Newbie question(s)

[Bearsdad]

If this isn't the right place to ask a question please steer me in the right direction.
Question: I've been casting on the cheap with Lee molds, liquid alox, and with mostly range lead. I'm interested in buying some better molds and would like to have some advice on the minimum equipment I need to size and lube cast bullets. Thanks.

[jeepyj]

Welcome aboard. I'm assuming you have a press already so to me your next step is some Lee push through Sizers to get the silver gems flying. While your waiting for them to show up read the stickies and absorb some wisdom. The bug will bite and you'll go broke saving money.

[chutesnreloads]

What Jeepy said.......Read,read read,.......There's more information than you can absorb in a few weeks just in the stickies.With a little homework you'll be better armed to decide which method(s) is best for your purposes

[Dave W.]

I like the Lee 6 gang molds, after cleaning them up some, if you are happy with them, keep um. The Lyman 4500 luber-sizer is a good unit to start with. Down the road you may want to get a Star, but that is more for high volume stuff. Of course you will need some stick lube, Blue Angel is good.

[GhostHawk]

Consider this forum a masters course of sorts in casting and reloading. Give yourself an hour a day and READ!

Minimum? A mold, a cast iron fry pan, a ladle, and a spoon to clean dross and scrape.

Reloading wise, I've been running for almost 5 years now on a lee hand press.
But I don't try to run vast quantity's. I like to take my time, love the increased feel of the Lee.

Do NOT skimp on manuals. Lyman #4 for cast boolits is bare minimum. Much of the data is available direct from manufacturer. However, there is a wealth of knowledge in a good manual.

I have both the #3 and #4, plus a shotgun manual for shotgun. I do a lot of pre load checking on google. Make notes, compare to manual. Charge, pressure, speed, accuracy.

You can get by on the casting side with darn little.

I cast boolits, sinkers, and other odds and ends for 30 years with cast iron fry pan and kitchen stove. Electric melters are darn convenient. But you do not need 20 lb melter unless your casting a lot of BIG boolits.

You can do a lot of casting with even a 4 pound dipper pot. Bigger pots just save you some time.

[ShooterAZ]

Hi Bearsdad,

Welcome to the forum! Good advice has been given so far with the info given. Knowing what guns you are casting for will help us help you further. Nothing wrong with Lee molds, and liquid alox. On the cheap doesn't mean it won't work well. Let us know what your'e working with and we'll do our best to steer you in the right direction. As mentioned, pay attention to the stickies that apply to what you are doing, and take and keep notes!

[CJR]

Giving you advice depends on how much shooting you do now or intend to do in the future. Some use one or two cavity moulds and may shoot a box of reloads every couple of months and be very happy. Others shoot a lot and therefore cast and reload a lot. We've all been "newbies" and completely understand your journey. I'm a shooter and here's what has worked for me:
1. I started casting/reloading/shooting 1911s in 1956 with single and double cavity moulds. Lessons learned? Four,six,eight,& ten cavity moulds are what I now use, for handgun and rifles, because they produce more CBs in less time.
2. I use many brands of moulds, including Lee. I've found nothing wrong with my six cavity Lee moulds. Likewise, I've had Lee make some six cavity rifle moulds for me that are excellent.
3. Many use electric lead pots for casting and tend to have nozzle leakage problems. My approach is simpler. I use a turkey propane burner supplied with a large propane tank. I no longer use cast iron pots for the lead after one cracked on me slightly. I now use a large formed stainless steel pot and lid. On the turkey burner, I place a portable 22'-24' D. round doughnut shaped plate, 3/8"-1/2" thick. The center hole, in the plate, allows the flame to heat the pot, while the rest of the plate is used to heat- up or keep warm other moulds.
4. I've use Lee push-through sizing dies on my reloading press, but now use a separate Star resizer which seems faster to me.
5. If you want to cast CBs for a long time, without being visited by the "tinsel fairy", look at upgrading the clothing/etc. you use while casting. By that I mean a clear FULL-FACED mask(Harbor Freight has got inexpensive ones) to protect your face from lead spitzels, good insulated leather gloves, good hat, full work pants(no shorts), work boots(no sandals), good long sleeve work shirt that buttons up under the FULL FACE mask. I've had many good casting sessions without mishaps or problems. Then when I looked at my FULL FACE mask; it was covered with tiny lead spitzels that could have gone into my eyes. One never knows what can come out of a lead pot when fluxing dirty lead. Lessons learned.

Hope this helps you. Enjoy the journey!

Best regards,

CJR

[tazman]

If this isn't the right place to ask a question please steer me in the right direction.
Question: I've been casting on the cheap with Lee molds, liquid alox, and with mostly range lead. I'm interested in buying some better molds and would like to have some advice on the minimum equipment I need to size and lube cast bullets. Thanks.

I have been reloading for a long time. Several decades in fact. I can afford any of the molds I want. I still use a lot of Lee molds because they work and when properly cared for, they last a long time.
I have others such as the Lyman and NOE molds. They can be easier to work with, but there is nothing wrong with using Lee molds.
For my handgun ammunition, I size most of my boolits with a Lee push through sizer and tumble lube them with either Lee Alox or White Label Lube Xlox(many will recommend 45-45-10). This works well for me.
I have a Lyman 4500 lubesizer but currently only use it for 2 calibers.
I cast with range scrap for my handgun uses. For rifles, I will use either clip on wheelweights or Linotype. I will water drop to harden these.
You really don't need a lot of expensive equipment to cast for your firearms. Sometimes the high priced equipment can save you a lot of time, but the quality of the ammunition isn't necessarily better.

[RED BEAR]

l like lee molds and prefer the two cavity. this is just a personal choise i like the light weight the six cavity handles hurt my hands after a while still use a lee 20 lb pot and rcbs ladel. these seem to keep all my needs met sized with lee push through for a long time. just like with any other hobby you will accumulate things as time goes on. you don't need to spend a fortune to make quality bullets. welcome aboard and rember that safty protection is your best friend. I've been reloading over 40 years and got back into casting over 10 years ago and still at times forget that rule.

[Rcmaveric]

Nothing wrong with Lee molds. Lee molds are mostly what i use with a few exceptions. Minimum equipment? You can finger lube, pan lube, or dip lube and then push through your Lee sizer. I have one of the candle wax light bulb melter doo hickeys that melts the lube then just dip for testing lubes. If you have 60-80 bucks saved up you can search around a find a good used Luber sizer on here or Ebay. I pan lubed for almost a year and then upgraded later to Lyman 45 and then a Lyman 450. But with a luber sizer then you need nose punches and sizer dies. They aren't the most reasonably priced tools. About 5 bucks a nose punch and 20ish per a sizer die give or take for sales, new or used. You can buy your lube or cook your own. That's another rabbit hole to run down in search of the best lube. But you can make a pretty good lube out of most anything. R5R's simple lube is great aswell as Jon B's SL-68B. Bens Red in moderate wheather is hard to beat in riffles. You can stick with tumble lubes and makes some 45/45/10 or Bens Liquid Lube and those are awesome from what i hear. Your imagination is your limit. I have come to like and understand dryer softerish lubes.

I will second lighter molds. I got some heavier iron molds. After a few day casting you can feel that weight of repetitive motions and its tiring and can make the fore arms a bit sore. I use two cavities because that's what i got for a reasonable price. I enjoy the act of casting and just get lost in the relaxing meditative repetition of it. I actually just got a double cavity .311 RB Lee mold for buckshot because the buckshot molds are too expensive. It would be nice to a have a 6 banger for my pistols. But i can still cast just as many it just takes me 3 time longer lol.

[dondiego]

Unless I missed it (common lately) you didn't state what you are shooting - caliber?, rifle?, pistol?, plinking?, competition for money? You can make good ammo with LEE products, including their sizers and liquid ALOX as has been mentioned. You can make good ammo, maybe more efficiently, with high end equipment and molds. Most people often buy products that increases output and often quality as they get further into the hobby. Sounds like you are on the right track! LEE sizers and liquid Alox still work with high end molds too. When I started out I bought a Lyman 450 lubrasizer and haven't used it, or the Dillon 650 in years. Went back to the LEE sizers and the LEE hand press.

[OldBearHair]

Hey Bearsdad, welcome aboard. Ditto to all that these guys are advising, especially the safety issues. I will add one simple thing that would eliminate spending money on lubesizers and such. Invest a small amount of money in Hi-Tek Gold coating and a can of pure Acetone, a bucket from Shipley's Donuts. No other lubing necessary. Read up on powder coating in the Stickeys. Fun times ahead. Pay attention to Ausglock and Hi-Tek on the Simple powder coat post with 498 posts and counting.

[Rcmaveric]

Taking into consideration of time and effort (with touch of compulsive attention to detail), i can grease bullets just as fast as i can powder coat them. About the only real benefit is that i can leave those suckers (pc bulkets) in the Florida sun shine and not worry about the lube melting into the powder.

Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

[Boolseye]

NOE and Accurate make great molds. Definite step up from Lee.
I still use Lee sizers 8 years in. I pan and tumble lube, home-made pan and 45-45-10 for the TL.
-BE

[Grmps]

welcome to CB Bearsdad If you decided to start casting to save money, forget it. You won't, you'll just shoot more.
If you plan on reloading multiple calibers in the future I would recommend going with the NOE sizing dies. The initial cost is more but in the long run, the sizing bushings are chaeper than Lee sizing dies and they have a wider range of sizes to choose frome.

The guys are right, do a lot of reading and ask questions. Here is a list of places to help you get started.

Casting boolits (lead bullets) properly is a science, once you know the basics, not a hard science.
There is a lot of good information on CB. The Google search (top right of every forum page) is a gateway to all the knowledge on this forum. IF you can’t find your answer there ask the question (Please be as detailed as possible, pictures help http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?344661-Capturing-amp-Posting-screen-shots I would be very surprised if there wasn’t someone on this forum that could answer ANY question you might have)
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm
1. Boolits need to be cast .0005 to .003 over the slugged diameter of your barrel for accuracy and to avoid leading. If the fit is wrong nothing else will work right.
a. slugging a barrel (it is safer to use a brass rod or a steel rod with a couple of coats of tape to avoid damaging your barrel http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSlug.htm
b. chamber casting https://www.brownells.com/guntech/cerrosafe/detail.htm?lid=10614
or pound casting http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?356251-Pound-Cast-instructions-(for-rifle-chamber)
2. the right alloy needs to be used for the velocity and purpose of the boolit (don’t fall into the trap of going with to hard an alloy
Economical way to easily test lead hardness
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?355056-Easier-pencil-lead-hardness-testing
https://i.imgur.com/TGUQsIe.jpg
Some alloys harden over time
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_3_alloySelectionMetallurgy.ht m
different alloy’s different end sizes
https://i.imgur.com/emuBC2T.png?1
Lead alloy calculator
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=45784&d=1341560870
3. velocity the bullet needs to be pushed hard/fast enough to get the proper spin, have the proper velocity to accurately reach the target but not so hard as to be dangerous or strip the lead off in the grooves instead of spinning the boolit..
Powders range from fast to slow, you need to choose the right powder for your application.
Loading manuals list the best powders for certain calibers and boolit weights.
NEVER use any posted noncommercial load data without first checking to see if falls in the safe parameter for your firearm!! There are several firearms out there that can handle much higher pressures than others!!
Link to free online load data
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?337910-CB-load-data-online-sources

[Larry Gibson]

Bearsdad

What cartridges and guns you are using the cast bullets in and what use you are going to cast them for is the 1st consideration?

You can easily get way carried away with equipment and techniques that really aren't applicable to your specific need for the cast bullets.

[Echo]

Minimum? A mold, a cast iron fry pan, a ladle, and a spoon to clean dross and scrape.


I remember watching my grandfather cast sinkers on the kitchen stove. One time he used one of my grandmothers nice silver spoons to pick up the dross - and it soldered itself to the spoon! I will NEVER forget the embarrassed look on his face! NEVER! This about 80 years ago...