Bullet Casting questions

[Namerifrats]

Thinking of starting to cast my own bullets. Would start out with the 500 S&W bullets. Anybody got a good book on the subject they could recommend? Mainly wanting to get my start up items figured out so I can place an order. I've read that a bottom pour pot is better but wanted to get an opinion. Thinking of going with a Lee 4lb cap Precision Melter just to get started out. Planning to cast up to 100 bullets max per month. What would be the difference in using a dipper to pour the lead into the mould as opposed to using a bottom pour, keeping a higher heat through a bottom pour? These bullets would be plinkers and target rounds, nothing fancy. Last question is whats this I keep reading about bullet sizing and lube? You can't take the bullets "as cast" and load them? And I thought lube was mainly for muzzleloader bullets.

[Mr Beta]

Well, I have very limited experience casting bullets but I'll share what I know. As far as sizing and such, lots of molds will drop a loadable bullet. Some drop a little bigger for sizing, lubing, and installing a gas check. I prefer to use a bottom pour because it's easier for me. I've seen great results with a ladle though. If you're doing a one cavity, I think a ladle will do just fine. If you're doing much more than that, I think the constant dipping would get annoying.

I don't have any recommendations on reading material but look around online to see if you can fine some How To webpages.

Tip:
Don't forget to smoke the molds
Keep molds hot
Don't breath fumes.
Go slow and enjoy.

[Namerifrats]

Doing some looking around on Midway righ now at various casting items. Thinking of going with some of the Size and Lube dies that fit on the press. As far as lead, I've heard about wheel weights, are there other good sources of lead? And do you need a premixed alloy to mix in or can you get some tin or something to mix in your self? Gas checks, are they required, or what purpose do they serve?

[layusn1]

Check out these guys:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?f=8

and Lyman 48th edition. I hear the ABCs of Reloading has an excellent section on bullet casting as well.

At MidwayUsa.com this is supposed to be 90% of what you need to get started:
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...eitemid=573247

[Ultima-Ratio]

Google LBT (Lead Bullet Technology), Veral Smith is the owner and makes the absolute best bullet moulds extant....order his book!
And of course the Lyman book mentioned above.
Be sure to measure your chamber throats and get your sizer to match them.

[Edward429451]

I think a 4 lb pot would get annoying fast having to refill about the time your mould heated up and you got a rythem going. I got my Lee 10 lb pot at a garage sale for 3 bucks.

Some guys like ladle pouring and some guys don't. I like ladle pouring for smaller boolits and bottom pour for larger boolits or multiple cavity moulds. Eh. Have to try both to see what you like. Extra ladles are nice when you get a little further into casting because your buddies will show up and want to try some.

You don't need premixed alloy. Straight wheelweights (WW) make great boolits.

Buddying up with a plumber or two can get you pure lead dropped off in your alley from old drain lines that they rip out. 50/50 pure lead/ WW's make fine plinking boolits, or pure lead ingots will be swooped on by blackpowder shooters giving you cash/beer money to give the guys in the tire shops a tip for giving you WW's.

My casting experiance has shown that fatter boolits lead your gun less. Link to that cast boolit board (above) and read to your hearts content. There's about 20,000 years of combined experiance there! There's even a guy who will make you custom size sizer dies (or open up yours) so you can lube your boolits without sizing them. Very reasonable price also, his handle is Buckshot.

When loading cast boolits, bear in mind your size to diameter compared to the book data and what they sized to. If yours are fatter, you will reach your target velocities (and pressure) with less powder because of the increased diameter.

[snuffy]

Here's ONE of my casting outfits. It uses the precision melter you alluded to in your Original Post. It's hard to see, but the bottom pour ladle works good with that pot. Here's the lyman ladle;
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...eitemid=286579

In use, you scoop the ladle full of lead, place the nipple against the sprue plate opening, rotate the whole thing verticle and then seperate the ladle from the mold allowing some of the lead the fill the sprue opening.



These are made from pure lead for muzzleloading and shotgun slugs. This combo seems to work better than using a bottom pour furnace.

For your plans of only 100 boolits a month, you could easily get by with that set-up. It's much slower than a bottom pour, but it fits your needs!

Here's a lee mold for the 500.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...eitemid=266944

As for sizeing/lubing, sometimes a mold will drop bullets that don't need to be sized. Other times they do need to be sized. The lee push-through sizers go right in a single stage press and work quite well. As for lube, it's a must! Trying to load a bare lead bullet in ANY gun will result in a lead plated bore in just a couple of rounds.

With this kit, you's be good to go for your 500.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...eitemid=411862

The lee liquid alox works just fine, but is a bit messy, tacky even after drying for several days. It can be wiped off the front of the bullets, so it won't pick up dirt or crud. Or you could dip just the base/lube grooves in the LLA leaving the nose clean. Then place them on some wax paper to dry.

My main set up is a lee pro 20 bottom pour pot. I have a lot of 6 cavity molds, that require a lot of lead. That pot will keep 20 pounds of lead hot and keep melting more ingots as I cast.

[Namerifrats]

Question on the sizing die and single stage press. I have the Lee 4 Hole Turret press but took the indexing rod out, turning it basically into a single stage press that is manually indexed. That would work the same for the sizer die correct. Also, what comes with the die, just the die it's self and the bottle of lube? From pictures I've saw, it looks like the bullet is placed on top of something on the shellholder and pressed through the die into a plastic container on top of the die. Does the die come with the "fake bullet" or whatever it's called to press the bullets through and does it include the plastic container?

[TEDDY]

there is a rod fits in ram to push bullets thru die.the bullet sits in the top of die till next one pushes it out.last bullet pick out or shake out.a lot of times dont need to resize just tumble lube.
I also took rod out of press to use as single stage.as I complete each stage at a time.good when powdering as you check for double load.

[happy7]

Snuffy gave you some good advice. I cast for the 500 and my first mold was the Lee mold he recommended. This is a good mold and is also the cheapest by far for this caliber. It is a gas check mold. The Lee sizer he recommended is also going to be the cheapest. You will lead the bore in a hurry if you do not lube. The Lee liquid alox works well. Casting 440 grain bullets, I think you will be happiest with the Lee pro 20 pot that snuffy mentioned at the end of his post. With a smaller pot you will be draining it pretty fast. It is not that expensive and works well. It costs less than 100 bullets from some manufacturers for this caliber. Casting is the way to go for the 500. I couldn't hardly afford to shoot mine and, like you, my 500 was why I got into casting in the first place.

Here is my advice. Don't cast 100 a month. For health reasons it is best to cast outdoors. By time you get everything set up and your lead melted and your mold up to casting temperature, there is no reason to stop at 100 bullets. Just keep casting and cast a 1000 or 1200 and be done for the year. You just plan on casting one day a year.

And the best advice is visit the above mentioned castboolits site. There are a lot of great people there and a number of them cast for the 500 s&W everthing from 250 grs up to 700 grains. there is a lot of great information there. I could go on writing for hours and not cover everything it would be handy to know. It is all over there in the forums. Just go read it.

[crowbeaner]

I just cast about 1000 .357 bullets with a single cavity mould and ladle. Took some time as the alloy just would not fill out the cavity with the bottom pour spout. If you get a batch that won't fill out the way it should, by all means try the dipper. I have two Lee production pots, and I paid a lot more than $3 for them. Try 9 lbs. of WW metal and 1 lb. of 50/50 tin/lead solder for the first batch. You definitely have to mic the chamber mouths and mic the diameter of the bullet as cast to determine if you need to squeeze them down. Lube is abolutely a must regardless of the alloy you use, believe me. Harder alloys like linotype will cast a bigger diameter bullet, but WW metal usually casts a smaller but heavier bullet. Lino will be lighter,but larger diameter. Gas checks are expensive, and they are getting more so with the copper crunch. I haven't worked with a .500 yet but my sister's beau has one, and I figure it's only a matter of time before he asks. I wish I had your kind of yard sales in MY locale.

[Namerifrats]

I'm thinking of doing the water drop method with a bucket of cold water on the ground behind where I plan to have the pot to avoid any potential splash towards the pot. I read that if you do that it will harden the bullets, but at the same time when you size them that will soften the bullet back up. So how do I get around that? I also read about the oven method but I'm sure that not a good idea after being sized and lubed with a gas check installed.

[happy7]

I cast my 500s from straight wheel weights and don't water quench. I use gas checks and lube and have never had a problem with leading even at max loads. If you are going to use gas checks I wouldn't worry about quenching.

[Usaro4]

For a good info source on casting that covers beginning to advanced techniques try Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook. Also be sure to check out the link above to "Cast Boolits".

[Namerifrats]

Placed an order with Midway USA. I have the Lee Pro 20lb Pot Melter, Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold 440 Grain 500 S&W, Lyman Lead Dipper, and Lee Lube and Size Kit 501 Diameter on the way. I can get an Ingot mold, extra Lube, Flux, and other items locally. Also scored 385lbs of lead today as well.

[snuffy]

You will love that pro 20 lee pot. It is a good one, it should make casting a breeze. With the dipper also ordered, you can try both methods of casting. The pro 20 pot has plenty of room at the top to use a ladle.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

[Namerifrats]

I've been out today looking for a cast iron pot to use as a smelter for the dirty lead to make my ingots. I'll run to Harbor Freight in a little while and buy one of those cast iron Dutch Ovens I guess, I've read about those making good smelters. I need a heat source for it, anybody know where I could buy just the bottom part of a turkey fryer without the pot? Or would something like this work?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44894

I actually stopped by a flea market and picked up a nice cheap stainless steel ladle, pretty sturdy and only $3. I plan to use it as a skimmer and to pour my ingots. I also found an interesting old cast iron cornbread tray that looks like it will make 2-3 lb ingots. Only thing is the bottom half is rounded and will be shaped like an ear of corn, but it'll work fine, I'll just stand them on their ends in a bucket. I also bought a small 5" cast iron skillet to make round ingots about an inch thick that will be more "stackable".

[snuffy]

Stay away from the harbor freight cast iron dutch oven. I bought one, then bought a turkey fryer,(wanted to try deep fried turkey anyway), got it all hooked up. The pot was just getting warm and it cracked with a loud CLANK! I'm taking it back, I'm sure they will replace it.

Here's my smelter. An old friend borrowed me his dutch oven after the harbor freight one cracked.







Here's my source of lead for now and some time to come.



I got them from where I work, they were counterweights from a huge drilling machine. They weigh 90 pounds each. I got 13 of them, they're nearly pure lead! I alloyed that metal with Linotype to produce something close to Lyman #2 alloy. About a 6 - 1 mix.