I just ordered a melting pot/molds/sizer/from lee. I have lots of wheel weights. I am looking for advice on a good book, and any other info to learn all I can before I start. I will start with 230 gn. 45ACP, and 125 gn. 9mm. All advice is welcome.
Thanks
TB

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frontsightnsqueaz

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

and

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/p...st-bullet4.php

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Have .44, will travel

Keep your pot between 700 ~ 710 F.

You can flux with paraffin (candle wax).

Size your bullets .001 over bore size.

White Label is an excellent source for lube, low cost and super high quality.

Good luck, have fun and welcome to the fold.

Thanks for the info! I'll let you know when I try some (maby 10 days before I get the stuff)
Thanks again
tb

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frontsightnsqueaz

As you have already learned, you saved hundreds of dollars reloading ammunition. Now you will begin to save thousands of dollars casting cheap lead bullets.

Let the savings begin!!

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S&WHF 366

What I save by casting & reloading, I shoot more. A vicious circle, PLUS, you can sell bullets to your friends for some $$$$.

Ditto for the castboolits forum!
Don't melt your WWs in the pot you will use for casting. Use an old stainless/cast iron pot over a fire ( I use a coleman camp stove) outside in the open air. Be careful about temperature so as to not melt any zinc. You will need a thermometer to keep melt temp below 650 degrees or so. Use an old steel spoon to clean the dross and steel clips off. Any zinc or iron weights will float to the top with the clips; flux often. Put the molten alloy into a conveniently sized mold. I use a steel muffin pan. When you are ready to start casting use the clean ingots into your casting pot and flux again.

Hey Tom, I sure wish I was down there with you for another month, we got snowed on today. Get with one of the other guys in the club & they will help speed up the learning curve. Good luck with the casting & I'll see you in December.

Dick

SixShot
Good to hear from you, who all at the range casts lead?
See you next year.
How's the basement thing?
tb

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frontsightnsqueaz

From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide For Handgunners, Table of Contents - Fryxell/Applegate (web page)

http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_textonly2.pdf (PDF link)

I use a big cast iron pot on a propane burner hooked to a 20 lb. LP cylinder. I never make ingots....A waste of time for me. I melt/flux/skim/flux & skim and I'm ready to go. I use an RCBS dipper with pour spout and cast 4 molds in rotation.
Reckon if you didn't get all the trash out from the intial melt it could stop up your pour spout.
A steel round perforated ladle from the kitchen dept. is the berries for skimming.

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S&W Accumulator

Welcome to the casting world, you'll find it rewarding and a hobby onto itself. Since you reload you obviously enjoy tedious, repitious things that require patience and attention to detail, not many people do so that is a major plus.
WW are a good start and for basic bullets will work very well. The thing about casting is that you can custom make alloys for different uses, such as using pure lead and tin in a 16:1 ratio for older guns like the .45-70 or bump your alloys up to near linotype hardness for shooting thru high power rifles.
One of the most rewarding aspects of casting is to find an alloy/load that will shoot to near the same point of impact at around 50 to 100 yards that your hunting rifle will shoot to using jacketed bullets. It is great practice for a fraction of the cost and the feeling of satisfaction is just amazing.
Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook is always a good start but thanks to the internet and some links already given there is a wealth of information available to you that us old timers didn't have.
One major word of advice I can give is: Safety.
You will be working with molten metal, and it is unforgiving in the damage it can do to you or anyone you have helping. Be sure to wear long pants, leather boots, a long sleeve shirt, gloves and above all else eye protection.
I can't stress the last item enough. One drop of molten lead in your eye will cause a lifetime of misery. Years ago I had my Son helping me alloy some WW's and other ingredients, it was August and very hot. I was in the process of pouring lead into ingots and explaining to my boy about how dangerous it was to get water into the mix when a single drop of sweat dripped off my nose and into the pot. The resulting explosion lifted molten lead all down my front. Luckily I was wearing a denim shirt and gloves as well as goggles. After all was said and done I had burns on my lower face/chin area and when I took my goggles off there was a nickle size glob of lead splatter square in the middle of the lens of my right eye. Had I not been wearing those goggles I would have definately been blinded in that eye.
Enjoy the hobby but use caution. You'll find that when people find out you cast your looked at like some kind of black magician, most folk don't understand it, but it is very satisfying to make your own bullets and make them well.
RD

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Got a Phd from Hard Knocks U

Ziptar,
WOW, that is some good stuff!
Thanks again to all for the help.
be well
tb

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frontsightnsqueaz

SAFETY EQUIPMENT is a MUST.

Patience is a Virtue.

MOISTURE and Lead, DO NOT MIX, even a minute amount and THE TINSEL FAIRY WILL VISIT YOU.

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NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO