Bullet Casting

4

45_Shooter

New member
Have wanted to get into it for awhile due to some of the bullet pricing I've seen lately combined with the current economic situation here, but can't find alot of info on it.

From what I can find, I need

1. A melting pot with heat source similar to a camp stove.
2. Bullet mold(s)
3. Ladle
4. Old muffin tray or other method of casting excess lead into ingots
5. Bullet lube
6. Flux, something akin to parrafin wax
7. Lots of wheel weights

Can you guys point me to anything else I might need, and/or any reference material that might be useful?

Thanks!
 
V

VonFireball

New member
1. A melting pot with heat source similar to a camp stove.
2. Bullet mold(s)
3. Ladle
4. Old muffin tray or other method of casting excess lead into ingots
5. Bullet lube
6. Flux, something akin to parrafin wax
7. Lots of wheel weights
Click to expand...


You'll need a sizing machine, sizing dies, and proper top punches unless you just plan to tumble lube the bullets.
 
D

dardascastbullets

New member
Hi 45!

The kit that you have illustrated in your post is all you will need for the basics. You will need to purchase your sizing dies and of course your moulds. Other than that you will be all set. Oh, and you might want to invest in a mic/calipers also.
 
J

jtravisbayne

New member
Is Matt good people or what? Here's a guy in the business of casting and selling bullets, but he's still willing to lend his expertise to help someone learn how to learn to cast bullets themselves.
 
H

HOGGHEAD

New member
Casting

Actually the first thing you need is the Lyman Bullet Casting book. Everything you need is in that manual.

You do not have to have a sizer to get started. They are nice, but not imperative.

All you really need to get started is a small cast iron pot(use your kitchen stove), a mold, ladle, and some Liquid Alox for some lube. A pair of gloves and a pair of safety glasses, and a fan behind your stove pulling the fumes out. And some WW. But you can buy that(already cleaned) on E-Bay.

I know guys who have been doing this for years. They shoot 400 or 500 rounds a year through their pistols, and they do very well.

The key is spend the extra money and buy a good quality mold. Even if you have to pay a little extra to have a custom mold built for your firearm, it is well worth it in the end. A mold can drop the bullet the size that you need it to. The trick is knowing the size bullet you need. Tom.
 
V

velocette

New member
45 shooter,
Fer Gosh sakes don't melt down wheel weights inside your house! You'll have your wife beating you about the head with two frying pans. (after the stink and smoke have cleared!) Not to mention the lead fumes danger.
Do it outside with a fan blowing the smoke & fumes away from you Wear gloves, a heavy apron & a face shield. Make absolutely certain that anything you add to the pot is totally DRY! I mean TOTALLY dry. A steam explosion in a molten lead pot will ruin your whole day real bad as the molten lead sticks to what used to be your skin.

Lee tumble lube bullets are designed to be used without sizing & work quite nicely. When you have proceeded to the level of making match grade ammo, then you might want to use other molds and a sizing tool.
Have fun and be careful, lead is nasty stuff.

Roger
 
P

putteral

New member
Lee makes a good sizing die at a reasonable price. I use them and they work great. They even throw in a bottle of liquid alox with it. Once you start casting you will be hooked for life. I just cast 500 boolits today. Enjoy and keep the water away from your pot!
 
S

snuffy

New member
Fer Gosh sakes don't melt down wheel weights inside your house! You'll have your wife beating you about the head with two frying pans. (after the stink and smoke have cleared!) Not to mention the lead fumes danger.
Click to expand...

What lead fumes danger? The stink and smoke are just that, smoke. There's very little actual lead fumes generated while melting any scrap lead. I certainly agree that the stink is better done outside.

Once you have some ingots, move inside to do your casting. Again there's no danger from lead fumes. The smoke generated by fluxing is just that, simply smoke. As soon as you drop some type of wax onto the surface of the molten lead, stir, then light it with a match or grill lighter. It reduces the smoke to almost nothing.

That kit is good, BUT it confines you to do ONLY ladle/dipper method of casting. A bottom pout furnace is better, you can still do ladle casting, but for higher rate of production, the bottom pour pot is much faster. It's also much less labor intensive.

Here's the pot I use;

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=645810

The lee pro 20 is a good pot, much less $ than the same thing from Lyman,( ¼ less than the Lyman mag 20).
 
4

45_Shooter

New member
Thanks to everyone, I think I have a good idea of what I need now, and I'll be ordering the Lyman manual as soon as I can. It honestly looks less intimidating than I had originally thought!

Mr. Dardas, I may have to order some of your products in the mean time! I prefer to keep my buisness local to MI when I can, and your pricing seems more than fair.
 
H

HOGGHEAD

New member
Smelting

No one advocated smelting in the house. If you read my post I specifically said to buy "clean WW". And I also clearly stated to have a fan behind the stove pulling the fumes out. Almost every kitchen stove I have ever seen has a fan that pulls to the outside. There is nothing wrong with casting inside with cleaned lead.

We are talkingt about a guy who is just getting started here. We are not talking about a guy who is concerned with production casting(YET).

Casting is like anything else. You have to decide how and where you spend your money. If I only had so much money to deal with, I would rather have a high quality mold over a fancy pot.

I would rather ladle pour into a custom mold that was made for my rifle. Than to bottom pour into a LEE mold. When it comes right down to it, the mold is the most important ingredient in accurate casting. Tom.
 
C

CrustyFN

New member
There is nothing wrong with casting inside with cleaned lead.
Click to expand...
And that's your opinion. My is the opposite of yours. I don't think clean lead smells that good either and prefer to do it outside. I also don't want lead around everything I cook with but that's just me.
Rusty
 
H

HOGGHEAD

New member
Casting

A person has to make their own opinion about how they approach doing different things. We disagree with CASTING in the house. We do not disagree on the smelting process, As you, I believe the smelting should be done outside. As I stated a person has to make up their own mind about how they wish to do something. For instance an earlier poster stated to blow air across the pot, instead of pulling air off the pot. A lot of casters feel that blowing across a pot is a mistake. Not so much in a bottom pour, but definitley for ladle pouring. That is why I specifically said to pull the air off the pot and blow to the outside.

You may disagree about casting bullets inside the house. And I respect your opininon. But your opinion does not necessarily make casting inside the house wrong?? I would guess that the majority of casters do their casting inside-not outside. Notice again I said casting, not smelting. That is where the original discrepancy occured.

45 Shooter I apologize for going off topic a bit here. How much shooting do you plan on doing?? I shoot 3,000---4,000 rounds a year. And I ladle pour all my bullets that I cast(probably about 2,000----3,000). It does take a little more time to ladle cast, but IMO I have better control over my pour. I have had two bottom pour pots, and I have had problems with them, however I know guys who really like them. So again it is just what works for you.

To Crusty: Since you live in WV we need to settle this at the range. How about a 3 inch gong at 100 yards with the 45-70??? Tom.
 
S

snuffy

New member
The EPA has everyone scared to death about lead. It IS toxic. But a few precautions taken during handling it, will protect you and your family. Read this thread right here on tfl, specifically the post by uncle nick, post #11. A better explanation about lead poisoning has never been written!

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=328690

I cast in an enclosed bedroom. No ventilation. I had a lead blood level done a year ago. It was 5.0 I will have another 1-5-09. I'm sure it will be as low, if not lower. I wash my hands after each casting/loading session. I do not eat, brink, or smoke while casting. I live alone, except my dog, he don't lick the floor in the loading room, so he's okay.

Lead fumes are only generated by molten lead above 1200 degrees. That's 300 degrees more than any electric lead pot can go. HOWEVER, a gas stove CAN generate that much heat. Lead fumes are heavy. They hug the upper surface of the molten lead and stay there.
 
Z

zippy13

New member
If you're going to use a sizer/lubricator, may I suggest that you get a heater, too. IMHO, home cast bullets with a lube that's hard at room temperature are MUCH nicer to work with than the sticky ones.
 
C

CrustyFN

New member
A person has to make their own opinion about how they approach doing different things. We disagree with CASTING in the house. We do not disagree on the smelting process, As you, I believe the smelting should be done outside. As I stated a person has to make up their own mind about how they wish to do something. For instance an earlier poster stated to blow air across the pot, instead of pulling air off the pot. A lot of casters feel that blowing across a pot is a mistake. Not so much in a bottom pour, but definitley for ladle pouring. That is why I specifically said to pull the air off the pot and blow to the outside.

You may disagree about casting bullets inside the house. And I respect your opininon. But your opinion does not necessarily make casting inside the house wrong?? I would guess that the majority of casters do their casting inside-not outside. Notice again I said casting, not smelting. That is where the original discrepancy occured.
Click to expand...
I agree with you about casting inside with good ventelation and I know people that do. For me it would be a problem casting on the kitchen stove, or in the kitchen at all. In fact any place with a nice floor, you've never seen me cast.:D
Rusty
 
R

Ruger4570

New member
Anymore I do my casting on my back porch. It tends to get cold here this time of year so I wait for a day when it is in the 30's, wear some warm clothes and go for it. One reason I do MOST of my casting this time of year is the SNOW. I use a plastic 5 gallon paint pail filled to the top and packed down with snow, add enough water to create something of a slush. I drop my wheelweight bullets directly into the snow/slush mix. It hardens them almost instantly and being that cold actually hardens them quite a bit over air cool and plain water cooling.
 
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