Any casters here?

[45pro]

Is there anyone in the Plymouth area that casts their own bullets and would like to help me get setup and teach me the ropes? I'll be purchasing my casting equipment in a couple weeks and need some help getting going.

 

[EvilElmo]

I nowhere close to you but I'll be happy to answer any questions that I can.

 

[45pro]

Noone in the Michiana area?

I guess this may be good, maybe all the wheel weights aren't already being taken

 

[Skip]

I am a caster. I live 30 miles north of you BUT, I am so stinking busy with work, it will be a million years before I can help........................sorry.

 

[Skip]

Well, unless we can do it over the web..............

 

[straight-shooter]

I basically use the following equipment....

Propane Turkey Fryer and cast iron dutch oven pot for initially melting the wheel weights and skimming the clips out.

Cast iron ladel for skimming the clips

Cast Iron Muffin Pans for pouring the clean lead into ingots. Bought these at Cracker Barrel.

Parrafin Wax or candle wax for catching all the crud on top of the lead.

This should be all you need for making the ingots, now for what you'll need for casting the bullets.

Bullet Mold of your choice
Lee 20lb furnace unless you prefer to ladle pour
1000 watt hot plate (optional) I use this to heat my bullet molds to temp.
bucket - if you water quench the bullets to make them slightly harder
Again, parrafin wax for skimming the Lee pot

Whew, now you'll need a way to lube your bullets and there's two common ways to go with this. Pan lube or press lube.

I use a Lyman 450 lube press which requires the sizing die for the size bullet you'll be sizing and a top punch to fit the top of the bullet you'll be pressing into the press and of course you'll need Lube.

Pan lubing involves melting the lube and putting it into a pan that you have already set your bullets into. Fill it high enough to cover the lube grooves in the bullet and let it set up. Pop the entire mess out of the pan and press the bullets out with your finger and the grooves will be filled.

Alot of people swear by ALOX tumble lubing where you just roll the bullets in the sticky stuff and set them on wax paper till they cure. I've had somewhat good results doing this but not satisfactory to the point that i continued doing it. I was still scrubbing lead out of the barrel.

Plenty of videos on Youtube to show you either process for lubing bullets.

A good source of bullet lube is - Clicky ---> White Label Lube

Another tip i just thought of is when you melt your lead, make sure you get it to about 650 degrees and not over 750. Lead melts at 650 and Zinc melts at 750 to 800. This way you insure if there are any zinc wheel weight in the mix that they will float to the top so you can skim them out. Zinc will ruin a otherwise good batch of lead.

Also stick on wheel weight are consider soft lead and are not good for shooting centerfire. Their only good for muzzle loader and black powder pistols. Shoot these in a centerfire and you could end up with some bad leading.

I've experimented and had good luck mixing 70/30 wheel weight lead and soft lead for low velocity (900 fps) centerfire .45 with great results.

Anywho, this should get you started and a good way to absorb lots of this end of the hobby is to check out -----> Cast Boolits - Dedicated To The World Of Cast Bullets!

And hey! as long as your going to cast you might as well pick up a nice black powder pistol and shoot some round ball !

 

[45pro]

I am a caster. I live 30 miles north of you BUT, I am so stinking busy with work, it will be a million years before I can help........................sorry.

Well, unless we can do it over the web..............

Well im really looking for someone to come down and give me some pointers as its happening. I've read and watched videos like crazy, especially over at cast boolits. I think i can do it, i just thought the learning curve would be less if i had someone actually helping me do it for the first time.

But if i have any questions i'll give you a shout!

 

[red_zr24x4]

Is there anyone in the Plymouth area that casts their own bullets and would like to help me get setup and teach me the ropes? I'll be purchasing my casting equipment in a couple weeks and need some help getting going.

I'm about 10 north-west of Plymouth. I'd give you a hand ,but I'm leaving for Arkansas on Monday and Ill be gone for a month or so. straight-shooter summed it up pretty good. If any of us can help over the web we'll try

 

[45pro]

I'm about 10 north-west of Plymouth. I'd give you a hand ,but I'm leaving for Arkansas on Monday and Ill be gone for a month or so. straight-shooter summed it up pretty good. If any of us can help over the web we'll try

Well maybe when you get back Im in no hurry and havn't even bought my equipment yet.

Where are you located? Walkerton?

EDIT: i see you location now. haha

 

[Skip]

Well maybe when you get back Im in no hurry and havn't even bought my equipment yet.

Where are you located? Walkerton?

EDIT: i see you location now. haha

Tell you what, If you are the same guy that has the hunting land that the "Bone Collectors" go to there in Plymouth, I will cast your bullets for you from now on, for just 2 seats in that super deer stand! hahahahaha

I will even give you the equipment if you have land that I can hunt!
(And that ain't no joke either!)

Then, all I would have to do is find the time to hunt it..............

 

[45pro]

Tell you what, If you are the same guy that has the hunting land that the "Bone Collectors" go to there in Plymouth, I will cast your bullets for you from now on, for just 2 seats in that super deer stand! hahahahaha


I will even give you the equipment if you have land that I can hunt!
(And that ain't no joke either!)

Then, all I would have to do is find the time to hunt it..............

I do know of the Bone collector. I have a friend who's dad hunted with him a lot and he was even in one of his shows on tv. He unfortunatly passed away a little over 3 years ago. They did a tribute to him on one of the shows. His name was Kim. Kims wife, Nancy is now re-married and still has the AWESOME hunting land. She hunts with a bow and took an 8 or 10 pointer(cant remember now) within 30 minutes of the season opening. I'm not sure but maybe that is the land you are talking about. She might still be in touch with him and he may hunt there.

I actually have no where to hunt or shoot anymore, as i just bought a house by kreighbaum lake, and am now looking for some buddies to shoot with, and a range close by.

 

[youngda9]

Print this out and read it. Everything you need to know.

http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_textonly2.pdf

The cast boolits website is a great resource as well.

Cast Boolits - Dedicated To The World Of Cast Bullets!

 

[Harley46982]

45 Pro, I'm just over in Warsaw, I'd be glad to come over and help anytime!

 

[45pro]

45 Pro, I'm just over in Warsaw, I'd be glad to come over and help anytime!

Thanks man, when i have everything set up in a few weeks, i may take you up on that.

 

[youngda9]

I just started casting a couple months ago after a lot of research. Here's a description of my setup and process that you may be able to get some ideas from.

I purchased a 20lb Lee pot with the bottom pour spout, a lee 6 cavity mold, and an Accurate Mold 3 cavity 431-255V mold. I set up my pot with a PID controller, set to 355C = 671F seems perfect for my casting. I use a hot plate to heat up the mold prior to casting. Once I start casting I stack lead ingots on top of the hot plate to heat it up to just below its melting point. The lead ingots I bought is quite clean and I rarely have to flux. Just the occasional stir and scrape and then scoop out the dross with my dollar store slotted spoon. I usually stack them 4 high. The wrinkles go away after about 3-5 casts.

I cast with a full pot and drop the sprues directly back into the pot. As soon as the pot level drops enough to make room for another ingot I gently drop it in. The temperature of the pot will drop a bit, but I can keep on casting. The PID controller keeps the temperature where it needs to be. This eliminates the wait for the pot to heat back up. I learned this quick...a big time saver.

Using this method I was able to go through 18lb/hour with a 5 cavity 158grain Lee mold yesterday (800 bullets/hour). I cast for 1:45 and cranked out 31.5lb(1400) of bullets yesterday. I'm getting nice frosty bullets.

Bullets gently are dropped into a paint tray that is covered with towels and an old T-shirt. The towels pad the bullet landing and protect the tray from melting...I'm currently using a plastic paint tray soon to be replaced by a metal one. The old T-shirt helps me to pick up the bullets at the end of the casting session all at once if I need to. It also allows me to easily, and softly, transfer the entire batch into a red plastic folgers coffee can with a lid. I use these containers a lot of things.

I am using Lee push through sizers. I spray a small amount of Hornady Case lube on the bullets prior to sizing to make the process easier. I found this is much easier and less messy then doing 2 lube cycles with the Recluse mixture.

I made up a batch of Recluse 45/45/10 lube. I found that warming the bullets up on a cookie sheet in the oven for a few minutes while I nuke the lube to liquify it helps to coat the bullets best. The lube doesn't harden right away, and get chunky, as it tends to when contacting colder bullets. This allows me to roll the bullets and lube around in a covered plastic tub to coat them all. I then pour them out onto a cool cookie sheet that is covered with aluminum foil to cool and harden the lube. I do the lubing and cooling out in the garage to keep my domestic situation as happy as possible. After a few minutes they are cooled and then transferred into a red plastic can for storage.

The cost savings is why I did this. Plus I love to tinker and am having a great time making my own bullets.

Below is a picture of my setup. The cigar, classic rock on the radio, and Boston Lager all help to enhance the experience of casting in a cold garage.