Novice caster

[kraftsix]

Hey now, been reloading since I was a kid, but never cast. My question is about lead, I have an endless supply of lead (old lead pipe) how do I make it good to cast? What can I add to purify it? And what is a good alloy for .45 acp, (230 grain, with a 6 grain 271 powder)? Bullets are getting expensive and harder to find.......

[bangerjim]

Read....read....read on here. Tons of info for the taking. Check out www.LASC.us for tons of info on casting and alloys. Donwload the FREE alloy mix calculation spreadsheet on here.

You need to get some Sn, WW's, and lino to sweeten up your pure Pb.

Have fun casting!

bangerjim

[kraftsix]

Thank you, I've been making sinkers with it but the teberculation, is so high in calcium leaves pits,

[kungfustyle]

Bullets getting hard to find is why I got into casting. 45 is a great gun to have success with lead. Make sure the you slug the barrel with soft lead and use a micrometer to get an exact grove diameter. Cast your boolits .001 over and that will get rid of most problems. A hardness of 10 to 12 would be a good place to start w/ the 45 acp. Pipe should be about 8. If you can find some wheel weights and or some tin that would go along way to harden it up. Tin can be found in pewter or welding rod scrap. Get some you'll need it. doesn't take much about 1% to wheel weights. a 10 to 1 ration of lead to tin or adding 1% tin to wheel weights is a golden rule for just about any pistol. To make it good to cast melt it down and get it into ingot form. Muffin tins work great and will render a 1 to 2 lb ingot. Use sawdust to flux it out the trash. http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm lots of info here.
Lee makes great stuff to get started cheaply and tumble lube is fine for the 45.

[country gent]

Lead pipe is pretty much pure lead and soft. The additions of atimony to harden and tin to improve flow can be big plusses. Pipe alone makes gret muzzleloader projectiles and a very good starting point for other bullets. Start out blending small batches of a blend or alloy keepig good notes and records of it. When you find what works then blend large batches up and pour into ingots. Cleaning the lead pipe first ( melting fluxing several times ) and pouring into ingots makes it much easier to cast and work with. Melt it down in batches and flux with sawdust several times and or beeswax / parrafin to remove impurites and blend. This removes the crud before going into the pot for casting, theres alot to be said for starting with clean material. Blend small batches at first keeping detailed notes on what it is performance and everything needed to duplicate it, when you find what is the best make large batches of ingots all the same and IDed to identify them. Roto metals and several others have components to blend your own wheel wieghts are good for atimony and solder or pewter for tin.

[Cherokee]

Good comments...read, read and more reading. It will come together when you actually do some casting of boolits.

[Gofaaast]

Welcome to the forum.
I like 50/50 alloy for 230 grain 45 acp boolits. My meaning for 50/50 is half coww (clip on wheel weights) to half soft lead (lead pipe usually is pure and soft. Try to do some trading with what you have. Pipe lead is more desirable to some than coww and will trade with you. Clean your lead by fluxing it when smelting. It sounds like you have a lot so I would use saw dust that is sourced from virgin wood (no plywood, chip board or treated wood) chain saw wood chips work good also, some buy pine shavings used for pet litter. Use enough chips too create a half inch charcoal layer and stir them in well then stir them again the same a couple more times before skimming it off. If you can't get any wheel weights look in the forum on how to alloy using alloys with high antimony content and also you will need to have a little tin. The amount of tin you need is usually based on what your mould likes, and that takes use to moulds.

I only use brass MP molds, or Iron molds. With my MP molds you need very little tin to achieve excellent fill out. With some of my Iron molds I have to use almost 2 percent. BULLET FIT IS KING when casting. Proper fit meaning, what the bullet is sized to, will eliminate the majority of all issues that cast bullets present. Slug your barrel and accurately measure the greatest diameter of the slug and you will want to size your bullets greater than this to the next closest die you can buy. I would bet .452 will be what you need. Hardness will have the next greatest affect for your application and if you can achieve close to 50/50 you will be good there.

To cast good you need a good lead pot. Think consistency here just like reloading. You can make the dipping work, but the process is much easier for most with a bottom pour pot.

Your at the best place to learn, so just keep searching the forum and asking questions the answers are here many times over.

[robg]

with lead pipe in a 10lee pot i add 2yards of lead free solder<tin> after fluxing & cleaning .plumbers supplie shops sell it on a1kg green roll.

[Wayne Smith]

Be aware that the joints in your pipe contain tin in the solder. Separate those out and use them to sweeten what you do not want to trade to black powder shooters. If you want some fun trade for a BP revolver (steel frame) and buy some real BP. They you will have a use for your pure as well.

[blackthorn]

Two things not yet mentioned:
Do NOT melt scrap of any kind in your casting pot! Use a steel or cast iron (no aluminum) pot as a primary melter.
Do NOT EVER add chunks of scrap to a pot with molten metal already in it! Scrap can contain moisture that will result in a steam explosion.

[Harter66]

This can happen when stuff finds its way into the smelt pot that shouldn't be there.

124878124879

[gunoil]

l have a license to get rid of that lead. You should really not have that around. You can mail it to me.

[Digger]

This can happen when stuff finds its way into the smelt pot that shouldn't be there.

124878124879

WOW ! .. what did you do to get the tinsel fairy mad there Harter ?

[Harter66]

A minor oops , it may have been a 9mm in the range junk. I sort by hand jacketed very hard ,probably WW ,soft buck ML 22. That batch had been sorted but sitting for some time . It blew the side of the cast iron dutch oven the burns were very minor but through a long sleeve tee. I had about 90 lbs on the floor.

[Digger]

Glad to hear your okay and it wasn't very serious , but it looks like you came darn close .
Now that you have eight lives left ....

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Welcome to the insanity !!! Hope you heal up well and you can never be to cautious...Have FUN.:cbpour:

[44man]

Long ago a friend and I were making ingots without an ingot mold. I have a large dipper and we would fill it and set the bottom in a little water to cool it faster. My friend got it too cold and the iron took in some water. He dipped again and blew lead on my arm and shoulder. It stuck.
I peeled it off and went to the tub, ran cold water on the spots for 1/2 hour with the hose. Never got a blister or scar. Cold water is your friend. Not in the pot.
I had even warned him. It was the first and last time I ever seen the fairy. That was about 60 years ago. I can't add up the lead I have played with since. I still cast with a "T" shirt and no gloves, just glasses. Never got burned again.
Never put dirty lead in your casting pot. Wear what you need when smelting for protection. Never wash dirty lead, the junk will come off and float.

[Harter66]

It was 2 yr ago . I don't mind showing the pics if it keeps a guy from making the same mistake or a similar 1.

[44man]

It was 2 yr ago . I don't mind showing the pics if it keeps a guy from making the same mistake or a similar 1.
Good man, safety is first.