Bullet Casting--A Quick Start Part II

[Powderman]

Well, here's the second installment. Again, bullet casters and moderators, feel free to add to this list as needed.

OK, everyone read the safety part? Good. Now let’s go on to what you need to actually start casting.

1. Smelter (i.e., lead pot, kettle, etc.)

There is no law that says you have to buy an electric pot, or that you have to ladle pour. Each part has its benefits and disadvantages. The cheapest way to go by far is to get a cast iron pot, and a propane burner. The propane will last an amazingly long time, and the iron pot will last forever. If you go the iron route, get a small pot. One of these filled with alloy is amazingly heavy.

The best buy on the market for the bullet caster, IMHO, is the Lee Pro 20 lead pot. For about $70.00, you can’t beat it. It has all the features you need—a good pour mechanism, a thermostat, and a great price.

2. Small fan

This blows across the pot while you cast.

3. Protective clothing, goggles/safety glasses, shoes.

4. Molds.

The subject of molds has been discussed—and cussed about—more than any other single aspect of bullet casting. For it is the mold that has the final say in the manufacture of the bullet.

If you cast for rifles, you might consider a nose-pour mold. This makes sure that the base of the bullet is perfect, which is essential for accuracy. For handguns, you can use either. Again, the most economical molds are available from Lee in any configuration you might imagine.

5. A “beater” stick

Get a good hickory hammer handle, or even a rawhide or wooden mallet. This is to help get the bullets from the mold—more on this later.

6. A way to size and lube the bullets.

For the caster on the budget, again Lee gets the nod with a push through sizer that actually works quite well. For right at $110, you can get (IMHO) the best lubrisizer in existence—the Star, now made by Magma Engineering. The unique thing about the Star is that you can add on a bullet feeder, a collator, and an air handler to pressurize the lube.

7. A source for alloy

I use wheelweights purchased from a scrap metal yard, at about $40 for 150 pounds. Good and economical. I’ll talk about a way to save even more money later.

8. Flux.

When you cast lead alloy, you will notice that you have a lot of junk on the top of the melt. This is trash, to be sure—but it is also a good portion of the tin from your melt. Tin in bullets can be a good thing, as it is what makes bullets harder. Tin is also useful in getting the molded bullets to fill out. Adding flux to the melt does two things—it places the tin, antimony and lead back into solution, and makes the melt easier to pour. There are a few things that you can use for flux; however, the best thing I’ve found is Marvelux, by Brownell’s. This stuff works wonders. You can also use candle wax, or beeswax—but make darned sure you use it outdoors.

9. Miscelleaneous
You’ll need some towels, a padded box, or a coffee can with a towel and rubber bands. I’ll talk about that later.

Now that we have all of your stuff, it’s time to cast the bullets.

Continued with the next installment....

[Powderman]

Bump!

[Powderman]

A bump for the beginning casters.

[Unclenick]

If you feel it's important enough to bump, ask the moderators if they'll make it a sticky?

I also own one of the Lee pots I got long ago, but gave it up for a more expensive RCBS unit. The reason is the Lee thermostat on mine (now over 20 years old so this may have changed) is thermally coupled by the heating elements going into the control box from the pot and a couple of standouts. This coupling is not quite adequate, with the result the temperature swings about fify degrees at any given setting on mine. It's a wide enough range that it may frustrate a beginner in consistency of results if he doesn't have a lead thermometer; and that's the one item I would add to your list.