1st time caster need equipment list

[jaysouth]

I have been reloading commercial Ranch Dog bullets in .30 and .357. I intend to buy the molds and handle from Ranch Dog. I have Lee sizing dies and lube.

Give me some advice. What kind of furnace, dippers, thermometers, etc should I buy? I want good gear that will last.

My budget is around $300 for furnace and accessories. This is driven by availability of funds and not anticipation of any particular brands.

I do not plan to cast until cooler weather and will be casting outdoors. My lead source will be purchased ingots.

NEXT year, I will melt and refine lead.

Thanks

[myfriendis410]

I've been using the Lee Production Pot. It holds 20 lbs. or so of lead, and is pretty inexpensive (around $60). I own two: one for range lead and the other for WW. That makes it easier for me to cast either pistol or rifle. You can buy a good lead thermometer for around $50 as well.

[Green Frog]

I've used 10 and 20 pound Lyman, 20 pound RCBS and 20 pound Lee lead pots over the years and like them all, but am currently using the Lee because it was such a great deal. I have a couple of Lyman dippers that came in some sort of box deals or something, but never use them. As for moulds, I go with whoever has the bullet design I want and makes a quality product. Unlike many on this board I am not fond of RCBS moulds, but that's because I had some bad experiences with them early on, rather prefer I old Lyman moulds for factory 1 or 2 cavity designs and Lee for factory 6 bangers. I have a few custom or limited production moulds, but that is beyond our current discussion. :cbpour:

As important as the equipment above would be things like a good place to work that holds your pot steady and securely. You need a soft but tough surface to dump and sort your bullets on as well as gloves, eye protection, and probably an apron. Most of us use some sort of rod or bar to (perhaps) tap the sprue plate open (some folks just use their thumb in their glove, of course) and to tap the hinge to jar out sticky bullets (don't hit the mould itself!) For this latter job I'm just starting to use up my second hickory hammer handle in 40 years or so, but my friend Dale53 showed me his 7/8" diameter rod of black nylon that works really great... I hope to get one like it soon. :Bright idea:

After that you can spend the next 30-40 years developing the package that works best for you. Last time Dale53 and I got together, he turned me on to the nylon knocker, and I showed him how a couple of layers of pillow ticking cloth over the terry cloth he was already using made a great surface on which to drop bullets. "Learn something new every day!" ;)

Froggie

[FergusonTO35]

I'm a big fan of the Lyman Big Dipper kit. Its only $75.00 or so with free shipping from opticsplanet.com and comes with a furnace, ladle, ingot mold, three different kinds of boolit lube, and the invaluable Lyman cast boolit manual.

[D Crockett]

you can and I did. get a turkey fryer and a steel pot melt and clean your lead in it. then laydel cast your bullets out of that same pot. I did it with my black powder bullets for years. no reason you cannot do it with smokeless bullets to. D Crockett

[MikeS]

I'll cast another vote for the Lee 4-20 20lb pot. It's not the best pot out there, but it's also not bad. There's a large gap in the price range, going from around $60.00 for the Lee pot to over $200 for a Lyman pot, and the RCBS which many folks feel is much better than the Lyman pot is over your budget! Another nice thing with the Lee pot is that all the bottom pour mechanism is off to one side, so if you want to use a ladle (dipper) you have plenty of room to do so. Why use a ladle if you have a bottom pour pot? Simple, some folks like using a ladle, some folks like bottom pouring. With the Lee pot you can do either, so you can decide for yourself which way you prefer, and if you decide you prefer ladling your lead into the moulds rather than bottom pouring and feel you don't want to bottom pour anything, it's a fairly easy thing to remove the bottom pour parts, and plugging the spout. Or you can just replace the pot, and not lost lots of money (if you had bought a Lyman or RCBS pot). As for the ladle itself, don't bother with the Lyman ladle, it's too small for the 6 cavity moulds, you'll be much better off getting a Rowell #1 ladle, when used right it's spout draws lead from the bottom of the ladle, rather than the top, so if there's some dross floating on the top of the lead in the ladle it won't get into your boolits.

I personally have the Lee 4-20 pot and bottom pour almost all my boolits. I also have a Rowell ladle, as I sometimes use it rather than bottom pouring, depending on the boolit I'm casting, as well as my mood when I'm casting, so having a pot that allows either is a good thing. Also, even if you're going to use bottom pouring for most of your boolits, it's a good idea to learn how to use a ladle, it comes in handy at times. A couple of times while mixing up a batch of boolit alloy using a turkey fryer, I've taken a mould and ladle with me, and once the alloy is mixed up I'll cast some boolits directly from the smelting pot rather than remelting the ingots I just cast into my normal casting pot to make the boolits. While it's not normally considered a good idea to cast directly from your smelting pot, it can't hurt much either, and by doing this I can get more out of my alloying session, as the ladle I use to make ingots (a Rowell #3) leaves a lot of lead in the pot that it can't reach due to it's size, so rather than just leave it in the pot, I find I can cast quite a few boolits using my Rowell #1 ladle.

[popper]

Lee pot $70, Mould >$70, SS spoon or putty knife $5, hot plate $25, gloves $20, apron $5, safety glasses $10 = ~$200.

[geargnasher]

First item on your list should the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, 3rd edition if you can get it (Amazon, etc.) or the 4th.

Gear

[Mk42gunner]

For your budget;

I like the Lee 4-20, It can be ladled from easily.

An RCBS ladle, it has a fin on the bottom to clear a spot to dip from and I have ladled a six cavbity 38-55 mold with it. I did have to do three cavities and refill the ladle, but it worked and made good boolits.

I have a Lyman thermometer. (I think pretty much all the casting thermometers are made by one company). Not totally necessary, buyt it sure shortens the learning curve.

A cheap pair of leather work gloves, I loose to much dexterity with welding guantlets.

A cheap full face shield, Blue jeans and a long sleeved cotton shirt. Leather boots.

A sturdy table to work on.

For a mallet to open the mold with I used an 8 oz dead blow hammer for years until I started opening the mold with my hand (be sure to wear gloves when trying this). Just don't set a hot mold on the hammer handle like I did.

If you are going to order by mail or online; don't just go by price of the items, watch your shipping charges.

Good luck,

Robert

[Bret4207]

A mould a ladle a heat source and a stainless pot. That's all you need along with a dry stick to stir/flux with and and old spoon to pull the dross out with. See if you even like casting before you dunp $$$ into it.

[209jones]

You can buy a furnace such as the Lee or Lyman or RCBS, or you can use a stove and a cast iron pot of some type. That becomes something of a choice in itself, as to whether you want to use a bottom pour or ladle. Electric furnace/hotplate is easier to regulate temp on.
A Lyman thermometer will do the trick, readily available.
Lyman ladle is readily available.
Some ingot moulds of some type, Lee and Lyman make some, or even muffin sheets.
And, other than moulds, that is all you really need to spend any amount of money on.
I use a piece of 1" wood dowel as a sprue knocker. Old hammer handles work.
A large spoon to skim dross.
A cookie sheet is nice to drop sprues on, I have one under my Lyman furnace for mould overflow drips, and one for sprues, and one for bullets to drop or dry on, with a deer hide on top of an old mat for padding. Or a pot of some form with an old shirt/cloth in the bottom for water dropping.
Sprue plate lube of some form is a good thing.. Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning out a mould, Q-tips, a magnifying glass can be useful. I use wooden matches to smoke the moulds.

[Gliden07]

1- I scoured my old utensils before I bought anything then I went to the Dollar store and then a Flea market. Total outlay for spoons laddles etc... about 8 bucks!!
2- I used my Turkey fryer and an old SS Pot that was used for camping - Free
3- I had some misc muffin pans and bought 3 Lee ingot molds (could have done it cheaper if I looked more but wanted to get going, Flea Market would have worked for more muffin tins) - $38.00 with shipping
80LBS of WW from local tire place smelted downto aprox 50-52 LBS of Ingots Free
Total for Smelting stuff about $46 dollars

1- Bought a small Lyman pot off of member here $27.00 with shipping
2- Lee small ladle $4.95
3- Lee Bullet mold $19.00 (2 cavity)
4- Lee Single Stage press $24.95 (for Lee sizing die)
5- Lee sizing Kit $18.00
6- Shipping from FS Reloading was about $12.00
7- Misc tools and spoons for casting FREE
Total $105ish

Grand Total $150.00

I figure with the the current cost of cast bullets (Aprox $105 the cost including shipping for 1K 45ACP of same type 230Grain Round nose sized to .452) If I cast the lead I have and only the lead I have the equipment I've already bought will pay for itself. PLUS ITS FUN!!! I've already cast 300 and the lead I have should easily do 1500 Boolits. And did I mention ITS FUN!!