Getting into casting

[someoneeasy]

Put together a P.I.D. to make it easier on yourself. Also look into powder coating as well.

RiskyBusiness, what part of SoCal?

[jericho89]

lee come with handles unless you buy a 6 cavity mold. the 1 and 2 cavity have them on

This may seem obvious (now) but buy handles for the molds.

[RiskyBusiness]

Put together a P.I.D. to make it easier on yourself. Also look into powder coating as well.

RiskyBusiness, what part of SoCal?

i dont believe 45-70's for my reduced load need to be powder coated nor gas checked but I will still look into powder coating when the time comes to other loads. About a PID from 1-10 on difficulty putting it together what would you say? i have a laser IR thermometer, would that work for a poor man?

I'm in West Covina, why do you ask? Also i just read about Phillips wholesale selling lead scraps $1/lb so for now that'll be my lead dispensary. Now i need a turkey fryer, ingot molds and a dutch oven.

[RiskyBusiness]

lee come with handles unless you buy a 6 cavity mold. the 1 and 2 cavity have them on

yeah i noticed that on the 2 cavity Lee molds, thanks i removed the handles from my cart.

[jericho89]

. Now i need a turkey fryer, ingot molds and a dutch oven.

look on craigs list and garage sales for a dutch oven... I picked one up for free on CL.

As for ingot mold a muffin pan works well. I have both Lyman a muffin tin. The muffin tin is Teflon coated, that crap holds up to the lead and they slip right out. You also get to cast 12 ingots at a time rather than 4.

[RiskyBusiness]

look on craigs list and garage sales for a dutch oven... I picked one up for free on CL.

As for ingot mold a muffin pan works well. I have both Lyman a muffin tin. The muffin tin is Teflon coated, that crap holds up to the lead and they slip right out. You also get to cast 12 ingots at a time rather than 4.

let me take a look in my garage i think i might have some unused muffin tins. as for the dutch oven being the main option for casters is this because of the material its made from? what other metal pots can be used?

[someoneeasy]

i dont believe 45-70's for my reduced load need to be powder coated nor gas checked but I will still look into powder coating when the time comes to other loads. About a PID from 1-10 on difficulty putting it together what would you say? i have a laser IR thermometer, would that work for a poor man?

I'm in West Covina, why do you ask? Also i just read about Phillips wholesale selling lead scraps $1/lb so for now that'll be my lead dispensary. Now i need a turkey fryer, ingot molds and a dutch oven.

Might not need to powder coat the 45-70, but once you start casting for other stuff, it'll come in handy.

PID should be pretty easy, can you follow a wiring diagram?

There's a guy on castboolits that sells lead ingots for $1.25 or so shipped, might be better than trying to make your own ingots.

I was asking location to see if I wanted to offer some help. I'm not saying I'm an expert or anything, but I know my way around a lee 4-20 pot and my Lee molds.

[jericho89]

let me take a look in my garage i think i might have some unused muffin tins. as for the dutch oven being the main option for casters is this because of the material its made from? what other metal pots can be used?

cast iron pots and dutch ovens will last you a lifetime. you can use any metal pot, but the thinner ones will buckle and fail... Last thing you want is a pot failure...

[RiskyBusiness]

Might not need to powder coat the 45-70, but once you start casting for other stuff, it'll come in handy.

PID should be pretty easy, can you follow a wiring diagram?

There's a guy on castboolits that sells lead ingots for $1.25 or so shipped, might be better than trying to make your own ingots.

I was asking location to see if I wanted to offer some help. I'm not saying I'm an expert or anything, but I know my way around a lee 4-20 pot and my Lee molds.

I'll take you up on that offer man, Garden Grove isn't that far for me for this type of experience.

[Whiterabbit]

PID, powder coating, so complicated. Don't let me stop you if you want to go in head first, no reason not to if that's what you want.

But I'd be easing in if I were in your shoes. It's just some 45/70, that's a prime target for tinkering, not going whole hog into bulk processing equipment or into high-precision work.

You have a pot, the lee 2-cav stuff is fine for now (you'll upgrade later). I suggest the 405 grain bullet and download if you want low recoil. It's a 45/70. Chucking pumpkins is the name of the game.

No gas check. Not worth it right now, and it's added cost and process steps. So save that for later and shoot 1400 fps or less. Roughly speaking.

You don't need gloves or a respirator, but I admit I use cheap welding gloves (90% of the time) so it wouldn't hurt. But don't bother with the respirator. Work in a well ventilated area and it's enough.

You do need a way to lubricate the bullets and size them. a cheap lyman 45 is great for this, or you could even tumble lube for now. You can even use your finger to smear a bit of bullet lube in the groove then size. Tedious, but gets you shooting. No oven needed. I suggest conventional lube (rather than powder coat) but it's up to you.

I recommend this stuff: http://www.lsstuff.com/lsstuff-stuff Carnauba Red. I suggest using it for everything. Simplify. It gets you shooting. Use this stuff in a cheap Lyman 45 you get somewhere, or warm it and use your finger.

Lee sizing dies are convenient to have, it's good to have one no matter what. Pick your diameter. .458, .459, .460, whatever is right for the gun. If LEE is not available, get the bushing die from NOE. size on your press.

This is the cheapest path to shooting, and you can go nuts later if you want.

[Whiterabbit]

As for lead, for your purpose, I suggest clip on wheel weights, and just use them straight and be done with it. Should work great for your application, and you can modify from there if you find you need to.

For me, I mix one MFRB of COWW with one SFRB of type-metal and half a pound of eutectic solder and that gives me roughly hardball (92-6-2+antimony) which is WAY overkill for what it needs to be, but I have learned it is what my pistol likes for shooting to 100 yards. But no need to get complicated like that 'till you know you need to. COWW that someone else smelted for you gets you casting with inexpensive lead right away that is reasonably hard.

[Whiterabbit]

As for the act of casting, I have only three suggestions:

1. keep your mold clean clean clean.

2. good-enough bullets is nothing more than temperature control. Temp control of the molten lead, and temp control of the mold. This doesn't require a PID or even a thermometer, you make adjustments if your bullets fin or come out wrinkled. Your first few tries no matter what you do, you are going to throw ALOT of wrinkled bullets, that's OK, just save them and put them back in the pot. Develop a casting cadence and hold it, don't slow till the bullets come out frosted or finned. The mold gets really hot when it is casting well, and the best way to maintain perfect casting temp without a ton of equipment is to just cast with it and reject the first (several) throws. Eventually it'll sort out.

3. forget respirator as your safety concern once you are in a ventilated space, and consider water your safety hazard. Do not let moisture get anywhere near your pot. the rapid boiling of water in a pot of molten lead goes off like a gunshot and sprays molten lead everywhere in a similar fashion. It is, at best, a big mess. More likely it's a big problem because you are hovering over ground zero with exposed body parts. So make sure your risk management is appropriate there.

I guess I have a #4, leave your shoes outside for a day or two after casting if you have small kids. You'll track lead into your house if you come back in right away.

[Whiterabbit]

last thought, you should buy a turkey frier anyways, because fried Turkey is seriously the only way to eat turkey on Thanksgiving.

[RiskyBusiness]

Jesus Wabbit I'm going to need a few days to digest all that and give you a solid reply back if I have questions lol which I will

[Red9]

last thought, you should buy a turkey frier anyways, because fried Turkey is seriously the only way to eat turkey on Thanksgiving.

yup turkey fryer is the way to go. I have 5 electric pots 10 and 20 pounders. bottom feed or standard pots.
Imho the turkey fryer with a big pot is the way to go. I have smelted as much as 150 pounds a time in that fryer. Also you can cast a bunch of pills with that much lead in the pot.

Powder coating is so easy if you have some good powder. Not all powder is created equal. Some of the powder i have gotten was a PITA. Bad coverage, blotchy results etc. Now i use some from RandyRat over at castboolits. Paint was only 18 bucks shipped for 2 pounds and works amazing. No mess no fuss easy peasy.