Moulding balls

[Crow#21957]

I have no equipment at this time. I don't see it as a benefit to me due to cost. I would need at least 4 mabey6to 7 moulds ,ladle ,furnace and whatever else that might be needed. I would say I most likely will average 200 maybe 300 or so rounds per month.Just don't have that much extra time or energy Between normal everyday running and taking the wife to flea markets and church,, just don't get to shoot that much and I'm taking cold months and bad weather into the equation.Seems to me I would be better off buying the balls. I'm stocking up slowly on caps,, got musket caps too and cap maker for extremes. Powder slowly getting a supply. Lube and patches can be had or made. Anyway just trying to convince myself to just buy the round balls. Anyone else in that situation. Sorry to ramble.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Research bag mold

 

[Dryball]

Really depends on what you shoot and how much. I buy 54 cal and under but cast larger balls from .570 to .760. If you buy large balls on line, with freight, you're paying almost $1+ per shot.

 

[HSmithTX]

The expense for casting really isn't that much, not when you consider how much is spent on guns and shooting to include time and expenses to go shoot. The furnace isn't a big expense, mold blocks are relatively cheap, a set of handles or two, a thermometer and you're more or less in business. Casting doesn't take a lot of time either, once you get a system dialed in. But, when you take the cost of the bulk lead, the cost of the equipment ammortized over a couple thousand balls and pay yourself $5 an hour to cast and clean up afterwards I buy balls 58 and down, Hornady and Speer swaged balls shoot really well in my guns also. I have the equipment to cast, but I don't use it that much anymore. It doesn't bother anyone on the shelf, it doesn't eat anything, and if I want or need bullets I have the means to get them independent of anything or anyone.

 

[Coot]

I have no equipment at this time. I don't see it as a benefit to me due to cost. I would need at least 4 mabey6to 7 moulds ,ladle ,furnace and whatever else that might be needed. I would say I most likely will average 200 maybe 300 or so rounds per month.Just don't have that much extra time or energy Between normal everyday running and taking the wife to flea markets and church,, just don't get to shoot that much and I'm taking cold months and bad weather into the equation.Seems to me I would be better off buying the balls. I'm stocking up slowly on caps,, got musket caps too and cap maker for extremes. Powder slowly getting a supply. Lube and patches can be had or made. Anyway just trying to convince myself to just buy the round balls. Anyone else in that situation. Sorry to ramble.

If you want to buy round balls, you cannot go wrong with buying from Eddie Mays in GA. Whenever I bought a new to me caliber gun, I would have him send me a couple dozen in each of several sizes. Once the best (for me) size was determined, then I would buy a mold in that size. Even if not casting now, having a correct size mold (Lee molds work fine & are inexpensive) is a good "in case" idea.

 

[user 49399]

All you need to cast round balls is some lead, a mold, ladle, and an open fire. That’s how Daniel, Simon and Hugh did it and so do I.

 

[Flint Striker]

I’ve smelted and fluxed scrap lead in an old cast iron pot over a fire pit before, and got really nice, clean lead from it. I keep any scrap lead at this point because I can at the very least melt it for a smoothbore, even if it’s too hard for a rifle. Any odd bullets I end up with, random shot pulled from old shotshells, etc. - nothing has to go to waste.

 

[Eterry]

I don't see this as a classified ad, so I'll move it to general muzzleloading.

 

[springfield art]

I have no equipment at this time. I don't see it as a benefit to me due to cost. I would need at least 4 mabey6to 7 moulds ,ladle ,furnace and whatever else that might be needed. I would say I most likely will average 200 maybe 300 or so rounds per month.Just don't have that much extra time or energy Between normal everyday running and taking the wife to flea markets and church,, just don't get to shoot that much and I'm taking cold months and bad weather into the equation.Seems to me I would be better off buying the balls. I'm stocking up slowly on caps,, got musket caps too and cap maker for extremes. Powder slowly getting a supply. Lube and patches can be had or made. Anyway just trying to convince myself to just buy the round balls. Anyone else in that situation. Sorry to ramble.

Yeah, sometimes it's just as well to buy ready-made anyway. If you really want to actually cast your own, that's cool as well. I often ramble so I get it!

 

[dave951]

A basic casting set up isn't that expensive. Since you're doing round ball, it goes fast and one good casting session per year can yield a year's supply.

 

[TreeMan]

A thrift store pot, a $13 lead ladle, a mold and some scrap lead and you’re ready to cast. Less than $50. You can make $50 worth of round balls in 30 minutes. I enjoy casting darn near as much as I do shooting.

 

[Daveboone]

I wasnt sure about it myself, but am glad I got into it. I keep my open for scrap lead, to get it as cheap as possible. Lee molds are pretty inexpensive, and cast just fine. Ask for a electric lead pot for xmas/birthday, whatever. I certainly dont worry as much about shooting now that I have a better more dependable source.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I still occasionally cast with my old $5 garage sale Coleman camp stove, a steel sauce pan, Lee molds and Lyman ladle. I used a small steel gravy ladle for years. I have an old electric Lyman pot I use most times. Sometimes if I’m cleaning scrap lead on the Coleman I’ll skim the dross and grab a mold and start casting and throw a bunch of balls before pouring ingots. For ingot I pour into an old $.50 muffin tin. I could get a thermometer but just never needed one.

 

[HSmithTX]

Get a thermometer please, not such a big deal with an electric furnace (you should still use a thermometer, please) but it is really easy to get the lead too hot using a flame, and it's gassing before you see that it's gassing. Casting is rather safe at lower temps using common sense and hygiene, casting even in wide open space when the temp of the melt gets too hot can be really bad for your health. And a thermometer doesn't cost that much.

 

[Crow#21957]

Is there a special thermometer for lead melting or is just a cheap meat thermometer ok

 

[HSmithTX]

A lead thermometer. Mine is a Lyman I think, Lee sells one too and I am sure a few others.

 

[Crow#21957]

Thanks HSmithTX

 

[ord sgt]

Buy everything once, cry once.
I use the cold weather months. I will cast for all of the different calibres whenever I have cabin fever. Do one size ball one day and when I'm bored, do another calibre ball another day. Run the lead pot down and stop casting. Put more lead into the pot and get it ready for another day.

 

[tenngun]

Get a thermometer please, not such a big deal with an electric furnace (you should still use a thermometer, please) but it is really easy to get the lead too hot using a flame, and it's gassing before you see that it's gassing. Casting is rather safe at lower temps using common sense and hygiene, casting even in wide open space when the temp of the melt gets too hot can be really bad for your health. And a thermometer doesn't cost that much.

Thermometer???? Wrinkle turn up the heat, frosty turn it down,

 

[bronko220002]

You can buy a mold on ebay for usually less than $30. Misway had Lee bottom pour pots on sale for $20 last year. Lead usually runs about $2 a pound. I got lucky and bought 100+ pounds of pure lead chips for $125 on Facebook marketplace.