Just starting

[ddeaton]

I have been casting roundball for a long time, just starting to cast cartridge slugs. Is there a thread on the steps for a beginner? My major questions are how to get the alloy right, do we swage all pistol slugs, and how do we lube the slugs? I got in the 45 group mold buys, have a lead pot and plenty of pure lead for roundball, thats about it. Should I start collecting wheel weights?
Thanks in advance

[Buckshot]

I have been casting roundball for a long time, just starting to cast cartridge slugs. Is there a thread on the steps for a beginner? My major questions are how to get the alloy right, do we swage all pistol slugs, and how do we lube the slugs? I got in the 45 group mold buys, have a lead pot and plenty of pure lead for roundball, thats about it. Should I start collecting wheel weights?
Thanks in advance

Is there a thread on the steps for a beginner?

Check: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?f=35 You can also do a search using Newbie, Noobie, Starting casting, and Beginner.

My major questions are how to get the alloy right,

Any particular alloy (Hardness, or makeup) can cover a lot of ground. The most humble alloy is without a doubt the most widely used, and that's Wheel Weight (WW). WW alloy varies also, especially by when it was made. If somehow you happened onto a stash of WW's from the 70's they'd be a lot different from what we see these days.

do we swage all pistol slugs, and how do we lube the slugs?

Swageing is different then casting in that swageing is cold forming the alloy to shape, using lots or pressure in a die. When casting, we're hot forming in a mould using lots of heat:-) Sorry, I couldn't help myself. If by swageing you mean sizing the answer is no. Ditto rifle slugs also. The only time you should size is if the boolit is oversized so when loaded it won't chamber, or doesn't leave enough room for the case to release it.

Sizing can be a necessary evil like shoeing horses. If your mould delivers a slug of the correct size you can use Lee Liquid Alox (LA), pan lube, hand lube, or use a size die a thousandth oversize so it just applies lube if you have a lube-sizer press. Speaking of Lee, they have developed a design specificly aimed at Tumble Lubing (TL) with LA.

Should I start collecting wheel weights?

Dang betcha! Scrounge ANY lead you come across, and buy any you find for sale at a reasonable cost and can afford. You can never have enough. Stuff you can't use can be used as bartering material.

Need to get ahold of the Lyman Cast Bullet Manual. It's about 30 years out of date on it's loads and the cartidges it covers, but it does cover the basics. It also has other usefull information in it a new caster can use.

Never shot many round balls mayself. They DO have a couple things going for them besides being easy to cast. They always fly nose forward, and if they're tumbling you'd never know it :-)

Welcome aboard, and stand by for more fun then you might be able to handle!

.....................Buckshot

[ddeaton]

thanks for the answers. Helps a great deal. Sounds like I got enough info to get started, cept waiting on the molds. Only thing I am still gray on is what method to use to lube them. I will search the posts and get some ideas.
Thanks again

[mroliver77]

To lube and/or size boolits I use a lube sizer machine. In my case I have a Lyman 450 and a Star. Basically the boolit is pushed into a tapered sizing die to size boolit to its final size determined by what your gun needs. The sizer also will inject lube into the grooves whille boolit is tightly incased in the die.
Others simply rub lube into grooves by hand or set boolits in a pan and pour melted lube around them. There is also the tumble lube method where one uses Lee Liquid Alox in a pan and rolls boolits around in this goo. Boolits are then set on wax paper to dry followed by sizing or loading if boolit is already sized.
j

[ddeaton]

Sounds like the sizing method might be the way to go. I see they offer the Lee sizer with a heater option for hard lubes. Is this needed? What is the most popular lube? I will be casting 45acp mainly.

[Buckshot]

Sounds like the sizing method might be the way to go. I see they offer the Lee sizer with a heater option for hard lubes. Is this needed? What is the most popular lube? I will be casting 45acp mainly.


Lee sizers are push through and apply no lube. You must be talking about the Lyman lube-sizer press. For the 45 ACP Lee TL will work fine. You'll need a lube sizer press otherwise. Probably the most common lube is the NRA formula of a 50-50 mix of alox and beeswax. It doesn't require any heat to flow. If you get the Lyman Lube press you'll need a lube sizer die and nose punch for your boolit design.

...............Buckshot