Items needed....

[Jim-Bibs]

So I'm needing ALL items for casting, I think...however not sure what items they are. I have wheel weights, Linotype, and Lyman book on casting. But what else is needed??

Mould(s)
lead melter
sizer
luber
safety gear
anything else??

plus where to purchase above items

thanks as always

[rancher1913]

read your book cover to cover, then read it again. do not attempt any casting until you understand what can go wrong and are clear on how to avoid any problems.

[runfiverun]

how I determine tools needed s to look at the steps involved.
the first thing you are gonna do is melt and clean your alloy and then blend it into something useful.
for that you need stuff.
a heat source with at least 35,000 btu's, a pot, and a ladle at the minimum.
a way to flux and reduce the oxides is necessary too.
and of course a mold or two to make the clean ingots.

then on to the casting part.
you once again need the heat source capable of melting the clean alloy [I recommend something other than the first pot]
a way to get it from the pot to the mold.
and a mold.

after that you need to lube and probably size the boolits you made.
there is about 15 different ways to do this.

[MT Chambers]

The sizer and the luber are 1 item, another item is a hot plate to warm/heat your molds.

[500MAG]

What bullets are you looking to cast? If your on a budget, you can save money on the lube process by tumble lubing and Lee push through sizing. I did that for years.

[Jim-Bibs]

500MAG-Bullets I plan to cast are 38, 44, 45 colt.

[500MAG]

500MAG-Bullets I plan to cast are 38, 44, 45 colt.
Nothing wrong with tumble lubing. In fact, I still tumble lube on occasion. You can buy the Lee sizing die and it comes with the liquid Alox.

[3jimbo3]

Powder coating works well also.

Be warned! This is an addictive hobby, causes bank accounts to shrink! But it's so much fun!

[Jim-Bibs]

500MAG-With the lee sizing die,I wouldn't need a lubesizer correct. Is one method better than another?
Also how do you reply with what I said in a balloon

[3jimbo3]

Correct, but, you would need to use tumble lube molds for this method. You can pan lube and size but it is time consuming, although a lot of penil people use this method, keep in mind before running your bullets through the sizer die, it needs lube paymen present or you may lead your die.

[3jimbo3]

I have used both in the past. I tried powder coating and now my lube sizer sits idle a lot. There are lots of ways to size and lube and preference varies, you just have to find the way you like to do it best. No matter how you do it just take your time to do it right and enjoy shooting.

[wv109323]

You are partially correct. Cast bullets need to be sized(most times) and lubed. There are times the bullets as they come out of the mold are acceptable to shoot. The Lee sizer will size, so you need a way to lube them. The least expensive way is tumble lube (think Lee liquid Alox) and let them dry. Put a bit of Alox in a Zip loc bag and coat the bullets within the bag. Pull them out and place them on their bases and let them dry. The second least expensive way is powder coating. Swirl the bullets in powder coating and bake them in a toaster oven.
To smelt your WW and lead into clean ingots you will need a heat source. Common items used are a turkey frier, an old plumbers furnace, amd I use a Coleman gas camp stove. A suitable pot (cast iron or stainless, not aluminum) to put the raw lead into to melt. You will need a long spoon to take the dirt and dross off the molten lead. A ladle to dip out the molten lead and pour into an ingot mold. You also need to flux the lead with wood chips or wax or other means. An old muffin pan can be used for an ingot mold. Let it rust so the lead will not stick.
With the clean ingots you can melt them in a bottom pour pot,especially since you will be casting 44 and 45 cal. bullets that require more lead. (I recommend a 20 lb. bottom pour).
I recommend a PID to control the pot temperature and a hot plate to preheat the molds. These two items made a tremendous difference in my casting.

[wv109323]

I forgot safety equipment. I recommend a set of welders gloves and eye protection. Also be sure that the structure of your heat source can support the weight of the lead even when the metal gets hot and weak.

[500MAG]

Correct, but, you would need to use tumble lube molds for this method. You can pan lube and size but it is time consuming, although a lot of penil people use this method, keep in mind before running your bullets through the sizer die, it needs lube paymen present or you may lead your die.
You don't NEED to use TL moulds. While TL moulds are meant for it Non-TL moulds work fine with tumble lubed.

[Echo]

500MAG-Bullets I plan to cast are 38, 44, 45 colt.

Tumble loob works nicely on all those caliber boolits. I use Recluse formula - 45%LLA, 45%carnauba wax, 10% mineral spirits. Just enough to be barely visible on the boolits.

[500MAG]

layman book say what yew need internet search show where to by
Umm huh?

[Half Dog]

Well...if you live close to me, come on over.

[gwpercle]

Jim-Bibs,
To keep things simple , at first , take a look at what is contained in the Lyman Master Caster Kit ,at midway it goes for $223.00 , it has all the basics for casting and lube-sizing , I started with a similar kit, casting for one gun, in 1967 . Except for a larger pot , I'm using the same set up today. The lube-sizer was the best thing I ever bought. Lubes , sizes and seats gas checks in one operation.
Once you get into the hobby you might want to branch out to bottom pour furnaces , powder coating and such. Experience has shown me I do better with the spouted Lyman ladle and open top pot.
Me and the bottom pour pot casting method didn't work out well.
You have to start some where and this set up will do it. You cold also purchase the equipment piecemeal. I use a Lee electric open top pot that holds 20 lbs , I outgrew the Lyman 10 lb. unit.
Good luck, and welcome to the addiction / obsession !
Gary

[Walter Laich]

Powder coating works well also.

Be warned! This is an addictive hobby, causes bank accounts to shrink! But it's so much fun!

I agree with the addictive part of this. Now it seems I cast so I can tumble lube. Part of it is the Art of Mixing Powders to get new results (which I have in no way mastered but wife likes most of what I come up with)

[Walla2]

Move safety gear to the top of the list. Everything else is as you need it. Preventing injury (many times permanent) is first.

[bilco]

Lighter
Mould lube
Mould cleaners
clean towel
containers for bullets
labels

PID will make your life easier I highly recommend.

[Gliden07]

I think you need 2 setups 1 for your smelting and one for your casting.

Smelting:
Heat source - I used a Deep turkey fryer that I had
Pot of some kind - Went to Salvation Army got a large SS pot for $8.00
Ladle - $3.00 at Salvation Army
Slotted SS Spoon $3.00 Salvation Army
Ingot Molds - bought 2 new ones from FS Reloading less than $25 bucks
Misc - Dry Saw dust Free from my Table saw (Pine is best), Safety gear Welding, gloves face shield, Leather boots, Respirator, Apron, wear cotton pants and long sleeved shirt if you do have a mis-hap the cotton will not stick to your skin and continue to burn like synthetic fabric. Again I had most of this. This is a BUDGET SETUP and made me plenty of clean cast able Ingots. Defiantly not the only way to do it!

Casting:
I started with a Dipper setup but knowing what I know now I would buy a Lee 20LB bottom pour pot (again FS Reloading) 50-60 bucks, Lee Bullet molds of your choice, Lee Boolit sizer kits in your chosen Calibers, super cheap Single stage press (For seizer kits) Alox for lubing comes with seizer kits. Misc items safety gear gloves, eye protection respirator, I stole a couple of beat up cookie sheets 1 to put the Lee bottom pour pot in (incase of the Lee drip-omatic problem) and the second I lined with a wet towel to drop my new boolits into! Again this is a SUPER BUDGET SETUP!! And there are many other ways to do it. You can always spend more money! If your not in a hurry you can cruz any number of sites including here and Craigslist for used equipment. Please do not attempt any of this without reading your book and the minimum Safety gear!! I have WAY More into my Setup now because this hobby is addictive!! Another thing you need is lots of questions! I have never had a question someone on here couldn't answer and answer correctly!