Getting started with lead casting

[Taczac]

Hi everyone,

I have been reloading for several years and I love it. I use a lee turret press and I primarily load for .357 mag and .38 special. I want to start casting my own 158gr SWC bullets but don't really know know where to start. Can anyone recommend a furnace, bullet mold, source for lead, etc. I want to buy quality stuff but not necessarily high end expensive tools. I am also not 100% clear on the process from going from molten lead to finished projectile. Thanks in advance!

[Sheldon]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com

This is a great resource for you. I have a Lee Pro 4-20 and it works as well as their 6 gang molds. There are higher quality setup that cost more, but these are great starter material.

Lead off the classifieds on that site run $1-$1.25 a pound or so shipped to you. You cast then size and either lube the bullet or powder coat instead of lube. You have a lot of reading ahead of you and Youtube videos too.

[bruce381]

pretty simple on the surface, melt lead pour into a mold let cool open mold size and lube bullet and load and shoot.

However there are lot of variations so go to cast boolits and read some stikey things.

[koehn,jim]

Lee makes some very good inexpensive lead pots, there are more expensive but they all do the same thing. As already suggested go to castboolits and read the stickys. There is a lot of good info there and most of the people are friendly. remember there are no dumb questions, and molten lead is not to be trifled with. Eye protection, welders gloves, long pants and shoes are needed. Be careful and you will have a lot of fun, Lyman makes some great loading manuals that have a lot of good reading in them.

[sghart]

Taczac,

Where are you located? If you are close enough I would be happy to spend a day with you in my garage showing you the basics.

I live just north of Sacramento.


Steve

[Hinnerk]

If you are into wiring your own, a simple and cheap PID temperature controller can be made to drive a Lee furnace. That is what I use.

[CGT80]

NO!!!
Don't go to the CASTBOOLITS forum!!!

SAVE YOURSELF

Did I get your attention? If you do go there, you will find more information on casting than you will know what to do with.

A few decades ago, I watched my dad and grandfather cast with a lee 10 pound pot and as a teen used the same pot. Probably around age 30, I decided to cast again instead of buying bullets. Let me just welcome you, from the bottom of this rabbit hole.

Here is my 100 pound casting pot, built it myself and will automate it:

https://youtu.be/c5AQGQn4qkk

I'm not sure if the youtube window will show up, as my browser shows an odd message, but the link above should work.



Now that you know where you may end up.......

Go for the lee 20 pound pot to start. It will hold 16 pounds and I find it is usable to half empty. Try it with the temp control it has, but read up on PID temperature controls, at the other forum. You will see a PID in the last shot of my video. It makes it much nicer to cast even with the lee pot.

A two cavity lee mold is around 20 bucks and hit or miss on quality. If you mess it up, no big deal. The 6 cavity lee molds are supposed to be nice. My first choice for molds is NOE in Utah. I have two 5 cavity aluminum molds in 30 cal and 40 cal and bought the same profiles in 2 cavity brass to use on my machine. RCBS steel molds are also good. Figure 60-110 dollars for any of these quality molds.

A thermometer that will go to 850 degrees or more is good. Mine was made for a bbq, IIRC, and there was info on castboolits. A small hammer with plastic heads will open the mold spru without damage.

Buy lead in the for sale section of cast boolits, or find pure lead and add some tin wire nuggets from rotometals on the internet. Most new wheel weights are zinc and steel, and smelting your own is another process. Bullets picked up from the range are great, if you can get them and setup something other than your electric casting pot to process them.

Lee has push through sizers that work well. A lube press is more costly and involved and may or may not do what you want. Tumble lube, lee alox, also called mule snot, is an easy way to lube and try your own. Personally, I don't like it. It is sticky and they don't feed well in the bullet feeder on my 1050. My rifle boolits get white label Cred (read about it on castboolits) in the lube press and pistol boolits get powder coated.

Powder coating is great and is very easy and inexpensive. I use plastic containers with airsoft bbs and bake in a dedicated 40 dollar convection oven, not the one you cook your food in. The lee sizing die will size after powder coating, using a single stage press. Hornady one shot case lube makes the boolits easier to size.

Load them up like they are plated bullets.

There is a quick overview. You can read for months on it, at the other forum. Let me know if you want me to answer any questions, and there are a few here, including Stilly (he got me to finally take the plunge into powder coating), who also cast and PC.

[Hinnerk]

....
Lee has push through sizers that work well. ....

NOE makes a nice push through sizer, too .... and there is a Black Friday sale on them!

[Taczac]

Taczac,

Where are you located? If you are close enough I would be happy to spend a day with you in my garage showing you the basics.

I live just north of Sacramento.


Steve

Thanks for the offer Steve! I wish I was closer but I'm in LA.

[Taczac]

NO!!!
Don't go to the CASTBOOLITS forum!!!

SAVE YOURSELF

Did I get your attention? If you do go there, you will find more information on casting than you will know what to do with.

A few decades ago, I watched my dad and grandfather cast with a lee 10 pound pot and as a teen used the same pot. Probably around age 30, I decided to cast again instead of buying bullets. Let me just welcome you, from the bottom of this rabbit hole.

Here is my 100 pound casting pot, built it myself and will automate it:

https://youtu.be/c5AQGQn4qkk

I'm not sure if the youtube window will show up, as my browser shows an odd message, but the link above should work.



Now that you know where you may end up.......

Go for the lee 20 pound pot to start. It will hold 16 pounds and I find it is usable to half empty. Try it with the temp control it has, but read up on PID temperature controls, at the other forum. You will see a PID in the last shot of my video. It makes it much nicer to cast even with the lee pot.

A two cavity lee mold is around 20 bucks and hit or miss on quality. If you mess it up, no big deal. The 6 cavity lee molds are supposed to be nice. My first choice for molds is NOE in Utah. I have two 5 cavity aluminum molds in 30 cal and 40 cal and bought the same profiles in 2 cavity brass to use on my machine. RCBS steel molds are also good. Figure 60-110 dollars for any of these quality molds.

A thermometer that will go to 850 degrees or more is good. Mine was made for a bbq, IIRC, and there was info on castboolits. A small hammer with plastic heads will open the mold spru without damage.

Buy lead in the for sale section of cast boolits, or find pure lead and add some tin wire nuggets from rotometals on the internet. Most new wheel weights are zinc and steel, and smelting your own is another process. Bullets picked up from the range are great, if you can get them and setup something other than your electric casting pot to process them.

Lee has push through sizers that work well. A lube press is more costly and involved and may or may not do what you want. Tumble lube, lee alox, also called mule snot, is an easy way to lube and try your own. Personally, I don't like it. It is sticky and they don't feed well in the bullet feeder on my 1050. My rifle boolits get white label Cred (read about it on castboolits) in the lube press and pistol boolits get powder coated.

Powder coating is great and is very easy and inexpensive. I use plastic containers with airsoft bbs and bake in a dedicated 40 dollar convection oven, not the one you cook your food in. The lee sizing die will size after powder coating, using a single stage press. Hornady one shot case lube makes the boolits easier to size.

Load them up like they are plated bullets.

There is a quick overview. You can read for months on it, at the other forum. Let me know if you want me to answer any questions, and there are a few here, including Stilly (he got me to finally take the plunge into powder coating), who also cast and PC.

Thanks for the detailed reply! Gives me a lot to look in to.

[bruce381]

great one more guy to fight for lead, that's OK welcome to family