Newbie question

[pearson1662]

I hope that this is being submitted on the correct board. If not I apologize and please feel free to move.

I have become fascinated with the idea of expanding my processes of reloading to include the casting my own bullets for revolvers first and for my 6.5mm Swede when I become more accomplished. I am reading the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook and have begun to accumulate WWs. I have been haunting the Stickies and Classics and castboolits has become my favorite web site. A Harbor Freight Dutch oven is being eyed and I'm looking at eBay for molds. I haven't decided what kind of casting pot I want to invest in. I also don't know if I want or need to purchase a sizer. The calibers of revolvers are .357 Mag and .41 Mag. I have slugged the bores but not the chamber mouths, yet. All the revos are pre-lock S&W's, so I guess the bore slugging info was not very valuable.

With that as a background to where I'm at in my developement as a caster, would anyone be interested in giving me a nudge in which direction I should be moving?

[Ben]

If you're on a budget, you may want to look at this. Only problem with your Duch Oven is safety and heat control. Those 2 issues are taken care of for $30 with this link below. I started with this in the late 60's, it finally quit on me about a yr. ago. I think I paid about $18 for mine. I know I got tons of bullets from that $18 investment.

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=0000690021

[Calamity Jake]

Go ahead and finish slugging your guns, this will tell you what size boolets you will need.
By reading this forum and others you know that for revolvers the chamber mouths need to be a thou or 2 larger then the groove dia. and boolets sized a thou or 2 over groove also.
With boolet molds not being on the size they are stated to be(in most cases) then some kind of sizing tools will be needed, Lee is the cheepest and easiest to use and the LLA will surve you well for them revolvers(gas check boolet designs are not needed).

Lee molds work pretty good but need TLC and proper prep to work good, as do all the others.

Others will chine in to add to this.

Good luck and welcome aboard

[454PB]

Welcome to the forum!

Your profile doesn't say where you are located, but there may be some seasoned casters in your area. That would be the best way to break into this hobby. If that is not a possibility, continued reading the classics and stickies here, and asking specific questions as they arise. I recommend starting out simple and cheap....which means either buying used equipment or Lee equipment. Despite many opinions to the contrary, excellent boolits can be produced with Lee moulds, sizing and lubing, and melting equipment. If you latter decide this is your passion, buy all the high end gear you can afford.

Smelting can be done without a bunch of equipment, a Coleman camp stove and steel pot is all that's required. It will be slow going, but then you will be slow too. It doesn't make sense to me to buy a turkey fryer and propane bottle to smelt 100 pounds of wheelweights.

[Ghugly]

If you're looking for minimal initial investment, you might consider Lee tumble lube moulds. They are designed to be used unsized and the few that I've had experience with shot well. I think it's important to start with something that's quick, easy, and works.

[pearson1662]

VTDW has generously offered to mentor me! I'll see him this PM.

Jay

[VTDW]

Old Jay and his son got about 3 1/2 hours worth of instruction this afternoon and evening. It was good to see him again and a pleasure to meet his teenage son who, by the way, has manners.:drinks:

Jay is hooked real good now folks and is a natural and asks right intelligent questions.:mrgreen::mrgreen:

Dave

[pearson1662]

Thanks, Dave.

I appreciate your time and patience. I learned alot and Blake had a good time too.:-D I'm just sorry we couldn't stay for some of those beans!

[VTDW]

I am sure the girls in your family are quite happy about that.:-D

Dave

[VTDW]

I went out to cast those boolits from Dutch1422's latest group buy mold yesterday afternoon. Got a call from a Jay asking if I would show him how to cast as he had seen my posts here. He and I had met a couple of years ago over a campfire and field dressing a doe he had shot. I said yes and just turned all the heat off and let everything cool down.

Once he and his son showed up we discussed, alloys, Bnh, air cool, water quench and finally to casting. We melted down about 20# of 50/50 WW/Lino. I let him do the casting, screw up stuff and answered questions. He got to use a 6 cavity mold and a 2 cavity mold and a Lee Bottom Pour pot. He really got into it and ended up casting quite a few of the .44 cal 200 gr and quite a few of the RD 165 gr and then he learned to use the Lyman 4500 to size and lube and had to change the sizing dies. He found out about 'rythym' in casting. I made sure he put alloy into a cold mold and see how the boolits turned out and how hard it was to get em to drop from the mold.:mrgreen: We then went to a mold that was much to hot and he learned how to wait for the sprue to cool and how it smears lead when you open the sprue plate. None of it bothered him at all as he was a quick study and did is best to follow directions. Finally his son and I started examining some of my rifles and left Jay to his own devices. I wasn't worried as he had a good teacher.:mrgreen:

He and his son had a blast as did I because it was good to teach again. Long story short I didn't cast any boolits because they stayed until 8:00 pm before he got thru with what he wanted in his learning experiences. Today will be MY day to cast those 200 grainers. :-D

Jay, I should have had you two in for some great beans and cornbread but I knew you and Blake needed to get back to your family and you had a longish drive down to Norman.

Dave