I need help casting and smelting. Anyone within 100 miles of Central NJ?

[monmouth]

Hi,

I'm sorry if this is in the incorrect forum. I wasn't sure where to go with my question(s) and thought this would be the best place, if not to start.

I'm super new to all of this and after reading threads, stickies, forums, etc... I have too many questions, zero real life experience, and zero people that I know that can help. Is there anyone that lives within 100 miles of Central NJ that has experience with casting and smelting? Enough experience to answer questions about smelting different types of lead to make ingots, how to flux (sawdust?), when are they are ready to pour, watch out for this, don't do this, do this, shut up Monmouth and just pour it already, lol.

I would really love to sit with someone/group that can show me and have me pour/make. I would come to you and have no problem paying for the education.

[groovy mike]

Make sure everything is DRY to start. #1 danger is a steam explosion from moisture in the molds or lead. Other than that you are probably good to go!

[gefiltephish]

I'm in the northern part of the police state, near Hackettstown. Problem is little spare time. I barely get to do any of my own casting/loading so, not much help there eh?

[Cherokee]

If no one is near you to help, you can get started slowly. Do you have a melting pot (not your casting pot) and a good heat source ? Ingot molds ? What type of lead do you have, or do you know ?

[country gent]

!st aquire the saftey gear you will need heavy shoes heavy pants ( jeans will work the carhart style brown duck are even better) a heavy shirt long sleeved and gloves welders or other heavy leather. saftey glasses and or face shield. Then the pot a used cast iron pot with a stand to hold the weight. No aluminum pots. Heat source can be wood coal weed burner or heavy turkey frier. You will need a ladle and skimmer stirrer with long handles. Make sure all the material to be smelted down is dry, to be sure fill pot with material melt and flux / skim and pour the ingots from this only add new material to an empty pot when starting over. Fill pot with scrap and fire burner start slowly with the heat and increase after 10 mins or so ( this provides a low heat to insure scrap is dry) melt and bring to temperature. flux and skim dross off. with the ladle pour ingots. several ingot molds make this go much faster.
From here you can alloy into what you want or start casting and alloy as you go. To alloy first wieght out your base metal ingotsand determine what you want to have for an alloy wegh out what your pot will hold in the percentages of the lead tin antimony you want and again melt to temp, flux to blend and pour ingots. Or wieght out and start casting after fluxing blending. Its simple to do but like cooking certain things need to be followed.

[EMC45]

I'm in the northern part of the police state, near Hackettstown. Problem is little spare time. I barely get to do any of my own casting/loading so, not much help there eh?

I grew up in Warren County. Mom and Sister worked @ M&M. I fled in 94.....

[44MAG#1]

I got started casting many, many years ago without any help. It is not rocket science. With a little reading you should be able to cast decent bullets with getting better bullets as experience comes along.
I started out with 1-10 alloy and graduated to wheelweights later.
Get you some wheelweights and clean them up get the pot up to a temp that cast well get the mold hot and have at it.
Good grief why try to make something hard out of something that doesn't take a genius to do. I am sure if it took a genius to do it the vast majority on here that casts wouldn't be doing it.

[AlaskanGuy]

Here is a great thread that for new folks wanting to smelt... Click on this link to get to making imgots.... That is the first step...

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?219043-For-noob-s-A-basic-lead-ingot-setup-for-Range-bullet-scrap&highlight=Noob

AG

[gefiltephish]

I grew up in Warren County. Mom and Sister worked @ M&M. I fled in 94.....

I've lived in H'town and Washington, among others, and spent quite a few years at M&M working for 3 different contractors. Lived in the apartments right behind it a couple of times. Went to Warren Tech.

For the OP, the best advice anyone could give is to read lots of manuals and definitely read the staggering amount of USEFUL info on this forum. Check out the From Ingot to Target (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?110212-From-Ingot-to-Target-A-Cast-Bullet-Guide-for-Handgunners) sticky. Once informed, start out slow, use your head, be careful. As someone pointed out above, it's not rocket science. If you're really stumped or just not ready to take those first steps by yourself, let me know and we'll see if we can make arrangements. Not that I'll be your best source! :veryconfu Oh, and no payment necessary. I've learned so much from the kind folks here that I'd be only too happy to help smooth the way a bit for ya.

[462]

While having a mentor standing next to you can be beneficial, you have several thousand right here who will be more than willing to help.

I, too, started casting solo, and here are things that were helpful:
1.Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook. There are four editions, and I recommend obtaining the third and fourth. Read through them both a couple times, and write down questions and notes.
2. At the bottom of each Cast Boolits page is a link to the site's archive. It is the world's largest depository of boolit casting and reloading information. I spent many months there, absorbing as much as I could.
3. Mr. Fryxell's web-book wasn't available when I started, but you can learn much from it: http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm
4. Start collecting equipment as your finances allow. The site's Swampin' and Sellin' sub-forum is an excellent place to start. Bargains can be had from the auction sites, but you need to be aware of real life prices.

Read through this recent site sticky: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?222520-Why-some-new-members-will-do-better-than-others-here

Boolit casting and reloading is kind of like going to school -- this site is the library, classroom, and instructor, but you need to apply yourself and do your homework. The more effort you put into studying, the better your results.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

462 and many others helped me when I got started. I recommend going 1 step at a time. I started by myself but with a lot of help from this forum. What do you have for lead? Do you have it in ingot form? Are you going to use a bottom pour or ladle?

[bangerjim]

This is NOT rocket science or brain surgery! Very easy to do....as long as you follow the simple guidlines touched on above and in the links.

I started from scratch B4 reading anything "back then" and it only took a couple of batches to get the hang of it. Just lil ole me, a pot, and some lead. Used muffin tins then. Now I only use and recommend commercial ingot molds like Lee or RCBS or some of the custom-made ones from members on here. Leave the kitchenware to the cook!

We fluzed with anything that would burn, but now mostly wood dust......NOT man-made wood products!

Start small. Do not try to do 200# the 1st time, even though you may have the material and capacity in your pot.

I did not have anyone standing over me and I was very successful!

Just do it.....and get 'er done!

banger

[**oneshot**]

a little out of the way but willing to help. pm sent

[gray wolf]

Let me take a little different spin on this if I may.
At this point I sense a little Anxiety about the proses and that's understandable, unfounded but understandable.
For now why not skip the smelting part and get yourself some nice clean metal from one of the folks on the board here.
Most times you can get ingots that will fit right in your casting pot. Find a nice comfortable place to set up for casting, a small table and a nice chair to keep your butt out of the way while you make the bullets. A cheep but effective Lee mold to start
with, a simple two cavity. The Lee 20 pound drip O matic will work fine for you.
No ANX about all that hot metal going down your shoe and we can skip the smelting for now, and get you casting.
Once you are comfortable with making some bullets and working with the molten lead I think you will be more at ease about smelting. Just a suggestion at this point.