New guy from Maine

[mcdonl]

Hi all... My name is Leroy, and I am a gun-a-holic.

I am a complete virgin when it comes to casting and other then reloading for my Mosin with a Lee Hand loader, I am new to reloading too.....

I have some things I have picked up:

Be careful. (Wear gloves, goggles/face mask, ventilation, long sleeves pants, etc....)
Scrape the sides of the pot.
Clips and Zinc will float to the top with the rest of the dross (Is dross correct?).
By making ingots first, I will have a cleaner product to start casting with.
Be careful. (Wear gloves, goggles/face mask, ventilation, long sleeves pants, etc....)

I guess that it all I know at this point. I know I will need to lubricate the boollits when I am done.

I am not 100% sure on the molds yet.

I want to start with a Lee 9mm mold but not sure which one. Powder is sporadic. I have the following available to me: Hodgdon H-110, Winchester Auto comp, Bullseye, Unique and Winchester 296. And, all I have for primers are Small Pistol Magnums.

I have a lot of 9mm brass.

Well, thats it. Great website. I look forward to learning a lot.

[Ajax]

welcome to the site. you will gain alot of knowledge here. It is called dross.

Andy

[bruce drake]

Well,

Welcome to the site, and be prepared to learn a lot if you take the time to read the forum. There is a lot of information regarding casting for and making reloads for that Mosin and your 9mm as well.

Bruce

[Pepe Ray]

Hint, hint!!
It's a LONG drive from Kittery to Ft.Kent.

Gun show's coming up.
Sanford, Presque Isle, Biddeford, Newport,--- get the idea?
Pepe Ray

[mcdonl]

Thanks pepe ray... how do I find out about the gun shows? I live pretty close to Sanford and Biddeford.

Also, some random questions... do media tumblers clean the inside of the brass also? And, what about bullet sizing/lubing?

Are those Lee sizers/lubers a good thing to have?

Thanks!

[Doc Highwall]

mcdonl, welcome to the site. A thing to remember is yes zinc wheel weights will float to the top with the clips only if you do not let the melt get over 700-725 deg otherwise they will melt. Also washing the wheel weights first and letting them dry will make the first melt less smelly from road grime on the wheel weights.

[mcdonl]

mcdonl, welcome to the site. A thing to remember is yes zinc wheel weights will float to the top with the clips only if you do not let the melt get over 700-725 deg otherwise they will melt. Also washing the wheel weights first and letting them dry will make the first melt less smelly from road grime on the wheel weights.

Thanks Doc. Should I just experiment? Say, put the thing at 3/4 heat and see how long it takes to get melting?

What happens if I melt the zinc? Will that be bad?

I am pretty lucky with my WW's... The dealers replace them early, and some look brand new!!

Others... not so much...

[RayinNH]

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php/14-New-England-Gun-Shows

Pay attention to the dates. Some of these go back a couple years. Go to the end of the threads...Ray

[Doc Highwall]

mcdonl, either get a casting thermometer or look in the site benefit section here for the PID controllers. When the temp of the melt starts to get to 700 deg turn down the heat source. As a suggestion get your self a 6-8 quart dutch oven to melt the wheel weights down into ingots that will fit into your pot that you will cast from. PS lead weighs approximately 23+ lbs per quart. I use a 11 qt dutch oven with a gas burner to melt down my lead the first time into 20+/- lb ingots, and then when I am ready to alloy it I weigh each ingot and add what ever tin to get the alloy that I want. I mostly use 30:1 alloy and I will clean out my 11 qt dutch oven and mix 200-250 lbs of 30:1 at a time and pour it into 2, 2-1/2 ingots that fit into a LEE 20 lb melter. Doing this my lead gets melted and fluxed twice before even going into the LEE bottom pour helping keep the bottom spout clean.

[Wayne Smith]

Thanks Doc. Should I just experiment? Say, put the thing at 3/4 heat and see how long it takes to get melting?

What happens if I melt the zinc? Will that be bad?

I am pretty lucky with my WW's... The dealers replace them early, and some look brand new!!

Others... not so much...


NO, Don't experiment. Get a thermometer! Work from knowledge, not guesses. This is true in every aspect of loading and casting.

[DLCTEX]

Working without a thermometer you can watch closely and when the lead weights have just turned from slush to barely liquid remove any floaters. this will remove the zinc and iron weights along with the clips and valve stems. If in doubt about the content of a weight try cutting it with a pair if side cutters. The zinc weights are almost as hard to cut as the iron ones and are generally, but not always marked with a Zn cast on the weight. Find one and try cutting it and then a lead one to see the difference. Up to 2% zinc will alloy into the lead and will usually not cause major problems, but any more will turn to slush and really mess up your day. Try to have 0 zinc and if you miss one it isn't so bad IMHO.

[Lotec]

Try this. Gun Digest's nation wide posting for gun shows.

http://www.gundigest.com/gunknifeshowcalendar/

[largom]

Leroy, The very first thing you should do is acquire the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook. there are others as well but they will all get you started with the basics. After reading the book you will better understand the answers to your questions here. There is a lot of expert advice on this forum, and some not so expert, that is not covered in any book but the book will at least get your feet wet.

Welcome aboard! Larry

[Wayne Smith]

Leroy, also read the Classics and Stickies thread. There is probably more there and more current than is in the Lyman Cast book. Read both.

[mcdonl]

Thanks everyone. And, I will be taking it slow. I want to make sure I have everything I need before I get going and I see a book and thermometer need to be added to my list.

Also, it is still hovering around 0-10 degrees here. Does that affect the ability for my lee 10# production pot from getting up to temp? I planned to do this on my back porch.

Thanks!

[Recluse]

Leroy,

Sounds like you're planning on using your Lee pot for smelting? If so, I'd reconsider. Find yourself a cheap cast-iron dutch oven and use that. Best to keep your casting furnace as clean as possible.

Cold outside translates into longer times to get alloy up to heat.

:coffee:

[mcdonl]

Sounds like you're planning on using your Lee pot for smelting? If so, I'd reconsider. Find yourself a cheap cast-iron dutch oven and use that. Best to keep your casting furnace as clean as possible.

Cold outside translates into longer times to get alloy up to heat.

I am already thinking that is the case. Keeping the ingot molds, tools and everything warm is tough this time of year. I used to do a fair amount of welding in my garage and I needed to pre-heat with a torch in the dead of winter.

Also, I am noticing that the common thread is the dutch oven on a propane burner like a turkey fryer comes on. I do not have one, but I am optimistic I can find one on the cheap.

Leroy

[DevilDog83]

All good advice,,,, one thing I personally have a problem with is washing off the ww's. If not completely DRY before they go in the pot,,,, REALLY BAD THINGS can and do happen,,, be careful

[mcdonl]

John, I agree. After reading the effects of water in lead I promptly started bringing ww's to the basement to store in the boiler room instead of the garage. It also lets me cull through the cleaner, better ones.

I am beginning to think I am going to wait until the weather is above freezing before starting. I have plenty of reading and preparing to keep me busy.

[edsmith]

Welcome, every thing you need to know is right here on this site, I live in standish. Ed

[mcdonl]

Hey, thanks Ed! I live in Limington.

[gray wolf]

Hey there welcome from just the other side of Rangeley. I am holding off for a Little warmer weather also. Wish I had a revolver so I did not have to chase cases in the snow.
I got a turkey type fryer stand and a dutch oven and propane. As soon as the snow is out the driveway i will be out there. Great bunch of guys here and a wealth of information.
Keep us up to date.

[Maineboy]

Welcome from another Mainer. I'm way up at the other end of the state. This is a good place to learn. One of the basics I learned here was that if you buy reloading dies, powder, primers, cases and moulds, you'll save money by casting and reloading your own ammo, so you use the money you save to buy new guns, then you'll need new reloading dies, powder, primers, cases and moulds so you can save more money when you reload for those guns. Get the picture? It sure is fun though!

[bruce drake]

I'm a Mainiac in permanent exile to Georgia (Dover-Foxcroft is where I was born and raised)

I'll be glad to tell you we have a great forum here.

Bruce

[sundog]

I lived in Belgrade Lakes for a while when I was a kid - early to mid sixties. What a great place. I remember my Dad doing a construction job in Sanford. It was a main drag through town as best I can remember, that was a long time ago. He was there for several months, stayed there during the week, and came home weekends. We lived on a property that ran right up to the shores of Great Pond! Loons, mergansers, small mouths, pike, deer, partridge, and white pines that scraped the clouds as they went by. I got my first .22 while we were there. I know it must have really stretched my folks to do it, money was tight. I used to saved bottles and allowances, and when we went into town we'd go into Day's Store. Mrs. Day and I would refund the bottles and then count out what I had coming and my allowance, and then figure out whether it would be a box of shorts, longs, long rifle, or holler points. If there was enough, it meant a bottle of Birch Beer, too. When Mom was flush with grocery money we also got Harris' Better Baked Donuts.

Thanks for the memories....

oh, yeah, there was a sluese way between Great Pond and Long Pond right by the store. The two lakes were different levels. Sometimes I got to fish there, and I always caught enough for a dinner or two, and it did not take all that long.

[HangFireW8]

Also, it is still hovering around 0-10 degrees here. Does that affect the ability for my lee 10# production pot from getting up to temp? I planned to do this on my back porch.

I just did some cold-weather 45ACP casting here in MD. It was about 22 degrees when I started and finished (at night) around 19. Breeze about 5MPH. I had to run my Lee 10lb pot at 9.5 to 10, usually have to run it at 7.5 or 8 in the Summer.

I simply could not get, let alone keep, my aluminum Lee 6 hold gang mold up to temp. I tried dipping it in the melt but no joy except the bottom boolit for one cast.

A Lyman steel die, on the other hand, I got up to temp (after a while) and kept it there without any problem. I never had to pause to let it cool down, either! haha I wish I had started with that mold, I would have gotten a lot more done.

Iron hordes heat, Al gets rid of it.

Suggestions, if you can work in an outdoor shed, or at least have a windbreak, a small electric space heater blowing on you and your equipment, things will go better, and you'll stay at it longer, too.

You asked what boolit to start with for 9mm. I say, start in the middle, try a 124-127gr round nose. It will feed well (round nose) and generate enough recoil (bullet weight) to operate the mechanism. Plus it is not so heavy that pressures can get away from you too quickly.

-HF

[mcdonl]

I say, start in the middle, try a 124-127gr round nose.

Thanks for that hangfire. I am thinking I want to get this mold (TL356-124-2R) I would get the six cavity but I am on a very tight budget. I have Bullseye powder available locally. According the the most excellent DB Reloaders Reference..... there is a load available for this CB (RCBS 9mm-124-RN 124gr) and I am thinking it matches the Lee pretty well. Is that a fair assessment? The load in RR calls for the RCBS CB and Bullseye powder. The only caveat is that I will be running SP Magnums and I am not sure what RR gives for loads... is this the minimum, maximum or average?


I simply could not get, let alone keep, my aluminum Lee 6 hold gang mold up to temp. I tried dipping it in the melt but no joy except the bottom boolit for one cast.

I am going to have to wait until my next monthly "winfall" before I can afford the turkey fryer so I have some time. I intend to "smelt" first, the case ingots so according to that stupid groundhog I have six weeks to go :(


Thanks for the memories....

Thank you for the story. I live in a great place, although I am only 30 minutes from Portland and have as many yuppies around me as country folk so I do not get to live the same experience you did. But it is still a nice place to live.


Get the picture? It sure is fun though!

Ohhh yeah. I get the picture. But, thats ok... like you said it sure is fun!

[jlchucker]

Leroy, The very first thing you should do is acquire the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook. there are others as well but they will all get you started with the basics. After reading the book you will better understand the answers to your questions here. There is a lot of expert advice on this forum, and some not so expert, that is not covered in any book but the book will at least get your feet wet.

Welcome aboard! Larry

I agree absolutely. There's a new addition of this book out, and Lyman has about 100 years or more of involvement in bullet casting. Another good source is the Lee book, but IMO this one is kind of secondary to the Lyman publication. Also, the Lyman Reloading Manual has plenty of info and data about casting, cast bullets (boolets here) and lesser forms of projectiles. Good luck. BTW it's nice to see you're putting a priority on safety first.

[Pepe Ray]

Thanks to the 2 posters for providing links to the "NET" to locate gun shows.
Well, I couldn't find any. Could you? Thats unfortunate.
The only consistant and reliable Gun show organizer that actually advertizes in a world wide forum (Shows in MAINE ) is DiPrite. (Pardon my spelling).
It easy to get on their mailing list and receive a card mailing or go2 the website'
www.dipromo. c#m. That'll show you the Biddeford (April 24-25) and Augusta (August 28-29) shows.

The sad part of my tale is that the small gunshows do a pitiful job of advertising and you must network to keep up.
Sanford Armory----Mar 20-21
Newport Milineum Center--April 10-11
And for you lucky guys in the Frozen North the Presque Isle F&G club puts on a show in the Northeastland Hotel on Mar 13-14
You wont fing these advertised in your "LINKS".
N-E-T-W-O-R-K = = = This is not the complete list for the year, BTW.
Pepe Ray

[HangFireW8]

Thanks for that hangfire. I am thinking I want to get this mold (TL356-124-2R) I would get the six cavity but I am on a very tight budget. I have Bullseye powder available locally. According the the most excellent DB Reloaders Reference..... there is a load available for this CB (RCBS 9mm-124-RN 124gr) and I am thinking it matches the Lee pretty well. Is that a fair assessment? The load in RR calls for the RCBS CB and Bullseye powder. The only caveat is that I will be running SP Magnums and I am not sure what RR gives for loads... is this the minimum, maximum or average?

Not sure what RR is. You'll have to back off from maximum at least a grain to compensate for using magnum primers. I don't like magnum primers and fast powders, not a good combination. If anything goes wrong you'll have very high pressures, even if the typical all-goes-well load is OK on pressure. They are also not the greatest for accuracy with a fast powder. If you can, try to trade some for standard primers.

I'm sorry, I don't have an RCBS cast bullet manual so I can't look up the load for you. Maybe someone else here can.

Looking at the Lee Modern Reloading 1st edition, for 125gr lead, Bullseye runs from 4.4 to 4.9 grains only. That's a pretty small spread to work from when trying to compensate for a different primer.

-HF

[mcdonl]

Not sure what RR is. You'll have to back off from maximum at least a grain to compensate for using magnum primers. I don't like magnum primers and fast powders, not a good combination. If anything goes wrong you'll have very high pressures, even if the typical all-goes-well load is OK on pressure. They are also not the greatest for accuracy with a fast powder. If you can, try to trade some for standard primers.

I'm sorry, I don't have an RCBS cast bullet manual so I can't look up the load for you. Maybe someone else here can.

Looking at the Lee Modern Reloading 1st edition, for 125gr lead, Bullseye runs from 4.4 to 4.9 grains only. That's a pretty small spread to work from when trying to compensate for a different primer.

-HF

RR is the reloaders reference I downloaded on here. It is pretty cool.

I am hoping to be able to find some small pistol but there are just none around. It sucks.

I will start with the minimum loads and only a handful to see what happens. I will keep looking for SP primers. It will be a few weeks before I have enough doh to get everything I need to start anyway :( Cold weather and lack of money is a drag!! :)

[mdevers]

I'm also new to casting and reloading in general. Been loading 12 ga and .308 for a while but just startd with my 9mm and 38sp/357. I sling so much lead casting wasn't really an option. Had to get my cost down.
For the first time today I melted some lead weighs into ingots. No real issues but around here if you want to visit 20 tire stores and spend $50 on gas you might get a 5 gal bucket of free lead. Otherwise, buy it from them at the going rate of $40 per 5 gal bucket. I paid the $40. Got it home and starting adding it to my cast iron pot over my propane fish fryer. I realized pretty quick that about half of whats in that 5 gal bucket is not lead. Had a crapful of clips, zinc, steel etc. Made quite a pile of it. What do you do with this junk? Second time I sorted first. less **** to get out of the pot and have a pile maybe the scapeyard may buy.

Mike

[HangFireW8]

Mike,

Welcome to the board. You'll get more responses if you start your own thread, instead of resurrecting a 2 year old thread.

I let my dross pile up until it fills a 5 gal bucket, then I take it to the scrap metal recyclers and he gives me a small credit towards more lead.

HF

[MtGun44]

A thermometer is fru-fru. Won't hurt, but really a waste of money.

Read the sticky on "Setting up a new 9mm" in the handgun section.

Bill

[Wayne Smith]

Pepe, NEWPORT has a Millineum Center! When I was a kid growing up in Palmyra Bud's Red and White was one of the biggest businesses in town, that and the 5 and Dime.

Grey Wolf, how do you "chase" brass in the snow, don't you have to dig for it?

[Pepe Ray]

Newport has undergone many changes.
Whereas the Gun Show was held in the Millennium Center for the first few years. it has since been relocated to the old Armory building. Don't know why.
It's still a struggle to find listings for gun shows on the Net.
To me, the best show in the State is held in Feb. at the Augusta Armory, put on by the Ancient Ones.
Pepe Ray