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View Full Version : New hobby? I think so...



mikegonzo0351
02-05-2012, 11:38 PM
Well where do I start. I have been lurking on here for about 3 weeks now. I'm not sure what got me into the itch to cast boolits. I have been an amateur reloader for the last couple of years. I started with a dillon 650 (go big or go home). I do a lot of .40 and .223 with it and I use my small lee press for my odd calibers like 30-06, 6mm rem, 38/357, and soon .308.

Well one day in the last 3 weeks or so I decided out of the blue to cast. I wasn't sure if I wanted to or not but said ehhh. I called a buddy that got me in touch with a tire shop willing to give away their WWs. I went over and picked up a 5 gallon bucket and a half of them. I then went to my parents house and low and behold my mother had some cast iron pots she was not sure what she was going to do with in her new house. apparently she bought the things before I was born (29+ years ago) and never used them. I grabbed some old stainless steel utensils and went to town on melting the lead. I tried to be cautious and try not to get zink in it. I do not believe I have zink in my alloy.

just a couple days later I get my lee 4-20 pot in the mail from midway (great service BTW) and went to town with my newly created lead muffins.

the first attemp I was rushing because I had to go to work for the mid shift and decided to try it with the hour and half I had to experiment. That was a bummer because I didn't fully understand about the cold mold to much. I had a lot of wrinkles and it really made me wonder about my alloy. Well today before the super bowl I decided to give it whack again. I now understand about pre-heating your mold. I dip the lee mold into the molten lead prior to casting. works great.

Well here is my outcome for you to see. Please pardon the image as it was taken with my iphone. These have been lubed and sized in a lee .401 sizing die. I used the lee lube. These photo queens (or shall I say ugly ducklings) were wiped with a towel for photo purposes.

They were also water dropped during the casting session. I did about 200+ of them that were not water dropped. I did cull some of the crappier ones out of the batch though and still ended up with that many.

Anyways I hope you all enjoy.

401-175-TC lee 6-cavity.
http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae311/spacemarine0351/photo.jpg

Three44s
02-06-2012, 12:34 AM
Do you remember your first bicycle ride?

This went smoother didn't it? LOL!!

Whatever provocked you to jump into casting ........... it was the right move!!! Nothing like gaining self-sufficiency at a time when it may become essential!!!

A big welcome to Boolits!! Good on you and may your casting sessions and forum sessions be plenty!!!


Three 44s

stubshaft
02-06-2012, 12:42 AM
HOBBY??? casting is not a hobby! It is a lifestyle that eventually runs your life. Calling it a hobby is like saying smoking crack is recreational.

Just cast one good boolit and you are hooked my friend...

beagle
02-06-2012, 12:47 AM
Hobby????? It's not a hobby, it's an addiction./beagle

canyon-ghost
02-06-2012, 12:52 AM
Good Job! Now, you can expect to shoot more. I remember starting out and it seemed to take a while for me to figure out how to make enough ammunition. Nowdays, I can hand my nephew 100 rounds and a revolver on Thanksgiving and not think twice! It's great when you get it all together!

Good Luck,
Ron

olafhardt
02-06-2012, 02:50 AM
Well you ought to be. You did good. Welcome, silver flows the fountian of youth.

DragoonDrake
02-06-2012, 06:51 AM
I have to say it. Your first look a heck of a lot better than my first did. Good job and welcome to the family.

mdi
02-06-2012, 01:09 PM
Well, welcome to the Wonderful World of Boolit Casting. I've gotten to the point to where shooting my boolits seems secondary to casting them! I spend a lot of time mixing alloys, tweeking molds, and remelting a bunch of bullets just so I can cast more, more, more! It's great fun and I can cast a lot more (time wise) than I can shoot (had cancer and with surgerys and treatments my shooting time has taken quite a hit the last 18 months).

BTW; my throat cancer was NOT related in any way to boolit casting or shooting at indoor ranges. I believe it came from breathing Los Angeles air for 60 years!:lol:

Shiloh
02-06-2012, 01:31 PM
Hobby??
More of an addiction. Looking over parking lots and road shoulders for wheel weights.

SHiloh

GRUMPA
02-06-2012, 01:37 PM
Well Mike first off welcome to the club,

Nothing more satisfying than being able to leave out the middleman when it comes to getting what you want. HOBBY??....YEAH RIIIGHT....I thought so too waaaay back, first it was the money issue, then its was PASSION of creating something that others would just as soon walk over (WW).

Over the years as I got more friends (I do have some) the questions would just fly my way. Typical newbe type stuff but non the less they would be impressed once they got the basic knowledge. Did any of them take up casting? NOPE!!!! not a one I guess had the time.

Now doing this for over 20yrs it's still a passion for me, both in the being able to make something from nothing, and being able to enjoy a sport that seems to never dwindle in enthusiasm. Then you start to COLLECT moulds they haven't made in years, and the tinkering begins, and that can be frustrating and rewarding all in the span of an hour.

By all means enjoy something that has an almost immediate return and keep on learning. I went from 38cal at first to doing rifle boolits (YEAH that's what we say around here) and for what it takes after doing pistol boolits it can be a challenge to some.

lbaize3
02-06-2012, 07:55 PM
I like your attitude of "go big or go home...". You know of course, that you will want to get a star sizer from Magna before too long. Might as well start studying up on what they do and how they work. Your cast boolits look great. Enjoy your new addiction....

Hamish
02-06-2012, 08:11 PM
You poor, poor, pitiful man. It's only a hobby if you don't go to sleep thinking about it, and wake up thinking about it. Remember that. Pray you're not OCD like some of us. It's early yet.

Knitting maybe. It's hard to spend a buttload of money on knitting needles and yarn.

(BTW, nice job on the boolits.)

@(:^]#>:::

wtfooptimax200
02-06-2012, 08:17 PM
This is a crazy hobby, that's for sure. Ask my fiancee about the time that I spend picking up range lead, contacting tire shops, acquiring free buckets to store lead, hitting tag sales for pewter, etc. All of that coupled with the time spent on this website...it's insane, but I love it.

292
02-06-2012, 09:44 PM
I just started myself, but I'm hooked, and so are you.

mikegonzo0351
02-06-2012, 11:49 PM
I want to thank everyone for all their comments.

I guess I should of chose a different word than hobby. My reloading is a somewhat a hobby but with Dillon monthly magazines scattered all over the house you would think other wise.



You poor, poor, pitiful man. It's only a hobby if you don't go to sleep thinking about it, and wake up thinking about it. Remember that. Pray you're not OCD like some of us. It's early yet.

Knitting maybe. It's hard to spend a buttload of money on knitting needles and yarn.

(BTW, nice job on the boolits.)

@(:^]#>:::


Yea well thats the crappy part lol. I can't sleep anymore. I keep thinking of casting and reloading. I tried to go to sleep early but now I just want to cast something different. I have never reloaded shotgun shells, but I'm determined to do it with a wooden dowel. It will give me an excuse to purchase a slug mold. :cbpour:


So I'm off to my wonderland of my thoughts for the evening.

You all take care
Mike

Grandpas50AE
02-06-2012, 11:58 PM
Welcome to the club, Mike. Hobby....is what we tell ourselves it is when we are in denial....

jandbn
02-07-2012, 01:07 AM
When you start pouring your own, the $ you thought you would save does NOT get saved!!! It gets "reinvested" in all the tools you just can't live without. I'd be willing to bet a dollar to a doughnut that in 2 years you will have spent 10 times more on your "hobby" than you already have up to this point. There is probaby already somebody here that has a spreadsheet put together with an equation for "projected cost" :p. I have one to keep track of my "investments" [smilie=s:.