Newbie Giving Cast Boolits a Try

[shaman]

Fate has just dropped a hundred pounds of pure lead into my lap at $.40/lb.

I smell a boolit casting project coming on.

If I wanted to dip my toe into this field of endevor, should I start out with:

Lee 20lb melter with a bottom spigot.
Lee ladle for skimming,etc
a lee .540 Minie ball mold
a lee 158 grain 2-cavity mold in .358
some flux
some drop-out
a lee lube and sizing kit for .358.
some tin to mix with the lead to increase the hardness of the alloy. I can get scrap 60/40 Tin/Lead from work

I'll use Granny's old corn-bread pan for casting ingots.

What am I missing? Is this more trouble than it's worth?

I work in a wire foundry, so I'm not totally unexposed to this sort of stuff.

[fourarmed]

I'm assuming you already reload and have the necessities for that.

I'd get the Lee pot with the 4" clearance. Stay away from the other one; it lacks the clearance necessary for big molds.

What you list will definitely get you started. If you decide you like it, a separate smelter to reduce wheelweights, dental x-ray lead, linotype metal, cable sheathing, shower pans, lead pipe, galena, solder, battery cable ends, range scrap, radioactive sample shipping containers, roof flashing, and, oh, whatever odds and ends you just happen to run across will save wear and tear on your bottom pour pot.

Good luck.

[shaman]

Thanks!