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Bullet casting question

A

ARV

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Ive been thinking of getting into casting. I don't reload huge amounts of ammo at the moment, and usually a box of 500 cast lead works just fine for me. I like the idea of making the bullets myself, just because I can and it add's to the satisfaction of having made it with my own hands. This will be for relevantly small volume casting at the current time.
My question to all of you is, what furnace do you use to melt your lead, and do you prefer to use a melter with a pour spout or do you use a ladle? Also, where do you get your lead? Purchased, scrap, wheel weights?
 
I would have had I had thought about this earlier and seen it sooner. Saturdays are work days 7am-7pm, and its too late to get it off [sad]

Are there any future workshops planed?
 
Best thing you can do if you can't make the workshop is to check out the Casting Mega Thread.... Lots of good detail there on the overall process....

As a quick summary the quick and easy way to go if you are not doing lots of volume is to buy your lead already smelted and in ingot form.... Lots of folks over on Cast Boolits Link sell lead for roughly $1 or so a pound (except lino which usually is $2+).... For bullets you plan on pushing more than 1400 FPS or so range lead is fine but for the higher end you will need harder lead which usually means wheel weights or a linotype alloy.....

I favor the bottom drop Lee because it is cheap, easy to use and relatively reliable.... Link BTW, currently on sale at Midway.....

If you want to save the most money you will also need a smelting setup..... High Pressure Regulator Turkey Fryer base with either a cast iron dutch oven or the bottom half of a 20# propane cylinder.... This will enable you to process lead that you can get from scrap yards or from gas stations (wheel weights).....

ARV said:
My question to all of you is, what furnace do you use to melt your lead, and do you prefer to use a melter with a pour spout or do you use a ladle? Also, where do you get your lead? Purchased, scrap, wheel weights?
Click to expand...
 
ARV said:
Casting Mega Thread...oops, missed that
Click to expand...

Should answer a lot of your questions..... Used to be a sticky but got too chatty so now is somewhere in the mix.... Quick search should bring it up.....[wink]
 
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I cast 45 and 1oz shotgun slugs, its fun and cheap.
I get 90% of my lead for free or beer fee. Its a little bit of work smelting and fluxing your own lead.
I have the lee bottom spout and lyman pot they both work well.
 
I guess I'll go with a bottom pour, just seems easier in the long run. Ive been reading that some people just use an electric hot plate and a cast iron pot to smelt. I'll read up on it when I get home and don't have this #$@^ filtering software to contend with. I read a Lyman cast bullet handbook so I have a fair idea of whats involved with the processes. Now its just a matter of equipment, I wasn't sure if I should go low price with the pot and just ladle them as my requirements are small but for the sake of being able to expand on existing equipment a bottom pour seems like a better over all choice. I have a few friends that are mechanics so WW lead for free/cheap might not be too hard to get my hands on.

I'm not too worried about smelting/fluxing the lead, its just one more step in the process, and its kinda fun to make something useful out of junk
 
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Would recommend that you consider getting a propane setup.... It's a bit more money but smelting is a dirty job and you want to make sure you are well positioned so nothing of importance is down wind.... Can't imagine using a hot plate for this....

Also avoid the temptation to smelt in your casting pot... You'll understand better after you have done this a few times but the amount of grit and crud in the dross can be significant at times.... All it takes is a tiny bit to get into the wrong places to cause your pot to have problems.....

The Lyman book is excellent and has good load data to boot.... You are in a really good position if you have friends who are mechanics and can get you wheel weights.... For most new casters finding a ready source of lead is often the most daunting aspect of the process....;- )

ARV said:
I guess I'll go with a bottom pour, just seems easier in the long run. Ive been reading that some people just use an electric hot plate and a cast iron pot to smelt. I'll read up on it when I get home and don't have this #$@^ filtering software to contend with. I read a Lyman cast bullet handbook so I have a fair idea of whats involved with the processes. Now its just a matter of equipment, I wasn't sure if I should go low price with the pot and just ladle them as my requirements are small but for the sake of being able to expand on existing equipment a bottom pour seems like a better over all choice. I have a few friends that are mechanics so WW lead for free/cheap might not be too hard to get my hands on.
Click to expand...
 
Next workshop???

Next Spring I would guess. This is our THIRD event.

Please keep your eyes open for the next one.

Bob J said:
Should answer a lot of your questions..... Used to be a sticky but got too chatty so now is somewhere in the mix.... Quick search should bring it up.....[wink]
Click to expand...

Bob, the link to that thread is in my STICKIED thread:
The NES Reloading Info Mega Index
 
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Bob J said:
It's a bit more money but smelting is a dirty job and you want to make sure you are well positioned so nothing of importance is down wind...
Click to expand...

Just the neighbors.[laugh]

For a propane setup, would a small single burner propane setup work, something like this:

http://www.vmisales.com/hurricane/63-5111.html

Or would I need something with the power of a turkey fryer setup?
 
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Just checked with one of my friends, they get about $240 for 3 5gallon buckets of WW's...so $80 a bucket or so. I'll have to dig a little more and see if I can find cheaper/ Free
 
On the average, $20 is about right these days IF you have to buy a bucket full. Not many people reporting getting free buckets full. Those days are about gone.
 
Like Duke says more power is better..... This is what i use:

High Pressure Burner

There is a significant amount of thermal mass in any significant quantity of lead you are trying to melt.... Really takes a lot of BTUs to do a decent job particularly on a cool day....

ARV said:
Just the neighbors.[laugh]

For a propane setup, would a small single burner propane setup work, something like this:

http://www.vmisales.com/hurricane/63-5111.html

Or would I need something with the power of a turkey fryer setup?
Click to expand...
 
lead or wheel weights in my area are getting tough to find. Theres a big push to go leadless on the wheel wieghts. One of my best stops now gets a 10% discount just for buying non lead WWs and also gets .40 per lb of used WWs from the vendor. ARV I really would like to know where your friend is getting 80.00 a bucket I would sell half of my supply for that price. once you sort out the junk you lucky to get 80lbs of useable lead from a full bucket(unless its 100% lead) At best as of late I get about 70% lead wheel weights the rest are steel and zinc.
I scored a turkey burner and half full tank at a yardsale for 35.00
I also scored a lot of casting/reloading/shooting supplies off a vendor on ebay who specializes in buying out inventory from burnt down or other wise damaged business. So far all that I have purchased has worked 100%. I will dig up his name when I get the time.
Free buckets are getting very tough to find lots of compititon in my area between the fisherman and scuba guys.
 
If you happen to live any where near a Round-de-round car race track, the race car guys also buy wheel weights to add to cars as ballast.

I happen to have two such tracks near me.
 
mac1911 said:
lead or wheel weights in my area are getting tough to find. Theres a big push to go leadless on the wheel wieghts. One of my best stops now gets a 10% discount just for buying non lead WWs and also gets .40 per lb of used WWs from the vendor. ARV I really would like to know where your friend is getting 80.00 a bucket I would sell half of my supply for that price. once you sort out the junk you lucky to get 80lbs of useable lead from a full bucket(unless its 100% lead) At best as of late I get about 70% lead wheel weights the rest are steel and zinc.
I scored a turkey burner and half full tank at a yardsale for 35.00
I also scored a lot of casting/reloading/shooting supplies off a vendor on ebay who specializes in buying out inventory from burnt down or other wise damaged business. So far all that I have purchased has worked 100%. I will dig up his name when I get the time.
Free buckets are getting very tough to find lots of compititon in my area between the fisherman and scuba guys.
Click to expand...

They take their scraps to Kramers in Greenfield. Its a junk yard. http://www.ultrepet.com/ (Its WTE Corp. now, but thats what we still call it) His text reads "We got 240 for 3 5 gallon pails". I think I'll check with both Pete's Tire Barn and Penske. They on our trailers and semi's respectively, so I'm sure they have WW's, but I'll have to see if they're willing to part with them.
 
I just weighed one bucket, filled to the tippy top its 147lbs. thats a tad heavier than the normal I get of 125ish. lots of zinc and steel in my buckets I get. thats a good price for WWs I think if you are selling. all the junk yards in my area give you general scrap metal price of 260.00/ton. I can get about .65 per lb from one scrapper if I smelt out the steel clips.
 
duke do the larger truck(semi trucks) have babit(sp) in them. I was told and read on castboolits babbit is not good. I had some really big WW 8 and 10oz ones and they melted at a very low temp much lower than my regular WW. I wrote it down somewhere but I think it was under 600'F

ahh yes found it, my notes tell me it was fully melted @ 500' useing my lyman lead thermo.
 
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Babbit is a "bearing" type alloy.

I am pretty sure that the large truck weights are made from the same lead as the auto versions are. I have always melted them into my ingots as they come along.
 
I found one place that would sell a bucket for $25-30, but he wont have a full bucket for about a month. Another guy has full buckets now but wants $40....

ETA: called a place I forgot about, was told "I think we can help you out...no reasonable offer refused!" Lets see what they say when I swing in next week [grin]
 
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