New to Casting bullets

[stikshooter]

With a Lee pot you MUST have a screwdriver, pliers and an ingot mold nearby. Try to use pure lead and run your pot as hot as it will go. I have recycled lead from batteries but that is a separate operation and must be done outdoors! The lead used in batteries is NOT pure lead.. It works for handgun bullet casting.

NEVER use battery lead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!/Ed

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Not the plates, you can use the terminals

 

[Smokybob]

I already have the hotplate and the proper historical lubricant.

 

[hanshi]

I've never even tried battery lead and never needed it. The old WW, ones like they don't use any more, work fine in rifles and smoothbores. I had hundreds of pounds of the good WW and reclaimed range lead but it got sold when we moved. But soft lead is all I cast with and use anyway. It all started with an iron pot and a ladle but eventually I got a Lee bottom pour pot which was some faster. Soft lead is still all around, you just have to look for it.

 

[Smokybob]

I just bought pure lead off the internet, might as well start casting with the right stuff..

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

Well I am heading down that road, I bought myself a Lee melting pot, mallet, flux compound and a couple of molds to start casting .575 Mini's and .550 Pritchett's. The only problem is, i have no experience in casting lead bullets. Can anyone recommend a good resource, ie book or video for me to gain some knowledge? If this is in the wrong area, my apologies.

This method has worked for me 8-9 years now:

 

[frankie]

Never use car battery lead, ever. Casting, like most other skills is best learned through experience. Casting is very forgiving. If the projectile is not what you want, throw it back into the pot and try again. Pre heat the mold for best results, either the pot itself or a warming plate work fine. Alloys are fickle, a temp gauge is your best guide. When you get good results, note the temp of the lead and atmospheric temperature. I find casting to be very rewarding. There is a learning curve. Flux your alloy, wear your protective gear. It’s a very simple process.

Thank you Gtrubicon

 

[Smokybob]

How do you dispose of the slag you scooped out out at the beginning?

 

[dave951]

How do you dispose of the slag you scooped out out at the beginning?

I put it in a #10 can and toss with the garbage

 

[centershot]

Battery lead??

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?40769-Why-Car-Batteries-Are-Dangerous

 

[Smokybob]

Battery lead??

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?40769-Why-Car-Batteries-Are-Dangerous

I know that im new to this casting stuff, but I know that using Battery lead is insane...

 

[Tenring]

It really does give one a sense of accomplishment when you cast your own projectiles, there is not really much to it and over time you will become a pro at it like so many here. Stick with it and don’t get discouraged.

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

Battery lead??

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?40769-Why-Car-Batteries-Are-Dangerous

Not worth the hassle. Not enough lead in a battery to fool with it.
Pick up plumber's lead or roof vents from local roofing companies.
Below is what you should be looking for.
That lead is ready to pour.

 

[APG]

Older post but never get even a single drop of water into your melting pot. Water or a drop of sweat falling into the pot will expand in size 1600 times sending molten lead flying. Not something you want to do.

 

[TFoley]

Here in UK we lucked into a local church that was replacing all its remaining lead roof with fake stuff that looks like lead, but ain't. Reason being that their lead roof got robbed out four times in the last ten years by 'itinerant personages' that we are not allowed to name for fear of causing offence.

At around £100,000 a time to replace it gets annoying pretty fast, as you might imagine. You'll be pleased to hear that last time it happened a local was walking his cat [yup, really] and saw these 'itinerant personages' actually in the middle of removing the lead roof panels and lowering them to the ground straight into the back of their truck. Seeing that there was nobody on the ground - just three guys about 40 feet up on the roof - he removed the two ladders and call 999.

THAT stopped their 'itinerising' for a while, that's a cert.

 

[Whughett]

A forum source for roofers lead can be found in these pages. Justin44. I’ve ordered a hundred pounds over the last few months.
Good business deals.

 

[Ben Meyer]

I generally buy my lead balls. Have a good source, and I dont shoot a ton. But, I do have a bag mold and copper ladle from Larry Callahan that I bought, but have yet to actually use. While "how" to use it is pretty self explanatory(hey, I've seen "The Patriot" a time or two!), does anyone have any pointers? I'd make a small fire, get a good bed of coals, make a green stick handle for the ladle, and the bag mold would need some sort of handles(someone said corn cobs) or leather pieces to hold the hot metal. Someone told me to preheat and "smoke" the mold to get some soot on it to make the balls easier to get out. I have several 1lb pure lead ingots. For backcountry use, should I hacksaw these into manageable pieces?

Anyone care to expound on the best way to use a bag mold and ladle in the backwoods? I don't intend to ever NEED it, but it's nice to know I could make ammo if I had to.

 

[SwanShot]

I've know several people who use wheel weights for casting. What is ya'll thoughts on this? If not a good choice where do you suggest getting lead?

wheel weights are ok for round balls as they don't actually engage the rifling, but for minnies only use soft lead as they have to expand in the bore. If you only have one pot don't get them mixed, or confused.

 

[kyron4]

wheel weights are ok for round balls as they don't actually engage the rifling, but for minnies only use soft lead as they have to expand in the bore. If you only have one pot don't get them mixed, or confused.

I've heard it both ways on wheel weights for round balls, some say it's fine and others say it's to hard for the patch to grip/imprint the ball.

 

[david w]

I've heard it both ways on wheel weights for round balls, some say it's fine and others say it's to hard for the patch to grip/imprint the ball.

IMO, wheel weights are too hard for round balls. I will only use soft lead. Ebay often has soft lead at reasonable prices.