Bullet Casting - Getting started

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kyswede
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Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 10:59 am

Reloading allows a person on a budget to shoot a lot more compared to factory ammo. It also allows you to tailor a load for your specific gun and purpose. Factory ammo must fit and function in every firearm made in that caliber, possibly over a 100 year span. It is basically "one size fits all".
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 11:08 am

I have been reloading for over 30 years, mostly .357 mag. & 38 special. A year ago I started loading 45 auto, using fmj bullets at first, then trying lead bullets. My favorite 45, a 1911 with threaded barrel, shoots lead bullets just fine. I pay 12-14 cents each for fmj bullets, making my loading cost $8-$10/50 rounds. With cast bullets, which I can make for 3 cents each, I can load 50 rounds for under $4.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 11:33 am

To make cast bullets you need the following:
1. Lead
2. Bullet mold
3. Pot for melting lead
4. Safety equipment
Lead is found in some wheelweights, solder, roof flashing, old water pipes, x ray shielding (from your dentist), recovered from shooting ranges, and plumbers blocks. It can also be purchased from suppliers like Roto-metals or online (ebay or gunbroker). DO NOT try to recover lead from old car/truck batteries. It is too dangerous (sulfuric acid).
I bought most of my lead on ebay & gunbroker in 1# ingots. These are ready to drop in your pot & make bullets. If you use wheelweights, lead pipes, battery cable ends, sheet lead, etc, you will need to melt them in a different pot, fluxing to remove impurities, dipping out steel clips & other junk, and pouring into ingot molds. I prefer to buy range lead & wheelweight lead already in ingots.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 11:51 am

Wheelweights used to be lead with a steel clip. You could fill your COLD pot with wheelweights and as they melted the steel clips would float to the top. Skimming out the clips left a good lead alloy for bullets. Nowadays wheelweights (WW) are made from iron/steel, aluminum, zinc, even plastic. If you are lucky enough to find a tire shop that will sell you a bucket of WW, you will have to sort them, removing all but the lead ones. Most people use a pair of side cutters to make a bite in the WW. Lead dents easily, but so does aluminim. Steel and zinc are a lot harder. Some WWs are marked zn (zinc), fe (iron), al (aluminum). NOTE a little bit of zinc can ruin a whole pot of lead. Zinc melts around 900°F, so keep your pot temp around 700-750°F to be safe. A casting thermometer can be purchased from Lee Precision, Lyman and others for $30-$40.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:10 pm

If you plan to buy ready-to-use lead you can skip this section. I will show the method I use to melt lead into ingots. This should be done outdoors. I cast ingots outside my garage on a concrete slab. I got a 6 qt. cast iron Dutch oven with lid at Harbor Freight for $30. I bought a seafood fryer (turkey fryers do not put out enough heat) rated 54,000 btus. Do not use an aluminum pot to melt lead. It weakens when heated and can fail, dumping 100# of molten lead in your lap. I fill my COLD pot with the lead I want to melt & turn on the heat. Cast iron has to be heated gradually, so I increase the heat a little at a time. When the lead has melted, slowly immerse a large ladle or stainless spoon into melt & stir, scraping sides & bottom. This will allow impurities to float to top. Skim off junk from top & add a handful of dry sawdust or wood shavings and put lid on pot. The sawdust will burn, leaving carbon behind. Gradually work the sawdust into the lead. It will attract impurities which can be skimmed off. You should now have a pot of shiny molten lead. Using a large ladle, fill the ingot molds and set them on the ground/concrete floor to cool. When cool, dump the ingots out and continue filling molds until pot is almost empty.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:17 pm

Here are some pics of making ingots.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:22 pm

I have 6 ingot molds ($20 each) made by Lee, RCBS & Lyman. The Lee have 2 1# molds & 2 1/2# molds. The others have 4 1# molds. The RCBS is cast iron and does not have a handle (I use pliers). The Lee & Lyman are aluminum & have handles.
20161110_162626.jpg
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:30 pm

Here is the ladle I use, stirring in the burnt wood shavings.
20161117_125129-1.jpg
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:35 pm

A warning about sawdust/wood shavings. Do not use treated lumber as it may contain arsenic. I also do not use plywood as the glue may be toxic. My brother-in-law has a wood planer and works with cherry wood a lot. I have a lifetime supply of cherry wood shavings. Smells good too.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:52 pm

SAFETY EQUIPMENT
When melting lead you need will the following safety items:
1. Leather gloves. I use welding gloves for making ingots and leather work gloves when casting bullets.
2. Eye protection. I wear wrap-around safety glasses for making ingots or bullets. Some people use a full face shield.
3. Heavy long pants. Blue jeans work great.
4. Long sleeve shirt. I wear a flannel shirt whenever melting lead.
5. Leather work boots. I have spilled lead on my boots and not realized it until later.
6. A hat. I wear a fishing hat that covers my ears and hangs over my glasses.
These items are required to prevent getting badly burned by 700° molten lead. It is dangerous to introduce any type of moisture into a hot pot of lead. A drop of sweat can cause lead to erupt from pot. So will rain. When using sawdust, place it on top of mix and let it burn, driving off any moisture. When placing a ladle or spoon in a hot pot, 1st lay it on top of the lead to allow it to heat up gradually. Placing anything cold in a hot mix will result in lead everywhere. This is referred to as a "visit from the tinsel fairy".
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:38 pm

Ok so now you have a good supply of lead ingots and want to make some bullets. You need a bullet mold (I now have 17) for the bullet you want to cast. I recommend a Lee 2 cavity mold to start ($20). You need to decide how you are going to lube the bullets BEFORE you buy a mold. Conventional bullet molds leave 2 or 3 grooves to hold the lube to prevent barrel leading. Tumble lube molds leave several smaller grooves to hold lube. If you cast conventional bullets, you will need to either pan lube or buy a lubrisizer like a Lyman 450 or 4500 (under $200). Then you will need to buy a top punch that matches the nose of your bullet. This prevents deforming bullet when being lubed & sized. You will also need to buy the lube that you will use.,
To pan lube, you need a pan (cake pan works good), some lube, and a small crock pot. Stand the bullets in the pan about 1/2" apart. Melt the lube in the crock pot, and pour the lube into the pad covering the lube grooves. Allow to cool until the lube is barely warm to the touch. I use the cookie cutter method of removing bullets from the cake pan. I find a piece of rifle brass that has an inside diameter slightly bigger than my bullet. I cut the ends off the brass and lightly chamfer one end. Push the brass over the bullet to yhe bottom of the pan. Twist the brass and pull the bullet out. This method is slow, but I would use it for low volume bullets.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:41 pm

I use a battery to push the bullet out of the brass.
20170107_001434-2.jpg
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:44 pm

For the next batch, place bullets in the existing holes and put in a toaster oven or on a hot plate to melt the lube.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by rustynuts » Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:47 pm

Very involved process, isn't it?

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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:50 pm

Now for the easiest way to lube. I use Lee tumble lube. Place the bottle (with the spout open) in a container of warm water. Put about 100 bullets in a plastic container, pour just a drizzle of tumble lube on the bullets, then shake up & down & in a swirling motion for 30 seconds. Dump the bullets out on a sheet of wax paper and allow to dry overnight.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:56 pm

Conventional lubed bullets need to be pushed thru a sizer to make them the correct diameter for your gun. Tumble lube bullets usually do not need to be sized. I have tumble lubed thousands of bullets and only pan lubed about 200.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:57 pm

And now we have Powder Coating instead of lubing. See step-by-step thread.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:13 pm

For a starting pot I recommend the Lee 10# bottom pour Production pot IV ($55) or the 20# Pro 4-20 ($65). I have both, started with the 10# pot. I have been casting a lot of 44 cal. 240 grain bullets and 45 cal. 230 & 250 grain bullets. These can empty a 10# pot in an hour or less. Then you have to add ingots & wait for pot to get back up to casting temperature. You can preheat ingots on a hot plate to 250-300° but be careful you don't melt them. The hot plate can also be used to preheat your mold. Your bullets will be wrinkled and not filled out completely until mold is at correct temp. I put a 1/4" thick piece of aluminum on top of my hotplate. Some people use an old 7" circular saw blade.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:23 pm

Now the mold. If you have a new mold, it needs to be cleaned before using. You can use dish soap, toothpaste or solvent. Remove all oil from mold blocks, then use a q-tip and solvent to clean mold cavities. I then smoke my mold cavities using wooden kitchen matches. This helps the bullet release from the mold. Using sprue plate lube on a q-tip, apply a small amount of lube to the locating pins and the underside of the sprue plate. Now you are ready to preheat the mold.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by Whootsinator » Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:34 pm

Very cool guides Swede, thanks for posting these.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:39 pm

I usually leave my pot about half full of lead when I end a casting session. This helps the pot heat up quicker next time. After lead is cool, I add ingots and rejected bullets to fill pot.
When I start a casting session, I turn on the pot & hot plate, put a few ingots on hot plate, then clean, smoke & lube my mold while everything is heating up. I use an old cookie sheet with a folded towel to drop my bullets onto from the mold. I knock my sprues into a small loaf pan and add them back to the pot when adding lead.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:46 pm

My current setup. I have the 10# pot melting ingots and feeding the 20# pot. If I start with both full, I can cast 700-800 44 or 45 cal. bullets without stopping.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:51 pm

I have barely scratched the surface. There is a ton of information available. I recommend anyone interested in casting bullets visit "castboolits.gunboards.com" regularly. I have learned a lot from that site. I am happy to answer any questions.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by kyswede » Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:58 pm

I cast in my basement reloading room. I recently installed a range hood vented outside. I flux with candle wax and it makes smoke and I now vent it outside. Lead does not produce fumes below 900° but some of the other stuff in the lead can be harmful.
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Re: Bullet Casting - Getting started

Post by Wyldman » Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:20 pm

This is all great info, and Larry has done a great job of relating it.

Not by any means taking anything away from our esteemed colleague's efforts, here, but a great bench top reference to have on hand is the Hornady Casting Handbook, which can be had for >$30 from Amazon. It contains step by step instruction at your fingertips while working.

Always, always, always, keep moisture of any kind away from your casting process! I keep a towel around my neck to wipe away sweat while working. A casting pot running between 700-900 degrees warms up the area swiftly!

Drinks should be kept far away from the casting bench. Step away to drink, and wipe your hands and mouth before approaching the area again.

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