how to get started in casting?

[sven556]

I've been reading here for awhile now and figure I'll start casting soon. What equipment is a must have for starting out? I know I'll need a mold, pot, ladle, some type of lube, and a source of lead. What else? which pot/furnace would you recommend?

I'll be casting 30-30 type flat nose bullets for use in 30-30, 30-06, and 7.5 swiss. Light plinking loads in all three and a hunting load in 30-30.

How much should I expect to spend getting started? I know this is a tough question. Also, I plan to buy lead. that will take away one more variable for me when I'm just starting out. Where is a good place to order lead? I see several different types offered; lyman #2, reprocessed range lead, etc, what should I get to start with?

Thanks for helping out a newbie!
sven

[armyrat1970]

First off welcome to the forum, and welcome to your decision to start casting. It's one thing to handload cartridges. It's another thing when you make your own bullets in them.
To answer some of your questions, it depends on the casting pot, or furnance you get. Some are bottom pour, which means you have a spout in the bottom of the pot and just lift a handle to pour the melt, alloy, and fill the mold. Some cast with an open pot with no spout and use a ladle to pour the alloy into the mold. Can't say which method is best. I have only used a bottom pour like the Lee 10 pounder, until it crapped out on me after many years of service. I now use a Lee 20 pounder bottom pour.
Molds. All I have and use are Lee Molds for the 357, 45, 30carbine and the 8x57. Lee molds are made of aluminum stock and only cost around $20. The may need a little work, lementing, to get them to drop good bullets. But they do and can drop good bullets.
There are iron molds out there and even brass molds. Another will cost more. I have no experience with them.
Lube. I use Lee Liquid Alox. Some don't really like it and call it mule snot. It has worked well for me. Some make up their own type lube.
Lead or casting alloy. Your cheapest way out would be to find a source to get wheelweights. Buying Lead or lead alloys is a good decision if you can't find anything else. Midway Usa is a good supplier of different alloys to cast. For most applications a BHN (Brinell Hardness) of between 16 or 18 is plenty good enough for handgun or rifle. If you can find wheelweights and water quench them they can achive a BHN of around 18, Good. The only problem with WWS is some contain a lot of Zinc, and some may be iron. You have to know the difference. There are some stickys about this.
Lyman #2 alloy has a BHN of around 16. Great alloy for casting. Range scrap is a toss up and no one really knows what it is made of except the manufacture.
If you get WWS and smelt them down, don't do it in your casting furnance. Better to get a Turkey Fryer, or as us coonasses call them, a seafood boiler. Find a 1 quart cast iron dutch oven and smelt away. Again more info in some of the stickys.
Now just as a starting price. I may be able to give a rough estimate.
Say starting with the Lee 20 Pounder, a good furnace. Maybe around $60. Don't know what Midway has them going for now. Lee mold for one single caliber from Midway, $20. Lube is not that expensive. At least the LLAX is not. Just a few dollars a bottle, and you can lube a few thousand bullets with it.
Alloy for most pistols or rifles. Midway sells an alloy called hardball, which is very close to the Lyman #2 alloy and is great for both pistol and rifle. Last time I checked I believe they went for around mid $20 for a 7 pound ingot. Good to get you started. And you can drop a lot of bullets with that ingot.
If you find a source for WWS, you will need to get the seafood boiler and dutch oven to smelt the WWS, and I use the none stick muffin pans to pour my ingots. You can get all of these at WallyWorld. Seafood Boiler may run around $50 just for the frame and tank, with all connections. You may be able to pick up a couple of muffin pans for less than $10.
Yes. It's a little expense. And I may be missing something, but others will chime in.

[WHITETAIL]

seven556, Welcome to the forum!:bigsmyl2:

[44fanatic]

If you purchase the Lee sizer die, you also get a bottle of Alox lube with it. Cost around $16.

[Bkid]

Thermometer is a good tool to have. Face shield from Home Depot,and welding gloves also. Saw dust or bees wax to flux.

[44man]

Throw out the Alox and use a real lube!
The hardest thing for you will be to find lead cheap or free. Casting gets real easy and you can find all kinds of help right here for any problem. But none are hard to solve with a little thought.
Welcome and remember, there are NO stupid questions. :veryconfu

[excavman]

Welcome Sven,
I agree with Armyrat on the Lee pot and molds. I have some Lyman steel molds that are 40+ years old, so steel is worth the investment as they will outlast aluminum but are a little harder to work with.

The best way to lube/size is a lubrisizer by Lyman and others, I don't like tumble lube, messy and doesn't work very good (MHO). I haven't priced one lately but with top punches and dies $200 should cover it. I have used the Lee push-through sizing system but I applied Alox/Beeswax stick lube by hand squeezing it in the grooves with my fingers, slow but effective. Poor folks sometimes have to do things a little different.

I load ammo for the local tire shop guy so I get my wheel weights at a very good price, not quite free. I mix 20-1 with bar solder ($15 at the hardware store). I use an old open top Lee 10 pound furnace to melt ww's but have also used a small cast iron pot on a propane camp stove.

Happy casting,

Larry

[chris in va]

You're not wanting to do a high volume cast session like I do with 9mm and 45, but I still highly recommend a bottom pour pot. I tried the ladle thing and while I'm sure it works for many people, just couldn't get used to the process.

Instead of buying lead just run down to the local tire store and ask if they have any used wheelweights. Get a cheap hotplate for $10, an $8 iron skillet and melt those suckers down.

I'm a cheapskate and my primary goal is to produce shootable boolits at the least cost possible. Even my reloading setup is almost bare bones. This allows me to buy primers and powder more often.

[MtGun44]

I'm with 44 man - please avoid TL designs. While they CAN work, they cause us continuous
headaches here on Cast Boolits. We know that you want CHEAP, but stick with a regular
design. If you can't afford a lubrisizer; then pan lube, make your own cake cutter from a
case and use the Lee push thru sizer or shoot as cast. I did it this way for years until I could
get $$ ahead for a RCBS lubrisizer.

No need for a ladle, bottom pour Lee pots are good starting points. I used them for many
years. Mostly the ladle guys are going for extreme consistency at the cost of convenience.
So if you are going to compete in silly wet shooting, maybe you need a ladle. For most
stuff the Lee bottom leak pots are pretty decent. Keep them clean to mimize dripping.

Welcome!

Bill

[AZ-Stew]

You might want to price your alloy from our sponsor, Roto-Metals, who's icon/link is at the top of the page.

I started casting 35+ years ago using a pipe tobacco can heated by my wife's gas stove in our apartment kitchen. I use a Lyman ladle and Lyman iron round ball moulds to cast for my muzzle loaders. I had no choice. There were no commercially available swaged round balls on the market then, as Speer and Hornady sell now. Cast or don't shoot was my choice.

I graduated to a Lee 10 pounder bottom pour a couple of years later when I started getting into handguns and wanted to try some small game hunting with my rifles. Lee and Lyman moulds were readily available. I don't think RCBS had started offering them at that time. Ohaus and Saeco were, as far as I knew, available only at retail price directly from the manufacturer, which put them out of my price range. Remember, there was no Internet then, so one had to deal with paper catalogs and snail mail both directions.

Several melters, five changes of residence and 50 or so moulds later, here I am, casting in luxurious conditions, compared to where I started. But it was all an adventure and a great learning experience. May you enjoy the journey as much as I have.

Welcome aboard!

Regards,

Stew

[Bent Ramrod]

You will also need a Lyman "M" die or a Lee Universal Expander die to add to your die set if you are going to load cast boolits. They expand and bell the case neck larger than the standard expander button on the sizer die so the more fragile cast boolit does not get shaved or otherwise damaged in seating. The "M" die is caliber specific, and is the type I started out with and currently use. However, the Universal Expander, at least theoretically, should work for any caliber you may get in the future.

[armyrat1970]

However, the Universal Expander, at least theoretically, should work for any caliber you may get in the future.

It will. Although I have found that the instructions are not quite right for some applications. You have to experiment with it a little to get it right.
But it does work.

[Echo]

Welcome to the Madness, Sven. The only thing I can add to the above is for you to check out eBay for a used lube/sizer. Good Lyman 450/4500's and RCBS/LAM's are there for about $70-90 delivered, about half price, and they do a great job. You will also need sizing dies that are .001-.002 larger than the groove diameter of the gun - also often available on eBay, but available from most suppliers for ~ $20. And nose punches to match the shape of the boolit.

But what noobies need to do most of all is READ ALL THE STICKIES! Twice! Then again! Then print them out and make into a CB Notebook!

Again, Welcome.