Some companies like RCBS, Lyman and others make their bullet molds out of steel.
They usually cost in the $70-$80 price range and they do not come with handles.
Lee makes its molds out of aluminum complete with handles and they are around $22-$25.
The reason for the price difference is aluminum is so much easier to machine (and Lee prides itself on offering items at low cost while companies like RCBS thinks their name is worth at least $20 before they start to cut any chips).
As for sand casting, it could be done but it's probably not a good idea.
Usually some of the sand gets trapped in the surface layers of the casting and even with a patch, shooting a sand covered ball thru a rifle probably isn't a good idea.
Now, way back in the old days before Zonie, bullet molds were sometimes carved out of soap stone.
I don't know how long they lasted before the stone eroded from the hot lead. I'm sure they didn't last like the modern aluminum molds.
Of course, those people who want to be "period correct" and "historically correct" would never use aluminum for a mold.
Aluminum was virtually "unobtainium" in the early 1800's. The metal was so rare that they put a piece of it at the tip of the Washington Monument, not because of its electrical conductivity for a lightening rod but because it was so expensive.
Most early bullet molds were made out of brass or bronze.
They usually cost in the $70-$80 price range and they do not come with handles.
Lee makes its molds out of aluminum complete with handles and they are around $22-$25.
The reason for the price difference is aluminum is so much easier to machine (and Lee prides itself on offering items at low cost while companies like RCBS thinks their name is worth at least $20 before they start to cut any chips).
As for sand casting, it could be done but it's probably not a good idea.
Usually some of the sand gets trapped in the surface layers of the casting and even with a patch, shooting a sand covered ball thru a rifle probably isn't a good idea.
Now, way back in the old days before Zonie, bullet molds were sometimes carved out of soap stone.
I don't know how long they lasted before the stone eroded from the hot lead. I'm sure they didn't last like the modern aluminum molds.
Of course, those people who want to be "period correct" and "historically correct" would never use aluminum for a mold.
Aluminum was virtually "unobtainium" in the early 1800's. The metal was so rare that they put a piece of it at the tip of the Washington Monument, not because of its electrical conductivity for a lightening rod but because it was so expensive.
Most early bullet molds were made out of brass or bronze.
