Casting Lead

[Jamie]

So I've been considering taking up the hobby of casting my own bullets. Can anyone enlighten me to the process, degree of difficulty, necessary equipment, etc. to get started? Also, what kind of ventilation is really necessary? If I do get into this, it will take place in an open basement, but I have options of installing an exhaust fan/ventilation hood very easily.

I know there's a bunch of you out there, care to share?

Jamie

 

[jhrosier]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

 

[Cledus J. Crabb]

I've cast thousands of bullets over the years......no real trick to it once you get your heat to where it needs to be. You can do it using a propane stove under a cast iron pot w/ a ladle or an electric bottom-pour pot.
I do all my casting outside or right next to the open garage door.
I find it fun to do and depending on what or how many bullets you make you can save yourself a little money.
Be careful.......you might become a "lead junkie"

 

[JohnFH]

I use an old coleman propane stove and cast iron pot. Ventilation is important.

then it's just getting the "feel", heat up the mold, clean the "scum" off the top and make sure there is NO water around.

 

[BIG GUN]

I have been casting for over 50 years, and have done hundreds of thousands of bullets. I started on my home gas stove and pissed off my parents. Then went to a Coleman but the grate eventually buckled so I went to a Lyman bottom pour. I now use an RCBS bottom pour, and do it in my basement with no ventilation. My wife thought that I was brain dead so I had a blood test done and it came out 2 on a 1-10 scale for lead. Maybe people retain lead at various levels, but it did not impact on me. I start out with a pot temp. of 850 for fluxing and then back down until I get a good shiny non wrinkled product. That tends to be between 700 & 750 Degrees. I have around 55 molds & find casting very enjoyable pastime, and not at all difficult. Wheel weights work for most pistol use, and oldtime rifles, but I go to lynotype in various proportions for higher veloceties, and also add gas checks as needed.

 

[Jamie]

Thank you all for your advice and encouragemant! The more I research this, the more I want to do it! It looks like the first 4 feet of the new reloading bench will be dedicated to casting.

Jamie

p.s.: To all of you who sent me PMs with advice, thank you too!

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

Let me know if you go a head with this. A buddy of mine has about 80lbs. of lead left over from his casting days that he'd like to sell.

 

[Jamie]

Let me know if you go a head with this. A buddy of mine has about 80lbs. of lead left over from his casting days that he'd like to sell.

KD, thanks and go ahead and see what he wants for it. This is a 99.9% definite. I'm just not sure on the exact timeframe as to when I'll have all the equipment I need to actually start.

Jamie

 

[highlander]

I bought a 2 burner stove by Fire Chef to melt my wheel weights and cast them into ingots. Runs from a 20# propane tank and I can melt 20-30# of lead an hour. I believe you can get the same stove at Dick's for about $100.

 

[Fixxah]

I bought a Mag-20 from highlander and have it set up with a duct booster fan. I crank out the bullets whenever I can.

 

[Jamie]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! I ended up picking up a pretty good set-up last night from a registered user here. Furnace, 10 molds, sizer/luber, and a ton of accessories, even a good amount of lead to start with. Plus we spent about 3 hours in his garage for my first casting lesson/bullshitting session. Thanks Joe, you rock!

After my lesson last night, I definately understand why you need good ventilation. I didn't realize the amount of smoke and fumes that this process can generate, and we were just using some old bullets as a lead source.

I can't wait to get this set up and running, I left about 4' of the new reloading bench open just for this. First project will be to experiment with hoods, fans and ducting to make sure I can do this safely in the basement. I want this to be enjoyable, not subject my family to the symptoms of a nuclear meltdown.

Once again, thanks to all who replied here and via PM, the information is greatly appreciated.

 

[clerk.mvgc]

Hardjeepguy, the smoke came from all the lube on the old bullets, very little odor or smoke comes from properly "smelted" alloy. I do all my "smelting" out doors. I have a large BTU turkey fryer and a cast iron dutch oven pot that melt my wheel weights, plumbers lead and backstop lead in. This operation smokes and stinks but not too bad to ahandle when done outdoors. Stir and flux really well (I use Marvelux flux, others have good results with parafin too) to keep your ingots clean. I use 3 corn bread pans (makes 8 4lb ingots per pan) and a couple of muffin tins (12 1lb ingots per pan).

I try to melt all the same type lead in each batch (ie lead pipe in one batch, backstop in other, wheel weights in other and lynotype is still another) and mark each type so I can add hardness as needed depending on what I'm casting for (low velocity target, higher velocity). I use the mufin tin for the harder stuff so I can add 1 lb at time to my backstop or w/w lead in the casting pot. BTW the 4 pounders fit perfectly in my pot.

Do all the "smelting" out doors and you'll have no smoke or odor issues indoors. I do have an old range hood over my casting area which is vented outside just to be sure though. That's the quickest and least expensive option for venting, perhaps someone you know is re-doing a kitchen and you can pick one up for nothing. Grossmans bargain Outlet often has them with a scratch or dent for a heavily reduced price as well.

One HUGE warning. DO NOT under any circumstance allow water (this includes even 1 drop of sweat!) to drop into your molten alloy. It will EXPLODE with amazing force and deposit molten lead over quite a radius from the pot. We call thia a visit from "The Tinsel Fairy" cause everything will look like it's covered in tinsel. It can cause very serious burns. I use leather goles, apron and face shield while "smelting".

A hugely helpful resource is www.castboolits.com it has a forum similar to this dedicated to bullet casting. the info available there is amazing.

Good luck and be careful, it's easy to get "hooked" on casting!

 

[center442]

Hardjeepguy, the smoke came from all the lube on the old bullets, very little odor or smoke comes from properly "smelted" alloy. I do all my "smelting" out doors. I have a large BTU turkey fryer and a cast iron dutch oven pot that melt my wheel weights, plumbers lead and backstop lead in. This operation smokes and stinks but not too bad to ahandle when done outdoors. Stir and flux really well (I use Marvelux flux, others have good results with parafin too) to keep your ingots clean. I use 3 corn bread pans (makes 8 4lb ingots per pan) and a couple of muffin tins (12 1lb ingots per pan).

I try to melt all the same type lead in each batch (ie lead pipe in one batch, backstop in other, wheel weights in other and lynotype is still another) and mark each type so I can add hardness as needed depending on what I'm casting for (low velocity target, higher velocity). I use the mufin tin for the harder stuff so I can add 1 lb at time to my backstop or w/w lead in the casting pot. BTW the 4 pounders fit perfectly in my pot.

Do all the "smelting" out doors and you'll have no smoke or odor issues indoors. I do have an old range hood over my casting area which is vented outside just to be sure though. That's the quickest and least expensive option for venting, perhaps someone you know is re-doing a kitchen and you can pick one up for nothing. Grossmans bargain Outlet often has them with a scratch or dent for a heavily reduced price as well.

One HUGE warning. DO NOT under any circumstance allow water (this includes even 1 drop of sweat!) to drop into your molten alloy. It will EXPLODE with amazing force and deposit molten lead over quite a radius from the pot. We call thia a visit from "The Tinsel Fairy" cause everything will look like it's covered in tinsel. It can cause very serious burns. I use leather goles, apron and face shield while "smelting".

A hugely helpful resource is www.castboolits.com it has a forum similar to this dedicated to bullet casting. the info available there is amazing.

Good luck and be careful, it's easy to get "hooked" on casting!

Excellent advice above. Also make sure that when you insert ANY metal object into the pot that it is completely dry and prewarmed. Lay it across the top of the pot and let it warm up before you stir your metal. Putting a cold implement into 700 degree metal will cause "spitting."

Heavy gloves, an apron, and face shield or safety glasses are a must.

Like clerk.mvgc, I smelt all my scavenged metal outdoors in the summer and cast it into ingots. In the winter time I do my actual bullet casting. This allows me to turn the room thermostat down and the heat from the casting furnace keeps the reloading room quite comfortable.

I use a range hood with an outside vent over my casting bench. I duct-taped all the little cracks and crevices inside the hood so I get a good updraft over the pot. I used to use beeswax to flux, but switched over to Marvelux years ago. Much less smoke.

Here are some pics of my casting setup:

This last picture shows some cast, sized, and lubed bullets ready for loading. The bullets on the left are 148gr wadcutters; the ones on the right are 158gr semi-wadcutters. BTW, those round metal containers from butter cookies are great for storing cast bullets, as are old cigar boxes!

Casting is a very relaxing hobby in and of itself. The initial outlay for equipment is expensive, but the equipment will last for years. Some of the tightest groups I have ever fired were with my own cast bullets. It's a very satisfying feeling.