How much was your start up cost?

[North_of_60]

I just sat down and figured out roughly what my start up cost was to cast my first boolits. I think I did it on the low end. $194.00 and that included a 5 gal bucket of wheel weights. I did splurged on the thermometer and the bottom pour ladle, but I'm glad I did. It took a couple of months of saving my lunch money and scrounging but now I'm having a great time making and shooting my own boolits.

Turkey Fryer (already had it)
Coleman Camp Stove (already had it)
5 gal bucket of wheel weights (Yielded 100 lbs ingots.) $50.00
8 Qt stainless steel stock pot (Wal-Mart) $8.00
Stainless steel slotted spoon set (Sam's Club) $8.00
Stainless steel ladles set of 3 (Sam's Club) $10.00
Small 3/4 or 1 quart Dutch Oven (Thrift Store) $10.00
Lead Thermometer $38.00
1# Rowell Bottom Pour Ladle $26.00
Lee 452-252 SWC 2 Cavity Mold $20.00
Lee 410-175TC 2 Cavity Mold $20.00
Metal cake pan for pan lubing (Wal-Mart) $4.00
TOTAL $194.00

It doesn't need to be an expensive hobby. I shoot a quite a bit so the $ invested in casting equipment will soon be returned in savings over buying commercially made bullets. I figure that by the time I have shot up the bucket of wheel weights I'll have paid for my equipment.

Al

[starmac]

Al, what else are you planing on casting for? I just made a deal for that 410 lee mold a few minutes ago, and don't even own a 40, but my son has a couple.

I don't have a lot, but I have a few different molds, if you want to try something I have before laying out money.

[220]

My first cast cost me about $50.
Had a camp stove as a heat source, made myself a casting pot from a bit of steam pipe offcut, only purchases were a lee mould, ladle and some alox

[starmac]

Curious, did you find the thermometer here in town somewhere, or have to order it?

[dikman]

$40 for two Lee molds, + $17.50 shipping. That's it, everything else was gear I used for casting fishing sinkers/lures.

Of course, once I got hooked the $$ just started going up!!!

[Sasquatch-1]

My first cast cost me the cost of a Lyman Ladle and a Lee mold. This was 35+ years ago so I can't remember the cost. I used the kitchen stove and an old corn can. Got the wheel weights free. Can't give you a final cost because it hasn't stopped.

[NoZombies]

I think the first time I cast, it was with a cast iron skillet over the forge. I paid about $5 for the RB mold, everything else was on hand already.

That was many thousands of $ worth of equipment ago.

[CastingFool]

I've only been boolit casting for maybe 2 yrs, but I purchased a mold for my 45LC, maybe 10 yrs ago, so I can't remember how much I paid. Most of my casting equipment was given to me by a friend who decided to sell all his BP stuff, and the buyer didn't want the Lee pot and 12 molds. Lead and other miscellaneous stuff, I already had.

[bruce drake]

$15.99 for a Lee Bullet mold fifteen years ago and I used an old steel pan on a kitchen stove with a tablespoon. I've increased the equipment and the number of molds monumentally since.

[carbine]

Used Lyman Pot $20
Rcbs Minie Mold $40
Dipper $20
Thermometer $20
total $100 1984
Friend donated lead and plumbers pot.

[bhn22]

$35.00. I got a Lee "Melter", a single cavity Lee 357 mold, a Lee lube & sizing kit, and one of those cheap Lee ladles that don't work.

My investment now could bail out Detroit.

[scb]

Less than $40.00. But gas was less than $.30/gal.

[Wayne Smith]

Start up costs for the first boolits? I had the Coleman stove, I had the old kitchen 1qt pot, so I bought a ladle and mold. I had the old towel for landing. I got some wheel weights from my garage free. My start up costs were the Lyman Ladle and an RCBS single cavity mold.

[Char-Gar]

I bought a Lyman melting pot, dipper and single cavity mold. That was about 1959 and the cost could not have been more than $20 dollars for the whole shebang.

[texassako]

I went a little different route starting out. A $20 used Hot Pot II melter, an old spoon for skimming, 2 $20 Lee Molds, and some WW ingots off here that were $1.00 a pound shipped. The melter has a pour spout and I poured straight into the mold like it was a heated 4 pound ladle. Sized with Lee push through dies and used LLA and then 45/45/10. Upgraded to a Lyman ladle a few months ago because some molds did not like that method of pouring lead.

[azrednek]

I lucked into my start up. My only previous casting was mini-balls on a stove. I came upon a yard sale. The seller was desperately trying to raise money to bail his wife out of jail. I got all RCBS, lead pot, lube-matic, 2 ladles, gauge, two sizing dies (355 and 356), several tubes of lube, 3 tin ingots and a bucket of wheel weights all for $100.00.

If I had the cash on me he was selling a 380 caliber class 3 Mac-10 and wanted a $500 deposit to hold for ATF approval. With his wife booked on a drug possession and check kiting charge my then wife nixed the deal. My X-wife was cop and after looking the guy's wife up advised me not to return there or be seen associating with the seller.

[North_of_60]

Al, what else are you planing on casting for? I just made a deal for that 410 lee mold a few minutes ago, and don't even own a 40, but my son has a couple.

I don't have a lot, but I have a few different molds, if you want to try something I have before laying out money.

Thanks for the offer. The only other caliber I plan to cast for is my 405 WCF. I bought some 410 grain boolits from Bullshop that I am working up loads for. They are shooting pretty good. I'll have some time off next week so I can work on that again. I am close to the design I want but short on cash so I am holding off on ordering it.

I ordered the thermometer from Rotometals along with the ladle.

Al

[North_of_60]

I know that I'll be "investing" more $ into this. I have my eye on the Lee 20# bottom pour and a lubrisizer, and ... $$$$

One of my coworkers just told me that her husband's friend moved out of state and gave him all his casting equipment. I said that is like winning the lottery.

Al

[starmac]

I finally gave up on ever getting a 20 pound pot locally and ordered one, sportsmans keeps the 10 pound pots in stock, but apparently never gets any 20 pound ones in.
I haven't found any thermometers at all locally, so I guess I need to order one in.
Sampsons does have a couple ladles, one smaller than I want and one bigger, but I will probably go ahead and get the bigger one from them.

[btroj]

No idea. It was long enough ago that I can't remember.

[Love Life]

A lee 20 lb bottom pour
A Lee 452-255-rf
60 lbs hardball from Missouri Bullets
A lee .452 size die kit
Lubed with uncut mule snot.

Maybe like $140-$150?

[dg31872]

I was interested when I was a kid, but never had the cash. Got into it about six years ago, and the cost is something that I'd rather not think about.

[Sasquatch-1]

All you guys talking about your investment in casting, don't get started on swaging. [smilie=1:

[jonas302]

A few thousand dollars ago I started with a lee mold and a bottle of LLA old cooking pot and spoon

[DavZee]

One of my coworkers just told me that her husband's friend moved out of state and gave him all his casting equipment. I said that is like winning the lottery.

Al

If he's already been casting for a while maybe some of the gear he got is duplicate. Have a chat with him and if so maybe you can work a deal on some of that equipment.

[JSH]

Fall of 2000. Ken and I were on yahoo chat. He had been poking me towards giving cast a try for quite a while. I barely had two nickels to rub together at the time. I ran across a deal with several molds, sizer dies and an old lube sizer. Came to a point the deal was good and sold the molds I figured I would never use. I want to say something like $50.
A friend of mine had a pot and I used it till I found an old potter for $5 at a flea market. It we t bad a year or so later and bought a 20 lb lee.
My initial cost was pretty low. It is what followed that cost me. After a lot of reading here and talking to a lot of folks I shoot less than 200 jacketed a year. At my peak of shooting it was about3-4k a year so 200 is a fairly small number.
Swore I would never cast for anything smaller than a 30. Went to a 6.5 and tinkered with a 22.
Between me and a close shooting/casting buddy we have about 75-80 moulds between us. Just like any hobby it is no cheaper than you want it to be.
Jeff

[ashlyngr]

My approach is as such... Don't pay attention to cost. Examples, 1) buy the gun you want and forget about saving money, 2) buy the reloading equipment you'll use, but spend on quality, 3) buy the casting equipment you need, but don't skimp on safety or quality.
Your purchases may not always work out the way you want and your abilities and needs will change. Always try to buy products that are built to last as opposed to replacement cost.
Years ago when I was shooting cowboy action, I spoke to the owner of Kirkpatrick Leather. He advised me to purchase my last holster rig first. I understood his point. Spending cheaper will lead to a long expensive road of replacement and/or upgrading.

Thanks,
Bruce

[oscarflytyer]

I did it on the cheap...

Had a coleman stove, propane turkey burner, cast iron dutch oven for smelting, bought small 20 lb cast pot, Lee dipper and later a thermometer. Old spoon and old muffin pans and paint sticks...

My first mold was a Mihec for the 45 ACP - a real splurge. All my others are Lee, except another Mihec for Keith 44. I do have an old used single cavity Lyman 38 wadcutter...