Hello. (How to get set up as a new caster)

[armoredman]

I was wondering about starting to cast my own, as the price of factory is going higher every day. What would I need as a basic setup to cast, say just a single 38Spl bullet? How can I get into this without breaking the bank? I think it will help with the reloading costs, and this is such a cool hobby.

[wills]

Boolit mold:
http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/cata.../bullmol1.html

Pot and dipper:

http://www.lymanproducts.com/store/page39.html

Source of heat: a camp stove will work, if you don’t have one find one at a garage sale cheap.

Read: http://www.lymanproducts.com/lymanpr...et%20Guide.pdf

[piwo]

Greetings armoredman. Not going to cast for the Three Line Rifle? I'm not the one to advise here as I only cast for my flinter, but there are plenty of quite knowledgeable folks here to help.

Best regards to you and Mrs. Armoredman

[Bigjohn]

I was wondering about starting to cast my own, as the price of factory is going higher every day. What would I need as a basic setup to cast, say just a single 38Spl bullet? How can I get into this without breaking the bank? I think it will help with the reloading costs, and this is such a cool hobby.

Welcome to the site,
Wills has posted some helpful links to equipment most of which is reasonably priced and won't break the bank.

One thing I would add is METAL, Metal and metal. Start sourcing a supply; wheel weights are good, check out your local tyre dealer. Strike up a relationship with them and see if they will part with a bucket or two of the used weights. You may need to offer them something in return; it's always polite to do that without being asked.

Check this site for threads on smelting or smendering then check for hints on casting. The search option will help.

My advice is have a seperate smendering outfit and casting outfit; 'smendering' to convert the raw material (WW's) to ingot form; casting to cast the end product from the ingots.

A list of 'Casting' equip;

THE MOULD OF your choice.

Casting pot (Dipping model or Bottom pour, your choice).

Ladel for dipping pot.

Scoup for removing rubbish from pot and stirring (old spoon drilled with small holes and added wooden handle).

Flux (Normally wax, candle or other suitable material).

Cloth pads.

And personall safety equipment (see recent thread on these options).

All the information you need is basically somewhere within this site already but if you cannot find it; don't be afraid to ask, we have all had our distemper shots and don't bite hard.

Best wishes,

John.

[buck1]

Yep, A lee mold, a old camp stove or burner of some type, a ladle, Lee liquid alox or johnsons paste wax ,and a few wheel wts.
Everything else is not a must..
$30-$40 (or less) for a getting started on the cheep price.
Then you get to NEVER HAVE TO BUY BULLETS AGAIN!!
GIVE IT A TRY!!! ..................Buck

[armoredman]

Hi, piwo, no, no casting for the Mosin yet, plenty of left over factory for now.I don't get to the range as often as I would like.
Thank you to everyone for the kind comments. I will start looking, a mould for 158gr LSWCHP would be a plus to find.
Thanks again!

[dubber123]

As a suggestion for a first mold, skip the HP mold. Most, if not all of them range from more complicated in use, to a royal pain in the a$$. I would get a solid bullet design to start.

[buck1]

I agree!!

As a suggestion for a first mold, skip the HP mold. Most, if not all of them range from more complicated in use, to a royal pain in the a$$. I would get a solid bullet design to start.

[MT Gianni]

As a suggestion for a first mold, skip the HP mold. Most, if not all of them range from more complicated in use, to a royal pain in the a$$. I would get a solid bullet design to start.

That statement should be a sticky. Gianni

[Cherokee]

I suggest the Lee 358158 FN. Great bullet. You might also check the scrap yards for wheel weights. They will not be free but it may be the only way to get them, where ever you are.

[armoredman]

Southern AZ, AKA FreeAZ. Thanks!

Edit to add, I found a Lee 2 cavity mold for the 125gr FP for $19 at Midway. My 10-8 seems to really like 125gr jacketed bullets, so, would it be logical to try the same weight in cast, or is there a significant enough differance to warrant a differant starting weight?

Edit again - what lube, and how in the heck do you get it so neat and packed?

[wills]

Southern AZ, AKA FreeAZ. Thanks!

Edit again - what lube, and how in the heck do you get it so neat and packed?

You said you wanted to cast a single boolit, now you are acting like you want to shoot it!

simple version

http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/cata.../lubesize.html

http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi-data...uct/BS2003.pdf

more involved

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lymanpr...Guide%2014.pdf

[Wayne Smith]

"neat and packed" is the challenge. That, as Wills so visually pointed out, takes a lube sizer. There have been several threads on pan lubing, the other major and somewhat more messy option. Lube sizing is handy if your mold casts slightly oversized, but the Lee sizer does a good job - I have a couple of them. You might also check out the threads on Johnston's Paste Wax as a lube, it would fit your application and might be easiest.

[9.3X62AL]

I would steer clear of 38/357 caliber revolver molds with castings weighing under 150 grains. You want a cast boolit in a revolver to be a sufficient length to have its front drive band well-driven into the barrel's forcing cone BEFORE its base band exits the front face of the cylinder and loses the support of the cylinder throat. A 150 grain+ boolit will do that in practically all 38/357 revolvers. If I understand your "10-8" reference to mean a S&W Model 10 revolver, these are factory-regulated for 158 grain bullets at standard velocity (800-850 FPS).

125 grain JHP's often shoot well in 38's and 357's, but 110 grainers often don't--owing to the lack of full support during the cylinder-to-forcing-cone jump. The bullet gets a slight misalignment, and goes galley-west after entering the forcing cone at a canted angle. Cast boolits, being much softer than the red-coated critters, are more drastically affected by these potential and varying misalignment issues. The old-school round-nose/shoulderless 158 grain design was a design element to help a boolit self-center as it entered a forcing cone. The more modern square-shouldered SWC/Keith design benefits greatly from the good chamber-to-barrel alignment found in well-made modern revolvers, and from complete support during the jump from cylinder to barrel as above.

Welcome to the board!

[Cherokee]

I also have the 358-125 RNFP from Lee and it shoots good in 38 special brass in 38's and 357's. However, loaded in 357 cases, it doesn't do as well. 3 gr of w231 or WST will give you a good plinking load.

[mooman76]

Lee has a 105g SWC that shoots well with lite loads. I even load it in my 357 and it is small enough it will work in a 9mm also. And welcome to the board, great bunch of guys here. If you have a question that can't be answered here, it probubly hasn't been asked yet!

[1Shirt]

Lots of words of wisdom from experianced casters. In addition, suggest you find an experianced caster in your area and sit through a session with him, and talk about the process. Also suggest you buy the Lyman book of cast boolits and read it. I would start with a double cav. lee mold of 150 gr. or so for 38, and probably lee sizer and mule snot lube. If you start with a dipper and a camp stove or hotplate you can learn a lot, and then progress beyond that level if you wish. Good Luck!
1Shirt!

[armoredman]

OK, I can see using the 158gr SWC to start. Lesse, the Lee sizer/lube kit is cool, and cheap. I am a big believer in low cost, as long as it works, and the Lee equipment I have is decent stuff, that's for sure!
I will look at the local bookshops for a casting reference guide, probably have one at Sportsman's Warehouse somewhere. Of course, if they don't start stocking more small pistol primers, this is going to be moot!
This is starting to look like a relatively cheap hobby to get started in. Oh, yeah, I am assuming this must be done outdoors, or in a well ventilated area?
Whoops, forget - gas checks neccesary for every cast bullet?

[Ricochet]

Oh, yeah, I am assuming this must be done outdoors, or in a well ventilated area?
Whoops, forget - gas checks neccesary for every cast bullet?

No.
No.

[AZ-Stew]

A lot of good advice so far.

My first casting pot 35 or so years ago was an empty pipe tobacco can (talk about cheap!) that I heated on the kitchen stove. I bought a Lyman dipper (that my dumb a$$ dog subsequently chewed the handle off) and a Lyman mould. I think my first bullets were for a muzzle loading rifle.

You will find the Lyman 358429 bullet to be one that is accurate, effective on small to medium game, usable for self-defense and one that you will use as long as you shoot the 38/357 calibers. It's a flat based semi-wadcutter bullet requiring no gas check. It lists at 173 grains in the Lyman catalog, but that's dependent on the alloy used. In any case, it's an excellent bullet for your revolver.

Read, read, read. Get at least one cast bullet book and read the things from end to end. While you may have marginal results at first (every new endeavor has a learning curve), keep working at it and you will soon develop enough skill that you'll never go back to the expensive jacketed bullets.

Oh, yeah... I forgot to mention that there's a guy in Sierra Vista that sells lead, tin, lynotype and various alloys, along with casting equipment. He's The Antimony Man, at: http://www.bulletmetals.net/contact.htm

Regards,

Stew