What do I need to begin casting my own bullets?

[Marplot]

Some of my guns are originals and need to make balls with the mold that came with them. As "Originals" they do not follow the standard calibers. For instance my .70 Cal Swiss Jaeger needs a .680 mold. I have one. Another Danish Jaeger, also .70 cal needs a different mold. Fortunately I have molds that came with the rifles.

Another question is another Jaeger. .54 cal German Jaeger that did not come with a mold, but after miking the bore, a fair fit is a .530, but is tight and was blowing holes in patches, so we put in a feltwad above the powder, but might be best to get a .520 mold.

A good friend made some .680 balls from my mold, but don't want to impose and want to make my own. I also have some how collected a passel of .44 Ubertis, but they (as replicas) should have standard - same - calibers of .454. Looks like a multi-ball mold would be good to buy.

I have heard that a good "pot" is the Lee 20Lb. Lead Melting Pot - Bottom Pouring

But, besides molds, what else? Flux? Do I need a ladle with the pot? I have welder's gloves.

Where do i get lead? Lee says not to use wheel weights. With two .70 caliber rifles, I will need a fair amount of lead!

Thank you for your advice.

 

[Cruzatte]

Ball molds for odd calibers: Ballmoulds.com
Lead melting pot: save your money and get one of these Lyman lead melting pot
Ladle dipper
Heat source: find an old Coleman propane gas stove for a few bucks, or even for free
Lead Flux You'll need some of this. Brownell's is probably your best bet.
Lead: This stuff is easy to scavenge. Contact local house remodelers and ask for lead flashing they've taken from rooves or lead plumbing. If you know some one who works in the X ray dep't. at the hospital ask about lead sheeting being thrown out. Metal recyclers may be another source.

One last thought: If you do score some lead plumbing, you most certainly will need some lead flux. This stuff is nasty dirty. But it's soft, very good quality lead.

 

[deerstalkert]

best flux you can use is pine saw dust. lite the smoke on fire so the bride doesn't call the fire dept,
stir it to bottom of your melt.

 

[Daveboone]

Wheel weights nowadays have little lead in them. Really, not too much...like everything it is as complicated as you want to make it.
Lead pot (for years dad used a little iron pot and his coleman stove), appropriate mold, dipper unless you get a bottom feed pot, a thermomeer is useful but not essential. Bees wax is kinda the standard for fluxing. The best price for lead I find right here. Several individuals sell good quality lead in nice small ingots, which simplify the process. The scrap lead I have bought was a pain to bust into smaller pieces to melt, was dirty, and tripled my melting/casting time. Otherwise, just a dry, well ventilated area. I have a piece of old sheet metal I put under the pot and mold, and an old terry cloth towel to drop the bullets on.

 

[Des52]

I have the Lee pot with the bottom pour, I don't use any lead I don't know is pretty clean in it. I melt it and flux it to see if it is good for the bottom pour in the Lee dip pot and pour it into pucks and then use it in the bottom pour and it has never plugged up. It drips a little so I put a tray under it to catch the drips. Works great for my six hole molds.

 

[Banjoman]

All I need is some good lead, a good fire, a ladle and a mold.

The tongs are extra and not necessray.

 

[James Kopp]

WHO IS YOUR MOLD BY?

 

[Banjoman]

I think that one is a Lee. Or a Lyman. I have molds by both and don’t remember which one that is. I also have a bag mold by Callahan, if I remember correctly.

 

[Marplot]

Looking at the following TOW
there are shotgun wads that may work
my .70cal equates to 14g .695cal
my .54cal equates to 28ga ..560

Wads are like these. What would be best for me to lube? I am thinking "C" Are 1/2 inch fiber. it seems the others are card (is that cardboard?)

I course I can get lubed wads that fit my .54cal. But can't find anything for my .70cal

• 
  "A" card: .125" thick, over powder, waterproof, to seal the powder charge. 1000 per bag.
• "B" card: .025" thick over shot card, to hold it firmly in place. 1000 per bag.
• "C" card: .500" very thick fiber cushion wad. Lubricate before use. 500 per bag.
  
  Cart

• ​	Handles, for bullet mold, LEE Commercial mold handles for six cavity molds, also fit Lyman, RCBS and similar mold blocks. Part Number: LEE-HANDLE	Availability: In Stock	Qty: $22.99 each	Price: $22.99	​
  [IMG alt="Lee .454 round ball mold, six (6) cavity mold blocks, with cam-action sprue plate, a snug fit for best accuracy in .44 Army percussion revolvers, requires Lee handles"]https://cdn.trackofthewolf.com/imgPart/lee/lee-mold-6_0.jpg[/IMG]​	Lee .454" round ball mold, six (6) cavity mold blocks, with cam-action sprue plate, a snug fit for best accuracy in .44 Army percussion revolvers, requires Lee handles Part Number: LEE-454-6C	Availability: In Stock	Qty: $61.99 each	Price: $61.99	​
  [IMG alt="Lee .520 round ball mold, six (6) cavity mold blocks, with cam-action sprue plate, for Santa Fe Hawken rifles, and other tight .53 and .54 bores, requires Lee handles"]https://cdn.trackofthewolf.com/imgPart/lee/lee-mold-6_0.jpg[/IMG]​	Lee .520" round ball mold, six (6) cavity mold blocks, with cam-action sprue plate, for Santa Fe Hawken rifles, and other tight .53 and .54 bores, requires Lee handles Part Number: LEE-520-6C	Availability: In Stock	Qty: $61.99 each	Price: $61.99	​
  [IMG alt="Lee Professional Electric Pot, with high capacity, bottom valve, and extra 4 height"]https://cdn.trackofthewolf.com/imgPart/lee/lee-pro-420_0.jpg[/IMG]​	Lee "Professional" Electric Pot, with high capacity, bottom valve, and extra 4" height Part Number: LEE-PRO-420

Lyman Bullet Dipper , right and left, with pouring spout The cast iron head is shaped for easy, accurate pouring and prevents air pockets in the finished bullet. The long stem makes this dipper cool to handle, and can also be used for stirring molten lead alloys. The wooden handle makes the dipper comfortable to use. Ladle is almost 2-1/4" wide. about 12" length. Now threaded on both the right and left,

Some kind of mold flux?
What else?

 

[waksupi]

It's a bottom pour pot. No ladle needed. Stir the mix with a piece of old ramrod or any dry stick, forget adding any flux. The carbon in the wood takes care of that. Wheel weights are fine for patched ball, but must be old stock. The new ones are worthless for ball. I use a RCBS bottom pour 20# with PID control. Expensive, but I cast bullets for a lot of different firearms, cartridge and muzzle loading.

 

[Iceman]

A word of warning on the six gang molds. They are a whole different level of casting than using one or two hole molds. Keeping your mold and melt temps correct (hot enough) at the production rate of a six gang mold can be a frustrating experience for a beginner. I can already see the next thread, my balls are casting small, my balls are wrinkled, my balls are all scrap and I have to reject them all. You might want to start with a two hole mold to get the hang of casting. Maybe you will find the production rate of the two hole mold is fine for your needs. I don’t shoot more than 2000 round balls a year in calibers I cast for so my round ball molds are 2 hole. 9mm, 10mm, 45 ACP at a lot higher usage rate sure they are all 6 hole.

If you get the six hole molds you will want a hot plate to pre heat the mold. Pre heating the ingots in an oven doesn’t hurt either. (My bullet powder coating oven, not sure you would want to use your kitchen oven?)

Good luck!!

 

[Marplot]

A word of warning on the six gang molds. They are a whole different level of casting than using one or two hole molds. Keeping your mold and melt temps correct (hot enough) at the production rate of a six gang mold can be a frustrating experience for a beginner. I can already see the next thread, my balls are casting small, my balls are wrinkled, my balls are all scrap and I have to reject them all. You might want to start with a two hole mold to get the hang of casting. Maybe you will find the production rate of the two hole mold is fine for your needs. I don’t shoot more than 2000 round balls a year in calibers I cast for so my round ball molds are 2 hole. 9mm, 10mm, 45 ACP at a lot higher usage rate sure they are all 6 hole.

If you get the six hole molds you will want a hot plate to pre heat the mold. Pre heating the ingots in an oven doesn’t hurt either. (My bullet powder coating oven, not sure you would want to use your kitchen oven?)

Good luck!!

haven't bought the molds, yet. Maybe I should look for two hole?

 

[Iceman]

haven't bought the molds, yet. Maybe I should look for two hole?

Lee’s two cavity molds are fine, just got a new one. Haven’t even used it yet. First one wore out after 20 years, the sprue plate started to wear on the top of the mold making the sprue hole oblong. Track and every one else sells them.

Picture attached showing the new Lee 440 mold next to a 10mm mold block so can kind of get a feel for how big the 6 cavity mold is. Both have the new style vent lines.

Unless you want or need to make 1000 balls per hour the two banger has all the other advantages. Handles attached, can warm them up on top of the pot while that is heating up, makes it easy to switch between calibers on the fly. Easier to control the pace/temperatures of the pot and the molds, lighter and less fatiguing to use.

 

[Marplot]

Think I'll get the twobanger. I saw the six and low price.

 

[TxGR]

@Marplot - thanks for asking the question, the feedback is interesting. I plan to do my first casting this weekend. I have the Lee 20# bottom pour pot the little Lee dipper. I also bought some bigger cast iron ladles for casting. I'll be casting Eras Gone and Old West conicals. I am hoping my original Winchester 44-40 mold arrives too.

For my first casting, I am using lead I bought online, very soft. If I do more of it, I'll start looking at other options for cheaper lead. For resources, I've been using videos and books I bought.