Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. - The Firearms Forum

76Highboy · 01-05-2012, 08:52 PM

I have been reloading since I was a teenager as my father got me started. I used to cast bullets with my father, however once I moved out I continued to reload, but my father did my casting in trade that I supplied the lead (i have always scrounged my lead from anywhere I could find it) for both of us. That way we both pretty much got our bullets free other than I pitched in for worn out casting E.Q. Now I have about 500+ pounds of lead and I want to begin casting and I know the basics. I want to be casting by summer (I had the cash but bought an Old Model 3 Screw Ruger Super Blackhawk 44mag, so now I need to start saving again).

I am open to advice on what to buy, what works best, and should I buy used through a gun show, or go new. If you have advice to give, that would be awesome.

Also, the new Ruger is so sweet (with a primo action job). Thanks.

JLA · 01-05-2012, 09:04 PM

Lee production pot
Lee molds
A dipper
some Lee liquid alox and sizers (optional)

Should get you goin for about 100 bucks depending on how many molds you need.

76Highboy · 01-05-2012, 09:13 PM

I picked up some .357 cast bullets and the used molds that were used to cast the bullets, but the bullets are over sized. Is there something wrong with the molds, or should I buy them knew. That is why I stopped searching for the molds used and considered new. I definately like the Lee brand. Thanks.

The Duke · 01-05-2012, 09:13 PM

Make sure you have a supply of decently priced lead before you start anything...I cast at one time when I could haul off all the wheel weights I wanted with tons of gratitude for the tire places...but times have changed and wheel weight arent what they used to be...

By the time I order lead and tin and pay the shipping, its near as cheap to order the ready made boolits...

JLA · 01-05-2012, 09:22 PM

Most cast lead drops out a little oversized. All of my Lee molds would consistently drop bullets .001-.002 over their labeled size. i.e the .429 mold for the .44 mag would drop me .431s.

That is perfectly normal and a characteristic of the lead alloy you use. Pure lead drops the fattest and hard alloy drops closest to mold size. Or maybe its the other way around. Not exactly sure about that one But i know its one way or the other.

thomas44 · 01-05-2012, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLA

Most cast lead drops out a little oversized. All of my Lee molds would consistently drop bullets .001-.002 over their labeled size. i.e the .429 mold for the .44 mag would drop me .431s.

That is perfectly normal and a characteristic of the lead alloy you use. Pure lead drops the fattest and hard alloy drops closest to mold size. Or maybe its the other way around. Not exactly sure about that one But i know its one way or the other.

It's been awhile since I have done any casting, but I thought the bullets were supposed to be a little oversized so you can lube and size them all to the same diameter. I recall having a piece of equipment called a "lubrisizer" or something like that. It would lube and size in one stroke.

gdmoody · 01-05-2012, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 76Highboy

I picked up some .357 cast bullets and the used molds that were used to cast the bullets, but the bullets are over sized. Is there something wrong with the molds, or should I buy them knew. That is why I stopped searching for the molds used and considered new. I definately like the Lee brand. Thanks.

There is probably nothing wrong with the molds, the bullets will have to be sized, you can use something like this: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/343...t-356-diameter

Or use the more expensive type where you can change the dies for different calibers: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/172...lube-a-matic-2 Man, these thing have gone up since I bought mine!!

jack404 · 01-05-2012, 11:11 PM

i'm a cheapskate so use a 1890's rolling table and rough cast a tad oversize ,

redwing carson · 01-06-2012, 12:45 AM

Mold sizes will run larger in diameter and lighter weight the harder the alloy. Most molds are standardized by using a 20-1 alloy or 99% pure lead. For your .44 Mag Lyman #2 alloy or Wheel weights will work fine for velocity up to 1,400 FPS. You may want a gas checked bullet even though handguns rarely get above the 1,500 FPS at which a gas check is really needed. Most of the Ruger .44s run a bore size of .429 so a .430 should work just fine. If you should get leading in the throat slug the bore to regulate your bullet size. As mentioned lead Wheel Weights are being replaced by zink and steel so the price is going up. You may want to consider buying 1,000 hard cast bullets unless you are shooting more than a 100 rds. per month. Casting equiptment, bullet lube, and gas checks plus lead is getting expensive.

76Highboy · 01-06-2012, 07:05 AM

Most of my lead is wheel weights. About 200 are are bran new in the box because a local tire store (chaijn of stores) sent them all to one location and by chance they said that if I hauled them that they were mine. Actually, there might be more than 200 lb. My father has always used whel weights so I am thinking they should work.

JLA · 01-06-2012, 08:42 AM

Just be careful they arent zinc. Set your pot for 660 degrees which is the temp pure lead melts at (all other lead compatable metals melt at lower temps). Zinc melts at a higher temp so if you have a pot at 660 and it all melts but a couple of floaty weights toss them out they arent lead.

If you run the pot hot enough to melt the zinc and it alloys with your lead its permanently alloyed and any bullets you cast, IF you get them to fill the mold, wil look galvanized and will be extremely brittle and tend to flake apart.

DixieLandMan · 01-06-2012, 09:05 AM

I have yet to cast my first bullets but I got the Lee molds with the tumble lube style. Do I still need to resize or will they work just fine. Got molds for 9mm, .38/.357, .41 Mag and .45 ACP.

al45lc · 01-06-2012, 09:07 AM

As to a supply of lead, I walked into a Big O tire store and was told I could have all the old wheel weights I could load. Yes, they are nasty and need cleaning, but for free it was worth my time to do the initial smelting outside and burn off the majority of residue.
I now have a huge stockpile of lead for casting, I ended up taking 3- 5gal buckets (HEAVY!) and still have more.

JLA · 01-06-2012, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieLandMan

I have yet to cast my first bullets but I got the Lee molds with the tumble lube style. Do I still need to resize or will they work just fine. Got molds for 9mm, .38/.357, .41 Mag and .45 ACP.

They will shoot fine as cast

Popgunner · 01-09-2012, 03:17 PM

JLA I say ditto to your list of equipment. The lee production pot I have won't get hot enough to melt the zinc weights i've run into. I just pick 'em off the top of the molten lead where they float. I mostly use wheelweights for my casting & Lee molds rule for price (others I have with the handles cost me right about $100 ea compared to the Lee's which can be had handles & all for $19) and for ease of use/quick heat up.

Bullets as-cast are preferable but that doesn't always work out. I already have Lee luber/sizers for .358", .430" & .309" because my bullets were just a little too large for chambering. I bought a 6 cavity mold for 45acp bullets & merrily casted up a few hundred & loaded them up without checking & they would n't chamber. Crap!
Today I just got a nother Lee luber/sizer from Graff's in the mail for .452. The 45 cal bullets were dropping out measuring .452" on one side & when rotated 180 degrees they were .461"

My Lyman 450 lubrisizer sits dusty under my bench as I now only use the Lee alox & their sizers. I think it's worth trying your bullets as-cast but make sure to measure 'em on two sides. The content of your lead will affect the end size of your bullets.

I had tons of fun recently using the Lee 1 ounce 12 ga slug mold. You just cast 'em up & load the slugs using your regular wads & Lee's load info. Makes a cheap slug load that flies pretty well. Pure lead for those loads. This kid's fun to watch although I'd recomend spending a few bucks & going Lee on the mold & load info:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g06a6RWC4A

JLA · 01-09-2012, 05:02 PM

I have read the 6 cav LEE molds have alignment issues on occasion causing the fat side you experience Pops. I always had a stick of bullet lube handy to keep the alignment pins and mold hinge lubed during sizing, it helps the mold align easily without galling.

Clipper · 01-09-2012, 07:08 PM

I suggest you visit Midway USA for the sizing dies for you bullets. I have the .357 sizer and the .45. It is simple and cheap! ALOX works well with the sizing die, and it screws on your press. I also have a Lyman sizing press with .358 and .452 sizing dies, but it is a PITA to use compared with the Lees. About $50 bucks should buy all the sizing dies you need for .38/.357 and .45.

Should anyone covet my Lyman sizing press, PM me, it is an older one, but I have no use for it any longer.

Orin · 01-10-2012, 07:34 AM

You may want to degrease wheel wieghts before scrubbing & smelting. Try what's called wash thinner by painters - still cheap if you get it at an auto paint supply. Its lacquer thinner. Put in a clean sealable gallon can (also from the paint supply), load in your wieghts & slosh around a few times. Pour thru a metal colander. Such dries very fast & leaves no residue of its own.

01-05-2012, 08:52 PM	#1
76Highboy Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Meridian, Idaho Contributor Posts: 6,955	Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. I have been reloading since I was a teenager as my father got me started. I used to cast bullets with my father, however once I moved out I continued to reload, but my father did my casting in trade that I supplied the lead (i have always scrounged my lead from anywhere I could find it) for both of us. That way we both pretty much got our bullets free other than I pitched in for worn out casting E.Q. Now I have about 500+ pounds of lead and I want to begin casting and I know the basics. I want to be casting by summer (I had the cash but bought an Old Model 3 Screw Ruger Super Blackhawk 44mag, so now I need to start saving again). I am open to advice on what to buy, what works best, and should I buy used through a gun show, or go new. If you have advice to give, that would be awesome. Also, the new Ruger is so sweet (with a primo action job). Thanks. -->

01-05-2012, 09:13 PM	#3
76Highboy Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Meridian, Idaho Contributor Posts: 6,955	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. I picked up some .357 cast bullets and the used molds that were used to cast the bullets, but the bullets are over sized. Is there something wrong with the molds, or should I buy them knew. That is why I stopped searching for the molds used and considered new. I definately like the Lee brand. Thanks. Last edited by 76Highboy; 01-05-2012 at 09:14 PM.. Reason: Needed more info.

01-05-2012, 09:13 PM	#4
The Duke Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: NW Louisiana Posts: 813	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. Make sure you have a supply of decently priced lead before you start anything...I cast at one time when I could haul off all the wheel weights I wanted with tons of gratitude for the tire places...but times have changed and wheel weight arent what they used to be... By the time I order lead and tin and pay the shipping, its near as cheap to order the ready made boolits... __________________ Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc'-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

01-05-2012, 09:22 PM	#5
JLA TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Heart Of Texas Contributor Posts: 17,315	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. Most cast lead drops out a little oversized. All of my Lee molds would consistently drop bullets .001-.002 over their labeled size. i.e the .429 mold for the .44 mag would drop me .431s. That is perfectly normal and a characteristic of the lead alloy you use. Pure lead drops the fattest and hard alloy drops closest to mold size. Or maybe its the other way around. Not exactly sure about that one But i know its one way or the other. __________________ It takes 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 3 for proper trigger squeeze. The latest caliber or gear is no substitute for experience and skill. Rifles and cartridges don't make hits -- shooters do. Fact of life: After Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!

01-05-2012, 11:11 PM	#8
jack404 Former Guest Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Australia Contributor Posts: 17,622	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. i'm a cheapskate so use a 1890's rolling table and rough cast a tad oversize ,

01-05-2012, 09:04 PM	#2
JLA TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Heart Of Texas Contributor Posts: 17,315	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. Lee production pot Lee molds A dipper some Lee liquid alox and sizers (optional) Should get you goin for about 100 bucks depending on how many molds you need. __________________ It takes 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 3 for proper trigger squeeze. The latest caliber or gear is no substitute for experience and skill. Rifles and cartridges don't make hits -- shooters do. Fact of life: After Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!

01-06-2012, 12:45 AM	#9
redwing carson Former Guest Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: western wyoming Posts: 734	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. Mold sizes will run larger in diameter and lighter weight the harder the alloy. Most molds are standardized by using a 20-1 alloy or 99% pure lead. For your .44 Mag Lyman #2 alloy or Wheel weights will work fine for velocity up to 1,400 FPS. You may want a gas checked bullet even though handguns rarely get above the 1,500 FPS at which a gas check is really needed. Most of the Ruger .44s run a bore size of .429 so a .430 should work just fine. If you should get leading in the throat slug the bore to regulate your bullet size. As mentioned lead Wheel Weights are being replaced by zink and steel so the price is going up. You may want to consider buying 1,000 hard cast bullets unless you are shooting more than a 100 rds. per month. Casting equiptment, bullet lube, and gas checks plus lead is getting expensive.

01-06-2012, 07:05 AM	#10
76Highboy Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Meridian, Idaho Contributor Posts: 6,955	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. Most of my lead is wheel weights. About 200 are are bran new in the box because a local tire store (chaijn of stores) sent them all to one location and by chance they said that if I hauled them that they were mine. Actually, there might be more than 200 lb. My father has always used whel weights so I am thinking they should work.

01-06-2012, 08:42 AM	#11
JLA TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Heart Of Texas Contributor Posts: 17,315	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. Just be careful they arent zinc. Set your pot for 660 degrees which is the temp pure lead melts at (all other lead compatable metals melt at lower temps). Zinc melts at a higher temp so if you have a pot at 660 and it all melts but a couple of floaty weights toss them out they arent lead. If you run the pot hot enough to melt the zinc and it alloys with your lead its permanently alloyed and any bullets you cast, IF you get them to fill the mold, wil look galvanized and will be extremely brittle and tend to flake apart. __________________ It takes 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 3 for proper trigger squeeze. The latest caliber or gear is no substitute for experience and skill. Rifles and cartridges don't make hits -- shooters do. Fact of life: After Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!

01-06-2012, 09:05 AM	#12
DixieLandMan Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Alabama Posts: 606	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. I have yet to cast my first bullets but I got the Lee molds with the tumble lube style. Do I still need to resize or will they work just fine. Got molds for 9mm, .38/.357, .41 Mag and .45 ACP.

01-06-2012, 09:07 AM	#13
al45lc Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: colorful colorado Posts: 1,016	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. As to a supply of lead, I walked into a Big O tire store and was told I could have all the old wheel weights I could load. Yes, they are nasty and need cleaning, but for free it was worth my time to do the initial smelting outside and burn off the majority of residue. I now have a huge stockpile of lead for casting, I ended up taking 3- 5gal buckets (HEAVY!) and still have more. __________________ You are what you do, when it counts.

01-09-2012, 03:17 PM	#15
Popgunner Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Contributor Posts: 1,764	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. JLA I say ditto to your list of equipment. The lee production pot I have won't get hot enough to melt the zinc weights i've run into. I just pick 'em off the top of the molten lead where they float. I mostly use wheelweights for my casting & Lee molds rule for price (others I have with the handles cost me right about $100 ea compared to the Lee's which can be had handles & all for $19) and for ease of use/quick heat up. Bullets as-cast are preferable but that doesn't always work out. I already have Lee luber/sizers for .358", .430" & .309" because my bullets were just a little too large for chambering. I bought a 6 cavity mold for 45acp bullets & merrily casted up a few hundred & loaded them up without checking & they would n't chamber. Crap! Today I just got a nother Lee luber/sizer from Graff's in the mail for .452. The 45 cal bullets were dropping out measuring .452" on one side & when rotated 180 degrees they were .461" My Lyman 450 lubrisizer sits dusty under my bench as I now only use the Lee alox & their sizers. I think it's worth trying your bullets as-cast but make sure to measure 'em on two sides. The content of your lead will affect the end size of your bullets. I had tons of fun recently using the Lee 1 ounce 12 ga slug mold. You just cast 'em up & load the slugs using your regular wads & Lee's load info. Makes a cheap slug load that flies pretty well. Pure lead for those loads. This kid's fun to watch although I'd recomend spending a few bucks & going Lee on the mold & load info: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g06a6RWC4A Last edited by Popgunner; 01-09-2012 at 03:21 PM..

01-09-2012, 05:02 PM	#16
JLA TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Heart Of Texas Contributor Posts: 17,315	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. I have read the 6 cav LEE molds have alignment issues on occasion causing the fat side you experience Pops. I always had a stick of bullet lube handy to keep the alignment pins and mold hinge lubed during sizing, it helps the mold align easily without galling. __________________ It takes 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 3 for proper trigger squeeze. The latest caliber or gear is no substitute for experience and skill. Rifles and cartridges don't make hits -- shooters do. Fact of life: After Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!

01-09-2012, 07:08 PM	#17
Clipper V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Amarillo, TX Posts: 381	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. I suggest you visit Midway USA for the sizing dies for you bullets. I have the .357 sizer and the .45. It is simple and cheap! ALOX works well with the sizing die, and it screws on your press. I also have a Lyman sizing press with .358 and .452 sizing dies, but it is a PITA to use compared with the Lees. About $50 bucks should buy all the sizing dies you need for .38/.357 and .45. Should anyone covet my Lyman sizing press, PM me, it is an older one, but I have no use for it any longer.

01-10-2012, 07:34 AM	#18
Orin V.I.P. Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 109	Re: Lead stockpile. I really need to start casting. You may want to degrease wheel wieghts before scrubbing & smelting. Try what's called wash thinner by painters - still cheap if you get it at an auto paint supply. Its lacquer thinner. Put in a clean sealable gallon can (also from the paint supply), load in your wieghts & slosh around a few times. Pour thru a metal colander. Such dries very fast & leaves no residue of its own.