BarryinIN
05-14-2010, 05:38 PM
I'm a little late with this since it's been over a year now.
I owe the members here for the knowledge I've picked from the site, and to a few who sold or gave me items to get started. I haven't been able to contribute much to the site in repayment for what I've learned, but maybe this will help someone starting out. Sometimes it's good to learn from another who hasn't been at it long because they remember what was important to them when starting out.
Just a few things I was thinking about the other day:
- A good furnace makes things easier.
I started with a little Lee ladle pot, but about the time I'd get going good, the level was low enough that it was hard to get a ladle full. More lead had to be added, then it had to melt, while moulds cooled, etc. It wasn't long before I came across a used RCBS Pro-Melt for a good price and got it.
If I had to name one piece of equipment that had the biggest impact, that was it. Now I just filled it up and didn't have to worry about it for a while. A new caster has enough going on, and if you can get one thing cleared out of the way, it helps you do the rest better and easier.
If you are starting out and on the fence about spending more on a bigger and/or better furnace, do it.
- Each mould has it's own personality. They each cast differently and need different techniques to get the most out of.
One of the first moulds I had was the Lee Soupcan. I would later learn it was one of the easiest casting moulds I would own. Being new, one of the first questions I had was probably typical: "How many bullets can I cast in X amount of time?". What I didn't know was that soupcan was spoiling me. It would let me cast at any temperature, just about as fast as I could go, so I was envisioning how many bullets I'd be cranking out per hour in all calibers.
It didn't work that way.
Most won't let me go that fast, but that's only one difference. Some make their best bullets with the alloy at a fairly low temp, and some need it as hot as it will go. Some work well pouring while holding them below the pour spout, but a few need to be against the spout and pressure filled. This one may work fine with hardly any warming, the next may need to warm on the furnace, and another might need the hotplate. I tried to find a connection, like aluminum moulds do this, and iron moulds in small calibers do that, but they all have their own needs.
Like guns, they do what they do and like what they like. You don't know what that is until you use them a little while. Try everything before saying it won't cast well.
-And speaking of the hotplate, that was another good purchase.
Besides being able to warm several moulds at once, it gets them out of the way of adding lead, fluxing, stirring, etc like if you put them on top of the furnace. Perhaps best of all, it beats knocking a mould down into the melted alloy. I didn't get burned but could have, and it took about 20 minutes to get the lead peeled off it.
I got mine at Walgreens for $4, maybe $5 at the most. It's good help at a cheap price.
-It takes a little more time than I expected. I planned on it taking plenty, and had plenty of time to spend, but probably still underestimated a little. Don't forget that it takes a little bit for things to heat up, but can take longer to cool down so you can put it away (if you don't plan on leabing your gear out). The time spent lube-sizing is not something I thought too much about. I thought that once the bullets were cast, it was mostly over. It is, but that last step takes some time and I didn't really think about that.
Once I got the Star, that changed. I'd use it for everything if I didn't have all the dies for the Lyman and Saeco lube-sizers I also have.
-You might use more electrical power than you thought. If I'm using the furnace, hotplate, and fan (in summer, to cool me), that's getting to be some power. I use the hotplate on another line and get the moulds I need when I'm ready for them.
That's the high points.
That's not that much info, but it's things I didn't know when I started.
I owe the members here for the knowledge I've picked from the site, and to a few who sold or gave me items to get started. I haven't been able to contribute much to the site in repayment for what I've learned, but maybe this will help someone starting out. Sometimes it's good to learn from another who hasn't been at it long because they remember what was important to them when starting out.
Just a few things I was thinking about the other day:
- A good furnace makes things easier.
I started with a little Lee ladle pot, but about the time I'd get going good, the level was low enough that it was hard to get a ladle full. More lead had to be added, then it had to melt, while moulds cooled, etc. It wasn't long before I came across a used RCBS Pro-Melt for a good price and got it.
If I had to name one piece of equipment that had the biggest impact, that was it. Now I just filled it up and didn't have to worry about it for a while. A new caster has enough going on, and if you can get one thing cleared out of the way, it helps you do the rest better and easier.
If you are starting out and on the fence about spending more on a bigger and/or better furnace, do it.
- Each mould has it's own personality. They each cast differently and need different techniques to get the most out of.
One of the first moulds I had was the Lee Soupcan. I would later learn it was one of the easiest casting moulds I would own. Being new, one of the first questions I had was probably typical: "How many bullets can I cast in X amount of time?". What I didn't know was that soupcan was spoiling me. It would let me cast at any temperature, just about as fast as I could go, so I was envisioning how many bullets I'd be cranking out per hour in all calibers.
It didn't work that way.
Most won't let me go that fast, but that's only one difference. Some make their best bullets with the alloy at a fairly low temp, and some need it as hot as it will go. Some work well pouring while holding them below the pour spout, but a few need to be against the spout and pressure filled. This one may work fine with hardly any warming, the next may need to warm on the furnace, and another might need the hotplate. I tried to find a connection, like aluminum moulds do this, and iron moulds in small calibers do that, but they all have their own needs.
Like guns, they do what they do and like what they like. You don't know what that is until you use them a little while. Try everything before saying it won't cast well.
-And speaking of the hotplate, that was another good purchase.
Besides being able to warm several moulds at once, it gets them out of the way of adding lead, fluxing, stirring, etc like if you put them on top of the furnace. Perhaps best of all, it beats knocking a mould down into the melted alloy. I didn't get burned but could have, and it took about 20 minutes to get the lead peeled off it.
I got mine at Walgreens for $4, maybe $5 at the most. It's good help at a cheap price.
-It takes a little more time than I expected. I planned on it taking plenty, and had plenty of time to spend, but probably still underestimated a little. Don't forget that it takes a little bit for things to heat up, but can take longer to cool down so you can put it away (if you don't plan on leabing your gear out). The time spent lube-sizing is not something I thought too much about. I thought that once the bullets were cast, it was mostly over. It is, but that last step takes some time and I didn't really think about that.
Once I got the Star, that changed. I'd use it for everything if I didn't have all the dies for the Lyman and Saeco lube-sizers I also have.
-You might use more electrical power than you thought. If I'm using the furnace, hotplate, and fan (in summer, to cool me), that's getting to be some power. I use the hotplate on another line and get the moulds I need when I'm ready for them.
That's the high points.
That's not that much info, but it's things I didn't know when I started.