New at casting
- Thread starter GatorBate
- Start date
You will need
1) a furnace, I recommend
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1262645810/lee-pro-4-20-lb-furnace?cm_vc=ProductFinding
2) mold(s) in your caliber, something like this?
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/36...mble-lube-truncated-cone?cm_vc=ProductFinding
3) a ingot mold,
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/361222/lee-4-cavity-ingot-mold-with-handle
4) a wood mold mallet, a piece of broom handle will work.
5) sizing kit, try this in your size. .358 for 357/38 and .356 for 9mm
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/685087/lee-bullet-lube-and-size-kit-358-diameter
6) and some odds and ends like gloves, shoes ect. Your choice. Use your head.
1) a furnace, I recommend
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1262645810/lee-pro-4-20-lb-furnace?cm_vc=ProductFinding
2) mold(s) in your caliber, something like this?
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/36...mble-lube-truncated-cone?cm_vc=ProductFinding
3) a ingot mold,
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/361222/lee-4-cavity-ingot-mold-with-handle
4) a wood mold mallet, a piece of broom handle will work.
5) sizing kit, try this in your size. .358 for 357/38 and .356 for 9mm
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/685087/lee-bullet-lube-and-size-kit-358-diameter
6) and some odds and ends like gloves, shoes ect. Your choice. Use your head.
stubbicatt
New member
A Good Manual
I would recommend you purchase, or go and borrow from the lending library, Lyman's cast bullet manual. Read it and understand it and then make your selection of equipment. I apologize if I'm not giving you much information, but it is all in that manual.
Lead is toxic stuff, so be sure to have adequate ventilation, a proper thermometer, and wash very carefully afterwards. Do not cast in an area where food may be consumed.
For myself anymore, lead, wheelweights, etc., are becoming scarcer and more expensive, so I simply buy my cast bullets from Missouri Cast Bullets or any of a number of other outlets. I reckon the reduced exposure will perhaps reduce my chances of lead toxicity.
I would recommend you purchase, or go and borrow from the lending library, Lyman's cast bullet manual. Read it and understand it and then make your selection of equipment. I apologize if I'm not giving you much information, but it is all in that manual.
Lead is toxic stuff, so be sure to have adequate ventilation, a proper thermometer, and wash very carefully afterwards. Do not cast in an area where food may be consumed.
For myself anymore, lead, wheelweights, etc., are becoming scarcer and more expensive, so I simply buy my cast bullets from Missouri Cast Bullets or any of a number of other outlets. I reckon the reduced exposure will perhaps reduce my chances of lead toxicity.
nemesiss45
New member
I second the lyman manual. I started casting with a little guidance and no knowledge, then read the book soon after. It really brings into clarity a lot of the why you do what you do for casting.
Also, brows the bullet casting forum, there is a sticky for getting started
Also, brows the bullet casting forum, there is a sticky for getting started
Go to http://castboolits.gunloads.com/ everything about casting bullets.
Wreck-n-Crew
New member
Ditto and go to TFL's Casting section and read the sticky's and scan the threads for more. Might have a Admin move this there for more help too. I have a recent thread there too as I am gearing up for after I move. Good luck!
Well to be honest run away while you still can......
Seriously it is a hoot to me. I am almost as bad as someone else here in that once I get some poured up I almost hate to shoot them. Note I said ALMOST.
It is very rewarding to start from a chunk of lead that could for all practical purposes simply be used for a doorstop. The after heating it to the proper temp, skimming off a little gunk, pouring it into several hundred nice new shiny bullets. Then you take them out, if you have your own place to shoot, and have a ball, recover them all bent up and dirty, and go through the process all over again.
Of the two mentioned I would say the 9mm seems to give the biggest issues. They are sometimes all over the board with barrel dimension, and they run at higher pressures than most other calibers. However there is plenty of info on how to get them going posted up here and over on Castboolits as well.
Don't get it in your head you need HARD, and you will have half the battle won. Something in the area of just plain ol clip on wheel weights is plenty for around 95% of the handgun rounds out there, and softer can be used in the majority of those.
Another place to look is www.lasc.us There is a ton of info there as well.
If your really serious about casting locate your lead now and worry about what to do with it later on. As mentioned the wheel weights are disappearing fast, but there is range lead coming along to fill the void. If you can't find it, or mine it, look around and see if you can buy it. Usually one can get 65'ish pounds delivered to your door for around .85-$1.00 per pound. If you think this is overly expensive, here is a little breakdown on what it entails.
65# of alloy = 455000 grains
455000 grains = roughly 2900 - 158gr .358", or 3640 - 125gr .356" cast bullets.
So when you start putting pencil to paper to see how well you will come out, be sure to figure in what commercial cast cost per hundred, include the shipping, and if they even have a bullet your really wanting to use. This is what got me into casting in the first place. I was paying around $85 dollars per 200 cast bullets for my 454. The I added up what my savings would be and it was a done deal at that point even with me buying the lead to do it.
There will be plenty of other helpful hints once you get decided on a basic line of equipment. Just do some reading, make up a list, then come back and ask before you buy.
Seriously it is a hoot to me. I am almost as bad as someone else here in that once I get some poured up I almost hate to shoot them. Note I said ALMOST.
It is very rewarding to start from a chunk of lead that could for all practical purposes simply be used for a doorstop. The after heating it to the proper temp, skimming off a little gunk, pouring it into several hundred nice new shiny bullets. Then you take them out, if you have your own place to shoot, and have a ball, recover them all bent up and dirty, and go through the process all over again.
Of the two mentioned I would say the 9mm seems to give the biggest issues. They are sometimes all over the board with barrel dimension, and they run at higher pressures than most other calibers. However there is plenty of info on how to get them going posted up here and over on Castboolits as well.
Don't get it in your head you need HARD, and you will have half the battle won. Something in the area of just plain ol clip on wheel weights is plenty for around 95% of the handgun rounds out there, and softer can be used in the majority of those.
Another place to look is www.lasc.us There is a ton of info there as well.
If your really serious about casting locate your lead now and worry about what to do with it later on. As mentioned the wheel weights are disappearing fast, but there is range lead coming along to fill the void. If you can't find it, or mine it, look around and see if you can buy it. Usually one can get 65'ish pounds delivered to your door for around .85-$1.00 per pound. If you think this is overly expensive, here is a little breakdown on what it entails.
65# of alloy = 455000 grains
455000 grains = roughly 2900 - 158gr .358", or 3640 - 125gr .356" cast bullets.
So when you start putting pencil to paper to see how well you will come out, be sure to figure in what commercial cast cost per hundred, include the shipping, and if they even have a bullet your really wanting to use. This is what got me into casting in the first place. I was paying around $85 dollars per 200 cast bullets for my 454. The I added up what my savings would be and it was a done deal at that point even with me buying the lead to do it.
There will be plenty of other helpful hints once you get decided on a basic line of equipment. Just do some reading, make up a list, then come back and ask before you buy.
When I was in my teens I cast a bunch of lead sinkers in Ma's kitchen stove, but that wouldn't fly with my wife so when I started casting bullets I used a Coleman stove, a 2 qt. stainless steel pot, a slotted spoon from the dollar store, some free paint sticks from the hardware store, a Lee ladle, a Lee bullet mold. I fluxed with paraffin, had a good supply of wheel weights, and used a used muffin pan for ingots. I lubed with alox and this set up kept me in .44 caliber bullets for about a year before I bought a bottom pour pot. I just kept casting and remelting the mistakes until I was getting a majority of good bullets (I've read many times "the only way to learn to cast bullets, is to cast bullets!").
You can spend big $$$ and buy everything available with the term "bullet casting" attached, but a lot of stuff is available from your kitchen or garage. Being a lifelong machinist/mechanic I had all the hand tools and measuring tools needed, and the dollar store had stuff I didn't already have. Skimming tools (slotted spoon), ingot molds (muffin, corn bread pans), flux (sawdust, pet bedding), ladles (some have used teaspoons successfully), sprue mallet (a hardwood stick, plastic head hammer), etc., just use your imagination and common sense.
The first item I would suggest is the Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook 3rd Edition if you can find one, but the 4th will do. If you don't want to wait to purchase one, try your library...
You can spend big $$$ and buy everything available with the term "bullet casting" attached, but a lot of stuff is available from your kitchen or garage. Being a lifelong machinist/mechanic I had all the hand tools and measuring tools needed, and the dollar store had stuff I didn't already have. Skimming tools (slotted spoon), ingot molds (muffin, corn bread pans), flux (sawdust, pet bedding), ladles (some have used teaspoons successfully), sprue mallet (a hardwood stick, plastic head hammer), etc., just use your imagination and common sense.
The first item I would suggest is the Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook 3rd Edition if you can find one, but the 4th will do. If you don't want to wait to purchase one, try your library...
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