Equipment advice

[cpclark]

Hello all,
I bought a Ruger RedHawk in 45 Colt/45 ACP a little over a year ago. I reload already and the next logical fun is to start casting.
Here is my initial list. I would appreciate your ideas on anything I am missing or I should do different.
RCBS pro melt II
RCBS 45-270-SAA 2 cavity mold
Mold handle for above
RCBS 4 cavity ingot mold
Mold handle for above
Lee bullet sizing kit
Lyman cast bullet handbook
Bullet mold mallet
Powder coating for lube

Thanks. Chris

[Czech_too]

Well, first off, welcome to the addiction.

The RCBS ingot moulds I have don't require a dedicated handle, use Vise-Grips, so unless that's changed it's one less item on the list.
Get the Lyman book to start with and give it a good read, then and this might be controversial, start out small and see if this is really something that you want to stick with. Rather than dumping a load of dollars into something, go small say with a Lee 10 pound pot and a Lee 2 cavity mould. Oh, and a piece of an old broom stick will work as a mallet.

[poppy42]

Before I forget, welcome to the forum! What you have listed Will certainly get the job done. Don’t know what your finances are like but I will tell you you can save an awful lot of money picking up a Lee 20 pound bottom pour pot instead of the RCBS pro melt! The same can be said about going with Lee molds! Especially the Lee ingot molds. With the money you save going with the Lee products I suggested you could probably pick up a half a dozen 2 cavity molds! All Lee two cavity moles come with handles! Even if you went with Lee six cavity molds, which I happen to think are excellent and are probably the biggest bang for your buck, and picked up Lee six cavity handles. You would still have a boatload of money left over . Enough money left over to pick up a couple of six packs and a few sandwiches so while you’re waiting for your lead to melt you can eat the sandwiches and have a cold beer! Let me explain my my thoughts a little bit. You’re a new caster and just starting out. What if you decide you hate casting. You’re stuck with basically high dollar casting equipment that you have now gotta sell to try and cook recoup your money back. No matter how many times you use it it’s still used! And will not demand the full price you paid for it! Most of what I told you as far as Lee equipment can be picked up right on Amazon or Titan Reloading. and you’ll have all of it within a couple of days. Titan Reloading is a vendor sponsor here and a link to their company can be found at the top of this page . I seriously doubt what you have listed is all available and in stock! Lee six cavity handles can also be used on RCBS molds with some slight modifications. As for the RCBS pro melt I’ve seen and heard an off a lot of mixed reviews about it. Awful lot of those reviews are not positive. About the only bad thing you’ll hear about The Lee pot is that it leaks/drips I’ve had mine for about seven years and never had a leak. Even if I was given the pro melt 2, I would probably sell it and buy a another Lee Potts and I few more molds. I would also recommend that you think about searching for used molds. Check out swapping and selling here. You don’t have enough posts to actually start a thread and post anything for sale but you can certainly buy here. You obviously don’t have a problem with lee products as your list contains lee sizing dies. All I’m saying is to get started in casting there’s no reason to have to dump $1000 out initially. I haven’t priced out all the items on your list but I do believe it’s be real close to the thousand dollar mark if not more. And I’m sure others are gonna post that you need a lead thermometer. That is strictly a personal preference. I’ve been casting bullets since the 80s and I’ve never used a lead thermometer. I look at it this way man has been casting bullets or projectiles if you prefer for over 500 years. With great success I may add. And they certainly didn’t have lead thermometers. Other members swear that you absolutely have to have one. Like I said that’s a personal preference or choice. Look all I’m saying is you got a pretty high dollar list going there for something that you don’t even know if you’re going to enjoy doing. No I realize not everybody thinks the way I do. Some will disagree with what I said. That’s fine the choice is yours. But if I was you and read my post I would certainly think real hard about the suggestions I offered. Anyway that’s about all I have to say on the matter. Once again welcome to the forum you’ll find a plethora of knowledge here in an awful lot of members willing to share their knowledge with someone just starting out myself included. have fun, be safe, shoot a lot of boolets.
Take care,
Poppy 42

[sureYnot]

Well, first off, welcome to the addiction.

The RCBS ingot moulds I have don't require a dedicated handle, use Vise-Grips, so unless that's changed it's one less item on the list.
Get the Lyman book to start with and give it a good read, then and this might be controversial, start out small and see if this is really something that you want to stick with. Rather than dumping a load of dollars into something, go small say with a Lee 10 pound pot and a Lee 2 cavity mould. Oh, and a piece of an old broom stick will work as a mallet. Agree on all points except the melting pot. The 20lb pot is only $20 more.
The 10lb is great for casting. But, you will soon be scrounging lead to melt, mix, and pour into ingots. I found the 10lb to be less user-friendly for this endeavor. I started with the 10lb and "needed" the 20lb within a few weeks.
It can be as complicated or simple as you want. My dad's setup was a dedicated cast iron skillet and soup spoon. Made all kinds of projectiles at the kitchen stove. They killed stuff just fine.
Listen to those who say a thing shouldn't be done. Be skeptical of those who say a thing can't be done.

[dverna]

First thing to establish is how much you intend to shoot and second, how much time you want to spend at it.

I would never buy a 2 cavity manual mold, but that is me...fits my desire for productivity. I have two cavity molds for the Master Caster because there is no other option.

To help you decide, figure 80-100 bullets per cavity.

I suggest buying good alloy to start instead of scrounging scrap. If takes one variable out of the mix.

Add a pair of welders gloves. You should have a large spoon to skim dross after fluxing and a way to stir the alloy for fluxing...a dowel will work or a sturdy spoon.

[cpclark]

Thanks you guys. Really appreciate the info. Casting is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I definitely will go with the less expensive equipment. Thanks again!

[Sasquatch-1]

Once again, if we knew what part of the country you are in, someone might step up and offer to help you out.

That being said, when I started out, I used an old soup can on the stove and a Lyman ladle until I had a steam explosion and my wife told to buy a dedicated pot. I got the Lee 10 lb. bottom pour in the late 70's and I am still using it today. I also have the RCBS Pro Melt 2. The biggest problem with this pot is its electronics. You have to wait for the pot to cool to below 160 F before turning the pot off. This can take better than an hour.

As far as ingot molds, save some money and get some mini loaf pans. They will make a three-to-five-pound ingot and stack fairly well.

I use Lee 2 cavity bullet molds exclusively and have little problems with them. I can cast about 100 to 150 bullets an hour using these. They are all pistol bullets except those I use for swaging.

A turkey fryer and a cast iron Dutch oven for rendering and mixing lead.

[country gent]

Instead of the mould mallet you might try a small dead blow mallet I think mine is a 8 ounce.

[vrod1023]

On the mold mallet try getting a handle of a 4 lb hammer. Works just fine and it's cheap.

Sent from my SM-A505F using Tapatalk

[Sasquatch-1]

For mold mallet I just use an old piece of 2x2 made of pine. Wares out, get a new piece.

[country gent]

One thing to do is you go with the wood mould mallet is fit a piece of tygon tubing over the working end it greatly extends the life. Add some wood paint stirrers to your list use these for stirring and scraping the pot. Will not only mix and clean but as the wood chars it will flux.

[Baltimoreed]

I use old broken candles to flux my pot and smoke up my molds. I have a small lee pot and just keep adding wheel weights and range lead when I cast. Never messed with ingots. A waste of time and energy melting lead twice. The end of a broken shovel handle makes a great tool to knock the sprue cutter. You don’t show a dipper, necessary to clean the dross out of your pot after you flux. Need safety glasses and maybe a shop apron too. Go by the local habitat or good will and pick up a used convection oven for your pc. My son gave me his after the latch broke, made a latch for it works great. The temperature control is more correct on one of these than a generic toaster oven. Be safe.
Almost forgot, after you cast your pretty boolits you’ll need a lubrisizer or cookie cutter and push through sizer die. You’ll need a push through when you pc too. I started out with cookie cutting 45-70 and 45acp boolits. Now i have a couple lubrisizers.

[Half Dog]

If you care to share your location perhaps someone is close and willing to help.

[georgerkahn]

Hanging in my garage, adjacent to my casting cart, is a pair of plastic eyewear with a bb-sized melt spot in the dead center of the right lens! Had I not been wearing these, then, the odds are quite high my vision out of this eye would be impaired -- or gone, now! It was during a casting session, and God only knows where (my guess?) that teeny-weenie spot of moisture came from which caused that spec of melt to be shot out of melt pot? (Another guess: as added ingot)
Anyhoos, I agree with pretty much all posts sent your way thus far -- adding -- PLEASE do yourself a favor and both get a good pair of safety glasses to be worn while melting lead/casting -- and do not forget to have and keep them on!!!
geo

[PJEagle]

Here's another vote for a Lee 20# bottom pour. I've been using one for the last 10 years. My advice is to skip the Lee bullet sizing dies and go directly to the NOE system. It's a little more expensive for the first size, but will save a lot in the long run. Lee 2 cavity molds are a good way to start. Some people are happy with them for the long run. Others of us switch to NOE, Accurate and or MP after we learn with Lee.

I may go overboard on safety to suit a lot of members, but there are reasons. I use a very cheap welding helmet with a large clear window for head and eye protection. It has splatters all over it to prove that it's a good investment. Then I use leather welding gloves, a rather cheap canvas welding jacket and cotton jeans. A spill on polyester pants will melt the pants right into your skin.

[Bazoo]

Howdy and welcome!

I've found that a table spoon is just about right for skimming dross and scraping the sides of the pot. I took a piece of scrap 5/8" dowel rod and fitted a handle to mine, including a ferrule and a pin to keep it secure. This little spoon is also handy for moving a hot bullet or sprue.

In front of the pot, I have a round metal cake pan that I cut the sprues and drop bad bullets into. I place this directly in front of my pot. To the right of that cake pan, I have a shallow cardboard box (called a flat) that canned food is shipped in. Into that, I place an old towel, so that the bullets have a soft landing.

I keep on that towel a carpenters pencil. That is good for 2 things.

The first thing is moving the hot bullets from where they drop into a pile as they accumulate. I keep my mould about 2" above the towel when whacking the joint of the handle to make the bullets drop. I've found some bullets will bounce and jump up and hit the mould if I hold too low.

I ladle cast, though I have used a bottom drop pot. You'll find it much easier to get some thing to set the pot onto to raise it whether you're sitting or standing. Something like a couple short lengths of 2×4s or 6×6s on edge, with plywood screwed to the top, about 10" deep and about 14" wide (sized for a Lee pot).

The second thing that pencil is for, is when I get a little bit of lead between my block halves or smear lead below my sprue plate. For the latter, I immediately scrub the lead off the block's top with a scrap piece of rage, then I scour with the pencil both the block top and under the sprue plate. The pencil lead will remove lead smear, but it also acts a dry lubricant since it's graphite.

I lube my moulds with graphite. Before casting, I disassemble the mould, and use a pencil to color the top of the halves, the sprue cutter's bottom, the inside faces of the halves, the sprue pivot pin, and the alignment pins.

This is much easier than using 2-cycle oil, since it's so easy to use too much of that.

I have found that beeswax offers a superior flux. From a scientific standpoint, just about anything organic will work, with sawdust being popular. However, you'll find after experimenting, that beeswax causes the melt to act "better". It flows better after fluxing, and it seems to not form dross as quickly. I suggest not using sawdust in a bottom drop pot, as you're adding debris to an already ornery system. (I call it ornery because the pots are known to leak, or the valves to stick open accidentally when coming to temperature and draining the pot on your casting bench. For concern of the latter, it's wise to put your pot in a large metal baking sheet to contain the mess should this happen.)

As for a stick to use to whack the sprue, I use a scrap (mine's cherry) that is 1.75"×12" in length. It works well for me. When everything is up to temperature, I can just use the end to push open the sprue plate.

Iron moulds need something to keep them from rusting between casting sessions. Some people keep them in an air-tight container and use desiccant packs. Some use some form of oil. I use oil, mineral oil to be exact. I apply mineral oil to the cavities with an artists paintbrush. I don't coat anything but the cavities.

To remove the oil I use lighter fluid. First, remove as much oil from the mould as you can with a rag. While still cold, give the mould cavities a good soaking with lighter fuel. When that dries, preheat the mould. When it's nearly up to temperature open the sprue cutter and fill each cavity with lighter fuel. The hot fluid will boil in the cavities, and that boiling action will scrub all the nooks and crannies clean. Be careful not to let the lighter fuel bottle touch the mould, as it will be hot enough to melt if it's made of plastic.*

The above technique not only works well, it also has the benefit that if you lube your mould with graphite, it will not remove the graphite.

[Walter Laich]

something to add to your list, down the trail: a PID. It will keep the temp of your pot within 1°

I built mine buy HATCH, on this site, sells them

the RCBS PRO-MELT II has one built in but there is a problem with having to let the machine run after you're done so the PI isn't cooked

[porthos]

DO NOT get a 10# pot!!!bbget a 20 lb.

[kevin c]

You forgot the lead…

Actually, I’d start with a certified bullet casting alloy, despite the much higher cost vs scrounged lead, tin and hardeners: it eliminates a set of variables as you go through the learning curve.

And yes on the PPE and safety considerations in your casting area: good ventilation, strong and stable working surface with enough room for all the necessary gear in use, good light and no distractions, and a clear path away from the hot lead in case it does decide take a flying leap at you.

[lightman]

Welcome to the site and to the hobby of casting!

Everyone has pretty much covered your equipment list and I don't have much to add. I would defiantly go with a 20 pound pot. You will need lead. The suggestion of starting with new stuff is a good one. A known alloy of clean lead will make starting out a little easier. But start looking for sources of scrap.

Oner again, Welcome aboard.

[max it]

Hanging in my garage, adjacent to my casting cart, is a pair of plastic eyewear with a bb-sized melt spot in the dead center of the right lens! Had I not been wearing these, then, the odds are quite high my vision out of this eye would be impaired -- or gone, now! It was during a casting session, and God only knows where (my guess?) that teeny-weenie spot of moisture came from which caused that spec of melt to be shot out of melt pot? (Another guess: as added ingot)
Anyhoos, I agree with pretty much all posts sent your way thus far -- adding -- PLEASE do yourself a favor and both get a good pair of safety glasses to be worn while melting lead/casting -- and do not forget to have and keep them on!!!
geo

This is as good a spot to stop reading all these wise posts and say something Mr.Clark. All are great, second especially on all things Lee, and the Safety Glasses!
Good luck and Stay safe!

[sureYnot]

This is as good a spot to stop reading all these wise posts and say something Mr.Clark. All are great, second especially on all things Lee, and the Safety Glasses!
Good luck and Stay safe!One more thing...
I like a cap with a bill to prevent anything coming over the top of the safety glasses. If hot brass can do it (it can), a drop of lead can.
I don't mind getting burnt a little. I don't use welding gloves, apron, or any of that. I almost always have a few drops of lead on my clothes and a couple of small burns after a session. I'm too old to care about my face. And the inconvenience of additional safety equipment outweighs the inconvenience of a little pain. (In my weird mind.) But I intend to keep all two remaining eyes.
Disclaimer: I do not recommend my "safety" policies to anyone other than the cap and glasses.

[RickinTN]

I will add something very important that most folks seem to miss. Study the difference between fluxing and reducing. You will need to know. Fluxing removes the unwanted matter in your melt. Reducing returns the wanted material into you melt that have cooked out. You don't want to lose tin or antimony in the name of fluxing. Maybe a little hard to grasp but reducing is a chemical process, not a physical one.
Good Luck to you,
Rick

[rbuck351]

I don't beat on my molds with a stick or anything else especially aluminum molds. I use leather gloves when casting and just open the sprue cutter by hand. For me, it's faster as I don't have to mess with a stick and there is no chance of damaging a mold. If you get the Lee 6 cav molds, they have an opening lever built into the mold and beating one of those with anything will certainly damage it.

A thermometer isn't necessary, but does make casting easier when you are a beginner.

[LenH]

Welcome aboard from another .45 Colt nut. I have a Ruger RH in .45 Colt.

I started casting and reloading just to be able to shoot more. I started out with a Lee 4# pot a Ladle and a 2 cavity Lyman 454-424 255 GR mold.
It was slow going but when you are young and wanting to shoot you might put up with a slow process. I still have that pot and molds.

Fast forward 40+ years and I found an original Pro Melt and several 4 cavity or more molds. Suffice to say you don't have to spend a lot to start casting.
But to each his own.

There is a stickey some where on this site that shows how to make a lead hammer out of a copper tee split n half. I use a piece of all thread
as a handle wrapped with tape. I have a couple of 8 cavity 8 cavity molds to tap the sprue plate open. When it gets too beat up which don't take long I just cast another
hammer.

[cpclark]

For those that asked. I’m in southern Michigan. Great advice from everyone! Appreciate it!

[farmbif]

I didn't read all suggestions but you might get a cast iron pot and some saw dust and slotted and regular old spoons to get the dross and crud out when cleaning your lead alloy and any sturdy stove or propane heater will work to melt your alloys and make ingots. then only put the clean ingots into your pro melt 2. if not mentioned earlier to go along with the eye or face protection some leather gloves..
and I hope you understand your on your way into a new and exciting adventure that can become addictive and you might find yourself in the church basement for those 12 step meetings if it all gets out of control

[35 Rem]

When you get bullets that don't drop immediately upon opening the handles NEVER hit the mold cavities directly. Instead tap lightly on the hinge bolt. Hitting the cavities directly will soon cause damage and misalignment.

Also, for safety I prefer a full-face shield over safety glasses. The glasses tend to fog up for me where the shield allows air to flow and since it covers your entire face should be even safer. I'm talking about the flip up style shields sold at all Home Depot or Lowes type stores.

[GONRA]

GONRA did same same thing as Sasquatch-1 for decades.
Wear one out? Just find another! !!!
Have Phun! !!

[Winger Ed.]

For mold mallet I just use an old piece of 2x2 made of pine. Wares out, get a new piece.

Anything will work.
I use a big screw driver with a plastic handle.
It doubles as a pot stirring stick too. Going back & forth with it,,,, you'll only forget to wear gloves once.

[oldhenry]

This may have been mentioned and I missed it: anyway if it has ,it bears repeating.

A single drop of water into your pot of melted alloy will cause an eruption (that you will think is an explosion) and melted lead will fly in all directions & you or your loved ones may be in one of those directions.

I learned the hard way back in 1960 when I got into this madness. I washed some accumulated grunge from some COWW before putting them in the pot. Now everyone in my family knows about the danger of a single drop of water into your melted alloy (some of which was splattered onto the ceiling).

Be safe & take all of the safety equipment comments seriously.

Welcome to the forum.

Henry

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A real sport involves either gasoline or gun powder: all others are just games.