new guy on a budget

[huntingohio]

I am new to cast bullets and reloading. With income tax season coming up I have a few questions for the wise older ones on here.

I am going to spring decent money on a lee turet press, howerevr that cuts into my casting kit budget [makes it around $50 usd]. So that being said I am going to try the OLD SCHOOL casting method.

I have a dutch oven and acess to a propane burner, as most would do smelting there ingots.
However I cant at this point afford a melting pot, so would it be possible to ladle in the molten lead to the bullet mold? My thought was if i kept the ladle in the lead to keep it hot the lead should be hot enough to pour.. is that possble?

I plan to pan lube and resize then lube again. This will be done on a lee turret press with lee resizing dies and molds if that helps

[Artful]

Sure no problem ladling into the mold - some of my molds like it best when I do it that way - just make sure you leave enough (sprue) over the hole for shrinkage.

I'm using this one - 2nd hand or maybe third
http://www.reloadingtips.com/allimages/Casting/lyman-ladle.jpg
if you want new ...LEE for 4.53
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/40948-1.html
http://cdn1.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd_images/lgprod/40948.jpg
But I also have a deep big old serving spoon that I really like for fluxing with that would work ok as a ladle as well.

Best bang for the buck is look for used stuff at flea market, garage sales, local gun club bulletin boards, and of course here.

And you might just be interested in this link
http://www.reloadingtips.com/pages/bottom-pour-vs-ladle-weight.htm

[Recluse]

Howdy and welcome.

Yep, you can absolutely ladle pour straight from your dutch over. Lot of folks here started exactly like that. You'd be surprised how many still do.

But, if you're going to ladle pour, I'd highly highly highly recommend buying the Lyman ladle over the Lee ladle.

Let's see, to start casting. . . a dutch oven, a ladle, a mold, hmmmm. That'll do it. I personally would highly recommend a sizing die (push through from Lee). The rest of the stuff you can find at The Dollar Store and at garage sales, estate sales, etc for next to nothing. You'll want a slotted spoon to skim off the wheel weight clips and larger debris when you smelt. And you'll probably want a regular (large) stainless steel spoon to skim off the dross. I bought two brand new ones on clearance at Academy Sports for a dollar each--and these things are heavy-duty stout.

For reloading, you'll need a little bit more, including components (primers, brass, powder). I believe I saw on your first post that you're a 45ACP fan in the 1911? Good stuff.

For reloading, brass brass and more brass. Hopefully you've been saving your once-fired brass, if not, call out--no shortage of that stuff around here.

But THE most important thing you can have in reloading is a good manual. I'd recommend either the Lyman manual or the Lee manual if you're just starting out.

Then, do NOT hesitate to ask questions here.

:coffee:

[littlejack]

huntinginohio:
I started out using one of the Lyman bottom pour electric pots. Went that way for a few decades.
I have since went to the Lyman ladle mentioned above and a GoodWill 2 quart cast iron
made in China pot w/ handle.
One can cast bigger boolits (45-70) with the ladle easier and better than the electric bottom
pour.
There is heavy sediment that causes inclusions in the boolit when the bottom pour electrics
are used. I know fellas, There are some who will disagree, and that is fine.
One can control the lead stream better with the ladle. One can turn the mould at an angle
to fill and or spiral the stream in. Any way, it works better for me.
I use the old Coleman camp stove for my heat sourse. I have switched mine over to
propane.
I do have a turkey fryer and a dutch oven that I use to smelt my ww's and radiator dripping
in.
Jack

[C.F.Plinker]

When I started out casting one of my mentors took my Lyman ladle from me as we were leaving the store I bought it at. He returned it the next weekend. In the meantime he replaced the original metal shaft with one that is 11 inches long. That lets me get down in the deep pot I use much easier and keeps my hand cooler. I give him a silent thank you every time I use that ladle. If you can get hold of some No. 10 drill rod and can thread it to match the threading on the pour casting you can make the same modification.

[Bret4207]

You an certainly ladle out of your dutch oven, I did a similar thing for many years on a smaller scale. But a $10.00 hot plate (you want at least 1k watts and an open coil design, not he shielded "flat top" type) and a stainless sauce pan from the Goodwill/Salvation Army store will be far more convenient.

[acguy45]

[QUOTE=Bret4207; But a $10.00 hot plate (you want at least 1k watts and an open coil design, not he shielded "flat top" type) and a stainless sauce pan from the Goodwill/Salvation Army store will be far more convenient.[/QUOTE]

Welcome,

I'm fairly new hear to I read and gain from the knowledge of these folks here this is an awesome sight!

+1 on what Bret4207 said.

I used a walgreen's $10 hot plate and a spare canteen cup for awhile until I finally got an electric pot. It would be alot cheaper than running propane to keep your melt hot. I still use it to melt down small batches of range scrap. My cheap A** uses a wood fire and a stock pot for big batches most of the time.

[Firebricker]

I've got an old Lyman dipper in rough shape but it works just fine. Pm me your address and you can have it. FB

[Pigslayer]

I started out using a Lyman Lead Dipper, a 10 lb. pot & a propane torch held in place by a homemade stand. Cast a whole lot of Lyman 358156 out of a single cavity mold . . . every bit the quality I get from an electric bottom pour!

[geargnasher]

Definetely spend the money on the Lee turret press. In fact, if you can possibly afford it, buy the Lee CLASSIC Turret press, the one with the primer catcher tube on the bottom of the ram, it's one of the best and most versatile presses on the market, will never wear out, and the fact that it doesn't spit used primers everywhere is worth the extra cost over the regular Lee turret press. The primer catch design also keeps the gritty primer residue off of the ram and prevents premature wear of the ram and press body.

Once you have the investment made in the press, all you need is a stainless steel or cast iron pot, heat source, and ladle. Again, one place where it's worth it to spend the money is to invest in a quality "Rowell" ladle like Lyman sells and has been pictured above. They cost about $20 USD and are far superior to spoons or the Lee ladle because they pour from the bottom, and you don't get any dross in the mould. The pour spout is shaped to fit the sprue well in the mould, and you can actually connect the ladle spout and the mould together and roll them as a unit to let the alloy flow directly into the mould.

You can cast on the side burner of an outdoor propane grille, or over charcoal briquettes, or even over a wood fire if you have a stand for your pot. The heat source isn't as important as a good mould, a good ladle, and a good press.

You can also use the inexpensive Lee push-through sizer dies and either pan-lube your boolits or use the Lee liquid Alox that comes with the sizer kit. The sizer die will work fine with your turret press, just remove the auto-index rod to the turret head doesn't rotate when you cycle the handle.

Good luck!

Gear

[WILCO]

But a $10.00 hot plate (you want at least 1k watts and an open coil design, not he shielded "flat top" type) and a stainless sauce pan from the Goodwill/Salvation Army store will be far more convenient.

That's how I started out smelting and casting. Hotplate and a cast iron chinese skillet.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

if no one has told you why the Classic Cast turret is more desired i will

i have both , i couldn't see the difference when i was originally looking and purchased the aluminium basic turret press

i recently purchased a co-workers classic cast when he upgraded to a Dillon

the classic cast has a 3/4 of an inch longer stroke , why is this important , because that is what is needed to get the turret to index on rifle cartridges like 30-30 or even .223

second reason is that the basic lee turret has a hole in the side of the ram that if the priming arm is in it will toss the old primers out the side of the press they collect in the base with no good way to empty them but to unbolt your press

this leaves a collection of spent primers building up in your press till they over flow and start going every were

the classic cast turret has a hole clear thru the ram and a clear plastic tube the collects or drops the spent primers into a bucket below your reloading bench

this also means a lot less grit builds up on your ram from the little bits of sand that usually comes with the brass picked up from the ground

i started casting with a single cavity lee R.E.A.L mold borrowed from a friend for my muzzle loader , a small soup ladle and a small stainless steel sauce pan from good will
i had a old soup spoon that i clamped in a vise grips to scrap the sides with and skim the dross
i would heap the little pot up with wheel weights , all the stick on i could find in a bucket i got from the car dealer smelt it on my old camp stove flux and skim till i thought i had it clean then start pouring i had to add a little plumbing soldier to get good fill out

it got me hooked and i have slowly built up several dies and 2 molds of my own , i need more molds but i have dies to reload almost everything i own now.

just save and research watch for deals 20-40 dollars at a time you build up the tools to do what you want

is there any particular calibers you want to reload for ?

if you want that kid at Christmas feeling again , this is were it is at , my brother got me the last set of dies i wanted for Christmas, i was smiling as big as my son who had just opened up his new pocket knife , dad helped by Christmas presents this year , for eight he did quite well with a new pocket knife (just like dads but smaller) and a bow and arrows

[Wayne Smith]

With your budget invest in a good (not Lee) ladle (RCBS or Lyman) and a good mold or two. When you decide your current setup is too hot you can go to your local Salvation Army store and pick up a Coleman camp stove and couple of old 2qt stainless steel kitchen pots and use them to cast from. The heat will be less and access easier. I've used this system to cast from over 10 years and have never wanted to change, especially since I am casting some big boolits that don't do well in a bottom pour system.