Help me get set up for bullet casting

For "real life" boolit casting info, every aspect of cast bullet casting through loading and shooting, scan/read the Cast Boolits forum. https://castboolits.gunloads.com/ There are some good texts and on line books (for some reason, I'm not able to access From Ingot to Target by Fryxell) and a good one is Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook (I like the 3rd Edition more than the 4th. but that's a personal choice).

I have been casting for a while and if I had to go with your list, I probably would not have started casting. I started with a Coleman stove, a 2 qt. stainless steel pot, a Lee dipper, a slotted spoon from Ma's kitchen and a Lee mold. I fluxed with candle wax and used a Lee sizing kit/lube kit (a small panlube, sizing kit with "cookie cutter" and manual sizing die, long discontinued). I used this set up for maybe a year, keeping 2, 44 Magnum revolvers well fed.

There are differing opinions on BHN from soft to hard, 10 to 22 BHN. My everyday alloy runs 10-11 BHN and some of my rifle and Magnum bullets are a Lyman #2 clone about 15 BHN. Works quite well for me.

Casting is one of the most fun, satisfying additions to our reloading, shooting hobbies. A huge amount of tools and equipment (and $$$!) is not needed to get started (I've been casting maybe 30 years and still don't have a lubersizer. I dip lube and pan lube many of my bullets but got a bit of experience, (20 years?) casting before PCing. K.I.S.S.!
 
jmorris said:
Powder coating is different than Hi-Tek coating.

Two coats to ensure complete coating using the much easier method. You don’t cast them undersize, you just size them to the diameter you want after coating.

There are also “shake and bake” powder coat methods, castboolits has many threads on the subjects (both powder and hi-tek coating).

Yes, there is complete coverage. With Hi-tek you can actually melt the lead inside the coating completely and it will hold it until you poke a hole in it.

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Thanks, jmorris!

Jim G
 
My best friend, who lives one province away but is going to visit me in August, used to cast bullets but not anymore. He has what he describes as a veyr large supply of linotype left from his casting days. He is going to give it to me when he visits in August!

So, I'll need to figure out how much Tin and Antimony I will need to create a softer alloy more appropriate for the 45-70 buffalo rifle!

Jim G
 
JimGnitecki said:
My best friend, who lives one province away but is going to visit me in August, used to cast bullets but not anymore. He has what he describes as a veyr large supply of linotype left from his casting days. He is going to give it to me when he visits in August!

So, I'll need to figure out how much Tin and Antimony I will need to create a softer alloy more appropriate for the 45-70 buffalo rifle!

Jim G
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Zero. You just need soft lead, pipe and shielding are good sources easily found at recycling centers and junk yards. Linotype is high in antimony the most common and efficient way to harden lead.
Screenshot_20230612_180340_Chrome.jpg
 
AJC1 said:
Zero. You just need soft lead, pipe and shielding are good sources easily found at recycling centers and junk yards. Linotype is high in antimony the most common and efficient way to harden lead.
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Thank-you, AJC1. :)

Jim G
 
JimGnitecki said:
My best friend, who lives one province away but is going to visit me in August, used to cast bullets but not anymore. He has what he describes as a veyr large supply of linotype left from his casting days. He is going to give it to me when he visits in August!

So, I'll need to figure out how much Tin and Antimony I will need to create a softer alloy more appropriate for the 45-70 buffalo rifle!

Jim G
Click to expand...

There are casters who would gladly trade lead for some of your linotype. Finding one nearby - or one willing to pay for shipping - might be a trick, but it's something to bear in mind.
 
DSCN0721.JPG DSCN0735.JPG

Two ways to render scrap bullets. The long slow way and the fast bulk way. The lil SS Pot would melt and hold about 8#.. The blue cut off tank will easily hold about 40#

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What the jackets look like after all the lead is melted out.

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Ingots.

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Finished product.
 
JimGnitecki said:
So, I'll need to figure out how much Tin and Antimony I will need to create a softer alloy more appropriate for the 45-70 buffalo rifle!
Click to expand...

One of the easiest ways to know how much to mix in is to weigh the bullets that drop.

I have one mold that I use as my “standard” with certified lead it drops 230’s. Pure lead it drops 240 grain bullets. Silver solder drops 210 grain bullets. Wheel weight lead drops 232 grains and that’s close enough I generally don’t mess with it but will mix in Linotype to pure lead until they weigh right.
 
jmorris said:
One of the easiest ways to know how much to mix in is to weigh the bullets that drop.

I have one mold that I use as my “standard” with certified lead it drops 230’s. Pure lead it drops 240 grain bullets. Silver solder drops 210 grain bullets. Wheel weight lead drops 232 grains and that’s close enough I generally don’t mess with it but will mix in Linotype to pure lead until they weigh right.
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When you water quench, they are ready to weigh immediately. What's your plus or minus on weight to consider a batch good.
 
Depends mostly on what I am doing with them but +/- 2.5 grains doesn’t seem to have any effect on pistol bullets.

Obviously 2.5 grains would be a much larger percentage in a 35 grain bullet than a 500 grain one but if I am very serious about accuracy I sort them by weight to the tenth but that condition is fairly rare for me as other types of bullets are much less work to achieve the same or often greater accuracy.

I am more of a “More shooting for the same cash spent.” Bullet caster though.

I also don’t allow water near molten lead, ever. Comes from melting down some Linotype years ago. First batch went fine, second batch must have had some liquid in it and shot a lead volcano up to a 19ft height ceiling. I was very, very lucky that I was at least cautious enough to have on full welding gear and a full face shield, could have been a life changer. These days I almost never add solid lead to molten, melting into ingots, starting from cold and melting down evaporates any liquid before the lead melts. Takes longer than adding to already molten contents but also been a fool proof method to avoid reoccurrence.

That said, I don’t mind adding ingots or the sprues back into the melting pot as I cast but that’s not quite the same thing as “dirty” lead.
 
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Welcome to the world of casting! You have received lots of good suggestions and info above. I can't think of very much to add but I will touch on a few things.

Alloy: before you spent a lot of money on tools and molds I suggest securing a source for alloy. Scrap has served me well but can be hard to obtain in some areas. New alloy is expensive but new clean alloy is a joy to cast with.

Flux: I cast using scrap, mostly clip-on wheelweights. Scrap can be dirty so I melt it in large batches, 400# or so, and I flux it using sawdust. It seems like Pine works about the best. When I flux my casting pot I use wax, usually from candles. I don't put dirty scrap in my casting pot.

Hardness: Don't get too hung up on hardness. In my opinion fit is more important than hardness. Clip-on wheelweights serve me well for magnum pistol cartridges and for my 45-70. Their hardness is in the 10-12 BHN range.

Sizing and lubing: I'm still old school and use a sizer/lubricator. I use hard lube so I have to use a heater. If I were not so heavily invested in these tools I would look at Powder Coating.

Safety: The only thing I can add is be careful adding cold alloy to already melted alloy in your pot. If any moisture is present you can have a steam explosion. (The Tinsel Fairy)

Good Luck and enjoy your casting.
 
lightman said:
Welcome to the world of casting! You have received lots of good suggestions and info above. I can't think of very much to add but I will touch on a few things.

Alloy: before you spent a lot of money on tools and molds I suggest securing a source for alloy. Scrap has served me well but can be hard to obtain in some areas. New alloy is expensive but new clean alloy is a joy to cast with.

Flux: I cast using scrap, mostly clip-on wheelweights. Scrap can be dirty so I melt it in large batches, 400# or so, and I flux it using sawdust. It seems like Pine works about the best. When I flux my casting pot I use wax, usually from candles. I don't put dirty scrap in my casting pot.

Hardness: Don't get too hung up on hardness. In my opinion fit is more important than hardness. Clip-on wheelweights serve me well for magnum pistol cartridges and for my 45-70. Their hardness is in the 10-12 BHN range.

Sizing and lubing: I'm still old school and use a sizer/lubricator. I use hard lube so I have to use a heater. If I were not so heavily invested in these tools I would look at Powder Coating.

Safety: The only thing I can add is be careful adding cold alloy to already melted alloy in your pot. If any moisture is present you can have a steam explosion. (The Tinsel Fairy)

Good Luck and enjoy your casting.
Click to expand...

"Tinsel Fairy". Very descriptive! :)
 
My dad was old school, cast a ton of bullets.
Sold em at gunshows way back, they were reportedly top notch.
Sizing and lubing was done on a Lyman sizer, loved the smell of the lube.....dunno what it was called.

He never powdercoated.
Quit selling at shows years ago.

When he passed....there were big ammo cans full of bullets, .45 colt .45 acp and .357...........never sized em.
He didn't do em for sale.
The old boy would just get in a casting mood and go out, listen to the radio in the garage and make boolits.
He absolutely loved it.
 
Hookeye said:
My dad was old school, cast a ton of bullets.
Sold em at gunshows way back, they were reportedly top notch.
Sizing and lubing was done on a Lyman sizer, loved the smell of the lube.....dunno what it was called.

He never powdercoated.
Quit selling at shows years ago.

When he passed....there were big ammo cans full of bullets, .45 colt .45 acp and .357...........never sized em.
He didn't do em for sale.
The old boy would just get in a casting mood and go out, listen to the radio in the garage and make boolits.
He absolutely loved it.
Click to expand...

Men find happiness in individual ways.

Jim G
 
Just a small clarification; the "Tensile Fairy" visits when water/moisture gets under the surface of molten lead. I've seen posts about a drop of sweat causing a TF visit, not possible .Water to steam expansion is about 1,700 to 1. So when water gets below the surface it immediately turns to steam, expands 1,700 times and "explodes". When I was casting sinkers as a teen I would cool off my lead by pouring water on the lead in the pot. Same with my casting I don't leave molten alloy in my pot when I'm done, leave the shop so l'll slowly pour water on the surface of the melt to cool it. The water dances around the surface and quickly turns to steam. BTDT off and on for mebbe 60 years...
 
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I get my bullet lead from my gun club pistol range berms free, melt it down on an old Colmen camp stove in a stainless-steel pet dish, flux it good and pour it into a Lyman ingot mold for storage. When casting bullets, I have a Lee bottom pour melting pot and several Lee two cavity molds. Have fun and be care full. I recommend the Lyman Cast Bullet handbook.
 
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hdbiker said:
I get my bullet lead from my gun club pistol range berms free, melt it down on an old Colmen camp stove in a stainless-steel pet dish, flux it good and pour it into a Lyman ingot mold for storage. When casting bullets, I have a Lee bottom pour melting pot and several Lee two cavity molds. Have fun and be care full. I recommend the Lyman Cast Bullet handbook.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have read the Lyman Cast Bullet book, and also the 170+ pages pdf of "From Ingot to Target" by Fryxell & Applegate. Both seem really excellent. The Fryxell pdf (available on a Silhouette Shooting site whose link was provided to us earlier in this thread) is VERY detailed - TOO detailed for even me (I'm a degreed engineer), but between the 2 authors, they explain "why" for so many aspects of bullet casting, not just the "how". One simple example: Fryxell explains why sawdust is the best fluxing agent, for good CHEMICAL reasons. In fact he points out that it is the ONLY fluxing agent that fulfills all 3 chemical objectives for fluxing. he also does a very good job of explaining just how hard a bullet needs to REALLY be for different types of shooting (it's less than most people think).

One thing that dates the Fryxell pdf: There is no coverage of bullet powder coating, apparently because the book was written before powder coating became popular.. Today, that seems like a big omission.

Jim G
 
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Casting bullets is not rocket surgery! K.I.S.S. Common sense is number 1. While it can be done, don't over think every detail of bullet casting, as it just makes learning harder and less fun. It is commonly said "the only way to learn casting bullets is to cast bullets". Memorizing alloy recipes, custom mixing alloy, determining temperatures to +/- 2 degrees etc., may be fun but often slows down the learning and lessens the fun. Find a method to melt lead, find a 2 cavity mold, clean the mold, use clean lead, pour some lead in the molds, paying attention to what you're doing and enjoy. All bad bullets can very easily be hid, just dump them back into the pot. .

I have made sinkers by sticking my finger in damp sand and pouring lead into the hole. Not as precise as casting bullets, but the basic process is the same...
 
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