Intrested in casting my own

[Cabofdoom]

I was wondering what was needed to get started, and if there was a package or starter kit I could buy to get me started down the road to casting my own ball & maxi's.
Also, is is there any advice to a pilgram just starting out?

Thanks in advance

COD

 

[paulvallandigham]

I think both Lee Precision, and Lyman sell starter kits, with the casting pots, etc. to get you started. Check their websites. RCBS may also have something like that.

I prefer a bottom pour casting pot, for casting large caliber balls and bullets. They tend to hold more lead, so you can cast longer before taking a break to add more lead and bring it up to casting temperature. You want a good thermometer, an old spoon you can dedicate solely to casting in order to scrap off the dross that floats to the top. YOu want a good, thick, leather glove, and most want some kind of mallet, or soft headed hammer to use in opening the sprue cutter/ gate.

Some prefer the open top pots, and use a dipper to lift the molten lead out to pour into the molds. If that is for you, get a dipper, too.

Additional equipment that is useful is a good scale to weigh your balls and bullets for uniformity, a Caliper for measuring their diameters, and a lead hardness tester so you can be sure of the lead you put in the pot. After that comes the molds. I have molds made by Lyman, Rapine, Lee Precision, and NEI. There are others. See the Links section here in Member resources at the top of the index page to this forum for names and contact information. Most listed here have on-line catalogues to make it easy for you to shop.

 

[bwhoffman]

Paul has some good words above!

I would add...
safety galsses, NO liquids or drinks anywhere near, NO interuptions (this needs your full attention) and a well VENTILATED space, preferably outdoors or under a patio cover to avoid fumes.

I like LEE stuff and a bottom pour melter.
its all about technique, and you will develop that over time!

try a google search using.... "running ball".

 

[44-henry]

Make sure you can get a supply of lead before you buy the equipment, you'll need relatively pure lead for muzzleloading uses and that's not always easy to find these days.

 

[streetsniper]

would fishing sinkers be good for bullets. every once in a while I run into them at yard sales.

 

[BrownBear]

Sinkers vary a lot, depending on the source. Commercial ones from the big companies are usually pure. Small time commercial casters like we have here use any scrap they can find. He gets a lot of range waste, which is alloyed.

Easy quick test, just right for yard sales: Rap two of them together or drop them on concrete. If they go "thud" they're likely pretty pure. If they clunk or clink, they're hard. Final check, if you can scratch them easily with a fingernail, they're soft enough to use for muzzleloading.

Edit- If you come up with a bullet trap like the one in this thread your lead will go a whole lot further. I've already recovered around ten pounds with the R2B2, and it's just waiting for my next casting session.

 

[bwhoffman]

typically yes, but you never really know how purethey are.
wheel weights are pretty trashy but do cast a shootable RB. tend to be a tad harder and one needs to use a thinner patch sometimes, but they are good to learn on!

 

[Lonegun1894]

as has been said: good vcentilation, no distactions, and no liquid anywhere near. Also, if you live with a significant other, make sure you clean the stove off before she gets home after you cast. Ask me how i learned that one... :rotf: :redface: :yakyak:

 

[nchawkeye]

All I bought was a dipper and a mold...I use an old vegetable can for the lead and use an old Coleman stove to melt the lead, flux with SnoSeal or bees wax...

 

[paulvallandigham]

That works fine, until you accidentally spill some molten lead that shorts out the heating filament in the burner. And that can works okay, until after several uses it begins to soften, and picking it up and moving it with any amount of lead in it becomes a problem. I stopped counting the number of bullets I cast with a dipper. It was far less than the number of bullets that went back into the pot with wrinkles.

Been there, and done that, too. Paul :surrender: :thumbsup: I made my recommendation on the equipment to get because I have no reason to hate this poster enough to have him go through the jeri-rigged stuff I used at first. :rotf: :blah: :shocked2: :hatsoff:

 

[Blizzard of '93]

you should wear a long-sleeve shirt and a pair of thin leather gloves. adequate venting is neccesary, fluxing the melt puts forth very toxic fumes.

 

[Halftail]

A friend of mine that is A Brick mason saved me his old scrounged Chimney Flashings.They are soft Pure lead but sometimes are a bit dirty with Tar and Such and need to be melted outdoors and skimmed and a drop of Parafin wax melted in to purify the molten lead.Once when I first got started into runnin ball I dropped a large chunk of wax into the lead pot while It was melting and they was...Shall we say....A nice sized flame :redface:
Luckily I never burnt my Shed down :shake:
Another time I was melting Commerical Fishing 5 lb leads that I had left over from my Handline days.I dropped one of these babies in and there musta been a pocket of Saltwater that seeped in there while the lead was 50 fathoms on bottom fishing.Shall we say...one has to be quick on his toes when that thing decides to Blow :shocked2:
Hey!I just figgered ....I could make a list of what not to do... :redface: