newbie lead question

[michman]

ok guys
i am getting into casting bullets i bought the lyman kit with the furnace and book ingot mould etc also was given a lee used pot now i need to get lead i wanna buy store lead from a sporting goods store will try the wheelweight thing down the line but now i want the store stuff i was told to use lead shot to melt down is that good i will be casting for 45 long colt 38/357for now at lower speeds any help would be great thanks guys and i am reading the casthand book twice before i cast a bullet learned alot from reading your guys posts thanks

[docone31]

Wheel weight makes good, simple casting. Especially for the calibers you have. Once in a while I add some tin to make smooth castings. Other than that, wheel weight is my way. I water drop each casting.
You will save yourself hassle, by slugging your bore. I got .452 for my ACPs, and .358 for my .38s. They do real well for me. Is the lead shot heavy in antimony? That would make hard castings. I can push wheel weight pretty stiff and still get results.
Reading the casting book will definately give you an idea of what to do. Next thing is to do it. You will learn a lot here.
I think you will find your questions are answered fairly quickly on this forum. There are some really dedicated folks here, who know what they are doing.
Don't find that in many other places.
If you can, get the wheel weights. Most are free, and a lot go a long way.
Use one pot for ingots, use the other for castings. Just keeps the crap out of the bore.
Have fun, learn a lot.
I sure did.

[Tom Herman]

Welcome to the world of casting! You poor soul, you'll soon find that it's addictive...
I load mostly for the .45 LC (8 grains Unique across the board for that caliber). I use the Lyman 452424 255 gr. SWC, and the Lyman 452664 RNFP. The 664 is a four cavity mold, while the 424 is only a two holer.
Both are great! The 664 is getting more use right now, as the 424 bullets won't feed well in my Taurus Thunderbolt. The 664 is slightly rounded, and shorter.
I use a 50:50 mixture of scrap lead and wheel weights, with 2% tin added for flowability/good mold fillout. You might still be able to get cheap Tin from Grainger, or scrounge solder. It all melts!
I tried 2:1 lead to wheel weights in my Ruger Redhawk, but I got almost as much leading as with dead soft factory crap.
I'll stick with 1:1...
I also make my own lube: 2 parts paraffin wax, 2 parts sheep tallow (Dixie Gun Works), and 1 part Beeswax. This is a dead ringer for SPG, and works great at the 800 or so FPS that I load.
I bought the Lyman 150 grain SWC for the .38/357, but I'm not entirely happy with it. I'll pick up the 170 grain Keith style SWC when I can afford it.

Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[Goatlips]

Howdy and welcome Michman,

I always start blubbering when I hear of someone melting down shot at $40 - $50 a bag when wheelweights are available from so many sources, all cheaper than shot. I shoot Cowboy and from your calibers maybe you do too, if you're anywhere near Southfield or Romeo I'll get you some WW ingots to get ya started if you want. :castmine: Either way, this forum will save you money and/or let you shoot more often. :Fire:

Goatlips

[partsproduction]

I'm just getting back after 25 years away, President elect Obama talked me into it. :smile:
Anyway, tonight I tried smelting raw wheel weights. How things have changed! Most of them are zinc. By volume I'd guess 70% were zinc. Even some of the stick on type wouldn't melt. I finally set a pile of them on a plate of steel at a slant and heated them until the lead dribbled down hill and left the zinc and steel at the top of the incline. I used a big weed torch with a 2 gallon propane tank for heat. Hmm, way way too much work.
As the "lead" ran down the incline that which was closest to the pile of WW scrap was evidently alloyed with zinc, as in the pot later it wouldn't melt with the lead. I'm ready to see if I can find ready made alloy.

[Russel Nash]

I'm kinda new at this. At most I might be like two months ahead of you experience wise.

If you can figure out the forum software here, do a search for my screenname and you can read my threads/post and all the very helpful advice I have received here.

:drinks:

Basically, I have been going through my wheel weights by hand, and if they "ain't" obviously lead, I will take a pair of side cutters to 'em.

If the side cutters cut into 'em real easy like, then, yeah, they're lead.

If not, then their Zinc, or steel, or maybe even aluminum. I set those off to the side.

I guess I will end up throwing those in the trash. :confused:

[imashooter2]

Welcome to the board.

[largom]

WELCOME to the board. I definitely would not use expensive shot to make cast bullets. If you insist on buying pure alloy you can get it at www.midwayusa.com
Larry

[cajun shooter]

I don't know if someone scared you away from WW"S or what but using them is the correct way to go. Unless of course you have a huge pile of money and don't know where to spend it. Using shot is not correct. I will be more than happy to trade you. For the average shooter that alloy can't be beat. Midway sells the different alloys for 10 times the price you can use WW"S. When I first started casting in 1972 I thought that you had to have a special alloy to cast bullets. It's not magic and it's simple. Read the stickys page and read the one with Glen Fryxells articles.

[Cloudpeak]

You can buy commercially cast lead bullets much cheaper than buying shot. When you figure in the time factor to melt and cast, you'll really come out ahead.

Cloudpeak

[timkelley]

I'm just about one year ahead of you and lead wheelweight is the stuff.

[clintsfolly]

Michman where are you in the state as we have casters all over someone close may stepup to help get you started clint out side of lansing

[Gunslinger]

Another good source is range lead. I takes a little time to dig out, but if you make a screen you can do it really fast. With my screen I can dig out 150lbs of slugs from the bank in a little over 3 hrs. And it's free :-D

The only thing to keep in mind is that range lead is a mixture of different things, such as hard cast, commercial cast and jacketed... the latter are pure lead. And there is a lot of stuff that needs to be skimmed off such as jackets, twigs, small rocks etc. But it's really quite simple and a lotta fun. So you don't really know the hardness of the alloy you end up with. I mix cleaned range lead with WWs and linotype... it works great for me! Just remember to flux a lot as you want to get all the grains of sand out of the smelt.

If you ask me the biggest advantage of range lead is that it can be used to stretch your WWs a long way. I think in just 3-4 years, WWs will be even more difficult to come across than they are today!

Welcome to the forum. I've only been here a few months, but have already learned so much I fear my head will explode :roll:

Just you wait untill the first time you stir in a pot full of melted and shiny lead :rolleyes:

[michman]

thanks guys you know how to make a guy feel at home,clint i live in north warren macomb county but i could drive to lansing or anyware to learn about casting also goatlips i might take you up on your offer and drive out to romeo i enjoyed your speed casting information love those fancy ingots learing alot for you guys and like you guys said read the stickeys

[Goatlips]

Michman, sent you a pm or an email or whatever it was.

Goatlips