When to start casting????

[DakotaElkSlayer]

An old guy gave my buddy a little Lee 4lbs. furnace and a .357 mould... We played around with it a bit and decided we are gonna start casting our own bullets. Before investing in equipment, I thought lead would be a better investiment. Well, we scrounged some up and I have found a guy that is going to sell me ingots from WW for .50/lbs. So the question is... How much lead would you want on hand before buying the bigger furnace, moulds, etc? We don't shoot nearly as much as most of you folks, but when we are between seasons and the weather isn't great, we go shooting.

Thanks,

Jim

[mroliver77]

WW ingots sell for $1. per lb on the selling forum here. Think about that.

Personally I Have a couple ton of range scrap, WW and pure lead put back along with solder bars, tin, linotype and babbit. It has increased in value 1000% in the last ten years! I look at it as money in the bank. I believe it will become harder each year to find lead especially cheap lead.

I shoot much more since I started casting. Along with getting internet and finding deals on components casting allowed me to shoot way more. Surplus powders, home brew lube and bore cleaner and I could shoot all I want.

All you need now is a good ladle, a cheapo micrometer, possibly a sizer and some lube and your on the way. Don't go off half cocked on a buying spree. Get the minimum tools you need to cast and load some boolits. See how you like it. If it trips your trigger there are a few tools that speed up the process.

I recomend reading everything you can on this forum, http://www.lasc.usCastBulletNotes.htm
and the Glen Fryxell book for starters.
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_textonly2.pdf

Jay

[MT Gianni]

I started with 50 lbs and three molds, one of which I didn't have the handles for yet/ Find out of it is for you before you increase pot size.

[Bret4207]

Good advice so far. It's not the equipment that makes the man in this hobby, it's the skill. Work with what you have and pick up what you need as you go along.

[VenomBallistics]

when to start ... as soon as you have a gun
for personal use ... the LEE 10 pound pot will suffice
molds ... well variety is the spice of life ... get something for every caliber you shoot, meanwhile check the boolit lube threads for concoctions

[GLL]

Clean WW ingots for 50 cents/pound. I would start with a 1000 pounds at that price ! :) :)

Jerry

[Lizard333]

50 cents a pound...... ALL OF IT!!!

[mdi]

You don't have to have a lot of lead to start out casting, just enough to fill a pot. You won't cast too many bullets with 10 lbs. of lead, but you'll be casting. Most of us started with a few pounds of lead (I collected wheel weights, 'cause I was a mechanic and they were plentiful) and one mold. Most prolly started with a ladle and some even hand lubed their boolits. Nope, it don't take much to start, but if you are like the rest of us you'll soon have hundreds of pounds of lead/alloy laying around, two or more pots and a dozen molds...

[cbrick]

Welcome to Castboolits DakotaElkSlayer,

Wow, 50 cents a pound? If you can be reasonably certain that they were properly seperated from zinc weights etc when poured into ingots I would buy everything he has. Even if you should decide casting isn't for you (yea, right) it would sell easily for $1.00 a pound and that will most likely go up in the next few years. Money in the bank.

Do you need a bigger pot? Only you can answer that, start casting with what you have, see if your current capicity is working for you or it looks like you both want and need to do more. Won't take you long to figure it out and you'll know quickly how much you want to invest in time/equipment.

As for the title to your post "when to start casting" . . . Your asking that of a bunch of die hard addicts, simple answer. ASAP!

Have fun, stay safe and let us know how it goes for you.

Rick

[fredj338]

Consider you need about 24# of alloy for 1000 160gr/357. Consider that cheap/free alloy is getting harder to come by as lead ww get banned across the country. At 50c/#, if it's good alloy, I would buy 1000# to start. Then a Lee 20# bott pour pot & molds of you choice. The great thing about casting, you can go cheap or expensive & still get great results.

[pdawg_shooter]

When to start casting? Umm...when you need bullets!

[DakotaElkSlayer]

Thanks for the replies, guys! Something I forgot to have you folks factor in....MONEY! Oh ya, if I had unlimited cash, I would buy all the guy's lead. Too bad, that isn't the case!
Let me rephrase my original question... If you had $50 a paycheck to buy casting supplies, how much lead would you buy BEFORE you invest in molds, ladles, etc? I am anxious to start, but at the same time I know that all it takes is one person to find out about this guy and all the lead will be gone...

Jim

[Jailer]

Thanks for the replies, guys! Something I forgot to have you folks factor in....MONEY! Oh ya, if I had unlimited cash, I would buy all the guy's lead. Too bad, that isn't the case!
Let me rephrase my original question... If you had $50 a paycheck to buy casting supplies, how much lead would you buy BEFORE you invest in molds, ladles, etc? I am anxious to start, but at the same time I know that all it takes is one person to find out about this guy and all the lead will be gone...

Jim

I'd get all the lead you can get your hands on. Free sources are disappearing and cheap sources won't be far behind. I scrounged lead for months before I ever started casting. Scrounge lead and get your smelting setup together so you can cast it into ingots to use. Use this scrounging time to read, research and read some more.

Once you've got a decent knowledge base you can make some better decisions on the direction you want to go. Then you'll be ready to cast and you'll have a stash built up to do it with.

[SciFiJim]

An old guy gave my buddy a little Lee 4lbs. furnace and a .357 mould...

You've already got a melter and a mold. If you need a ladle to pour with, get a steel soup ladle from the dollar store.
http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt47/SciFiJim_photobucket/100_1467.jpg

Then read this thread about tumble lubing.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=67654
A bottle of Alox and a can of JPW will get you started with lubing you boolits.

I would spend the rest of the money on the lead. Also, start asking at tire shops for wheel weights. The worst part of the caster's addiction is the constant scrounging for lead. It's just part of the process. You will also find yourself looking at a lot of things differently that you never had a use for before and asking how you can use it for casting boolits.

[plainsman456]

I started with a deal that had 20+ molds 2 pots and a little lead in the bottom.
I played wit a 357 mold to get the rhythm down,I don't have a 357 pistol.I made another deal to make a 1000 200 grain SWC for a load of WW.
After that it has been down hill,I have shot more after getting these things and I look for doing more in the future.
I think you have some good advice hereto get you on your way,Just Get all the reading material you can get on the subject.
You can never know all there is to know,at least I haven't .
Good Luck on your new hobby.

[fredj338]

Let me rephrase my original question... If you had $50 a paycheck to buy casting supplies, how much lead would you buy BEFORE you invest in molds, ladles, etc? I am anxious to start, but at the same time I know that all it takes is one person to find out about this guy and all the lead will be gone...

Jim
Well $50 doesn't get you much lead or casting gear, but you certainly are NOT casting w/o the alloy. I would buy the alloy first. If you change your mind, can always sell or trade it.

[sisiphunter]

I hear where you are comin from Jim, i am in the same boat, i usually take out $50 or so dependning and buy a little something each cheque. I would get lead for a month or two, try it out and see if casting is for you. Ive been at this for 5 years now and that $50 a cheque adds up after a while. It just takes a little time, but you'll get all you need. I still dont have a lubrisizer, I either tumble lube or panlube, works fine enough for me.

[Wayne Smith]

Humm, from what I read you are already casting!! Now your question relates to priorities to continue the process. Lead alloy at that price won't last long and won't be avaliable long. Grab all you can, promote more money because of the opportunity. You can cast with an old kitchen 1qt pot and an old Coleman propane 2 burner stove and a ladle - that's what I am using after more than 10 years of casting. Those are available for pennies at thrift stores or yard sales.

Save your money for lead and molds. You will never run out of things to buy, but you and I run out of money fast. I'm still using the stove cause I'm not done buying molds!

[DakotaElkSlayer]

Well, I met the guy today and bought 120lbs of WW lead. Talked to the gentleman and he assured me that there would be more for me when I shot all this lead up...neat, old guy, by the way. Bummed a couple of Ruger .357's off the father-in-law so I can use the mould that we have. Dollar store provide a couple of ladles, muffin pans, and a pie pan.
Thanks for all the advice guys... My plan is to start casting with the .357 mould and learn the tricks of the trade. Have about 500rds of commercial cast for my .45 Colts and a few hundred rounds for my .475 Linebaugh; not going to worry about casting for those right away since they use up too much lead AND powder. Personally, I love LEE, but can't stomach their .32 caliber mould offerings. So, I am going to continue to play with the .357Mag until their is a group buy for mould that will work for me.

Thanks,
Jim

[youngda9]

Good plan. I've been following this thread since I'm at the same place you are.