Casting questions

[d30carls]

I am strongly considering getting into casting my own bullets can you guys make some recommendations on what all equipment I will have to have and the good bad and ugly on the products. I know I will have to get a set of molds and sizing dies melting pot. What do you guys use to tell the hardness of the lead and test the purity of it to make sure you have the mix right

 

[jstory]

Cast Boolits

Check out this site, sign up and start learning. More information than you could learn in a lifetime.

 

[jcwit]

Frankly I pay little attention to the hardness anymore, I just use range lead. I do powder coat my 9mm bullets tho to prevent leading. Have no problem with any other calibers. There are moulds you can use bullets as cast.

 

[postell]

I use a saeco bullet tester. For what I use lead bullets for, consistency is the name of the game.
Lee also makes a tester that is more reasonable in price.

Saeco Lead Hardness Tester

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/731364/lee-lead-hardness-testing-kit

 

[dsol]

I will second Cast Boolits great site, learned a lot before I cast my first bullet. I started out with some wheel weights and roofing lead. Bought a cast iron pot at a yard sale along with some cast iron muffin and corn bread molds for making ingots. Bought a turkey fryer on sale at Bass Pro for smelting and a cheap Lee bottom pour pot for the ingots. Never ever ever smelt raw lead (wheel weights, range scrap, ect...) in your pot you use to make your bullets. Especially if it is a bottom pour, the dirt and crud will clog it badly.

I lucked out and picked up some great Hensley and Gibbs molds at a small gun show. Those should have gone for $70 to $100 each and the guy offered them both to me for $75. You cant go wrong with the inexpensive Lee aluminum molds either. Most of those use a tumble lube instead of running the bullets through a lube-sizer. I got my lube sizer at an estate sale for a few bucks... I am cheap and look for deals.

Wanted to start casting so my son and I can shoot more for less money. We mostly cast to shoot .38/.357, 45 ACP and 45 Colt. Just make sure they are a couple of thousandths over bore size and don't push them really hot and leading shouldn't be too bad. I have had bad luck with 9mm leading and key holing after lead buildup. Problem is the case is small and tapered, sized the bullet down and once it is a little too small, leading is bad regardless of how hard the bullet is. I am going to try powder coating some and see how that goes. I have read that it gives the bullets performance similar to jacketed or plated and can reduce leading even if the bullet is not perfectly fitted to the gun. I have several 9mm pistols and carbines and they are all a little different.

I can go on and on, if you have any casting questions, I will be glad to answer them if I can or point you in a direction to find answers if I cannot.

 

[Cynical]

It's like anything else, you can spend as much as you want. I started with a lead pot and and a lee 2 cavity mould in .38 and went to work. I did join castboolits and asked a few questions about my results and the guys there are pretty much like here, you might run into a snob but for the most part everybody is happy to share but do your homework FIRST. I water quench my wheel weight alloy to get them a little harder. I use wheel weights about an eight inch piece of 95/5 tin solder and a tablespoon of chilled shot to my 10 lb mix. The only thing I use soft lead for is deer slugs and I've been doing 50/50 wheel weights and soft lead for .38s and haven't experienced any leading. Aside from welding gloves that I wear while casting, good ventilation and safety glasses are in order as well but it's fun and easy once you get the hang of it. I cast about 1100 .40 cal in a weekend and it allows me to shoot way more than I could afford otherwise. Have fun with it.

 

[d30carls]

Thanks a lot guys I appreciate all the information

 

[jcwit]

In my experience Powder Coating doesn't reduce leading, it eliminates it entirely.

Not hard to do at all, I got a sample of powder from a local shop, swirled it around in a plastic container like potato salad comes in and baked it in the oven at 4oo degrees for 20 minutes. I did not stand the bullets up just dumped them onto a screen and placed the screen on an old cookie sheet. Ya, there some spots where they sat on the screen, but hey, this isn't a beauty contest and did not effect the way they shot.

Tip, flare the case so as not to scrape the PC off, and do not crimp much.

Good Luck

 

[looney2ns]

What is the status these days of being able to find lead?

 

[jstory]

What is the status these days of being able to find lead?

Depends on how hard you look, and how lucky you are. A couple guys I work with have a bunch, but won't let it go.

 

[Leadeye]

You can always pick up lead at the local scrap yard but sometimes opportunities just appear. It's the thrill of the hunt! Several years ago I got a tip on 3000 pounds of very hard lead from a machined counterweight, just got in the truck and drove four hours the deal was so good.