Starting out casting balls and bullets

[Majorsideburns]

How hard is it to do and what equipment would you recommend for a beginner? I've seen a couple of electric melting pots, is this the way to go for modern efficiency? I know you can melt lead over a campfire so I'm not talking about historically correct, just something for someone who lives in the suburbs to save a bit on the cost of range and plinking ammo. I have bought some minnie balls for my 1861 musket and they are pricey!

 

[LawrenceA]

I started out with a second hand cooking pot, a gravy ladle and a little propane camp stove.
Reality is you dont even need that much.
On the assumption you have PP&E covered.
Basically you can go all out or start at a comfortable spot and work up
I would suggest going to the local Op Shop and picking up a cheap cooking pot or two and just find something you can bend into shape to use as a ladle like an old Tablespoon. If you dont have a burner or want to build a fire go get a little camp stove and a few bottles of gas.
Then you need a heat source and something to use as a flux like wax or sawdust.

If you then progress to a bottom pour and so on then the old set up can still be used for reclaiming old lead from flashing etcetera.

 

[Musketeer]

I have a Lee Precision Production Pot IV and a few molds (Lee and Lyman, depending on size I needed). The rest of my "kit" is a pair of polycarb safety goggles, a pair of heavy leather gloves, a stainless table spoon (for stirring in flux and skimming dross off the top of the pot), a plastic headed mallet (for opening the sprue plates on the molds) and some cakes of beeswax (for flux). I get my lead from ebay for about $3 per lb.

To give an example of the savings, once I'd cast enough to offset the cost of the pot and molds, I can cast 25 .715 balls for my Bess for a bit over $6. The same size and amount online runs about $16-20 + shipping.

 

[dave951]

Just remember to cast in a well ventilated area. Don't eat drink or smoke while you're casting. Wash your hands before eating or drinking after casting. Do those simple things and you'll have no problem with lead poisoning.

Past that, I use 3 Lee bottom pour Drip O Matics. One is 20lb and the other two are 10lb. Reason is because of different alloys for different guns.

 

[excess650]

To make casting your own worthwhile, you need an inexpensive source for lead.

I started out casting with a white gas stove and cast iron pot, but I much prefer the 20# electric furnaces, but always cast with a ladle. I've owned bottom pour furnaces, and plugged a 10# Lee and 20# Lyman to remove that hardware. My casting bench is in my garage with a hood over top, and ventilates out a window with a gable vent fan.

For smelting, I use a dutch oven on a propane turkey fryer to make clean ingots out of scrounged metals.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Past that, I use 3 Lee bottom pour Drip O Matics. One is 20lb and the other two are 10lb. Reason is because of different alloys for different guns.

Yeah just starting out, one machine, but as you go along you may find that you have access to some alloy lead, or modern projectiles is something you also want to do. So you need to keep your alloy lead apart from the plain lead.

LD

 

[LawrenceA]

Yeah just starting out, one machine, but as you go along you may find that you have access to some alloy lead, or modern projectiles is something you also want to do. So you need to keep your alloy lead apart from the plain lead.

LD

So true.

Roof flashing and lead wheel weights are not in short supply so never had to scroiunge range lead or anything. But whatever your source it is best to melt and clean your scrap in a seperate operation to casting bullets and then make ingots. I use muffin tins to do alloy and a Lee mold for pure lead so easy to tell straight away what is what but still only have one pot. I just empty it occasionally when I need to change from Pure to Alloy or back.

Basically mate it comes done to how much money you want to invest. I rarely take a shot with anything I didn't cast from .22 through to .62 and have over a dozen molds but still only one pot.

I currently use a bottom pour but as alluded to above they are not considered as a practiced pour from a ladle. They also drip and can get clogged.
But you can cast pretty quick. Instead of a mallet to open the mold I have a piece of branch about 15" long and 1 1/2" thick. I use this to lift the valve as well as operate the sprue cutter and bump the mold if required. Amazing how useful a lump of tree can be.

Cast Boolits is a dedicated site for casting and worth a visit.

 

[mooman76]

If you go with a pot, don't use aluminum, it can fail from prolonged heat. Steel or better yet an old cast iron pot. You can get allot of your tools needed from a thrift store. I started with an old pot and a stove top or Coleman stove. A hot plat can work if it gets hot enough. I use a electric Lee pot not for convenience. I can set it up most anywhere I want. A turkey frier works too for a heat source.

 

[rafterob]

I do fine with a small Lodge cast iron casting pot on a Coleman stove and a Lee dipper. I think if I was going to be casting bullets for reloading I would step up to an electric pot

 

[mushka]

I have a Lee bottom pour electric pot. Had it since 83 or 84. These pots last a long time and are worth the investment if you are going to cast. Easy to use and fast.

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

Hopefully...this one will answer your questions. You can get started for less than $150.00.
Once you start pouring your own balls, you'll never buy them again:

 

[Griz44Mag]

I started out casting with a white gas stove and cast iron pot, but I much prefer the 20# electric furnaces, but always cast with a ladle. I've owned bottom pour furnaces, and plugged a 10# Lee and 20# Lyman to remove that hardware. My casting bench is in my garage with a hood over top, and ventilates out a window with a gable vent fan.

To the OP - don't believe everything you read here.
There will always be an "expert" to claim that theirs is the only way that is right. There is ALWAYS more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.
I have 2 Lee bottom pour pots that have been in continuous use for over 30 years.
They work and once you get used to using them they are also VERY FAST.
With 2-4 or 6 cavity molds producing a hundred plus perfect balls in less than an hour is child's play.
I would suggest you find someone local to you and ask to get some mentoring time and hands on.
Whatever "method" you use - you can and will make great balls and bullets with a little practice.
It takes some time and effort to get good at it - just like it takes time and effort to become a good marksman.
I am in Denton County in Texas - should you want to visit and do some casting with me - you are welcome to come and try it both ways.

 

[Davey Boy]

I would think melt and pour temperatures would be great to know

I use inexpensive controllers and they have been very accurate

I get them from Amazon

 

[olfuzzy]

Everything you always wanted to know about bullet casting, but were afraid to ask

The Art & Science of Bullet Casting

 

[josie wales]

I also have a Lee 10# bottom pour that I have been using for 45+ years. It has never failed, just keep a screw driver handy and keep the pour rod centered or you will have a mess. Most important No Distractions...keep focused on your pot and mold. Make sure you have a container to hold all the lead in the pot if something unfortunate happens! Also have a pair of Channel Locks handy if you use a Lyman ingot mold.

 

[Ian Straus]

How hard is it to do and what equipment would you recommend for a beginner? I've seen a couple of electric melting pots, is this the way to go for modern efficiency? I know you can melt lead over a campfire so I'm not talking about historically correct, just something for someone who lives in the suburbs to save a bit on the cost of range and plinking ammo. I have bought some minnie balls for my 1861 musket and they are pricey!

Yes commercial Minies are pricey! And the one time I bought them they were made with hard lead, not good. It's not hard to cast your own, go for it!.

But for Minies you want the lead hotter than for round balls, in order to make the lead fill the little grooves in the mold before it hardens. And "drown the mold", that is keep pouring for a little after it's full, because cooling lead shrinks and needs more hot lead to draw in after it. Otherwise you get voids.
.
You don't need to think about home-cast as just "plinking ammo". You can produce balls as good (consistent weight) as commercial sources.

I began with a low-end Lee electric pot and used it for years before upgrading. Do buy the heavy Lyman ladle, (Because the little steel spoon you get with the lowest price Lee pot will not be adequate for Minies or even for larger round balls. - I just use mine to skim crud off the top of the melted lead.)

I recommend buying a casting thermometer and a Lyman ladle if you are going to do Minies.

Other than that - your mold of course. Maybe a large tile or two to put your lead pot on, to keep the heat off your workbench. A cigar box with some cloth (I use burlap) in it to knock the cast balls into, because hot lead hitting a hard surface may deform. A stick to hit the sprue cutter with: scrap 1x2 or a hammer handle will work fine. Leather palmed & fingered gloves, you can get those inexpensively at a hardware store. Keep a pair of needle nose pliers handy to pick splashed lead off of your mold or out of the hole in the sprue cutter. You can use a candle to smoke the inside of your mold before casting, but I use a commercial mold release now. Most of this is stuff you may have around the house.

Some swear by bottom pour pots, others swear at them. I now use my old bottom pour only for casting mortar balls, because those need more lead than the Lyman ladle holds.

 

[olfuzzy]

Your biggest problem right now is the unavailability of molds. There's a lot of round ball molds out there but very few minie ball molds. Like everything else gun/ammo related there is a big shortage.

 

[Timber Wolf]

I have a Lee Drip-o-matic bottom pour that sits in a corner of the shop and has for decades. It works and the drips can be controlled but I much prefer sitting outside on the porch and casting out of a pot on a Turkey Fryer burner using a ladle. Better yet, same rig out in the woods while on a camping trip, just me and dog. Some trips I don’t even get any casting done.

 

[Daveboone]

I have started in casting recently...my advice....start scrounging lead now, and dont pass up any! It is alot harder to find now than ever. Check scrap yards, salvage yards, etc. Also...like handloading, be sure to do it in a distraction free environment...hot lead is very unpleasant to have accidents with.
And I dont mean to sound...dumb, but wear solid shoes/boots when casting. You really dont want drips on your sandaled feet.

 

[Elkhorse]

38 yrs. ago I started out with a old white porcelain steel coffee cup, a propane torch, lead from roofing and plumbing remodeling. I had an old steel milkcrate I'd set up on the picnic table, put the cup on top, lay the torch on an angle sticking up under the pot. Worked great. Now I've graduated to doing it over a campfire, seems more traditional.
Once your up to melting temp don't throw any scrap lead in with moisture or roof cement on it or you'll get a lead bath. Always wear eye protection for that reason.\