Getting Started Casting

[aziator]

All, I have been lurking for a little while. I am currently in Iraq, returning home soon. I would like to get started in Casting and Swaging. I currently reload on a Dillon 650. I am looking at casting 9mm and 45ACP for now. I shoot quite a bit and need a setup that will allow me to cast in large quantities. I have been looking at what Midway sells and I am not sure exactly where to start. I like to buy right and buy once.

If money wasn't a huge obstacle what would you get as a new casting setup? I have been looking at the following items to get started.

RCBS Pro-Melt
RCBS Lube-a-matic 2 with lyman heater
Lee 6 cavity molds
Lee Sizer dies
all of the additional items needed to get this started.

I searched but wasn't able to find a consensus. What is preferred, size lubing or the tumble lubing?

I am sure I have a million more questions. I have a few books at home but wasn't able to get them over here. I want to order everything in the next few days so it is all there when I get home. I look forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

[garandsrus]

Aziator,

Thanks for your service, and welcome to the site!

The RCBS Pro-Melt is supposed to be very good. I use a Lee 20lb bottom pour.

If you are making large quantities of boolits, you will be much happier with a Star sizer than the RCBS.

The Lee molds are fine...

You won't need Lee Sizer dies with either the Star or RCBS sizer.

Other than a pot, mold, sizer, lube (Lars white label works great and is a great value), and lead, you don't really need much. If you are using Dillon equipment, their normal pistol conversion kit will allow you to belle the case mouth.

If you would like it, I have a .45 cal Lee 230gr RN 6 cavity mold that I will send you to help you get started. I have cast a little with it, and it works fine, but I wanted one lube groove instead of two, so I bought a different mold.

John

[aziator]

John, thanks for the info. I will look up the Star stuff and try to learn more about it. I really appreciate you generous offer and would love to give it a shot. I will PM you my address and you can let me know how to pay for shipping.

I have purchased and reloaded lead in the past, just figured it was time for me to get a little more self sufficient.

I have a tendency to purchase the most expensive thing available as usually you get what you pay for. I have been reading everything I can about pots and still don't know if the RCBS Pro-Melt is worth the money. I appreciate any info people can provide.

As far as how much shooting I do, my wife and I both shoot and I just picked up a 9mm AR15 so I think my 9mm expenditures will be going up.

[Catshooter]

Welcome to the board.

All of my loading equipment is RCBS due to their unbelievable customer service.

I don't tumble lube, too messy for me.

What state are you going to be calling home?


Cat

[lathesmith]

az, welcome to the boards here, welcome home, and thanks for your service.

For high volume shooting, you will want four- to six- cavity molds and a Star sizer. I think garandsrus covered things pretty well, it's a great place to start. If you can handle a Dillon progressive, you can learn to handle multi-cavity casting and sizing with the Star with ease. And, any other setup will not keep up with your progressive.
Again,welcome.
lathesmith

[FN in MT]

Started casting around 1970 in my Dads Barn in NJ with a plumbers pot, a small Lyman ladle, a few Lyman 1 & 2 cavity moulds and then lubed/sized on a Lyman 450. That worked pretty well when all I cast for was a lone .38 Spcl and a .44 mag I seldom used.

After moving to Montana in 1979 and acquiring about 15 handguns I needed more QUANTITY. Added some Lyman and H&G 4 cavity moulds and the rest remained the same.

Currently using a WAAGE 20+ pound electric pot, with a small Rowell bottom pour ladle. Have recently discovered LEE 6 cavity moulds too. But still using my old Lymans and lone H&G. THE big addition was a STAR sizer a few months ago. NOTHING like it. I heartily recommend STAR. FAR quicker than the RCBS or Lyman sizers. Feed it white label lubes too.

Welcome to a friendly group of Gentleman with an amazing amount of casting knowledge. Check out the chat room too.

FN in MT:Fire:

[Echo]

+1 for the Star - Wouldn't get rid of mine for anything, and I have a couple of RCBS/Lachmillers that I also use.
What the others have said should help you - but - there is a ton of different opinions. For myself, I use a Saeco 10-lb bottom-pour furnace mostly, but have a Lee 10-pounder, a Lyman 10-pounder, and a Potter 4-pounder (it's the Cutest Little Thing!). I like some tin in my alloy, but more than 3% is wasteful. I have a mix of Lyman, Saeco, Lee, H&G, and Cramer molds, and have no preference for any, so for new purchase, I would recommend Lee. They are good, and cheap. And, since you will be casting for pistols, I suggest NRA lube, that is, 50/50 beeswax and Alox. No need for a heater, and can't be beat (IMHO) for pistol ammo loads.

I guess if I were buying a new furnace, I would buy a 20-pounder. Not sure it would be the RCBS, but their customer service is outstanding, and that counts a lot these days.

Coming back to AZ when you leave the sandbox?

[aziator]

All, thanks for all the info. GA is actually home, savannah area. I looked at the STAR and it looks like a real nice system. I don't think I will be able to afford it until after I get my Corbin .224 swaging kit. I am sure that the RCBS will hold me over until then.
I am looking forward to getting into this. This is a real friendly forum, the kind I like. I am already trying to think of all the little tire shops around the house where I can get WW from.

[Russel Nash]

I started a thread here a while back on what the inside of an RCBS Pro Melt looked like.

for $250 plus, plus, I was really not all that impressed with my Pro Melt's innards.

Now, granted I have NOT taken apart a Lee 20 pound drip o matic either, but I think for the money they might be worth a try, and maybe the 10 bucks extra for the needle nose vice grips to weigh the rod down so it doesn't drip as much.

You could, theoretically buy the Lee drip o matic and put the extra $180 towards a Star lube-sizer.

Or go with Lee drip o matic and use the extra money to buy a cast iron dutch oven, a turkey fryer, and a propane tank, all to render wheelweights and other lead down into useable clean ingots.

Me? If I had to do it over again and had access to the equipment (cutting torch or plasma cutter, a welder, and maybe a sheet metal brake) I would make one myself, maybe even a 40 pounder.

I think I might have posted pics of J Morris's automated casting machine already. I can't remember now.

As far as gathering wheelweights from the tire shops, it is much better if you go in person to ask, with cash in your pocket, and possibly other empty buckets and a scale in your car.

[aziator]

Russel, great advice. I already have the turkey fryer that I only use once a year so I will be looking for a dutch oven at garage sales. The one thing I have to keep in mind for now is I tend to move at the whims of the Army. I have a good friend that has all the welding equipment that one could need and we could build everything but I don't want to go to big or heavy, at least not now. I figure I can get the stuff available from Midway to get started then when I finally retire and settle in one place for a while I can look at getting a bigger setup.

[cajun shooter]

Let me say this about the RCBS. The reason it's so big Russell is to help with the heat. The more size and metal you have the better. The thermostat on the RCBS is a worry free devise. Set it and forget it. I went crazy chasing my temps with the Lee pots and the drip is a PITA. The last straw was when my Lee dumped a full pot of hot lead all over my casting bench when the lever bracket broke. I have started to enjoy casting again since I purchased my RCBS. It holds around 22 lbs and is a delight to use.

[BruceB]

Welcome, indeed!

The RCBS Pro-melt has served me well in intensive use for at least 15 years, and I don't hesitate to recommend it to anyone willing to meet the rather impressive price tag. It's an excellent appliance, and the price seems to be justified, if long-term and trouble-free usage is the criterion.

I have serious reservations about the Star lube-sizing system for those who, like myself, do NOT need large quantities of a very few designs. My bullet-sizing spans at least twenty different diameters, and some diameters include MANY different bullet designs. To set up a Star to process all these variations would be a daunting task.

My Lyman 450s satisfy the demands of my hobby quite well, and I certainly have no lack of production to "keep up" with the Dillon 550. Since I do my bullet inspection at the same time as I lube-size the little rascals, my routine is efficient and not especially boring or onerous. This is my hobby, after all, and a couple of hours to inspect, size, lube, and gascheck 1,000 bullets seems to be a fine investment of my time. If there's a football game on and a beer at hand, it's rather enjoyable. Smaller numbers of bullets take less time, naturally, but I amost never have smaller batches than 500 or so.

Thinking about the entire process of making usable bullets, I'll estimate that I spend around three to four hours in creating a thousand ready-to-load bullets from a 4-cavity mould. Add one more hour if using a 2-cavity mould. That is amply rapid for my purposes, and I really see no need for a Star on *MY* bench.

[Bret4207]

Aziator- Welcome, and thank you for your service!

[Russel Nash]

cajun shooter wrote:


Let me say this about the RCBS. The reason it's so big Russell is to help with the heat. The more size and metal you have the better. The thermostat on the RCBS is a worry free devise. Set it and forget it. I went crazy chasing my temps with the Lee pots and the drip is a PITA. The last straw was when my Lee dumped a full pot of hot lead all over my casting bench when the lever bracket broke. I have started to enjoy casting again since I purchased my RCBS. It holds around 22 lbs and is a delight to use.


Maybe I am spoiled because I started with the Pro Melt, and I don't know any better.

I am NOT knocking the RCBS Pro Melt.

It is a good piece of kit.

I am just saying that of what I saw of the innards, I think it does NOT warrant a $250 plus, plus price tag.

I was NOT complaining about the size, of it being too big.

On a different note... I made my own birdshot maker... so to me, at least in my mind to make something the equivalent of the Pro Melt or even bigger is NOT that big of a stretch.

For you guys who started out with the Lee dripomatic, if you found it frustrating and inconveinient to use, then HECK YEAH! the Pro Melt might be worth the $250 price tag to you.