getting started

[olafhardt]

It seems to me that there are a lot of people asking "How do I start? " I think we ought to address in some easily found, promininent statements, at least a sticky. I personally found it easy to start with a Lee four pound pot and a Lee mold. This is not the kind of advic noobs often receive on here. I don't know why noob are advised to buy 20# furnaces and seperate pots for smelting. My equipment consists of the 4# pot, a slotted spoon, a gravy ladle, a thermometer, molds, sizing dies, gloves, safety glassesand a rag. I cast for several calibers and have a great time. I think that a noob should not have to look to hard on this sight to find out how to start and I don't think they should be told they need large capacity to start. By the way ifthis is adressed somewhere else I didn't find it with a quick check so it ought to be more prominent.

[canyon-ghost]

I still use a Lyman Mini-Mag pot to ladle cast, I do it much the same as you. I don't know if it's wrong or not, just been doing it wrong for 10 years (and shooting the heck out of guns).

I just bought the Lyman Master Casting Kit to start, it comes with the 3rd Edition Cast Bullet handbook for instructions and load data. Liked it so well that I bought a second kit. But, it's been done other ways too.

[Nobade]

I'm right there with ya man. Heck, I didn't even own an electric pot for years. I just used a little saucepan on a Coleman stove, a Lee mould and Lee dipper. Add a candle for flux, and you're in business. It doesn't take much to get started in this game. I also pan and dip lubed thousands of boolits before I bought a lubrisizer.

[MtGun44]

My contribution.

"Because your mold isn't clean enough and it is too cold. Scrub it again and turn up
the heat, cast faster."

A tip of the hat to Bret. . . . .

Bill

[midnight]

I started by scrounging wheelweights and melting them in a 3lb coffee can on a coleman stove. I fluxed it with marvelux (yuk) and ladeled it into a small 10lb RCBS cast iron pot where it was fluxed again. From there it was poured into 1lb ingot molds. I then graduated to a Lee 10lb bottom pour which I ended up giving to my brother to get him started and got a RCBS Pro-Melt back when they were $150. I now melt and clean in a cut off 20lb propane tank over a 58,000 BTU fish boiler. You see it's kind of a progression. You start with whatever you can lay your hands on. You learn and always progress to something bigger and better.

Bob

[462]

We are individuals . . . what satisfies my wants and needs and budget may not satisfy those of anyone else. I think the new caster should be given as many options as possible, from which to choose. Being limited to suggestions of only the most redimentary and inexpensive equipment, is a disservice.

Bill,
I agree, but would change "turn up the heat" to "preheat the mould so that it is hot enough". I used to be in the "turn up the heat" camp.

[mroliver77]

Being that this is a forum it is hard to post articles as such. I would like to see a few of the forums dropped and a few webpages added to post articles such as you suggest. I find the stickies a pain to navigate and many contain much unneeded text. There are good articles at Castpics and lasc.us many by our members here at CB.

Maybe I will try my hand at just such an article.
J

[Bret4207]

Thanks Bill! I think we complicate things too much. Pot, ladle, heat source, mould, dry stick, old towel. That's about all that's needed.

There's certainly no reason a "Getting Started" area couldn't be added considering all the other areas we have already. But, it amazes me the number of people who refuse or can't take the time to read the stickies or do a little research on their own. I know the search function is limited, but it's there.

[cbrick]

Varied answers and solutions only prove that there are many ways to skin a cat. Some cast for the sole purpose of saving money and the cheapest, fastest they can drop a bullet the better and nothing else much matters, nothing wrong with that if it's your thing. Others take it to a much higher level and have years of experimentation and testing, the only thing that matters to them is the highest quality they can produce. Every new caster will eventually fit somewhere between these two extremes.

To tell a newbie that there is only one way . . . The very cheapest that it can possibly be done . . . is worse than a dis-service. Many ways to skin a cat and there can't be anything wrong with informing a newbie of what's available and what's possible. What he decides on is entirely up to him and his pocket book.

Rick

[olafhardt]

cbrick, I am not suggesting that you have to start small but it is often more practicle. I think the two extremes you pick leave out out the largest group of noobs-those who are interested and just want to dip a toe in the water. I had not done much casting before I found this sight and quickly determined that it is THE place to learn about casting boolits. If a guy asks the question"How do I find out if this is for me? " we ought to have an answer or several answers ready for them and it ought to be right out front.

[warf73]

My idea of starting up and Brets idea differ some but we both get the same results in the end.

I've got a few guys started casting in my area and this was the set up I sugested and they were happy with it and are still casting today.

I used to suggest the Lee 10# pot but now that you can buy the 20# pot for $2.00 more why not get the bigger pot as you will grow into it sooner or later anyways.

Lee 20# bottom pour furnace ~ $58.00
Lee 2 cavity mold ~ $20.00
Lee push threw sizer ~ $19.00
Shipping (aprox) ~ $20.00

Total start up is under $120.00 which isn't that much considering the saving you get from buying cast or jacketed bullets.
I didn't add in lead because both guys had it on hand ( was given it to me ).

[Bret4207]

No offense to anyone intended, I certainly didn't mean that my way was the only way at all. I gave the basics with the idea in mind that many folks will start like I did, with very little extra money to spend. $120.00 is a lot of money to some people. A person can certainly start casting with nothing more than I listed. If other options are affordable, that's fine too. I just don't see the sense in over complication and already complex subject.

[Wayne Smith]

I started with the old Coleman camping stove I had in the garage, bought a Lyman ladle, and used old SS cooking pots for containers bought at thrift stores. Only things I bought to begin was molds, beeswax, (had plenty of candle wax for flux, used to make candles) and a Lee sizing kit. I still use the pots, have bought a new camping stove, but have two lube sizers, dozens of molds and sizer dies, and have invested a lot of money in the process. I still pour my boolits with the ladle over the camp stove.

It truly does take all kinds!

[mktacop]

I just got started casting, thanks in large part to a lot of information I gleaned from this forum. I began with a 4 quart cast iron dutch oven, a 2-cavity Lee mold, a ladle and slotted spoon I picked up at Wally World, my turkey fryer, and about 15lb of WW I begged off a local tire shop.

I am having so much fun casting that now I have upgraded to a Lee 20# pot for casting, added a 6-cavity Lee mold, and picked up a Lee sizing kit.

I'm pan-lubing using some old cake pans and have cast about 500 boolits in the past 2 weeks. :Luvcastboolits:

[jlucht01]

Most can get started for the price of a mold.. I did. I jumped online at midway and snagged a 20 dollar 9mm Tumble lube mold that LEE claims "No Sizing Is Needed"

I wish i had a picture... First time casting I used a coffee can with some wheel weights I picked up. I built a fire in the back yard and nestled the coffee can right in. Fluxed with saw dust and I used a stainless steel ladle that i stole from my wife and off we went.

[Reload3006]

I had casted many years ago and what really got me back into casting and Swaging was a friend of mine asked me one day "Dan you load shotgun shells right" me "yea why" well I got a bunch of buck shot you want it? me Sure. LOL what he brought over was 700lbs of 44 cal shot. LOL soft for muzzle loaders. so all you smoke pole guys will be pissed but it has made lots and lots of J word boolits. and has been alloyed and made lots of cast Boolits. now I am just a Lead ***** and am on the look out all the time.