Mold questions

[Tswafford]

Hello, I would like to start by saying thanks in advance for the help. I have been lurking for a few weeks trying to gain all the know algae I could before asking any questions. I am new to casting boolits. I have secured some lead and I'm ready to order some molds but I'm confused about what to order. There are different styles and shapes of boolits and I don't know what is best for my application. I would like to cast for my 38 revolver, 9mm pistol, .380 pistol, and lastly my ruger .44 auto loading rifle. All shooting will be strictly range shooting at cans and such. I may later want to try deer hunting with my .44 rifle. If anyone could help me choose the proper style boolit I would be greatly thankful.
Thank you
Terry

[Catshooter]

Terry,

Since your main purpose is to punch paper it really doesn't matter too much which moulds you get. I'd sort of head for the lighter end of the weight spectrum for each caliber. Say 140 grains for the 38 as one example.

For the Ruger 44, isn't that tube mag rifle? If so then I would want a flat nose boolit so to avoid any chance of the boolit tip bumping the primer of the round in front of it and setting it off.

Welcome to the forum and good luck!


Cat

[Tswafford]

Thank you for your reply. I was thinking I may have posted in the wronge catagory. What about the different shapes for the pistol? Is any better for reliable feeding? I'm just trying to make sure I buy the right thing when I order.
On a side note I decided to get into reloading and casting to give me and my 13 year old son something to do together when we can't go shooting. He and I are both are looking forward to this adventure so I am trying to gain all the knowalge I can from the people here that have been doing it for a while. Thanks again for the help.

[bretNorCal]

Before buying moulds I would recommend that you slug each weapon you plan on casting for. Note revolvers are different than pistols slightly. The attached video only puts the ball in a tiny bit and that does not account for any tight spots in the barrel, it is safer to do the entire thing in case of any tight spots. A brass rod, wooden dowel or fiberglass rod can be used. Do not use anything hard, the softer but still firm enough to push the ball is best to avoid any scratches. Watch that you dont damage the crown on the barrels while hammering, why its important to have a plastic tipped hammer.

Instead of balls if you have some pure lead (or very close, you want it soft) you can melt some lead in a brass casing for that weapon (may not work with the revolver, I dont have one never tried) and use a kinetic bullet puller to knock the lead out once it cools. This gives you a cylinder of lead close in size to what you need. In my experience lead fishing weights are pure lead or nearly pure lead and can be melted with a propane torch (in case you dont have any gear yet). These can slug a barrel. Remember you want the groove diameter not the bore diameter, and you will want lead that is 0.001-0.002" larger unless you are jacketing with copper or similar. There are kits for that.

If you buy a .356 mould for the 9mm and need .357-.358 its more difficult to size up so knowing this before you order lets you order the proper diameters for what you actually have. If you need to size down that is a lot easier (can be done with cheaper gear) but watch total weight and overall length if you use something for another caliber and intend on sizing it down.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR_WiL8Dkgw

[bretNorCal]

Have to do this as a separate post since I am limited to 1 video per post.


Dont forget safety gear, it is very important if you are working with molten lead especially if you are smelting it down.

A respirator is a good idea. Lead is more dangerous when it is in vapor form but even after handling solid lead you should wash your hands.
A face shield like for grinding, not goggles but a full face shield (a hat or helmet is also worn by some to protect from the tinsel fairy). If the lead splatters at any point its better to ruin a $20 face shield than your non-replaceable face.
Good leather gloves, gauntlets are better. Welding gloves are gauntlet style, leather, and insulated.
A leather welding apron with no pockets. Pockets can trap the material keeping it close to you, this is bad.
A welding jacket would be good as well, these are leather and designed to protect you from hot metals. Many do not wear this but it is extra insurance for your arms.
Good shoes/boots. Open toe shoes are a bad idea.

I think that is it. You will notice in videos many people do not wear all of this, I know I dont but each person needs to make the decision of how much safety gear they require to mitigate any risks to a level they personally find acceptable. Lead is liquid at temperatures above the boiling point of water, if any water, oil, etc is on any lead that goes into your pot it will flash boil throwing lead. Moulds should be preheated to drive water out (and to get a better fill). If you dont this can happen.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A796N_YZTm8

[fryboy]

hola amigo ! and welcome to the wonderful world of casting ! ( ermm and the forum :P ) i would suggest starting with an easy caliber and a proven design , in the case the 38 special 357 mag , it allows one to learn mild to wild all with the same cartridge , but better yet there are a few molds that folks also use in these that they use in the 9 mm ,something like the lee 358-125 round flat nose , some state decent luck with the lee 105 semi wadcutter while i havent tried it yet myself it should also ( according to some posters ) be useful in the .380
some designs do feed better but to be fair some pistols seem to feed anything whilst others only want to feed a ball type duplicate ( military ball ,usually fmj round nosed )

[Tswafford]

Wow. This is getting confusing fast. The ammo I buy off the store Shelf for my handguns aren't taylored to my specific gun. What is the difference. Im not questioning your advice rather just trying to understand what you are telling me better. Thanks everyone for your help.

[fryboy]

most factory ammo is tailored to fit a variety of chambers and per caliber, for instance one rarely sees semi wadcutters in factory 45 acp but many millions are used by shooters every year , i personally have a gun that they wont work in and yet another that feeds them fine , this is just an example , many cartridges have projectiles that even tho the same size they do not use in other cartridges of the same caliber ( one never sees a 147 fmg from a 9 mm in a 380 tho bothuse the same sized projectile) as a reloader most of us tailor our loads for both our gun and our projectiles/desired usage, face it if you was buying jacketed projectiles you wouldnt even be here ,instead you'd either be happily loading and plinking or ,like most, searching for the ever elusive "in stock" projectiles
a boolit that closely duplicates factory fodder usually is less problematic for feeding but perhaps not best for your gun/usage, it's true that one can get a mold for every caliber that they have but my question would be why when 1 mold may take the place of 3 ? many of us do this to be thrifty buying 3 separate molds is decidedly more expensive than 1 ....an example is the 9 mm - 38 , the 38 mold can often be sized to fit in a 9 but a 9 mold may not be big enough for that 38 ,btw ? in cast boolits sizing is everything hence why it was suggested by another to size your barrels first , in short fit is king so in essence a .360 as cast projectile can be sized to anything smaller within reason but a .355 projectile cant be sized larger ( swaged yes but that's another story altogether ) unlike jacketed bullets ,which again, are sized to run with a variety of barrels/makes/models cast is ...how should we state it best ? more personal per gun ? eg; that jacketed bullet will work great in all your 9's but the same can not be stated about that cast boolit hence why size is king - too small and it's going to lead the bore no matter what you do ,we'll let some one else try explaining it easier , allow me to suggest alot of reading
http://www.lasc.us/
especially this
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm

[Tswafford]

Fryboy thank you very much for the info. I know it probably sounds simple to you , I see I have a lot of reading to do before I understand enough to start reloading. I'm eager to learn and willing to listen to the advise of those here that know. So if anyone has any advise to add please do. I am very greatful for the help.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Wow. This is getting confusing fast. The ammo I buy off the store Shelf for my handguns aren't taylored to my specific gun. What is the difference. Im not questioning your advice rather just trying to understand what you are telling me better. Thanks everyone for your help.

You've been given alot of good information so far, but sometimes it's just too much to take in without a little 'Hands on' time.

The mold fryboy mentions in his first post, the Lee 358-125 RF is an excellent one for 38 spl (I also like this in 9mmLuger as well, but 9mmLuger is trickier to load). So you should start there, look for that mold and a .358 sizer and some Lube, then load some 38 spl's and shoot them in your revolver. If you have some problems (like lead fouling the barrel or poor accuracy), then you can start researching for your particular problems, like some of the info above about sluggin your barrel and cyl throats and such.

Casting your own boolits doesn't have to be complicated, but it sure can become so, in a quest to the perfect ammo for a particular gun.
Good Luck,
Jon

[country gent]

Get a good manual, Lymans cast bullet handbook comes to mind and read thru it. The how to section is very good and it also gives safe data. Then start reloading with purchased cast bullets to see wat your firearms like. By the appropriate molds/ shapes from the experience learned from that.

[Dusty Bannister]

Then start reloading with purchased cast bullets to see wat your firearms like. By the appropriate molds/ shapes from the experience learned from that.[/QUOTE]


Please drive the soft lead slug through the barrel first to determine groove size. Follow the directions in selecting the proper diameter to fill the groove/throat of your barrel. Do not inadvertantly purchase undersized commercial cast bullets. Then you won't be asking how to try to make them shoot without leading. Dusty

[Tswafford]

Many thanks to everyone that is helping me figure this out. One more question. Where do I get this slug to push through the barrel and how do I measure it? I have calipers and know how to use them. (At least that is one thing I don't have to learn in this process).
Thanks
Terry

[Buzz64]

If you post your location maybe somebody near you can help out.

Easy way to get a 'blank' slug is to get a couple 'as cast' boolits that you know are oversize (like a .360) then push through your .38 / .357. If you are using a US made or recent European firearm I'll wager you will be able to get an accurate slugging to measure without having to buy a lot of fishing weights of different diameters. Same principle for any caliber. As I use a 450 and 4500 sizer it is easy to go a little large with mold drop size and size down (no more than about .003) to get the exact diameter I want. More than about .003 down often squeezes out the crimp grove on some boolit designs.

[Tswafford]

Thanks. I live in pell city Alabama. That is about 30 minutes east of Birmingham. I have been so busy trying to figure out all this stuff I haven't put that info in my profile yet.
Thanks again.

[runfiverun]

just so you can get a handle on things I would concentrate on one gun at a time.
the easiest to work with will be your 38.
you have a lot of other things to acquire before worrying about which mold to buy.
lead being the first.
a way to melt it and clean it up [or buy it ready to go]
a way to get the lead into the mold.
then the mold itself.
a way to lube and size the castings.
after that comes the loading of the projectile and the tuning of the load to work with what you have.

it's pretty simple if you break things down into steps and concentrate on each step instead of trying to be overwhelmed by the whole project.

[Tswafford]

Thanks. I have about a half buckets of WW. A propain burner,cast iron pot, safety gear, a poring latle, wax for fluxing, a skimmer spoon and a pretty good understanding of what to do to cast the WW into clean usuable bars. I think I am ready to order my mold as soon as I figure out this checking the barrel stuff. As always thanks for shearing all I your knowalge. Slowly but shurly I'm going to get it.

[Wayne Smith]

One thing, contrary to what has been posted in this thread. DO NOT use a wooden dowel to slug your barrel. There is a stickie somewhere here about how to get an oil soaked wooden dowel/slug out of a barrel after it had been jammed in by previous attempts! A brass rod is close to ideal, a steel rod wrapped in places with tape to fit your bore almost as good.

Oh, and measure with a micrometer, not a caliper.

[MtGun44]

Lead does NOT vaporize at casting temperatures, this is commonly repeated baloney. Splash shields are smart,
and DO wash your hands after working with lead and do NOT eat, drink or smoke in the casting
area or with lead contaminated hands.

The "lead vapor" baloney keeps coming up. I suggest you look up vapor pressure of lead. The vapor pressure is
about 1 ten-millionth of one mm of mercury where 760 mm of mercury pressure is normal atmospheric pressure.

Bill

[gwpercle]

Terry,
When I started I bought a Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook and just followed it's reccomendations for each cartridge. It will give recomendations as to which boolits to use and what diameter to size them to. Go with this to get started..once you get some experience then move on to tailoring sizes to specific guns. Slugging bores and throats for "perfect" fit. Heck I didn't slug any barrels until three years ago, when I got a dial caliper, and I started loading and casting in 1967. The advice given in the book will get you by in most instances. I'm still sizing my bollits to the dimensions they listed years ago . Lyman has been doing this for many years and it is the best place to start and in most instances will be correct.
Keep it simple...too many people like to complicate things and to a beginner it's confusing and they get frustrated. Just go by the Lyman book for now.

Gary

[azrednek]

The "lead vapor" baloney keeps coming up.

Bill

I think many believe the sickening odor often associated with melting down wheel weights is mistaken by many to be dangerous lead fumes. I had to deal with city hall years ago. Neighbor complained about the obnoxious odor being dangerous lead fumes. That was about a week after she reported me for manufacturing illegal drugs. Cops took a look at what I was really doing and they were on their way. The smoke complaint was partially my fault as a couple tire valves some how got into the mix and smoked like crazy.

[Bret4207]

Lead does NOT vaporize at casting temperatures, this is commonly repeated baloney. Splash shields are smart,
and DO wash your hands after working with lead and do NOT eat, drink or smoke in the casting
area or with lead contaminated hands.

The "lead vapor" baloney keeps coming up. I suggest you look up vapor pressure of lead. The vapor pressure is
about 1 ten-millionth of one mm of mercury where 760 mm of mercury pressure is normal atmospheric pressure.

Bill

Thanks for noting that Bill. Also, a drop of water landing on the surface of the melt WILL NOT cause a steam explosion. The only way that happens is if you get the water UNDER the surface of the melt. Lets try not to make this too scary. Pre heating your ingots and exercising a bit of common sense will negate 99% of your problems in this game. BTW- when you add wax to the hot melt it will liquify, boil and start smoking like mad. Every now and then it will burst into flame, usually when you least expect it. You can avoid this by lighting the smoke on purpose when it starts. Or you can use sawdust which I think has a pleasant smoke...providing a cat didn't find the sawdust before you did!

While slugging your barrel is great, for a new guy it's a bit intimidating. One way to get in the ball park area is to simply measure the case mouth of a full powered round. A jacketed round is fine, you're after the max diameter you can reasonably expect to chamber. You can start there. I think most times you'll find this is about where you'll end up anyway. Very seldom will you find a gun that likes it's boolits smaller rather than fatter. You look through these pages and time after time you'll see people lamenting their "skinny moulds" and how they "Beagled" to add girth. If the boolit mould you get drops them at about the size you need there's not even any need to size. Lube and shoot and see what the gun says. Start off low and slow and work up slowly. It's really not all that hard, and certainly not dangerous. Personally, I would recommend starting with your 38 and a proven 358 design. I'd stay away from TL designs and bevel bases for now. I'd recommend a single or 2 cavity flat base mould. A used Lyman 358311 or 358477 would be about perfect. Learn to cast good boolits before you jump into 6 cavity or customs or whatever looks sexy right now. Figure out if it's for you and if you even like it. Some strange fellows actually dislike casting! It's true!

[azrednek]

While slugging your barrel is great, for a new guy it's a bit intimidating.

I'm man enough to admit to being intimidated at slugging a bore. Had a difficult experience years ago in my younger years long before the internet. Back in the early 70's my only reliable source of firearms advice was the public library or the often half-truths and exaggerations in the gun rags. I never found a solution to removing a stuck 230gr FMJ from a 1911. I wound up destroying a perfectly good and near new cleaning rod. Fortunately a gunsmith had the slug out and barrel back in my hands in about a minute saying "we'll get you next time" after I asked what I owed.

Thanks to You Tube and the gentleman that took the time making and posting a video I discovered how simple slugging not only a rifle bore but a revolver's cylinder as well. Now a days one of the first things I do when I either buy or trade for either a new or new to me firearm is slug the bore.

[cbrick]

Some strange fellows actually dislike casting! It's true!

Huh? Who? Where? :veryconfu

Guess I'll just have wait for you to post the punch line.

Rick

[Mal Paso]

Terry,
When I started I bought a Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook and just followed it's reccomendations for each cartridge. It will give recomendations as to which boolits to use and what diameter to size them to. Go with this to get started..once you get some experience then move on to tailoring sizes to specific guns. Slugging bores and throats for "perfect" fit. Heck I didn't slug any barrels until three years ago, when I got a dial caliper, and I started loading and casting in 1967. The advice given in the book will get you by in most instances. I'm still sizing my bollits to the dimensions they listed years ago . Lyman has been doing this for many years and it is the best place to start and in most instances will be correct.
Keep it simple...too many people like to complicate things and to a beginner it's confusing and they get frustrated. Just go by the Lyman book for now.

Gary

Use Lyman 4th for 44 Mag/Spcl and you'll be sizing lead .429". Don't know where they came up with that.......

[Tswafford]

Thanks gwpercie. I will try and find that book online to order. And suggestions where to look? Mabey amazon? Thanks again.

[Tswafford]

Ok I found the book. I will be ordering soon. I want to say thanks again to everyone here. I'm brand new to casting and my first question that I asked here I have gotten two pages of responses. All very good information. Thanks for helping me an my son. I'm sure we are going to enjoy this very much.

[Buzz64]

Post your location in your profile and maybe someone can help who is 'close by'.

[Tswafford]

Thanks buzz64 I took care of that.

[fryboy]

while it is true that we learn more thru practical application ,reading can provide a sort of " what to expect " , speaking of expecting , none of us want to get burned , be it a wee bit or severely ,some day some time it will happen ,when it does reaction can be very important , most of us have been trained since childhood to pull away from pain , so much so that it's instinctive , when working with a hot pot full of lead that instinct can actually cause more damage if one was to knock over the pot , it's something i dont care to think about but at this stage i'd be wrong for not bringing up the possibility , i hope it never happens to anyone hence why i mention it from time to time , be safe amigo and have fun ,once you start turning out good projectiles it's too late to ever go back ;)
and while i cant say it for everyone i'm pretty sure that most would echo it when i state "you're welcome - glad to help when we can " !!