Casting newbie--- what's on the must have list?

[tddeangelo]

I've been up to my eyeballs in casting lead research for a few days. Like anything, options seem limitless.

It seems that most suggest ladling for larger caliber balls, and my flintlock is a 62-cal. It is not the only thing I will cast for, however. I will want to also cast for my centerfire handguns and a rifle or two as well. My first aim is for casting round balls, but I want to get properly equipped to handle all the casting I want to do eventually.

Seems like I could ladle for everything....? Might not the very fastest thing out there, but seems I could still produce bullets and balls fairly quickly and with good quality.

All that said, what do you folks suggest a new lead caster might want on his shopping list to get setup for casting operations?

Thanks!

[retired fella]

not much to it.  begin with a good mold and ladle.  A small pot with heat source.

I use a Lyman cast ladle.  A plumbers pot I picked up somewhere and a Coleman camp stove.
   
         DON'T WEAR SANDALS!!

[flinchrocket]

Another thing you need is a bullet trap to save those big 62 cal balls?

[Maven]

While not strictly necessary, a good casting thermometer, e.g., Tel True, is invaluable when trying to adjust the temperature of your melting pot:  fewer rejects, wrinkled balls that way.  It will also tell you whether there's a problem with the mold, the furnace, or your technique.  Moreover, I have some molds, which cast beautifully @ 700 deg. F, while others require 800 deg.  Casting pure Pb balls calls for 800 deg., at least initially for the best results, regardless of whether the mold is aluminum, brass, or iron (meehanite).

[moleeyes36]

I agree with retired fella about the Lyman cast ladle, they're great.  I used to use a Coleman camp stove and a cast iron skillet.  However, it's hard to find a camp stove now days that will put out enough BTU's to do the job.  When I want to do some serious production, I use a cast iron skillet and a turkey fryer base.  For smaller amounts of production I use an electric pot.  Don't spend money on ingot molds, just use a muffin tin.  It makes ingots just the right size for casting.  A lead thermometer is sometimes handy, but you'll soon learn to recognize when the lead is the right temperature for casting without one.  There are a lot of different ways to clean the lead but I prefer one of the commercial products.  Here is basically all you need to get started.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/286579/lyman-lead-dipper?cm_vc=ProductFinding
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/709235/lee-magnum-melter-furnace-110-volt?cm_vc=ProductFinding

Mole Eyes

[Dan]

Short list of minimum equipment from my experience to date:

1. Melt pot - I'd not bother with less than 20# capacity if planning to cast large projectiles.  Seriously.
2. Ladle w/spout
3. Metal skimmer spoon
4. Thermometer
5. Muffin pan(s) or cast iron corn stick pan
6. 12" piece of 1-1/2" wood dowel
7.  Heavy leather gloves
8. Safety Glasses
9. If casting within a structure, even if mostly open to the outdoors, a window fan to keep the fresh air on your backside.

Moulds and other accoutrements will show up when needed.
There are alternatives to a myriad of other types of equipment typically used for the craft. Your ingenuity and budget will figure them out.

http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

[Allen]

Great suggestions all!  I also like to have a metal can to collect my sprues and reject balls in to add back to my pot. I wear a clear face shield and a heavy canvas apron. Cotton clothes, no synthetics. Heavy leather gloves. You will enjoy casting.

All the best,

AS

[Hungry Horse]

 I have used many different systems over the years, but the best is an electric furnace. Lee sells them pretty cheap, and they are fine to get started. If you choose to use some sort of cast iron cookware, PLEASE MARK IT SO IT DOESN'T GET USED FOR COOKING, WHEN YOU WISE UP, AND BUY A FURNACE!!
 I use a piece of closet dowel to smack the sprue cutter, A metal coffee can for sprues, and misfits, and another can for the dross you will be skimming of the lead periodically. Eye protection, at least one glove, and a box lined with an old T-shirt to catch the new bullets, are all important. Oh, and don't cast naked.

              Hungry Horse

[moleeyes36]

.....WHEN YOU WISE UP, AND BUY A FURNACE!! .....
 

              Hungry Horse

HH,

That's the great thing about opinions; everyone has them.  They don't have to be right, just expressed forcefully.

Mole Eyes

[Daryl]

I use an adjustable Lee 20 pound pot that was bottom pour, now converted to dipping for better balls and especially bullets.

A propane stove will work just fine. I suggest at least a 10 pound pot, and 20 pounds is even better.

The ability to adjustable temperature is essential as when casting different alloys, you need to be able to adjust the temperature to match the alloy, so your balls and bullets all come out perfectly - or as near as is possible.

Of course, the temperature adjustment ability of a propane stove is infinite - or close enough.

There is a long learning curve to casting, but even beginners can do well. Read up on it.  Lyman's Hand Loading books have a good section for casting.

Do all your casting out of doors - or with EXCEPTIONALLY good blower vents that discharge out of the house or garage. If casting out of doors in warm climates - be aware that moths can and will sometimes attempt to land in your molten lead. If that happens, they instantly turn into water vapour and the pot will empty itself all over you. YES!  Keep all moisture away from molten lead- it will cause an explosion of molten lead from the pot - even a drop of sweat from your forehead is dangerous if it falls into the molten lead. Never put snow covered or water covered or exceptionally cold lead into a pot of molten lead.  There will be an explosion of very liquid, very hot lead. It burns and just keeps burning as it sticks to your skin and burns into it. That ought to paint a picture! Beware of what you are doing, when casting - the potential for danger is there. Oh yeah - the fumes are not good for you, either - the main reason for ventilation.

[David R. Pennington]

 A word about casting larger round balls. I had cast lots of round balls in varying sizes up to .50 cal. with no problems. When I got my .62 finished I picked up a bag mold from Mr. Callahan and began casting. I couldn't get a round without a void in it. Finally one of the veterans in our club filled me in on what was happening. There is always shrinking as the lead cools. On the smaller sizes the sprue is drawn in as this happens and fills the void. With the larger size there was not enough lead in the sprue to cover the shrinkage.
The answer was in a change of technique. As the lead filled the mold I simply held the ladle in place for a second or two longer after the mold filled with a small bit of lead still in connection with the lead in the mold. This allows more lead to be drawn from the ladle as the ball cools and contracts and eliminated the voids. Problem solved.
One more thing to add to the list is a scale. This is not essential but will help you quickly eliminate balls that might have a void and could end up being fliers on a competition target.

[Scout]

I pretty much do whats already been mentioned but I have a 6" square by 2" deep aluminum pan filled with sterilized children sandbox sand to drop the hot ones in for cooling.

Seems to work well with no flat spots.

[Hungry Horse]

 I  kind of figured that if you were starting out with nothing, getting a cheap furnace would be a little easier on a newbie, than getting a mishmash of camp stoves, and cooking equipment, and then finding out a furnace would have been easier, and safer. I can't tell you how many shooters I've met  over the years, that regret not getting good equipment to start with rather than whatever would just get them by for the present. JMO.

         Hungry Horse

[tddeangelo]

Lots of good info, thank you!

I had figured I'd get a furnace/lead pot for controlled temps to melt clean lead for actual ball/bullet casting. If I am working with wheel weights or scrap or such that needs to be smelted into ingots, I figured I'd get a pot to put on the side burner on my gas grill (not sure if that will get hot enough, though?), rather than run the dirty stuff through the furnace/pot I use when casting projectiles.

I am pretty sure I'm going to wind up ladling, just not sure if I want to get a bottom-pour pot to use for smaller cast bullets and/or balls whenever I get a smaller bored rifle.

I am an experienced metallic cartridge reloader, so a scale is no issue. I have a balance scale and an RCBS ChargeMaster digital scale/powder dispenser. I figured I'd use the ChargeMaster to quickly weight sort the balls to know what's good and what can be remelted and recycled.

So, apron/heavy leather gloves...I have a plastic full face shield I can use. Casting done outside, which I sort of figured was best. When I was a kid, my father did his casting in his basement in the winter. Oops. Lol.

Now I just need to get some sources for lead, I guess, once I get to buying my gear. I have a source for about as many wheel weights as I could want. I've read that some folks control temp and smelt them at just over lead's melting point to help segregate lead from zinc/steel/etc.

Question is, would this source of lead be acceptable for range/practice? I don't have a good source for pure lead, so I'd have to seek it out and buy it. I may have a source for range scrap already smelted to ingots, have to double check on that.

Molds.....steel instead of aluminum...makes sense. Do they do double-cavity on the bigger diameter balls? I am sort of hearing/reading they are generally single cavity?

Thank you everyone!

[docone]

A double cavity mold holds the heat better when casting. A winkle free cast is from an hot mold.
Get to know some roofers. There is your pure lead. Roof boots. They give them away. Just be prepared to remove some shinglels. A dozen donuts makes roofers happy. A single roof can yield a few boots.
I run mine hot. Six seconds to freeze. Less and the mold is too cool. Longer and it is too hot. Pour, count to six, cut the sprue.

[tddeangelo]

Good tip....maybe I'll just start calling roofers, lol. I don't know any personally.

I'm going to start piecing together my gear bit by bit. My list now includes:

-Lead furnace (not sure on whether I want bottom pour capability or not at this point).

-Ladle (the lyman with a spout is what I had in mind)

-Thermometer (no clue on specifics, but I'm sure Google can sort me out there)

-Pot for smelting (I'll dig around for cheap/used cast-iron or the like, I guess)

- Double cavity mold for balls

-Dowel/wood for tapping sprue cutter

-Welding gloves (my father in law works where he can get them I think)

-Heavy apron (same as above...hopefully)

-Old muffin tins for casting ingots

My kids have a sand box they never use....so that's an easy pickup, lol. (Sand for dumping balls into...)

I have a face shield.

Anything I should add?

[docone]

Sounds like you are gearing up for a serious cast.
Might be a little much though.
I got a double burner hot plate from a Flea Market. My shop is in one so it was just taking a break and walking around. The double burner types have the hotter larger plate. I use the small one for Wheel Weights, the Larger for Roof Boots. My lead melter is the Lee Pro 20. It does the trick. I like bottom pouring. I use vegetable oil to "flux" the melt, and Kitty litter to decrud it. I put Kitty litter on the melter, and lay the lead on the litter. It melts through without a visit from the Tinsel fairy. Water is bad with molten lead. It goes pop and the Tinsel fairy spreads her goodness everywhere. A mess at best, definite hurt if in the eyes or on the skin.
One thing I do, is on a fresh melt. I put the lead in the pot, then turn on the burner. As the pot heats up, the water vapor is dispelled and is gone. Any crud floats to the top and I then push it to the sides of the pot. I do have to scrape the bottom of the pot as crud forms there. It makes flakes and can make melting impossible. When I scrape that up, it floats to the top and can be removed.
Get a porous spoon also. You can clean the melt with that. Preheat it and scoop away. I find on my first melt downs, I get crud. As the lead gets cleaner, the crud goes away. Some oxides, but not bad.
Keep wheel weights from the roof lead. Wheel weights will harden the melt on cooling. Also, watch for zinc. It will float on the melt. Dump them. With wheel weights, I use a cheap pair of needle nose pliers and grab the clip.
I put both my hot pad, and melter on paving bricks. The splash usually does not go anywhere. Just drips and can be picked up and remelted.
I cast sitting in a chair. My melter, is at shoulder level, I push my sprue cutter on the paver with the dowel, I use a rake handle for that, them dump the castings in a large water container. My sprues can be put back in the melt after they dry. I like things simple. I make a hundred or so, then spend months shooting them. One roof job, can be at least 100 balls. I like things real simple.
Your tools will get heat affected so do not use good ones. Your pot handles will loosen, so get carriage bolts to fit in the handle threads.
Keep the work area clean, dry, and apart from anything that can fall into it.
Keep an exit in mind. Mr. Murphy might come visit on occasion. Never had a fire, but keep a fire extinguisher handy. And water.
Remember this is hot stuff and it does not care if you are in the way. It really does not.
I live it, but I also cast silver, copper, and gold. Just part of what I do.

[tddeangelo]

I may have just scored a free lead pot....an old Lyman made by Saeco. A friend of mine had it dropped with him from his brother, and neither of them need it, so he's going to verify if it works properly, and if so, it's mine for the asking.

That'll help the cause, for sure.

[Hungry Horse]

 I use a big old bottom pour Saeco, that I plugged the leaky bottom pour spout, and removed all the linkage that operated it. Its a good pot, that holds its heat, and holds enough lead, that you will be sick, and tired, of casting when you run it dry, unless you are casting .75 cal. balls, of course. I use a commercial casting flux, or a small piece of bees wax if I'm out of flux.
  Plumbers, short track race car builders ( ballast), roofers, and your local dentist are good sources of pure lead. Scuba divers often make their own diving weights, and often have lead, or old weights kicking around. Sail boats have lead filled keels. Score one of these, and you have about 400 lbs. or more, to monkey around with. A friend with a tow truck is handy for this recycling project.
 Lead with alloys in it shrink back less that pure lead, so the balls are a little bigger, which can cause a problem if you don't separate them, and patch accordingly. Go for it, and good luck.

                Hungry Horse

[Daryl]

I would forget about the sand - if stuck to the ball, might score the bore.

Just a ramped box with old sections of worn-out jeans and-or worn out towel pieces stapled to the surface for padding. The ramp allows them to gently roll to the back of the box without damage.

Cast iron blocks/steel as in Lyman or RCBS moulds hold the heat better than aluminum blocks, however aluminum blocks are available in double cavity up to .562" or .575" at least. I do think their .690" mould is a single cavity. I think Lyman and RCBS go to single cavity blocks for .526" and larger.

I have a .395" Lyman single cavity blocks and can cast a LOT of balls in a short time - maybe 200 per hour?  I keep a water wet towel folded up fairly close by on a table and if the mould blocks get a bit hot, I set the blocks on the towel, rolling it around for a few seconds to cool it down - works for me and has NEVER warped a set of blocks or sprue cutter. Make certain you do NOT get water into your lead.




Note the huge sprue on a Jeff Tanner mould with no sprue cutter, just a bevel and long drop tube.  Balls form this mould, once the sprue is removed, weigh within 1/10gr.  The large sprue pretty much guarantees a well filled out ball - once you get on to casting them.

[Hungry Horse]

 The as caste balls from a primitive mold make a good primitive fishing sinker if you are doing treks, or primitive camping. I found a .58 cal. ball rigged this way in the Klamath river years ago, and it took me a while to figure out what it was.

                Hungry Horse

[Scout]

I would forget about the sand - if stuck to the ball, might score the bore.

I inspect each ball after it cools and as long as I have been casting ( my dad included at least 30 years of casting ) both of us never had any problems with sticking sand.

[retired fella]

I inspect each ball after it cools and as long as I have been casting ( my dad included at least 30 years of casting ) both of us never had any problems with sticking sand.

I would imagine the sand disburses heat also although never tried it.  Especially in casting big bore.

[smylee grouch]

I have two different sized double cavity molds and the balls from one side of each are not the exact size as the oposing side ball. Some thing you might want to consider if your casting for important matches or trying to shoot tight groups.

[tddeangelo]

I have two different sized double cavity molds and the balls from one side of each are not the exact size as the oposing side ball. Some thing you might want to consider if your casting for important matches or trying to shoot tight groups.

That is an great point to consider.

Thanks!