Moulding balls

[Jedidiah]

I have the equip but do not use it. It is more for a "what if" scenario where I can no longer find or purchase the RB's.

 

[Coot]

that was a good find. What caliber?

It is a .454. I have finally broken out of my longtime .36 habit. Introducing a new (to me) caliber in muzzleloaders is not as big a deal as with modern guns. Lead is lead (soft) & with the correct mold (in this case a deal), I can make as much ammo as I want.

 

[Crow#21957]

Jedidiah since you dint use just ship it to me and I will keep it warmed up and ready for you.lol

 

[bronko220002]

WOW Crow. You use a .62 cal for squirrels? You must have some mighty big ones in your neck of the woods! LOL

 

[Crow#21957]

Oh it doubles as a 20 ga. Lol you got me

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

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.

When I first started molding, I used a propane torch, soup ladle, an old bag mold from a flea market. I picked up wheel weights off the side of the road. Worked for many years. Ya' do what ya' have to do. Semper Fi.

 

[Packrat]

Like Tenngun, I cast my firs round balls in 71 or 72 on top of a extra range we had in the basement. Probably cast thousands over the next couple years, alloy and pure. I did notice after I had casted for some time I was getting headaches. Not enough air circulating, now I do my castings in a open, lots of air area. No more headaches Lead fumes are dangerous

 

[Kansas Jake]

I’ve always cast outside or in the garage with the overhead door open and close to the door.

 

[Mikekj]

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.

I don’t believe you were “smelting”.

Smelt;
verb

1. extract (metal) from its ore by a process involving heating and melting.

 

[HSmithTX]

I am wrong too, when melting wheelweights or range reclaim and skimming the clips and jackets off I call it 'smelting'. Cleaning is probably a better term. But most guys understand what it is we are describing? Cleaning could mean a lot of things and most people wouldn't go right to melting and skimming the garbage off?

 

[Flint Striker]

I don’t believe you were “smelting”.

Smelt;
verb

1. extract (metal) from its ore by a process involving heating and melting.

Some degree of purification took place, because most of my lead was dug out of the walls of a chiropractor’s old X-ray room. I have also melted wheelweights and recovered bullets a few times. A lot of random junk was usually burned off - I used shavings of candle wax to flux and burn impurities so I could skim them out. You definitely shouldn’t try to melt recovered bullets, dirty scrap lead pipe, etc. directly into projectiles - there’s likely going to be a lot of debris and impurities mixed in unless you start with very clean lead.

 

[HSmithTX]

I use borax soap and candle wax alternating as I clean up lead, usually a pretty good coating of borax on top while it's heating/melting and first stirring, when it gets 'full' I will skim it off and wax and stir, then borax and stir, etc. Does it work better than just wax or just borax? Not sure, but it does work very well. The first coating of borax and the wheelweight clips or bullet jackets will take a lot of the dross off in one pass, more than wax I think. When it's really nice and shiny in the pot and nothing else will come out from stirring and scraping and fluxing I'll pour ingots. For the ingots I use a cast iron cornbread pan, the one with shapes of corn, carrots, etc. Thrift shop find 30 years ago for 50 cents or something. When I start casting I will flux and clean again before the first bullet is cast, any dust or debris in the pot or on the ingots won't make it into my bullet.

 

[donroher]

A little cast iron pot found in junk stores works on a home stove top. And a big ladle works in a fire.
My very first pot was a Christmas cookie tin

Melting lead in the kitchen is a very dangerous activity... As it's often said, you only die of lead poison once...

 

[tenngun]

Lead in your food is dangerous. The fact lead was melted on a stove I’m not really seeing the danger here.
Maybe if you were cooking at the same time
Of course using a food pot would be a no no.
I cover my work area with foil. So no food surface is anywhere near my lead.
But you see some folk alone in their cars with mask on. So safety first I guess

 

[Coinneach]

Some degree of purification took place, because most of my lead was dug out of the walls of a chiropractor’s old X-ray room. I have also melted wheelweights and recovered bullets a few times. A lot of random junk was usually burned off - I used shavings of candle wax to flux and burn impurities so I could skim them out. You definitely shouldn’t try to melt recovered bullets, dirty scrap lead pipe, etc. directly into projectiles - there’s likely going to be a lot of debris and impurities mixed in unless you start with very clean lead.

"You definitely shouldn’t try to melt recovered bullets, dirty scrap lead pipe, etc. directly into projectiles - there’s likely going to be a lot of debris and impurities mixed in....."

The point of fluxing is to remove the impurities you outlined, I've recovered Lead whenever possible and never had a problem with impurities after a rigorous fluxing of molten lead I'm going to use cast RB's.

 

[donroher]

Lead in your food is dangerous. The fact lead was melted on a stove I’m not really seeing the danger here.
Maybe if you were cooking at the same time
Of course using a food pot would be a no no.
I cover my work area with foil. So no food surface is anywhere near my lead.
But you see some folk alone in their cars with mask on. So safety first I guess

The danger is in the fumes. Lead starts to cook off, vaporization at about 800 degrees. Lead melts at about 700 degrees...

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

For less that $150.00..you can cast your own balls, especially if you search for free lead.
I bought 2 boxes of balls before I starting casting my own.
I've casted 1000's of RB's & never bought another box of balls since.
Here is what I do:

 

[donroher]

I seem to remember an old lead adage that said if you could scratch the surface with your finger nail the lead is soft enough for casting round balls. Is there any truth to this...

 

[Rifleman1776]

I seem to remember an old lead adage that said if you could scratch the surface with your finger nail the lead is soft enough for casting round balls. Is there any truth to this...

It is a less than scientific test. But, many, including myself, use it. There is another test using a #2 lead pencil point that is quite accurate. If I can find those instructions I'll post them.

 

[Mikekj]

This is from the stained glass industry…
Lead Poisoning
The concern about lead poisoning is mostly irrational paranoia steadily fueled by propaganda dispersed by companies that would like to have lead banned so you will be forced to switch to their more expensive alternatives.
Leaded gas was banned because it did produce fumes that could be inhaled. Lead was banned in paint because children ate it. Solder containing lead was banned for use in water lines because it got into the water we drank. Those were legitimate reasons for banning lead, but there are no legitimate reasons for banning it in stained glass use.
A few years ago, a story was being widely spread that handling lead could cause lead poisoning by the lead being absorbed through the pores of your skin. That’s 100% bunk. Recently, a story was being distributed claiming that careful laboratory tests had confirmed that lead heated to 900 degrees could produce a vapor that could be inhaled. That created serious concern in the stained glass community because many soldering irons used for stained glass heat up past 1000 degrees. It took a while for the details of that “laboratory test” to come out. Everybody assumed they were suggesting that lead vaporization occurred at 900 degrees Fahrenheit. Those promoting the “safety” concerns purposefully neglected to mention that their tests were done at 900 degrees Celsius. Probably the only way to get stained glass solder to that temperature would be to put a roll of it in the bottom of a kiln, heat the kiln to its top temperature, open the kiln lid, hang your head over that heated kiln, and inhale deeply. After the doctors figured out how to repair a face that have been seared off, they might ask if the stupidity factor wasn’t greater then the threat from lead poisoning. It would be appropriate for anyone that chose to do that to nominate them for the “Darwin Award” (a special award for people that have found a unique way to remove themselves from our species).
Lead will NOT absorb through the pores of your skin and it will NOT form a vapor at the temperatures used to melt solder. The only way to get lead poisoning is to ingest it. No problem – don’t ingest it. Precautions against being harmed from working with lead are simple.
• Don’t eat it.
• Wash hands thoroughly after handling it.
• Don’t drop it on your foot.