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Thread: Finally Got Equipment

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Finally Got Equipment

    I learned to cast about 2 years ago from Swamp and then got caught up in life and never got around to purchasing the equipment to do so. I was given a mold by a member and swamp passed it along to me. This Monday I was up at Cabelas and bought a pot and handles. Now I just need to get some lead and build a few benches in the new house for casting and reloading. Of course more molds are on the list to get. I figure another 44 mold and a few 45-70 along with a 9mm mold will get me going. I haven't shot a whole lot lately but figure casting and loading several rounds will give me some flexibility.
    One question: where does everyone get lead? I've been looking at rotometals and eBay and think I should be able to get enough to last a while from those two options.
    Thanks again to swamp for taking the time to teach a new guy.

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  2. #2
    Boolit Master

    Rcmaveric's Avatar
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    Tire shops, scrap yards and the berms at the gun range.
    "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."
    ~Theodore Roosevelt~

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
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    Thanks maveric. As soon as I posted I came across an eBay ad for 27 pounds of clean lead for 36 bucks. That'll be enough for now while I look for lead scrap.

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  4. #4
    Boolit Master
    DerekP Houston's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Anschutz View Post
    Thanks maveric. As soon as I posted I came across an eBay ad for 27 pounds of clean lead for 36 bucks. That'll be enough for now while I look for lead scrap.

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    Check the vendor seller area on here, I just got a box of 50lbs+ for 63 from "The Captain". Nice clean ingots in any variety you want, I got CoWW (Clip on Wheel Weights) since I wanted an alloy that would water quench well. Usually on this forum it goes for around $1 per lb + shipping.
    My feedback page if you feel inclined to add:
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...raight-Shooter

    Thanks Yall!

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I routinely order lead from roto metals and buffalo arms company. This is clean and alloyed to what I want so no smelting mixing needs to be done just melt and go. Ordering from these two is shipped flat rate ups boxes. I normally order 150 lbs a time so 3 boxes. Its easier getting started working with a known alloy and having the smelting alloying done for you. The venders section in Swapping and Selling should be good also.

  6. #6
    Moderator Emeritus


    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
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    Our vendors here provide some quality lead alloys. I'd order from them before I'd risk getting some stuff on fleabay.
    Also, put out the word to your friends and family, you'll be surprised what others may have laying around and just want to get rid of.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  7. #7
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    RogerDat's Avatar
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    +1 to buy from members and vendors here for WW's or other scrap lead. Or Rotometals (site sponsor with link at top of page) if you want or need foundry quality enough to pay the extra cost.

    I scrounge lead where I can find it which is scrap yards, construction sites, tire stores, auctions (farmers used it for tractor weights) BUT when just starting out I think you can avoid a lot of hassle and get a good price by purchase of a quality alloy from a member here. Little tin in the form of solder or pewter and some COWW's (Clip On Wheel Weights), ISO container lead, or Berm lead from a range backstop will allow you to focus on the casting and reloading rather than messing around trying to figure out what lead you "found" and how to make it into a useful good casting alloy.

    You may want to buy some high end alloy from Rotometals at some point. Maybe for the precision of the alloy content from a foundry or maybe just to "sweeten" some more basic lead you found as scrap or bought in bulk from a member.

    Point is that it will be a lot easier to focus on casting technique working from a "known" source and lot of folks will have a WW recipe for most any bullet. I like finding scrap but it can take awhile to get a supply of "ingredients" that allow you to make good lead ingots that you can then cast with. Whole additional operation before you get to the FUN part. You may want to read up on powder coating at some point too. The hard and slippery of powder coat baked on paint allows for more velocity for a given alloy. Takes the place of lube on the bullet does take more time.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy
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    I do fully plan on powder coating. I had some PayPal funds and saw that Titan takes that as an option so have lee molds for 45-70 and 9mm on the way. Will continue with my Lyman mold for 44 magnum and if there's a noticeable difference I'll upgrade later.

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  9. #9
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    RogerDat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Anschutz View Post
    I do fully plan on powder coating. I had some PayPal funds and saw that Titan takes that as an option so have lee molds for 45-70 and 9mm on the way. Will continue with my Lyman mold for 44 magnum and if there's a noticeable difference I'll upgrade later.

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    I get good results from Lee molds, for plinking ammo you can't beat the price for a 6 cavity. I did go to NOE for aluminum molds for specific needs. Found them to be a good value for a more premium mold. They had the oversized mold for worn bore 303 British and for a 70 grain .223 for fast twist barrel, or a group buy in .32 that was short enough for the 32 acp case. I like being able to get more than 2 cavities but less than 6. I found that 3 or 4 cavities was better productivity without being too heavy. But I also have a couple of Lyman molds and those are good too.

    Thing I miss on Lee molds is the set screw that locks the sprue plate pivot to a specific tightness. My Lee molds the moving of the sprue plate back and forth can loosen the screw if I don't pay attention, shows up as the bullet base being ragged or having a fin. I also use a stone of fine file to "clean up" the sprue plate to make sure there are no burrs before first use. Steel burr will scratch aluminum block right quick. Still Lee is my go to first choice unless I find a specific reason to go to a different mold.

    Best of luck in your new endeavors.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  10. #10
    Boolit Master Tenbender's Avatar
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    Be sure your casting station is well vented if your casting in your house. Moma will throw you out.

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    Plan to put it in the basement by a window with ventilation outside. If not I'll put it in the garage and cast with door open

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  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy
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    Someone may have mentioned it already but another source could be an indoor range if you have one nearby. I gotten a couple five gallon bucket full that weighed about 140 lbs and coat be 45-50 cents / lb. Each bucket yielded about 95 lbs of clean range scrap after smelting, so 65 cents or so per lb of usable material.

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  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master

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    If your furnace is in the basement it will pull the smoke from casting thru the house. Same with the garage but with the garage door open it will be less noticeable.

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Glad to hear that you are able to get started into this interesting hobby. I would buy lead from the vendors here on the site before going to EBay. A few years ago, when I was a pretty new member, I suggested starting a thread about sources for scrounging lead but it was not met with much enthusiasm. You can learn a little about scrounging by reading through the post in the Lead and Lead Alloy thread. Networking, asking your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers can be very rewarding. Some scrap yards, mostly the smaller ones, will still sell to the public.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    It wouldn’t hurt to add a location to your profile...

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy Butchman205's Avatar
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    Finally Got Equipment

    Hey Anschutz...where you located man? If you're in Bama I'll bring some smelted wheel weight lead and have a little casting seminar...if not, hit me with a pm with your address, and I'll throw a few free pounds to you.

    I can sell some if you like it, but the vendors here are hard to beat.


    -Butchman

  17. #17
    Boolit Buddy
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    Thought I had my location but I'm in Colorado and fixed it. Butchman, thank you for the offer but I couldn't take your lead for free.

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  18. #18
    Boolit Master rondog's Avatar
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    I can't even imagine how much hassle it would be to "mine" lead from a range berm. Not to mention the damage to the berm itself. I'd much rather just buy it from The Captain or Rotometals first. But I've got about 800 lbs of w/w ingots stashed up, so I'm set for awhile.

    Anschutz - If you're in the Denver area and don't know about it yet, look up The Reloaders Corner in Arvada. He keeps a decent stock of casting and reloading stuff, but his used guns are priced too high. Don't know how much he'll deal on them though. But that's the only place I've found locally that actually has bullet molds in stock, all Lee 2-holers though.

  19. #19
    Boolit Buddy
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    I'm down in the springs but I haven't seen much casting supply anywhere down here.

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  20. #20
    Boolit Grand Master In Remembrance
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    The range folks handle the berm mining, I imagine they use a front loader or the like; And I imagine they'd gripe if you went out there digging in their berm LOL

    I have a friend helping me get restarted but he's a crypto nut so it's hard to pay cash; Long story. Pac. Northwet here, I'll get back going in time. It can be slow to get back going but it's quite fun

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check