Help in Central Wyoming

[pharmpoke]

I've been toying with the idea of trying my hand at casting. Is there anyone near Riverton, WY on this board willing to show a fellow poke fan the ins and outs of what appears to be an addicting habit. I have a 2 foot long chunk of linotype from my grandfather's old newspaper office and a big chunk of what I believe to be lead, but before I take the plunge I'd like to see what all it entails. Thanks.

[Echo]

Welcome to the board, pharmpoke. My suggestion (if there are no casters close) is to read the heck out of all the posts and stickys on this board. There is more knowledge here than I knew existed. I have been reloading and casting for over 40 years, and learn something new every day here. Read, and read some more.

That lino will come in handy alloying stuff for boolits. By itself, it is too hard and brittle. Mixing it with WW's or pure lead will give you very usable alloy.

But READ THE POSTS!

[Buckshot]

..................Hey pharmpoke, welcome to the board. Getting to be toward winter time up there isn't it? Nothing like a nice warm lead furnace to keep the chill off :-). First suggestion I useually make to a person wanting to test the water is to purchase the Lyman Cast Bullet Manual.

If you ever saw the movie, "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson you saw him doing some casting of RB's at the very most basic level. He was melting those lead soldiers as wheel weights were pretty scarce, what with a war on and everyone shooting lead at each other.

Hopefully you're thinking of starting out casting for a pistol, as those boolits are much easier to cast. They're generally short and wide, and of a simple design. Plus a lot of'em don't require any fooling with gas checks. Mild loads also don't require mush hought about alloys plus thier lube requirements are simple.

The easiest was to start is to get something (hopefully of cast iron, or strudy steel) to melt the lead in. Next is a heat source with sufficient output to melt the lead without taking all day about it. A liquid fuel fired camp stove works really well. Then you'll need some wax to flux the melt, and a dipper to dispence it into the mould. Finally a mould and some lube. I'd just get some Lee Liquid Alox to start out.

Melt the lead, drop in some candle wax and use a match to light the smoke. Use an old stainless spoon to stir the flux around and dip out the crud. Use the dipper to get some lead and pour it into the mould. When the sprue cools (you'll see it happen) swing the sprueplate and open the mould blocks. Ta-Daaaaaa! A nice purdy boolit that is all yours to do with what you want. Around here we mostly shoot them off so we can cast some more.

I left out several small details, along with some good things to do and some bad things to NOT do.

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

[Cloudpeak]

Stop by some time and we'll cast a few. I'm just over the hill and around the mountain from you (what, about 3 hours away?) in Buffalo.

Cloudpeak

[runfiverun]

you got a couple of others over that way also ,dan walker and manley j.t. just off the top of my head.

[xr650]

pharmpoke,
Welcome to the site.
If you find yourself in Rock Springs I would be glad to show you what little I know.
What caliber are thinking of starting with?

[pharmpoke]

Looking to load 38cal & 44cal. Good to know some folks are close by. I'll probably buy the Lyman manual so I'm not totally ignorant of the process, then post back on here and figure out a way to hook up with one of you locals. Anyone out there from Lander/Riverton area?

[xr650]

The offer stands if interested. I have a mould or three in them two calibers.
We can cast, size and lube you some boolits.
Get any lead and/or wheel weights you can get your hands on. It is never too early to start colecting.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Pharmpoke my new friend. If you were in Mich. I`d put the coffee on! First of all is the Lyman manual, trust me it helps! The equipment comes next, don`t be in a rush to buy everything at once. A melting unit of some kind, a mould and some way to either just lube or size and lube are the basics. Flux is another word for old birthday candles or votiv or wax from about anything else. A piece the size of an pencil eraser is a good start to mix in. It will IGNITE on you so keep your eyebrows back! One thing to remember about casting is to ASK QUESTIONS if in doubt. There is no such thing as a stupid question when dealing with molten lead! Please don`t do as I did when I first started, I was so amazed with the RB I just I picked it up to look closer. Took 3 weeks for the dead skin to all fall off.... Been to Casper, Douglas areas banging at "speed goats". Harold Ullery in Casper guided us back in `81. Good luck and welcome to the madness. I`d try to round up some wheel weights and some more lino. that 25 lb bar will vanish quickly.:drinks:

[pharmpoke]

As soon as pheasant season ends, as soon as I've made enough rabbit sausage (yes rabbit) for the year, as soon as the walleye and perch quit biting at Boysen, as soon as I get my rifles cleaned from deer, elk, and antelope season, as soon as I get more help hired at work-- then I'll be ready to head south for a day to learn some stuff. Much appreciated- you all seem like a pretty decent crowd in this day and age. Does that come from sniffing too much lead? I went to a game and fish meeting one time where the walleye fisherman were just belligerent towards anyone who thought a trout ought to be stocked anywhere near their walleye water. They became downright nasty. I was an old trout fisherman, who sure liked the taste of walleye that I'd tried and thought I'd try to catch me some walleye. Well- after hearing them rag on everyone for long enough I stood up and mentioned that if catching walley turned one as aggressive and ornery as they were, I wasn't interested in learning how. Any how thanks again. I'll keep reading the posts here, get me a manual, talk to the local tire shop, save a few nickels, and who knows, maybe sniff a little lead and become a nicer guy too.

[9.3X62AL]

Welcome aboard, PharmPoke!

There aren't any walleye near at hand to get nasty about, but my old gun club had trap shooters that fulfilled that role masterfully. That might be the nicest thing about the new club I joined when I moved in July (besides 3x the range depth)--NO TRAPSNOTS. Effete elitism truly has no place among outdoors sportspeople, but it does crop up from place to place. Dunno about you, but as much as I enjoy trout fishing--I have no objections to stripers, black bass, walleyes, or to ocean fish like yellowtail or bonito. Call me versatile, 'cause specialization in the real world is the short route to extinction. Ask any condor about that--since their homeboys the mastodons and ground sloths shuffled off this mortal coil a few millenia back, the condors have had a tough go of it (until the moonbeam CA biofascists started playing God).

But I digress. I've been pouring my own boolits since 1981, and have managed to survive in largely good order. Other means of injury and illness have caused me some issues, so I rank lead toxicity IF YOU DON'T EAT THE STUFF as pretty innocuous. It's hard to chew anyway, and is reputed to be rather tasteless. So why go there at all?

My casting was initially prompted by a need for 32 caliber revolver bullets, which at that time were not commercially available in any depth. At the same time, I bought Lyman moulds to feed the 38/357 and the 45 ACP, and the rest (as they say) is history. Not long afterward, a Lyman #311291 strayed into the fold, and its work with my 30-30s started me on the rifle route in good order. So, it would be fair to say that after 25+ years of pouring boolits for both long and short guns I have achieved some success and learned A LOT, especially after falling into the company of this passel of miscreants sometime in the late 1990s.

9.3 X 62 AL
Admin Pogue (2nd Class)
Boat Owner & Fish Hunter
Chukar Chaser and Pheasant Follower
Muley & Blacktail Harasser Emeritus

[Hardcast416taylor]

Hey pharmpoke old buddy! I don`t think you mentioned what cal. in particular you are interested in starting casting for. I must warn you that as soon as a cal. is mentioned and a request is made for help - STAND BACK! You will be deluged with advice beyond belief from people on these threads and myself with more than you could expect help. Yes alot of us have that dreaded disease caused from inhaling lead and flux fumes, it`s called friendship to a beginer climbing that steep mountain to ask the guru`s of lead the meaning of life and casting lead boolits. As I said before, There is no Stupid question. You are asking the question because you would like to know how and why. I can still remember the taste of trout we had for a cold lunch when we were chasing those goats up around Douglas back in `73.:wink:

[scrapcan]

pharmpoke,

I am in the southeast corner of the state, Cheyenne area. Russ In Wyoming is also in this area. YOu have a couple of friends in the Cody area also. If you need something that you cannot find give me a shout as I may be able to help out. IF you get to Laramie stop at CPM guns as he usually has a few old Ideal moulds in the case. Some are priced ok some are not, he will deal with you.

Hang loose and we will see if someone else from our fair state arrives and offers help.

Jeremy