Few questions about casting equipment

[iouri]

So I am considering casting as my "next step" I am researching what I may need in terms of equipment. Obviously I want to keep initial expenses to the minimum but on the other hand I don't want to throw away money on something that I know I would have to replace. So I have few questions about the equipment: what is the bare minimum ? furnace & molds ? Is lubricator/sizer necessary ? Is 6 times difference in price justified between RCBS pro melt & Lee 20 lbs furnace? Is difference in mold prices justified ? I mean if it's "same" 2 cavity same weight mold from different manufacturers but the price could be 2 times difference ? Is it worth to start casting if I don't have access to lead locally ? Any input will be appreciated

 

[OKFC05]

I started casting pistol bullets with one Lee tumble mold and an old pot and dipper I had been using for casting fishing sinkers. The Lee Tumble molds produce a bullet with many shallow grooves, and lubing consists of putting some liquid ALOX on the bullets and shaking around in an old plastic butter tub.

The bullets shot fine, and I still have that old mold.

Question is, what are your production needs, and just how much do you want to dive in before you know what you are doing? A mentor is the best way to decide for yourself with a little tryout.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

Hi there, check out Cast Boolits they are to casting as the S&W forum here is to Smith and Wesson! I recently re entered the casting club a few months ago and I wondered what took me so long! You get the bullets you want, the alloy you want, the size you want and the lube (very important) you want. Even if you have to buy the alloy you use you get wonderfully accurate bullets with almost zero bore leading (lube again). Two things I will say about equipment and molds, for commercially available molds buy RCBS, they throw well with even straight wheel weight alloy. The Pro melt furnace is top notch and with RCBS's warranty its a no brainer. These days with everything going for top money if you decide to get out you can recover most of your investment. The suggestion to get a mentor is right on! Good luck!

 

[mtgianni]

You can cast with a clean tin can and a lee mold over a fire. You can get the latest and greatest also. A Kia and a Mercedes both can haul four passengers, their similarity ends quickly.
Iron molds seem to last longer than Alum when cared for equally. When abused Al. is easy to break. I am not a fan of tumble load bullets and would get a luberisizer.
If you do not have access to lead locally but do not mind paying market rate for casting metals. +- $2 a lb then it might be OK. Personally if someone does not have access to 500+ lbs of alloy i would discourage them.

 

[wvmanchu]

Hi there, check out Cast Boolits they are to casting as the S&W forum here is to Smith and Wesson! I recently re entered the casting club a few months ago and I wondered what took me so long! You get the bullets you want, the alloy you want, the size you want and the lube (very important) you want. Even if you have to buy the alloy you use you get wonderfully accurate bullets with almost zero bore leading (lube again). Two things I will say about equipment and molds, for commercially available molds buy RCBS, they throw well with even straight wheel weight alloy. The Pro melt furnace is top notch and with RCBS's warranty its a no brainer. These days with everything going for top money if you decide to get out you can recover most of your investment. The suggestion to get a mentor is right on! Good luck!

Definitly agree with Vulcan Bob about CastBoolits, also would suggest reading Glen Fryxell's book "From Ingot to Target" available on line at NRA - IHMSA Handgun, Rifle, Air Pistol Silhouette Shooting. The Excitement Of Reactive Steel Targets At The Los Angeles Silhouette Club covers all the basics I keep a copy on my bench and use it regularly.

 

[iouri]

Thanks all, I am aware of Cast Boolits forum and did some reading there, the only problem is - amount of information there is quite overwhelming and maybe a little less organized than on this forum

 

[mikld]

I started with a 1 qt. stainless steel pan, a single burner Coleman stove, a Lee mold, a Lee ladle, and some alox. I had access to wheel weights and smelted and fluxed with sawdust and skimmed the melt with one of Ma's slotted spoons. I made several hundred .44 cal. bullets this way, and shot them in my Ruger BH and S&W 629. I soon went to a Lee 20 lb. pot (no, an RCBS isn't worth the extra $$$$$ to me) and Lee size/lube system. I've been casting for mebbe 18 years, for 11 handguns, and don't have a lubersizer, 'cause I pan lube and tumble lube (and dip lube 45-45-10). I don't need a thousand lubed bullets at a time so my system works well for me...

 

[Clovishound]

You don't need to spend a bunch to get your feet wet. That is, as long as you are willing to make do for a while. You can start spending $ when you find out what you really want. A source for lead is a must. I found a local source for around $1 a pound. The Lee sizers are great if you don't mind pan lubing or tumble lubing. Right now, that is just fine for me. Later on, I may opt for a luber/sizer.

 

[ChuckS1]

So I am considering casting as my "next step" I am researching what I may need in terms of equipment. Obviously I want to keep initial expenses to the minimum but on the other hand I don't want to throw away money on something that I know I would have to replace. So I have few questions about the equipment: what is the bare minimum ? furnace & molds ? Is lubricator/sizer necessary ? Is 6 times difference in price justified between RCBS pro melt & Lee 20 lbs furnace? Is difference in mold prices justified ? I mean if it's "same" 2 cavity same weight mold from different manufacturers but the price could be 2 times difference ? Is it worth to start casting if I don't have access to lead locally ? Any input will be appreciated

You need a bottom pour furnace. I started with a Lee 10 lb one and still use it. You need a good mold. I like RCBS, even though they only make 2 cavity molds, RCBS quality is top notch. You don't necessarily need a lube sizer, but that means you have to tumble lube, which generally mean you should use molds with a tumble lube design, meaning Lee molds. I would bite the bullet, no pun intended, and get a lube sizer and die .001 over your barrel diameter to start with. You'll need lube, so google White Label lube and buy from them. Great prices and they have lubes for any type of shooting. You'll need flux for the melt; I use sawdust. Don't need commercial flux. Get a good thermometer, but not necessarily a Lyman or RCBS one. Look on ebay for one that goes up to 1000 degrees. You'll find one there for less than half the price Lyman wants. They're all made in China, so one's as good as the other, IMHO. At some point you'll trade the thermometer for a PID, but read up on those at Cast Boolits. Last thing I would get is some 2 cycle engine oil for the sprue plate lube. Again, read more on that at Cast Boolits. When I started I bought my lead on ebay and from the Cast Boolits classifieds. There's some other little things you'll want/need ,like a hammer handle to push/hit the spruce cutter, maybe a small fingernail fan to cool the spruce, stuff like that.

 

[autogun]

My experience is the same as ChuckS1. My Lee bottom pour pot is still going strong. That is my only Lee product. Buy real molds-lyman, rcbs, hensley and gibbs (No longer in business), etc. Subscribe to Handloader and get the cd on bullet casting. Enjoy.

 

[rwsmith]

I would rate the Cast Bullet Association....

The CBA forum is very much like this one with very helpful and knowledgeable people. I got some good help first time in.

The Cast Bullet Association Inc. Forum

 

[fredj338]

Much like reloading, casting can be done on the cheap or spend as much as you like. For me, min would be a Lee 20# bottom pour, 6cav Lee mold & then tumble lube & size in a cheap Lee sizing die. You can get there for one caliber for less than $200. I find a luber/sizer easier, & the only one to buy IMO is the Star/Magma for non gc bullets.
The bigger question, where are you going to get your alloy? If I have to pay more than $1.50/#, I am not casting my plinking bullets.

 

[iouri]

Thanks, Chuck for detailed response. Fredj338, access to alloy was part of my original question - I don't have access to alloy locally and from what I've seen online prices are closer to $2/#

 

[Moonman]

Before jumping into the world of casting- - - - -You NEED TO READ A BUNCH.

Don't be impulsive, please read first.

You can spend from Chevrolet to Rolls Royce type casting money.


How much do you shoot yearly, (hundreds of rounds or tens of thousands)?

Are you a bench accuracy shooter? What type of shooter are you?

Are you a REALLY SAFETY CONSCIOUS PERSON, and can you FOLLOW DIRECTIONS?

You'll be dealing with MOLTEN METAL, which can be INSTANTLY DANGEROUS and Flesh Scaring or BLINDING.



You can start out with a cheap LEE dipping pot/ladle/mold.

You may end up NOT LIKING to cast and your investment would be somewhat nil.



If you end up liking the new hobby (which it is), you can move on up to:

Waage Dipping pots or Magma, Ballisti-Cast dipping or bottom pour, along with RCBS and others.

Ballisti-Cast Molds, RCBS Molds, Mihec Molds, Magma Molds, NOE Molds along with many other makers.

Ballisti-Cast and Magma makes some really fine BULLET CASTING MACHINES if you require bunches of CAST BOOLITS.



Ballisti-Cast and Magma STAR are some fine Lubing Machines.

The choice is yours, but you really need to read everything you can for a couple months BEFORE YOU JUMP IN.


***You also need to read up about LEAD POISONING and precautions THAT YOU MUST TAKE.***

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR CHOICES----NO NEED FOR YOU TO RUSH INTO IT.

 

[fredj338]

Thanks, Chuck for detailed response. Fredj338, access to alloy was part of my original question - I don't have access to alloy locally and from what I've seen online prices are closer to $2/#

Consider this; At $2/#, 1000/200gr/45acp would cost you $58+lube, call it $60. I can have them delivered to my house for $76/1000. It takes me about 3hrs to cast, lube & size 1K bullets. I am not spending 3hrs to save $16 & I like to cast.
I have a wide array fo casting stuff from 6cav molds to 2cav, Lee BP pots & a Magma Master Caster. It's till time consuming, even with the best manual operated gear. Unless you have access to cheap or free alloy, then casting is a time consumer. I would still do it for speciallty bullets I can't buy, but I would stop casting my plinking & IDPA bullets & just buy commercial cast.
Free alloy is getting harder to come by with the banning of lead ww. SO you find lead where you can. I trade lead for bullets, berm mine, always ask at the tire & autop places. If you knwo someone in the medical field, then you can come away with a lot of lead iso containers for very cheap. Construction places that do roofing & plumbing collect a lot of lead, especially back east. They can't legally throw it away, so offer them 25c/# to haul it off. Boat yards, old fishing wieghts, there is a lot of lead still around.

 

[novalty]

$2/lb. would be a hard way to recoup the start up cost. I thought my source for COWW's was bad enough at $0.67/lb, but I don't have to drive all around to get it, and the guy I buy from will take back any zinc weights that get missed in sorting and swap for lead. Trying to save up enough for another 200lbs., and even then 400lbs doesn't feel like enough. Another thing to keep in mind--the price of commercially cast bullets is not getting any cheaper.

 

[fredj338]

$2/lb. would be a hard way to recoup the start up cost. I thought my source for COWW's was bad enough at $0.67/lb, but I don't have to drive all around to get it, and the guy I buy from will take back any zinc weights that get missed in sorting and swap for lead. Trying to save up enough for another 200lbs., and even then 400lbs doesn't feel like enough. Another thing to keep in mind--the price of commercially cast bullets is not getting any cheaper.

Yeah 500# sounds like a lot, until you start casting 300gr bullets @ 44#/1000! Keep stacking it, it's just going to get harder to find going forward. I am at about 1200#, I am always looking. I like free but will pay up to $1/# for clean ingots.

 

[cal50]

As others have mentioned the start up cost can vary greatly. You need the basics of lead, a mold, heat source & vessel, ladle and a means to size or lube bullets. Casting is attractive for non-common or expensive bullets. Common bullets that can be purchased is often cheaper than pouring your own.
I cast. 45 caliber bpcr bullets and 600 grain s&w 500 mag bullets that saves me a lot of $$ vs factory bullets.

 

[fredj338]

As others have mentioned the start up cost can vary greatly. You need the basics of lead, a mold, heat source & vessel, ladle and a means to size or lube bullets. Casting is attractive for non-common or expensive bullets. Common bullets that can be purchased is often cheaper than pouring your own.
I cast. 45 caliber bpcr bullets and 600 grain s&w 500 mag bullets that saves me a lot of $$ vs factory bullets.

If the alloy is free, casting your common plinkers is very attarctive. I can shoot 45acp for $4/100 using cast bullets form free alloy. That's cheaper than 22lr today. You are right though if buying alloy. As noted earlier, if I had to pay much more than $1.50/#, I am not casting my own plinkers.