my bullets!”?
Always remember to consider the source when you read anything,
and follow the money trail. (Yes, I’m aware of the irony, but you already
bought this book so I can afford to be honest in the writing of it!) It works
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