New guy, new to casting, I think I'm ready

[nickf829]

Just a new guy from NW Virginia checking in

I just found your site recently and have been overwelmed ever since. Tons of great info. In the past week I have started and I'm thinking finished collecting everything I need to start casting. I'll be casting 230gr .45acp RN and 125gr 9mm RN to start with. Here is my list of what I have so far, is there anything else I will need to do my first smelting this weekend:

Turkey fryer - used - free from aunt
Propane tank - already had
Dutch oven - used - free from aunt
Dutch oven - used - $10 from flea market (bought prior to getting freebies)
Lee Pro 4-20 - new
Lee TL-452-230-2r 6 cavity & handles - new
Lee 365-125-2r 6 cavity & handles - new
Frankford Drop Out
Frankford Clean Cast fluxing
Lee Ladle
A few stainless condiment cups to make ingots
Half a 5gal bucket of wheel weights

Anything else you can think of? I will eventually need a few other things I'm sure, but for my trial run, I'm thinking I might have enough

I plan just to smelt the 60-80lbs of wheel weights that I have now, and see how that goes. I probably wont do any casting right now. I think this is more of the learning stage and I think smelting is a great way to start.

I have a few generic questions that I'm sure I could find with the search, but I'll throw them in just in case:

1. After I start casting some respectable bullets, I would like to cast quite a few at once. I don't have a lube/sizer yet(my .45s will need to be sized to .451). If I cast my bullets now, will it be OK to wait to lube/size until next month when I get my lube/sizer? I know the lead will harden after a few days, so I wasn't sure if it was best to size within the first few days, or if its ok to wait a few weeks.
2. As far as bullets that don't need to be sized, is something like Lee Liquid Alox suitable to coat these. I only ask because when you buy cast bullets around here, they all have a thick blue gunk type of lube in the grooves and didn't know if I needed something like that instead of just the Liquid Alox. I assume the blue gunk lube on the store bought cast bullets is lube from being sized, am I correct?

Thanks for all the information and any input you can give on my situation. I can't wait for this weekend to get out and do some smelting.

[Lead Fred]

Micrometer to measure the little buggers with.

Spoon for scooping waste out with.

Oh yeah, you might think about which type of lube you want.

If you pan lube, its an adventure

[runfiverun]

throw the drop out away.
and give the lla a shot it works pretty well in the acp.

[RodneyUSAF]

I just started myself, but I'll take a stab at your questions. Add some bull plate sprue lube to you list. I began with using a pencil to lube the sprue plate and allignment pins. That worked alright, but the sprue lube is 10 times better. Also, save your money on the fluxing compound. I use plain old candle wax. Just break off a piece about an inch or two long and place it in the melt, light it if it doesn't catch fire on its own, then skim the **** off the top. Works great. As for casting, clean the mold before you begin! I made this mistake, and it had me scratching my head on why the boolits sucked. many threads here on mold cleaning, I boiled mine with dishwashing powder, then went at it with a toothbrush. Worked great. Don't get discouraged, you will get feel for it after awhile.

[HORNET]

The Lee ladle will work to scoop out the dross and trash. It certainly isn't much good for casting unless you plan to pour one cavity at a time. Get the wheel weights cleaned up good when you make the ingots and your Lee 4-20 won't clog up as fast. The LLA should work O.K. in the .45 if the size is usable (not undersized and not too big to chamber after seating). Do some reading down in the Lubes forum, lots of possibilities. Welcome to the fun.......

[454PB]

Welcome to the forum, Nick!

I agree with the above. The Lee lead dipper is pretty much a joke for dipper casting, but will work for fluxing and stirring. Since you'll be using a bottom pour, you don't really need a dipper.

I use and really like the Frankford fluxing material, but the mould release is not needed. A thorough cleaning is all I do, no mould release or smoking of cavities. If you feel like this is required, look for the underlying cause.

The boolits can be sized and lubed at anytime after they solidify. If you are heat treating, the sooner the better, since they continue to harden for up to month. That not only makes them harder to size, but the hardening that has taken place is removed by sizing.

The liquid Alox works fine, but is messy to use. Depending on how deeply you get into this insanity, you may want to buy a traditional lubrisizer down the road.

Why are you waiting to cast? Jump in and give it a go!

[nickf829]

Thanks for all the comments. I figured the dipper would be good for skimming. Upon opening my box of goodies from ups I had to laugh at the jokingly small size of the dipper. Def not what I expected.
I plan to get a lubrisizer once I get the hang of this.
I will report my first experiences after my smelting this weekend

[fredj338]

1. After I start casting some respectable bullets, I would like to cast quite a few at once. I don't have a lube/sizer yet(my .45s will need to be sized to .451). If I cast my bullets now, will it be OK to wait to lube/size until next month when I get my lube/sizer? I know the lead will harden after a few days, so I wasn't sure if it was best to size within the first few days, or if its ok to wait a few weeks.
2. As far as bullets that don't need to be sized, is something like Lee Liquid Alox suitable to coat these. I only ask because when you buy cast bullets around here, they all have a thick blue gunk type of lube in the grooves and didn't know if I needed something like that instead of just the Liquid Alox. I assume the blue gunk lube on the store bought cast bullets is lube from being sized, am I correc
SOme guys have good success w/ Alox & TL, I prefer luber/sizer. You could buy the Lee sizing kit & pan lubem then size. For the 45acp, you'll want 0.452" for best results. You may get some skidding & leading w/ 0.451" bullets unless your bore is smaller (0.450").

[Goatlips]

"I plan just to smelt the 60-80lbs of wheel weights that I have now, and see how that goes. I probably wont do any casting right now. I think this is more of the learning stage and I think smelting is a great way to start."

Nick, welcome;

I think everyone should start by smelting before they begin casting. That way, when you have problems and can't seem to make good boolits at first and are about ready to quit, you'll say "I hate this stuff and I'll never get the hang of it! .... but wait, what the hell am I going to do with all these ingots?" :confused:

And start casting again. :mrgreen:

Goatlips

[qajaq59]

It's obvious, but I'll say it anyway.

Be sure to wear your safety glasses and gloves. Long sleeves and long pants are not a bad idea either. And if you even "think" something is damp or wet, do NOT put it into the molten lead.

[kbstenberg]

Welcome Nick to the forum!
Just a reguler large table spoon to scoop dross works for me. Another usefull item is a cheap wooden handle soup ladel for making the ingots, the plastic hanled one melt as the ladel heats up.
Slug your barrel to see what size the bullets should be sized to. A lot of my pistol molds drop close enough to forcing cone size that i dont even have to size.
Kevin