New To Casting .... Please Help

[riverwalker76]

First ... I'd like to say that I'm really glad I found this forum. It's full of information that will help me on my way.

Bear with me while I ask a few questions.

I'm going to start buying lead and molds for making my own bullets for a Beretta M9.

~ I already have a Lee melting pot from my sinker casting days, so I've got that out of the way. Now I need a bullet mold, so I've settled on a design I like by Lee that they make in a 6 cavity mold.

1) Can I cast a bullet in a Lee mold, and slug my barrel with that bullet to find the exact bore diameter? Then ... order the lube and size equipment I need for the right size dia. bullet? I think the Lee Mold I'm looking at drops bullets at .360 . Stated bore dia. for my Beretta is .355 which leaves me between .356 & .358 for a final diameter.

2) What is the most economical brand size and lube outfit for the casual caster? At MOST I'll cast between 2k to 3k bullets a year.


Thanks in advance for the patience with my 'Greenhorn' questions.

[RobS]

First ... I'd like to say that I'm really glad I found this forum. It's full of information that will help me on my way. Glad you are here and welcome



1) Can I cast a bullet in a Lee mold, and slug my barrel with that bullet to find the exact bore diameter? Then ... order the lube and size equipment I need for the right size dia. bullet? I think the Lee Mold I'm looking at drops bullets at .360 . Stated bore dia. for my Beretta is .355 which leaves me between .356 & .358 for a final diameter. You can do this if in fact the bullet cast out larger than your bore diameter and if you are not using dead soft lead such as stick on wheel weights or plumbers lead etc then I recomend slugging as soon as the bullet drops from the mold; as soon as it is capable of being handled so the bullet is soft. However I will often times head to the sporting good section and pick up some fishing sinkers as they are usually soft lead. I also drill out the center more so the slug as the ability to "go somewhere" when you are slugging the barrel

2) What is the most economical brand size and lube outfit for the casual caster? At MOST I'll cast between 2k to 3k bullets a year. I would say probably the Lee push through sizing dies and Alox although it is not the best lube out there in my opinion. You could also pan lube as another option to the alox tumble lubing and then run the bullets through the Lee sizing die.


Thanks in advance for the patience with my 'Greenhorn' questions.

I have a feeling you may become addicted like many of the rest of us here. :veryconfu

[HeavyMetal]

For slugging a bore I'd use pure lead. The cool part is it doesn't have to be a perfect boolit to use for slugging, just larger than the bore!

Pure lead will be softer and easier to push through the bore.

Because of the amount of boolits you plan to make a lube sizer doesn't make much sense unless you get a real good deal on one. I've seen the old Lyman 45's go for 40 to 60 bucks.

However in your case I think I'd get the Lee push through sizer set up's and some Lar's Carnuba Red and pan lube.

You will need to make or buy a Kake cutter, this is a tool that is boolit diameter ( as cast) internally and you slide it over each boolit in the pan of hardened wax. Since it is a hollow tool they stack up on the inside and come out the top as you fill it up.

Now that you have a supply of lubed boolits you run them through the Lee push through sizer tool screwed into your reloading press.

Now you have sized and lubed boolits that will do anything you want.

Now I fully expect someone to come along and tell you about Lee's liquid alox. That will be the container of useless goo that comes with the Lee push through sizer die.

In use one is supposed to put boolits in a container "swish" them around lay them on some wax paper and let them dry and "wazaa" you have lubed boolits!

In the real world this is messy( messier than pan lubing which is messy enough for me thank you) and most people that use liquid alox spend a lot more time complaining about leading than users of Carnuba Red.

You can, of course, try this stuff yourself but my suggestion is take that container of goo and chuck it as far as you can as soon as you open the box it's in!

Hope this info helps you out.

[Lead Fred]

Pan lubem, and stuffem though a lee sizer

works for me

[riverwalker76]

Dardas Bullets makes a Blue Lube that I like, and have used his bullets for awhile now.

Could i use Dardas' Blue lube and do the pan & punch method?

[geargnasher]

Before selecting a lube, understand that we all have our opinions on what works and what doesn't, and you'll have to sort it out in your own back yard. I would recommend you read the sticky here on the lube forum called Tumble-lubing, easy and mess-free". By far your cheapest and fastest lubing method is to tumble-lube and use the Lee push-through sizer of the appropriate size for your gun, but NOT using straight Lee Liquid Alox!! If you use it straight, you will likely curse the day you found this forum. Try Recluse's method first.

9mm can be finicky, and many folks report poor results from tumble-lubes in them, so be prepared to pan lube or just get a softer lube and apply it with your fingers and use the push-through sizer to squeegee it off.

As for slugging, I've slugged dozens of guns with boolits made from air-cooled wheel weights. The trick is to use a wooden mallet to pound it into the muzzle, allow the crown to cut the excess as it swells and is forced into the rifling, then tap it the rest of the way through with a hardwood dowel. It is easier to use a soft lead sinker of the right size, but it's up to you. The lead is "dead soft" and less springy than WW alloy, but deforms more easily when you measure it.

If you're planning on getting a six-cavity Lee mould, get a $10 hot plate too. This is really not an option, as you MUST preheat the mould and sprueplate to casting temp before attempting to cut the sprue, or you'll break the sprue cutting handle. The trick is to cut the sprue after it solidifies but before it gets too hard, and a cold mould will harden it way too much before you even get the last cavity poured. I've broken them trying to cut the sprues on just two cavities before!

Lee two-cavity moulds are much cheaper as they come with handles and can be preheated by holding them partly submerged in the molten pot lead for 15-20 seconds, but I've had a lot of headaches with getting the blocks to close the same way every time, the alignment mechanisms are poorly designed compared to the six-cavity moulds. It's still worth 20 bucks to get started, though, and I would recommend you start casting with a two-cavity until you get the hang of it, much less stressful.

Don't follow Lee's instructions on mould lubrication, either. Clean the cavities thoroughly with dishwashing detergent and HOT water. Scrub with an old toothbrush, soak in a coffee mug full of hot water for ten minutes or so, scrub again, rinse with super-hot water and let dry. If your water is "hard", you might want to dab the cavities dry with a q-tip. Get yourself some Bullplate sprue lube, or PM me for something better and easier to get. DO NOT smoke the cavities, you want CLEAN, not SMOKEY. Smoke is Lee's band-aid for the real problem with fillout: Leftover machining oil saturating the pores in the aluminum. Oil, even trace amounts, will cause wrinkly boolits no matter what you do until you cool the mould and clean every last bit of it out.

All you really need to get started casting is a Lee 10-lb or 20 lb pot, two-cavity mould, package of soft lead sinkers, hammer handle (for tapping the sprue plate), insulated gloves, Lee push-through sizer kit (comes with a bottle of Liquid Alox you can make tumble lube with, and the box serves as a boolit catcher), a can of Johnson's Paste wax (referred to here as JPW), and maybe some mineral spirits. The sundry other stuff you probably already have like old towels, an old spoon, old candle stubs for fluxing, an aluminum pie plate for dropping sprues/culls into, safety glasses, etc. Oh, and BOOLIT METAL!

More advice than you wanted right now I'm sure, but hopefully it will help you make a better decision on what to buy at first.

Gear

[HeavyMetal]

You can pan lube useing any lube you want, I suggested Carnuba Red as it's my latest greatest find and has quite the following on this board!

[Suo Gan]

1) Can I cast a bullet in a Lee mold, and slug my barrel with that bullet to find the exact bore diameter? Then ... order the lube and size equipment I need for the right size dia. bullet? I think the Lee Mold I'm looking at drops bullets at .360 . Stated bore dia. for my Beretta is .355 which leaves me between .356 & .358 for a final diameter.

Get some egg sinkers (hole down center) at the tackle store, take your mic ,they are usually soft lead...dent one with your thumbnail, Lube the bore with case lube, secure it, whack it with a brass rod or wood dowel. Pretty straight forward.

2) What is the most economical brand size and lube outfit for the casual caster? At MOST I'll cast between 2k to 3k bullets a year.

Probably a Lee Sizer 12-14 bucks a pop, pan lube with LLA. Or just buy a Lyman 4500, it is money well spent.

Once you get it down, your shooting will probably increase!