Bullet Casting... here I come...

[Shweboner]

I decided to begin casting my own bullets for my .45. Heres what I have, let me know if I left anything out...


Lee Production Pot with 4" clearance
Lee Lube/sizer Kit .452 Diameter
Lee 2-Cavity Mold .452 Diameter 230gr Truncated Cone
Ladle, and Ingot mold


Got it all for about $100 from Midway. Thanks!

~Brian

 

[Quantrill]

Shweboner,
Don't forget a good manual on bullet casting. Lyman, RCBS or NRA have all had good ones. I think Lyman is the only one still publishing one. Good Luck on your new endeavor and let us know how you are making out or if you need help. Quantrill

 

[kernal_panic]

you'll need a real mold like a lyman or rcbs. the lees in my experiance are garbage.

a cast iron bread stick mold is great for ingoting.
candle or bees wax for fluxing
a 10-14 inch cast rion dutch oven
a turkey or propane fish fryer
a propane tank
a slotted spoon with a wood handle
a soup ladel with a wood handle

a freind at a tire store.

 

[capbuster]

Sounds like you are ready to produce you own bullets and I am sure you will enjoy making them and sending them downrange.Not to "little boy " anyone but casting has its own safety concerns as you have probably noted.Be safe and protect yourself from that molten lead at all times.

 

[Poodleshooter]

Try measuring some of the cast bullets before sizing them. Lee claims that bullets from his molds can usually be shot as cast without any swaging. I'm curious if that's true for his centerfire bullet molds (I only use blackpowder molds and shotgun slug molds).
Sounds like a start to another fun hobby!

 

[ColtShooter]

Wood kitchen matches to smoke the molds with.
Cheap white candles to flux the lead with.
Cheap slotted spoon to scoop the steel from the wheelweights out.

 

[Murphster]

Call me a coward but back in my bullet casting days, I wore a plastic face shield thing. Looked like a poor man's welder. They're a couple of bucks at tool stores. When that tiny blob of liquid lead hit the shield directly in front of my eyeball, I was glad I did. Also you might consider a small electric fan to keep the fumes from the lead pot away from you. Leather gloves.

 

[Edward429451]

A fat piece of wooden broom handle for opening/closing the mould, long sleeves & gloves.

 

[Hutch]

I cast a few, and quickly realized just how inexpensive commerciallyl cast bullets were. Good luck on your endeavors.

 

[sebago]

All the above plus don't cast while barefoot.....trust me.

 

[bdhawk]

i use crayons for fluxing. get the kids a new box and take all of their broken ones. if you don't have kids, trade with the nursury at your church. i use a hammer handle without the hammer for opening and closing the mold. they are usually made of hickory or ash and will last for years. i second the small fan and add a large fan by a window or door to exhaust/suck the fumes out of the room. this is really a big deal after fluxing. a fork works well to retrieve the steel clips from wheelweights. i like the 10# kitchen scales for weighing wheelweights and lynotyle to get the correct ratio. ABSOLUTELY WEAR SOME SORTA EYE PROTECTION!!! do not wear nylon or polyester clothing while casting. a blob of lead will melt it and make a nasty burn on your hide. wheelweights are usually plenty hard for .45acp. in the 200 gr.+ range. if you shoot .357mag., 9MM, or anything else that is kinda speedy, you will need to alloy with lynotyle or tin or something to harden up the wheelweights.
above all, have fun but pay attention and be very carefull. molten lead is crowding 900 degrees. do not leave the lee pot unattended while heating up. if the valve leaks, and it very well may, you may end up with molten lead everywhere.