Intro.

[nwilson1024]

Hello everyone. My name is Nick Wilson. I am starting to get into casting and stumbled on this webpage while google-ing and figured i should join up! I live in Upstate NY where i attend college as a senior at Clarkson University studying engineering. I have been reloading for years now (12 gauge and 30.06). my trap reloads (my first love) are surpased only by me 30.06 reloads where im hitting quarters at 100 yards.
like i said i just started casting, and have been stocking up on ww's ( just got some today actually). they are however becoming harder to find in NY since they have outlawed led ww's. Im trying to get as much as i can now before they are all gone. I have done a ton (days and days worth of research) on casting and ourchased the cast bullet handbook my lyman a read it cover to cover.
Im in the never ending process of getting my NYS pistol permit, and have put a down payment on a colt gold cup trophy in SS that i am starting to cast for.
I also have made some boolit lube consisting of (about) 3 parts left over candle wax (green apple sent), 3 parts toilet bowl ring wax, 1 part bees wax, 1 part white lithium grease, and a few green crayone. It has a lovely green color and even a lithium greese / sour apple sent that is....well interesting. it is firm enough that i can push my finger into it but not all the way down the bottom of the contaner it is in. from what i have been reading this sounds like a good consistancy and since you can lube with just about anything for 45acp i think it should do well.

well thats about all i have for now. i look forward to learning even more from the other members. Cheers for now!

-Nick-

[mooman76]

Big welcome! Glad to have ya aboard.

[Love Life]

Welcome!!

[Olevern]

Come on in and sit a spell, some good folk here. I have learned a lot here and I have been loading for 50 years and casting almost as long. Not everybody knows everything, but together there's not much that is outside the member's experience.

Looking forward to your sharing your journey.

vern

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Welcome Nick,
you have indeed found a great website.
I too, read a few books and this website for about 6 months
before I cast my first boolit. Of course, I was also procuring
equipment and supplies in that time as well.

Good for you... on trying your hand at making your own lube,
Although you will probably soon find out that the quest of making
your own lube is a fairly complicated hobby all by itself.
Although, a simple lube for low power handgun loads can be as
easy as melting a box of crayola crayons and using that straight up.
Best to you,
Jon

[nwilson1024]

haha yea thats what i have been hearing. I dont plan i pushing the 45 to fast to start with, im thinking my lube will be ok for a while. at least i hope so, i made like 5 lbs of the stuff haha. mostly with stuff lying around the house tho, minus 2 bowl rings that i got from lows for .99 a piece.

[Kraschenbirn]

Get yourself a cup of coffee, drag up a rock to squat on, and join the party. Before you settle in, though, there are a couple things you need to understand up front: (1) The only "dumb" questions are those that don't get asked and (2) the casting and shooting of genuine boolits can truly be addictive. Welcome aboard.

Bill

[Bullet Caster]

Welcome Nick to Cast Boolits from another one new to casting and reloading. The folks on this site are just awsome. I hope we can make you feel as welcome as others have welcomed me. You do know that you just embarked on a journey that has NO return. You will be addicted to casting as everyone else.

Just a note before you cast your first boolit. Slug your bore so you will know what size & type of mould you want to use. After many suggestions I finally did slug the bores of my weapons. Use pure soft lead and lubricate your bore when you do this. It will give you a starting point. Best regards, BC

[Bad Water Bill]

Nick Welcome to the most caring sharing site on the internet. If it can be done with a cast boolit someone here has done it . That being said if it can be messed up with a cast boolit many of us here have done that also.

ALWAYS go one step at aa time and do not be afraid to ask questions. This is the internet and we can not bite, kick or harm you. Read all of the stickies concerning your gun and what you want to do with it. Slug your bbl so you know what size mould and sizing dies you want.

Start reading about the many ways on safely melting your PB. Figure out what method fits your bank account at this moment and decide accordingly. Most of your equipment will be passed on to your grandkids.

Now you can study about which boolit functions best in your particular gun. Decide which one powder you will use. There are many here that have brass fou sale, get a sack full of the same headstamp. Most importantly get a LARGE notebook to record every step you take in reloading your first rounds. If everything goes good you are licky. If it does not we WILL want to know everything from how windy,temp outside, type of PB etc. NO one can remember it all but you can read out of your book and we can help.

[nwilson1024]

I (possible foolishly) have made some purchases already. On the not so foolish side of things I have gotten the lee pro 4-20lb pot, a .452 lyman mould (452460) 2 cavity semi wad cutter and a lead thermometer made by RCBS. The mould purchase might have been foolish but from what I hear people with colt 45’s don’t typically have a problem casting with this mould or at .452 so hopefully (after my pistol permit paperwork goes through, and actually get my hands on my pistol) and I slug my barrel it doesn’t end up larger than .452. My one foolish purchase was to order a .451 diameter lee sizing die (only about $20) For some reason I thought I should be sizing smaller than I am casting so I pulled the trigger. I will probably end up buying a .452 sizing die after I slug my barrel and try them both out. Hopefully I don’t get to much gas cutting with the .451 sized bullets, if so keep your eyes open for a .451 lee sizing die in the WTS section haha.
I have also started to stock pile ingots from ww’s (about 60-65 lbs worth so far). However I foolishly did not sort threw them for the zinc ww’s …..bummer. not sure what im going to do about them yet. I have been looking at the removing zinc from lead threads and not sure which route to go yet, I think my first attempt is going to be to try and find that “magic temp” where the lead is molten and the zinc is solid and try to skim it off (since I have a thermometer). I also had another idea for removing the zinc that I posted in that thread that I will let you read if you are interested. I did hover get a 5 gallon bucket of WW’s the other day for free that I spend about 2 hours sorting through using the wire snip method and found that in NY anyway that I’m consistently getting about half lead and half iron, steel, and zinc ww’s. Which is not as much as I would have liked but for free I’m not complaining.
Cheers!

[bobthenailer]

Welcome to the fourm ! see if there is a fourm member near you that would mentor you , it will cut down on the learning curve and frustration . If not im sure we will be able to answer your questions.
I myself have been reloading and casting for over 45 years with over 400,000 cast bullets being made and im still learning from other members on this fourm.

[Bad Water Bill]

Keep posting and telling what you have done so far.

I see you have indeed become an addict. You have already purchased a 451 sizing die in anticipation of needing it in the future. Yes we all do that.

Never sell anything as you will always kick yourself later.

Pleeeeeze don't ask how I know.

[WILCO]

I am starting to get into casting and stumbled on this webpage while google-ing.....

That's how I found this place. Welcome aboard! [smilie=s:

[Hickory]

I (possible foolishly) have made some purchases already.

From what you have told us so far, you're doing everything right.

Welcome to the forum, and don't let the lib professors steer you left. :Fire:

[GRUMPA]

Like others have said welcome, just don't be shy on asking questions. There's a tremendous amount of knowledge here.

[Wayne Smith]

Welcome, Nick. My younger son has his MS in Aerospace Engineering. What type of engineering are you interested in becoming?

You are doing well. I started reloading @ 16 years old, 30-30 and 16 gauge with Lee Loaders - the old kind you hit with a hammer! Now I'm loading over 40 calibers, including some nobody knows much about. I'm telling you this to show you how addictive this hobby is. I have probably 30+ molds, too. And, I'm not the worst one here! You have a long time to enjoy this hobby.

Don't be in a hurry. Learn, read, experiment, play with it, and enjoy the process.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I (possible foolishly) have made some purchases already. On the not so foolish side of things I have gotten the lee pro 4-20lb pot, a .452 lyman mould (452460) 2 cavity semi wad cutter and a lead thermometer made by RCBS. The mould purchase might have been foolish but from what I hear people with colt 45’s don’t typically have a problem casting with this mould or at .452 so hopefully (after my pistol permit paperwork goes through, and actually get my hands on my pistol) and I slug my barrel it doesn’t end up larger than .452. My one foolish purchase was to order a .451 diameter lee sizing die (only about $20) For some reason I thought I should be sizing smaller than I am casting so I pulled the trigger. I will probably end up buying a .452 sizing die after I slug my barrel and try them both out. Hopefully I don’t get to much gas cutting with the .451 sized bullets, if so keep your eyes open for a .451 lee sizing die in the WTS section haha.


What 45 colt are you getting ?
Some 45 colt revolvers have oversize bores
I had a 1970s S&W mod 25-3 that was .453 but the cylinder throats were larger :(
here is some more S&W info
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=93505&highlight=25-3


Keep that Lee sizer...you can enlarge them fairly easy, if you're handy with a cordless drill and emory cloth.

A Lead thermometer is a very good investment.

[timkelley]

Glad you are here, Nick.

[edler7]

Welcome aboard, Nick. Always nice to have to have another engineer around.

[Echo]

Welcome, Nick, to the best board on the web.

[nwilson1024]

thanks for the kind words and the good advice everyone.

Wayne: im currently at Clarkson University in upstate NY for Engineering and Management. The way I describe it to people is an ABET accredited program that is like half mechanical engineering and half business. So I take the upper lever mechanical engineering classes like fluid dynamics, thermo dynamics, Rigid body dynamics, ect… but also take business courses like quality management, supply chain management, project management, ect.
JohnB: I’m getting a Colt Gold Cup Trophy (in SS) it is a used gun but I cannot see any forms of ware on it. looks like it had less than 100 rounds through it.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

oops :oops:
I didn't read your first post very good,
you mentioned 45 colt in the 10th post.
I assumed a revolver in the "45 colt" caliber.

well, I think you got good advice in regards
to not having any problems with that mold
and the gold cup in 45 acp.
and the 451 might work fine.
Good Luck,
Jon