Making verses buying balls

[Mike 56]

When i tumble balls i add charcoal, stump killer and sulfur. :rotf: I mainly shot cap and ball revolvers the lead i cast with has a small amount of tin in it. My .451 mould drops .453 balls that are a little harder than pure lead they shoot better than store bought balls in my guns. I think a mould should be a part of a starter kit.

 

[Ray-Vigo]

I have a set of Lee molds and they do not leave a casting line. They leave a small flat spot on the top of the ball but nothing more. Once sufficiently warm they cast smooth ammunition that shoots well. I previously had used swaged Hornady balls, but the home cast balls shoot just as well. If you shoot more than a couple hundred ball per year, cast your own. If you're a "one box per year" guy, you can buy.

 

[Cpl. Ashencheeks]

Whenever I have casted my own, there was a is a short warm-up period for the mold, so some of the first casts went back in the pot, then casting would get fairly good after that. After casting a little while longer the casts would begin to go down a little, so I would stop the casting session.

On my brass mold castings, I really don't notice any casting lines at all except a couple of points up at the top of the sprue on round balls.

On conicals, I have to look with an eye loop to even notice a line on its sides and the cut off mark on the base is a fairly flat little circle.

 

[jaybird14]

The bag mold I purchased leaves a very noticeable line where the halves come together. When I hold the mold up I can see light at the seams.
I'm assuming this is bad.
Has anyone filed or ground the bag mold "faces" down to help eliminate the little gaps?

Thanks!!

 

[mooman76]

I never have but make sure something else isn't keeping it from closing first. A tiny line shouldn't make much if any difference.

 

[jaybird14]

thanks I'll keep messing with it. that is half the fun anyway.

 

[nwtradegun]

I stopped casting 38 years ago. had a pot of lead melting. put the ladle in it and it blew up. if I had not had the need for glasses I would be blind. the time and trouble are not worth it.

 

[jamesthomas]

I will keep casting my own, at $20.00 dollars a 100 for round balls its a whole lot cheaper too cast my own. In two trips to my new source of lead I got over 65lbs. for $40.00. I'm going to hit him up today if the rain lets up. So far I have 200 lbs. in clean 1 lb. ingots. To me the "time" and "trouble" are well worth it. And yes I know about Eddie May's rb's.

 

[tecum-tha]

Cast your own. Don't "dump" cold stuff into your hot metal. Common sense. Use safety glasses, leather gloves and only long sleeve thicker cotton clothing. No synthetics which hot metal will melt into your skin. The metal may burn a small hole in the cotton, but is then cool enough to not reach your skin.
I don't pay $15 for 50 balls, that is 30 cents.
I pay only 22 cents for a complete shot overall in .65 cal.

 

[FishDFly]

Some how you introduced water into the lead to cause the explosion.

Water expands 1,600 times when it goes from water to steam.

Not good.