Want to learn how to cast lead

[Sperit de bois]

When in doubt,,get with someone who is/has cast lead.Watch and ask questions,,read up on the subject ,FIRST,then when something comes to mind as (NQR) not quit right,you can ask/point it out.
When ever I hear someone say," I have always done it that way for years"and I get that NQR,,got to wonder is that the correct way or has the person just been lucky.
People develope bad/dangerous habits over time,the longer you do something the more likely you will get comfortable and the more serious the injury
.. Lots of good information given so far,some well not so,just Like "I had my blood checked and lead level was ok" what if it wasnt ok and the level was high,,NO reversing that,welcome to a long painful/sick future,, remember: If anyone gets hurt,,it will be you,, so take the time to safe guard yourself.
Lead is bad,hot lead is worse,melted lead is VERY bad.
Oh and if you breath the fumes,and you will, and it gets stored in the fatty tissue,,,that is for life,,and if you have children it is passed on to them with all the side effects,makes no differance if you are male or female the lead is stored and passed on...
Not trying to scare you,,just my input.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Oh and if you breath the fumes,and you will, and it gets stored in the fatty tissue,,,that is for life,,and if you have children it is passed on to them with all the side effects,makes no differance if you are male or female the lead is stored and passed on...

While I do believe in, and reccomend, utmost caution when working with molten lead, I have doubts about much of that statement.
I will send to my M.D. Pediatrician daughter-in-law and ask what she thinks of that statement.
Methinks the lead thing would not get past the placental barrier. But, my knowledge on these things is about step one while she is about a 10+.

 

[necchi]

Whoa, :surrender: :bull:
If this is what it takes to scare folks into taking care sobeit, but let's get with the facts a little bit and not myth

.. Lots of good information given so far,some well not so,just Like "I had my blood checked and lead level was ok" what if it wasnt ok and the level was high,,NO reversing that,

There is acute and chronic lead poisoning.
Chronic exposure being the one most in this hobby should be aware of, a little bit many times over a long period.
Simple care and proper hygiene while handling lead during normal casting and shooting sessions is plenty to avoid any problems.
I won't cast in the house, or near my kitchen.
Lead poisoning is fully treatable, the damage from it can be irreversable, but lead can be fully removed from the body. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lead-poisoning/FL00068/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

it gets stored in the fatty tissue,,,that is for life,,and if you have children it is passed on to them with all the side effects,makes no differance if you are male or female the lead is stored and passed on...

Lead poising passed on by a single spermite??
I'd think the brain damage caused by long term exposure may well cause the parent to be careless enough to allow lead poisoning in his/her children.
But lead poisoning being passed on genetically?? :bull:

"Most lead ends up in the bone, where it causes even more problems. Lead can interfere with the production of blood cells and the absorption of calcium that bones need to grow healthy and strong"
High levels cause organ and nerve damage. http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/lead_poisoning.html#
I'd be more suspect of mental damage being passed on by genetic family trees haveing a limited branchs.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Yeppers.
My layman's thoughts also.

 

[Zonie]

"...Most lead ends up in the bone...

That's interesting.

My dad always assumed it ended up in the fatty areas.

At least back when I was a teenager, he would come into my bedroom and say, "Get the lead out of your A$$ and get outside and mow that lawn!" :hmm:

 

[cynthialee]

Anouther question:

As I have been looking around online at various molds I saw one that casts a round ball and a mini at the same time. LEE 50 Cal R.E.A.L & .490 Ball 2-Combo MOLD #90488 Is this mold one any of ya'll would use?

When I practice I often like to use diferant types of ammo so I can be good with whatever the job calls for. This mold looks kinda spiffy for that purpose.

 

[mooman76]

I have it in a .45. Works good on a budget but if you shoot much you end up with allot of one type left over because you probably won't shoot one as much as the other. The REAL is more like a maxie than a minnie.

 

[Bob E]

Lead stored in the fatty tissue?? Now I can tell my doctor why I weigh 250lbs!!! Cheers, BobE

 

[Dphar]

So if I was to start casting my own where should a girl start?

Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook 4th Edition.

Dan

 

[ken.clements]

So if I was to start casting my own where should a girl start?

at the beginning :rotf: sorry, couldn't resist :slap:
Find an area where you cannot be disturbed from kids or animals (mainly dogs and cats, if its a bear :shocked2: ...run away), go down your checklist (mould, melting device, plier's, cotton towel to dump hot Minie's on, safety clothing...preferably on,etc.) and give it a try...
The first couple of times is frustrating, nothing works, Minie's come out looking like pebbles(cold mould and/or cold lead), no system, the minie wont fall out, the gloves are in the way, can't find the plier's etc.....don't worry, you don't have to tell us (we've all been through it :wink: )
practice makes perfect...or at least better.

 

[MSW]

as regards your question about the mold: you might want to wait a bit, and here's why...

rifles, even carefully machined, high quality, well rifled barrels from the same maker, from the same batch, will shoot better with slightly different ball/patch/load combinations. it is the search for just the right combination of ball size, patch thickness, powder charge (and even powder granulation), and lube which is so maddeningly satisfying for so many of us. tinkering with it is half the fun.

by way of disclaimer, i own only one rifle in .50, and it's a beat up Thompson Center Renegade with which i will not part under any circumstances. Although much is made about how the 1 in 48 twist is way too fast for round ball, it shoots better than i can hold it.

i've tried to get it to pattern with the REAL bullets, with no good effect (unless you consider putting randomly spaced holes in paper and using a great deal of very bad language 'good effect').

so i, for one, will stick with patched round ball (PRB) and i'd advise anyone else to do the same.

as you go through the process of working up the best load (see Dutch Schoultz' method: www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com ) you will probably want to try a few different sized of ball as you quest for the best ball/patch/powder charge combination. to this end, you might want to wait until you have the best ball size for your particular rifle before you drop any of your hard earned, God entrusted, overtaxed dollars on a mold. i'd get a few different sizes of roundball from a handcaster, or from Hornady (although they're pretty expensive) and then get a mold which throws the diameter which works best in your particular rifle.

although i'm a confirmed gadget addict, i've found little use for the REAL bullets... the mechanism by which mull loaders kill the game is exanguination (sp?): the animal suffers very sudden drop in blood pressure, looses consciousness, and bleeds out quickly. the mistake made by those who suffer 'magnumitis' is to think that the method can be forced into the centerfire realm, which is hydrostatic shock, and i don't think that ML weapons can do this- like trying to herd sheep with a beagle... wrong tool for the job. so i don't feel the need to have a REAL bullet in my rifle.

not saying that you're 'doing it wrong' if you do, just saying that PRB works just fine for me.


one guy's free opinion, and no doubt well worth the price

 

[cynthialee]

Plenty to think on.
I just started practicing with the ball and patch the other day.
I got the slugs with the rifle and figured that if the old dude I got it from was killing elk with them they must be a good round. Just I can't get up to the 100 grains of pyro he insists is the sweet spot for the rounds he gave me. If I go over 80 grains of pyro it bruises me.
Thats why I bought the balls, patches and the 275 maxi hunters. Those really big bullets pack a punch.
Anyways....
I figured that if we get a menace bear I would go with the big bullets with a heavy charge. But I need to get good enough with the heavy ones in the first place. (my shoulder will hate me for awhile)
For the dear season I plan on ussing the maxi hunters as I just found the proper load out with the 275's that me and the rifle agrees is a good way to go. (60 grains 3f with the 275) The deer around here are small enough that I could carry a buck my self if I had to. (whick I don't!)
Now if I can figure out the patched ball I might be convinced it is a hunting bullet, but as it stands I am too far off my mark to try them against game. I can hit my mark with the maxi hunter with consistancy, but those balls are every where except my target. I'd either miss or gut shot the criter and that would just be a tragety either way.

 

[jamesthomas]

A good way in starting in finding out the proper ball, patch combination is to find out how deep the grooves are in your rifle. For example. my rifle is a Green Mountain barrel with grooves of .12, to make a tight seal so no gases escape around the patch when shooting I need a .22 or thicker patch when using a .490 rb. .10+.12=.22. I use a .24 thich patch, the extra .02 gets pressed into the grooves forming a real tight seal. This also cleans the barrel of the fouling from the previous shot when loading allowing one to shoot many times before feeling the need to wipe the barrel. This combination loads easily with most lubes I have tried. Spit gives me the best groups with Hoppes #9 Blackpowder lube next best. I'm still trying to find the powder charge that TOTW Mink Oil wants. So do some experimenting before you give up on the PRB.

 

[cynthialee]

I have no clue how deep my rifleing is, and I do not have the tools to measure them.
But I do know that it is a standard issue T/C Hawken with a 1:48 twist made back in the late 70's or early 80's.

As to the original topic:
There is allot of information here to digest and I am letting it all marinate in my brain for awhile. I have been reading up on the merits of the differant mold types and saftey concerns.
I plan on having everything togather within the next couple of months so I can try my hand at casting.
I realy like the idea of being able make my own rounds.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Ok, Sperit, some of your points have been validated.
I was surprised but my M.D. daughter-in-law did confirm some, but not all, of your concerns.
Here is what she said:

There are certainly case reports of congenital lead toxicity. Lead does cross the placenta. The poisoning can be passed from mother to child. Since lead affects the nervous system, it can be devastating for children. I do not know any mechanism of lead being passed from the father to the baby directly. If the father is doing something with lead and exposes the child to it, certainly the child can acquire lead. Hope that helps. BTW, lead also passes in breastmilk.

 

[cynthialee]

I did not know that breast milk could pass it...

 

[Rifleman1776]

I did not know that breast milk could pass it...

Neither did I. She has high level training in this area and teaches about breast feeding to others. She would know.

 

[necchi]

There are certainly case reports of congenital lead toxicity. Lead does cross the placenta. The poisoning can be passed from mother to child.

Now let's lay it out properly first.
That's only if the mother has lead poisoning and is un-treated.
If she had lead poisoning at one time in the past and was treated there isn't going to be any lead to pass on.

A pregnant woman could eat a Tuna steak and aquire lead or mercury in her system and of course pass that through the placenta, or post natal through breast milk.
(There are fish consumtion guide lines for pregnant women and children!!)

It's not geneticaly passed on because of previous exposure unless un-treated.

Chronic or acute lead poisoning is not a perminant gotchya forever long slow painfull death that's passed on to any and everyone your in contact with, :nono:

Again, Ventilation, proper cleanlyness and even wiping down contaminated work areas with common household cleaners is enough to remove any risks.
There are folks that make a living casting ball and have done so for decades without any effects of or from lead poisoning.

 

[jamesthomas]

There are folks that make a living casting ball and have done so for decades without any effects of or from lead poisoning.

You could ask Eddie May, I wonder if he gets checked out for it?

 

[BrianL]

We had to shut down our indoor range for rennovation for ventilation after several of the pistol shooters were found to have extremely high blood lead levels.None of them were casters and they only shot .22's Granted, these individuals shot multiple times every week and the particulate from the bullets fragmenting may have been a contributer :idunno: