Casting question

[Boogsawaste]

I have been saving up lead for the past several years when I come across it in the hopes that I was going to take the next step and start casting one day. Well I think that day has come. I am going to PC my bullets as I’m already set up to do so (I had to remove lube from some cast bullets I had that were full of crud and lube falling out and had success coating them). I have a Lee 20lb pot, a few molds (rcbs/lee), ingot mold, and of course lead. Thats the part I’m not so sure about. Do I need a hardness tester to see where I’m at with the lead I have? It’s mostly old blocks and containers from a hospital nucmed dept (the stuff is not radioactive haha). I also have like 30 or so pounds of pulled bullets (others loads I pulled for components). It seems that hardness doesn’t matter as much for revolver loads that are coated however too pure and it won’t fill out the molds properly? Not sure how to start with that part and any help will be appreciated.

 

[rosewood]

You do need to know what your alloy is. Pure lead will be too soft and will lead something terrible. A hardness tester will get you there, but there is another option. Many pawn shops now have XRF machines that they use to verify jewelry with. They can use it to determine the alloy in your lead and there are charts that will give you the hardness based on the alloy. If you are friendly with one, they will likely test a sample for you and tell you what you got.

You can add tin and antimony to get the right mix. Tin can be had from radiator solder, something like 50/50 is 50% tin and 50% lead, adding to the mix can get you where you need to be. You can also order the metals online, seems like rotometals is one dealer.

Rosewood

 

[Boogsawaste]

Thank you so much! I did not know about the pawn store trick so I’ll be sure to give that a try. Also thanks for the tip with the solder.

 

[colt_saa]

I have been casting for more than four decades but I have never owned or even used a hardness tester

I have always known the sources of my lead so I knew how to alloy them as necessary, but you have not disclosed where your lead came and if it was one or multiple sources

What you can do to get around the need of a hardness tester is take one of your existing commercially cast bullets that work well for you and see how your thumbnail scratches them and brushes across them, Then compare that to the lead that you have sourced to do your casting from and see if it's softer or harder

If you have lead from multiple sources that happen to be of different hardness you can probably alloy them together to come up with what you need

 

[rosewood]

^Agreed. Knowing what you got, you can do the math and get where you need to be. But if your sources are unknown, then you can do some inductive guessing or have it tested and eliminate the guess work.

Rosewood

 

[pistolpete10]

I've cast before and I used straight lino when I could get it. I have a question for those of you who powder coat, how important is hardness if powder coated??

 

[Skeet 028]

Just word of cautiom...don't mess with antimony unless it is already mixed with lead...makes it hard...but it is dangerous to mess with as temps have to be high. The antimony I get is from lead shot.Mag shot runs 5 to 7% antimony. Tin I get from farm auctions yard sales usually in ingot form and as stated 50-50 solder or sometimes at yard sales etc from lead free solder90% tin. I bought 80 lbs of lead free solder at an auction. I actually have 4 tons of lead left. I took a ton to the scrap yard and got $1.05 a pound. I made a lot of my own shot

 

[2152hq]

Here's a discussion about hosp and lab shielding lead.
Some interesting info.

Isotope Lead??? [Archive] - Cast Boolits

 

[jake1945]

I don't cast my own bullets anymore. But, when I did I got free wheel weights from gas stations and added tin to the pot. Never had a problem with bore leading even with full house 357 and 44 mag loads.
I now buy my lead bullets usually from USA Midway. Casting your own is a lot of work plus breathing lead fumes.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, is the best reference book on bullet casting. I have the 3rd edition and the 4th is the current one. There is a casting section in all the Lyman Loading Manuals, but many editions don't have al the little secrets the CBH does.

Since you are Coating the hardness won't be a major issue. But different alloys produce different "As Cast" diameters from the same mold and different weights too. That should be important to you.

Ivan

 

[gwpercle]

The first 98 pages of the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 4th Edition is filled with "How-To" information and casting knowledge ...
The rifle and handgun loading data follows these informational chapters /
Lots of great info contained in one book ...
My advice ... Buy one , study the first 98 pages and keep it handy for when working up loads .
Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 4th edition and The older 3rd Edition ... are still my #1 Go-To source of information be it casting or loading lead bullets .
The best way to learn how to cast bullets ... is to .., Cast Bullets !
Jump in there and pour hot lead ... Good Luck !
Gary

 

[glenwolde]

The cheap and effective hardness testing method uses art pencils. It's on YouTube.

 

[Boogsawaste]

Thanks for the help and knowledge my friends. I have a lot of homework to do and can’t wait to jump in. Now, I don’t “plan” on casting everything in shoot and only when times are tough to get components however I know myself way too well and I’m sure I’ll be getting more and more molds! I’m one of the ones who enjoy reloading as much as shooting. It’s a way to spend more time with the gun hobby and I think casting will also allow more time enjoying it.

Side note…I’m completely stupid as I have a copy of the Lyman cast 3rd edition already! I like it for the cast loading data and didn’t even think to look ofer the casting section! I also do like to ask the members here because there’s a wealth of knowledge and lots of tips and tricks from you all.

 

[IAM Rand]

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

 

[venomballistics]

I have been saving up lead for the past several years when I come across it in the hopes that I was going to take the next step and start casting one day. Well I think that day has come. I am going to PC my bullets as I’m already set up to do so (I had to remove lube from some cast bullets I had that were full of crud and lube falling out and had success coating them). I have a Lee 20lb pot, a few molds (rcbs/lee), ingot mold, and of course lead. Thats the part I’m not so sure about. Do I need a hardness tester to see where I’m at with the lead I have? It’s mostly old blocks and containers from a hospital nucmed dept (the stuff is not radioactive haha). I also have like 30 or so pounds of pulled bullets (others loads I pulled for components). It seems that hardness doesn’t matter as much for revolver loads that are coated however too pure and it won’t fill out the molds properly? Not sure how to start with that part and any help will be appreciated.

hardness tester ...... Get a box of some hard cast approximately of the same style your casting. pit them against eachother, nose to nose in any contrivance you can smash them together with.
this is a quick cheap and dirty way of checking your alloy for softer than, harder than or pretty derned close to that of a known sample.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I have been casting for more than four decades but I have never owned or even used a hardness tester

I have always known the sources of my lead so I knew how to alloy them as necessary, but you have not disclosed where your lead came and if it was one or multiple sources

What you can do to get around the need of a hardness tester is take one of your existing commercially cast bullets that work well for you and see how your thumbnail scratches them and brushes across them, Then compare that to the lead that you have sourced to do your casting from and see if it's softer or harder

If you have lead from multiple sources that happen to be of different hardness you can probably alloy them together to come up with what you need

Started casting in 1972. 52 years ago. never had or ever felt the need for a hardness tester........I mostly use WW's sometimes alloyed with lynotype.. Shoot "em" in gas guns. Garand/30 carbie/Ruger 44 auto.......Little to no leading and NEVER clogged a gas port.....That's Really an old wive's tale.

Iffen you you want to harden your lead mix. Buy a roll of rosin core solder and add a bout a 12 in. piece to each melt.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

.
The best way to learn how to cast bullets ... is to .., Cast Bullets !
Jump in there and pour hot lead ... Good Luck !
Gary

You will learn too soon that you don't have enough bullet molds!

On used molds, it is OK if they are rusty on the outside, as long as the cavity(s) and mating surfaces are still smooth.

I thought a used Lee 185 SWC 45 ACP mold would be a waste of money! My Best Friend and have cast well over 150,000 bullets with it in the last 40 years and it is still going strong! So used Lee's can be fine if not abused.

It is OK to cast a pile of bullets, and not use them for years. Castings are a great way to store lead, or at least as good as using ingots for storage.

You can use cast bullets for a 38/357 in a 9mm and sometimes vice versa.

Ivan

 

[Forrest r]

Get a set of artists pencils (amazon for $5)

Take the point and sand it down at an angle (+/- 45*) making a chisel tip.

Try to scratch/gouge a lead ingot with 1 of the pencils starting with a soft pencil. Keep testing with harder pencils until they won't scratch/put a groove in the lead. The last pencil that scratched the lead will give you an idea of the hardness of your alloy.

 

[Forrest r]

The absolute biggest mistake you can make is doing/making small batches of alloy at 1 time. Accuracy is consistency. I've used nothing more than range scrap/hill pickins for casting bullets for years (1980's). Typical batches are #100+ of clean ingots at 1 time making 8/9bhn alloy.

Used to use a large cast iron pot to melt everything down in. Now I use a propane tank cut in 1/2 and a propane turkey fryer base. The tank is full of alloy (#100+)

I've pretty much have made/used the same alloy all these years for 99% of my pistol/revolver/ under 2000fps rifle bullets.

Never had to add any tin for fill out (wish I had a dollar for every time I've read it's needed).

Never had too soft of a bullet (wish I had a dollar for every time I've read about too soft of an alloy and leading).

You're coating bullets which is a huge plus!!!!

 

[rosewood]

Never had to add any tin for fill out (wish I had a dollar for every time I've read it's needed).

Never had too soft of a bullet (wish I had a dollar for every time I've read about too soft of an alloy and leading).

My brother brought me some range scrap. Probably 200# of it divided between (4) 5 gallon buckets (only about 1/4 full). I melted it down and cast some boolits with it. They clearly did not fill out the molds worth a dang. In fact, the boolits looked awful. They are also clearly softer than my clip on wheel weight ingots. It is on my to do list to have it checked and add tin as needed.

Rosewood