Here We Go Again

R

rlphvac

solid fixture here in the forum
Grumpy I am at it again I was getting tires on my truck and happened to ask the guy what he did with the old weights and he said he was going to bury them because everybody says that they want them but nobody ever comes to get them so I ended up with at least 500 #s of old wheel weights and so I will be starting to cast bullets. I called a guy I know and asked him if he ever tried bullet casting and he said that he started to collect the stuff to do it but started having health issues so he never started to try it. I'm going tomorrow and buying what he has then looking for the rest of what I'll need. I looked on Amazon for a couple books and there is quite a bit of books out there and I need to read back over your section about casting to study it better because when I read them a couple years ago I really wasn't thinking about casting myself so I need to re read all that info I do remember the wheel weight/tin mix 95% 5% do you know of some of the better books to buy and a list of the obvious and about how you would handle this situation. I wasn't planning to dive in like this from the start but I'm doing it so I may as well get whatever I need and get started
 
I generally melt wheel weight metal, flux it, and cast ingots for bullet casting in a muffin pan,
you can frequently find old ones dirt cheap at yard sales if you look for them
youll want a 6oz or 8 oz ladle
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https://www.webstaurantstore.com/6-oz-flat-bottom-ladle/407LADLFLT6.html
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/8-oz-one-piece-stainless-steel-ladle/92246818.html
GUEST_7a4fa6cf-b7e5-471a-916b-15beeb688b7d

using a large iron pot (DUTCH OVEN POT FROM HARBOR FREIGHT)
on a turkey deep fry heater
not the pot shown on the furnace

image43.png

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-inch-ca ... 44705.html






 
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How do you know what diameter molds to buy for each caliber you load for and the die size , do you need a separate more heavy duty press, do you install the gas checks on everything and do you install them while you ar
 
What do you use as flux to make your ingot mold is it something you have around or something special you have to buy
 
only melt lead scrap outside away from buildings, ideally in a mild breeze ,
as breathing lead fumes and flux smoke is not good for you,
and you can use paraffin any grocery store sells for canning,
and a bit of crushed charcoal brickets as flux, you simply melt the lead scrap,
mix and stir the molten liquid lead with the flux and throw the dross
(crap that surfaces) in a steel bucket for later disposal
watch the videos
BTW don,t think cast bullet ammo lacks accuracy or penetration,
cast bullets in many revolvers and semi auto pistols frequently and easily out penetrate commercial hollow point ammo by a wide margin
remember many long range accuracy records were made with cast bullets,
and 60 million bison and millions of other large game were exterminated,
with cast bullet firing rifles back in the mid 1800s just after the civil war in a few years time.

sh301-prideofplains-32-4570-full.jpg
 
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watch the videos , youll get some good and not so good info,
but it all helps you get a grasp and experience
any old standard size or smaller steel muffin pan can be used to make perfectly good ingots
 
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I checked the videos out I would have thought that you would have to get the steel and lead separated before the melting I thought that was what the snips were for
 




youll need a lube sizer, lube and a sizing die and top punch for every diameter and bullet design bullet you use
ID suggest lyman
yes a furnace and lube sizer and matched dies, gas checks top punch are a required expense but once those components are required the cost of individual boxes of projectiles drops to a small fraction of what commercial bullets cost and you can make many thousands , reducing the amortized true cost of the equipment to small fractions of what a commercial bullets cost

https://www.midwayusa.com/ltd/product?pid=1010280829

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010266918

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/bullet-mold-manufacturers.2287/

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/search?SearchTerm=lube+sizer

https://www.midwayusa.com/s?userSearchQuery=lube+sizer&userItemsPerPage=48
 
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read these links in the whole thread,watch the videos
don,t get overwhelmed this is easier than it looks
and I wish I was local to those that were in need of hands-on instruction,
but with the current COVID 19 virus and social isolation mandates,thats not helping
with the proper equipment reducing cost is very easily done to the point you can provide yourself with great and accurate ammo,
for many pistols and many larger bore rifles at well under 30% of the price of commercial ammo supply.
it does not take to many boxes of something like 45/70 ammo at under $5 for 20 shots vs,
over $20 a box commercial ammo, or $17 for 458 LOTT vs $90,
for commercial ammo for 20 cartridges to more than offset the cost to get into casting.
and you can certainly reduce the cost of 10mm or 45 colt ammo by more than 50%

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010225661?pid=267665

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/bullet-lube.4835/#post-84993

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...e-hard-cast-lead-projectiles.9875/#post-73355

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...re-a-more-durable-lube-sizer.9299/#post-56168

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...d-hunt-with-bullets-you-made.6802/#post-29059

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...bout-getting-into-reloading.11358/#post-51890
 
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I'm really not all that worried about the cost kinda sorta I realize its an up front investment and I will get back my investment many times over because I do shoot that much I know that I have enough pistol brass ready to load that it will pay for itself right there and I'm not going to buy piece by piece and eventually get what I need I learned from starting to reload that I'm going to do it so may as well get what I need or can afford right away and I know that I will be adding on forever as new things come out or new calibers are acquired now as I was reading will I need new expander dies my cast bullets or will the standard dies work and I hope I'm not bothering you too much it seems every time I turn around that I need your advice so thank you for everything Grumpy it is so nice to have someone with your knowledge to pass the knowledge down and that is a rare find anymore
 
your surely NOT bothering me,
as the discussion is sure to help other members also and,
I enjoy both automotive and shooting hobbies
and no the expander die in your reloading dies should work ok as it is.
 
I will start with the pistol ammo first 9mm, 40S&W, 45 ACP, 10mm, 45Colt I don't shoot the 50A&E enough to justify the expense right now plus I have a lot of factory ammo that I was given almost for free and a ton of bullets and brass that I can go for a while things like this I will do some cost math to decide if it would pay to load that but my 44mag will be another caliber I will get stuff for real soon if not right away and the rifle rounds I will defiantly cast for some of them but probably not right away as I have been really stocking up since we had the muslim ruining the country I said to myself that I was never going to be caught unprepared again and this is just another step in that direction
 
 
I got some stuff from a guy I met a RCBS Lube A Matic 80080 new unused sizer lube press and a Lee electric 90022 pot 7 sets of mold handles and a few molds a 50 cal for Muzzleloader a 44 cal I think may be a regular mold and a 45/70 405 gr mold and a couple others all brand new still in box I give him a hundred dollars for all of it he was happy and I think I did ok. Oh and he threw in 1000 38 cal cast bullets that he bought for something and never used and told me he remembers some other little things and about 50# of lead in ingots that he will include when he digs it out he also threw in 2 5 gallon buckets of mixed range brass that is mostly pistol but I found some 45/70 and 30/06 so far I'm very happy and Grumpy I had my EAA witness 10mm come in and believe it or not they delivered it to my door I told the driver that I couldn't accept it and he said he was going to return it so I accepted it and took it to my FFL I wont have a chance to play with it for a little while but as I see it and with a couple dry fires I think I'm going to be happy
 
you made out like an unwatched bandit in the federal mint
 
A couple questions that came up as far as molds are they about the same in quality because Lee is a bit cheaper and the handles that I have now are all Lee Lyman are a couple dollars more but not enough to make any real difference 5-6 dollars on something like that I consider the same I'm looking at some dutch ovens and some ingot mold sets shortly
 
LEE makes cheaper price aluminum bullet molds,

and yeah, the quality is decent, but the selection is limited,
and they make good bullets,if they have what you want/
but the mold quality is not as good as a few custom makers,
that does not mean lee bullets are not great quality
and yes lyman,
rcbs82301.jpg

RCBS,
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and a couple dozen other
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manufacturers sell steel and aluminum ,molds they tend to be a bit better quality but


http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/bullet-mold-manufacturers.2287/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...you-cast-and-hunt-with-bullets-you-made.6802/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...you-cast-and-hunt-with-bullets-you-made.6802/
 
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Do I need a hardness gauge kit and is there shellholders needed for this press unique to every die size and sorting lead out is a PITA I wasn't aware there were different metals in them I thought that they were all lead its fairley easy but a couple times I found an oddball that I really had to look at
 
you certainly don,t need a lead hardness tester,
zinc wheel weights are slightly different, harder and lighter in weight for size,
a bit lighter in color and slightly shiny vs leads generally duller
after awhile youll spot them easily
and generally won,t indent with a firm finger nail, while lead does rather easily
don,t panic if you screw up, adding a bit more tin to a 95% lead and 5% tin alloy mix allows an occasional zinc screw-up in the mix to have almost zero effect on the bullet casting alloy

and yes shell holders will be required,
but theres about a dozen shell holders that the vast majority of common cases
keep them in a small sealable container as they tend to get misplaced if left loose

they are available in starter sets that cover most popular calibers
youll need press shell holder and if you use a priming tool,
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1011210770?pid=566058

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1019972515?pid=382223
those shell holders are totally different and unique to the priming tool you use


https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1011225072?pid=786187

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1011255880?pid=727056


https://www.rcbs.com/reference-tables.html

https://leeprecision.com/shell-holders/

http://ultimatereloader.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Hornady-shell-plate-chart.pdf

read
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...you-cast-and-hunt-with-bullets-you-made.6802/
shellhold.pdf
 
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I have a set of the Lee priming shell holder kit and have specific shellholders for each caliber I load for except the Lee #2 them I have about 50 for
 
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