New to casting.

[GPSMatt]

Hey guys I have been reloading for a bout a year or so now. All my reloading stuff is LEE for the most part 4 turret press dies etc etc.

I load:

.223
30-06
.40 s/w
.44 mag
.45 acp

guns

AR-15
1942 RIA 1903 Sporterized to the max
Remington pump master 760
Rugar p94
S&W 626 Classic 6.5"
Springfield 1911 GI

I found this site researching Swaging on google and have found a lot of good info.

Here is what I am looking at getting.

Lee Lead Dipper
Lee 4-Cavity Ingot Mold with Handle
Lee Alox Bullet Lube 4 oz Liquid
Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold TL452-230-2R 45 ACP, 45 Auto Rim, 45 Colt (Long Colt) (452 Diameter) 230 Grain Tumble Lube 2 Ogive Radius
Frankford Arsenal CleanCast Lead Fluxing Compound 1 lb
Lee Pro 4 20 Lb Furnace 110 Volt
Frankford Arsenal Drop Out Bullet Mold Release Agent and Lube 6 oz Aerosol

I have had really good luck with all of my LEE reloading equipment and the price is right.

I am just looking for suggestions on the equipment I am looking at buying maybe different suggestions?

I eventually want to cast all of the calibers I shoot. I am ready to load another 1000 rnds of .45. For the price of 1k jacketed bullets I can pretty much get started in casting. I bought a bag of 250 cast bullets from the local gun store and I liked the way they shot out of my 1911.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[grubbylabs]

Hi Matt


I am new too.

I have been looking at the Lyman kit that is on sale at Midway right now. So far I have not heard any thing bad about it. In fact I am hoping Santa leaves it under the tree for me.:smile:

[GPSMatt]

Yes I order reloading supplies and gun parts from Midway. Thats where I am planning to order it from as well and the fact it is on sale helps. It looks like on there it has good reviews.

[AZ-Stew]

Welcome aboard, gents!

Going down your list...

Lee dipper: Spend a few extra bucks and get the Lyman or RCBS ladle. Money well spent.

Lee ingot mould: Good for smaller quantities of alloy during rendering or smelting. You may want more, or one of the Lyman's once you get going with more alloy.

Lee Liquid Alox: I don't use it. I have a Lyman lube/sizer. Others here use it with succcess.

Lee 2-banger mould. I have the mould you list. I've used it in .45 Colt in both revolver and Winchester M-94. Works very well. I haven't tried it in my Colt Gold Cup. I hate chasing brass, so I don't shoot the auto pistols very much. You may have to size it if it casts large enough to bulge your brass and cause difficulty in chambering. Try it first. If you have fit problems, Lee makes a press-mounted push-through boolit sizer that's inexpensive.

Frankford CleanCast: If this is like Marvelux (I suspect it is), it's hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air) and will cause rust in your casting pot. If you get the residue on your stirring spoon, be sure to keep the spoon hot. If it collects moisture and you plunge it into the pot, you'll get a steam explosion that will throw hot alloy everywhere. This is known here as "a visit from the Tinsel Fairy". There are other fluxes that work well without the moisture problem. Search the archives and check the stickys.

Lee Pro 4 20 pot: Be careful not to hit the valve stem while stirring fluxed alloy in the pot. The valve may stick open. Mine did twice, after which I retired it, with very few hours of use. You'll do quite a bit of dancing trying to catch 20 lb of molten alloy running out the bottom of the pot while the valve's stuck open. I've had a Lee 10 lb pot for 35 years that still works well. I've never had the valve stick on it, either. For your small casting volume, it will be big enough.

Frankford Drop Out: With the Lee moulds, you won't need this.

With what you save by not buying the flux and mould release compound, you're probably well on your way to getting a better ladle and a second ingot mould. If you check some yard sales, you may be able to find some muffin pans that will make acceptable ingots. They're cheaper than the commercial ingot moulds.

Check the prices for your order and for the shipping from Midsouth Shooter's Supply: http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/ . They're my first choice for mail order.

Regards,

Stew

[jsizemore]

Hey guys I have been reloading for a bout a year or so now. All my reloading stuff is LEE for the most part 4 turret press dies etc etc.

I load:

.223
30-06
.40 s/w
.44 mag
.45 acp

guns

AR-15
1942 RIA 1903 Sporterized to the max
Remington pump master 760
Rugar p94
S&W 626 Classic 6.5"
Springfield 1911 GI

I found this site researching Swaging on google and have found a lot of good info.

Here is what I am looking at getting.

Lee Lead Dipper
Lee 4-Cavity Ingot Mold with Handle
Lee Alox Bullet Lube 4 oz Liquid
Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold TL452-230-2R 45 ACP, 45 Auto Rim, 45 Colt (Long Colt) (452 Diameter) 230 Grain Tumble Lube 2 Ogive Radius
Frankford Arsenal CleanCast Lead Fluxing Compound 1 lb
Lee Pro 4 20 Lb Furnace 110 Volt
Frankford Arsenal Drop Out Bullet Mold Release Agent and Lube 6 oz Aerosol

I have had really good luck with all of my LEE reloading equipment and the price is right.

I am just looking for suggestions on the equipment I am looking at buying maybe different suggestions?

I eventually want to cast all of the calibers I shoot. I am ready to load another 1000 rnds of .45. For the price of 1k jacketed bullets I can pretty much get started in casting. I bought a bag of 250 cast bullets from the local gun store and I liked the way they shot out of my 1911.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Welcome to the site and casting.

Let's try to save a little more $.

Since your getting a bottom pour Lee Pro 4-20 you won't need the dipper. You can get steel muffin trays at the thrift store for cheap instead of the ingot mold. The more rusty and nasty the better. You can flux with sawdust, candles, parrafin, old motor oil or a dry wood stir stick from the paint store. If you need mold release try a wood match or a butane lighter to smoke the mold.

Good Luck.

[lurch]

Welcome guys.

Stew nailed it on the recommendations - especially about going through the sticky's. There is a lot of very good information there.

A big +1 on foregoing the Frankford Arsenal flux. It does leave a hygroscopic reside that will cause rust in your pot if not cleaned out and invites the Tinsel Fairy if you are not careful with your tools that get coated. That reside is also difficult to remove. If you do use it, make sure you wear protective equipment while cleaning it out as you will likely generate airborne particulates containing lead oxides. Do the clean up outdoors for the same reason.

You will need a flux of some sort though. A lot of folks here use sawdust and it works. I use paraffin wax (old candles, Gulf wax from the canning aisle in the grocery store, etc.) because I have a bunch of it. These will both smoke and the wax will burn. In fact, it's best to light the wax to cut down on the smoke. Do your fluxing with adequate ventilation because of the smoke.

Midsouth will generally have better deals on this stuff as well, when all is said and done.

[grubbylabs]

I think I read the other day that some one bought cheap crayons to use for fluxing.

[mooman76]

There's allot of things you can use for flux and most are free. Sawdust or wax for a couple. If you are going to ladle cast you can get the Lee 20# pot that doesn't have the pour spout and you don't have to worry about leaks, that's what I use. I also use the Lee ladle and like it fine but allot of people here don't. I agree also you don't need the mould release. It isn't needed and it builds up after awhile and hard to clean out of the lube grooves. Alox works good for starting out and if you get the sizing dies a botle comes with each sizing die you get. A bottle lasts a long time. Also a big welcome to the board.

[JIMinPHX]

I mostly use Lee reloading stuff too, but I shy away from their dippers. I think that the Lyman ladle holds heat better & just works better in general.

On the ingot mold, please consider that the Lee mold throws (2) 1-pound ingots & (2) 1/2-pound ingots for a total of 3 pounds, where a Lyman or RCBS ingot mold will throw (4) 1-pound ingots. If you want 1/2 pound ingots, then Lee is the way to go on that one. If you are going to use 1 pound ingots for everything, then I'd go for a Lyman mold. The RCBS is OK too, but it does not come with a handle & it usually costs more. When you smelt a big pile of lead down into ingots, 3 pounds at a time starts to get kind of tedious pretty fast. If you are going to do more than 100 pounds at a time, then you will probably want to have more than 1 ingot mold.

If you are going to end up sizing any of those boolits with a Lee sizer, then hold off on buying the Lee Liquid Alox. That stuff comes included with the Lee sizer.

[fryboy]

it always pays to shop around ! i seem to hit midways sales and natchez alot ( at least for tool type stuff )

skip the drop out , the flux and the alox and use the money to get u a .452 lee sizing die ...as noted it comes with a bottle of alox any money left over buy buy a second hand soup ladle and a slotted spoon ( steel of course stainless works ) for a lil little dross spoon/swizzle stick simply slot a wood dowel and insert dinner or tablespoon , drill two holes add a couple of screws and it's long handled and good to go until u burn the wood up ( it will happen - especially if u use it to stir wax for flux lolz ) then just cut it a lil shorter and do it again but if ur flush ...man they make some nice toys u can buy .... ( i'd love to have a real 5 pound ladle )
btw ? welcome to the forum !

[63 Shiloh]

Great advice offered in the above posts.

One thing I will suggest, especially using aluminum molds is Bullshop's sprue plate lube. This stuff is amazing with aluminum molds, no galling, able to open the sprue plate easily without any lead smears.

Enjoy your casting!

Mike

[JIMinPHX]

+1 on Bullplate Lube.

[Baryngyl]

Yes it is best to forget the Frankford Arsenal Drop Out Bullet Mold Release Agent, I bought a spray can around 13 years ago when I started casting, used it, should say I tried to use it on two or 3 moulds and all it did was make a mess and made it harder to cast for me.

It fills in the moulds vent lines and is very hard to remove it all from the mould. I still have the can I bought sitting on a shelf and have not tried to use it since the first time.

I have not tried the Frankford Arsenal CleanCast Lead Fluxing Compound but if it draws water to it like everyone says you sure do not want that, I have a hard enough time keeping my LEE casting pot from rusting just from the humid air around here, I sure don't need to make it worse with something that pulls water from the air.


Michael Grace

[a.squibload]

For really cheap ingot molds I have used upside down aluminum beverage cans.
Makes small ingots though.
One guy here said he fills the cans with lead, then peels off the can later.
Some make ingot molds from angle iron, if you have access to a welder.
Muffin pans are cheap and easy.

Welcome, looks like you are planning ahead, that's a good sign, but:

Beware! If you hang out in the Group Buy or Swappin & Sellin forums
you might accidentally buy something. Or several somethings.
(This is a cry for help! Stop me before I shop again!)

[Bret4207]

Hey guys I have been reloading for a bout a year or so now. All my reloading stuff is LEE for the most part 4 turret press dies etc etc.

I load:

.223
30-06
.40 s/w
.44 mag
.45 acp

guns

AR-15
1942 RIA 1903 Sporterized to the max
Remington pump master 760
Rugar p94
S&W 626 Classic 6.5"
Springfield 1911 GI

I found this site researching Swaging on google and have found a lot of good info.

Here is what I am looking at getting.

Lee Lead Dipper-Spend a couple bucks more and get the Lyman or RCBS
Lee 4-Cavity Ingot Mold with Handle
Lee Alox Bullet Lube 4 oz Liquid
Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold TL452-230-2R 45 ACP, 45 Auto Rim, 45 Colt (Long Colt) (452 Diameter) 230 Grain Tumble Lube 2 Ogive Radius- TL will work with the traditional style designs. I'd go with the traditional Lee mould rather than the TL design, reports are they work better more ofen
Frankford Arsenal CleanCast Lead Fluxing Compound 1 lb- Forget that, stir and scrape with a wooden stick, add sawdust or other carbon source.
Lee Pro 4 20 Lb Furnace 110 Volt
Frankford Arsenal Drop Out Bullet Mold Release Agent and Lube 6 oz Aerosol-Another definite forget it, complete waste of money. Get the mould clean, hot and read the "Leementing" stickys.

I have had really good luck with all of my LEE reloading equipment and the price is right.

I am just looking for suggestions on the equipment I am looking at buying maybe different suggestions?

I eventually want to cast all of the calibers I shoot. I am ready to load another 1000 rnds of .45. For the price of 1k jacketed bullets I can pretty much get started in casting. I bought a bag of 250 cast bullets from the local gun store and I liked the way they shot out of my 1911.

Thanks in advance for any help!


For casting all you need is a pot, heat source, ladle and mould. Concentrate on making perfect boolits. The only additional thing you need is a hammed ahndle or mallet to jar the boolits loose and a carpenters pencil to lube the mould with and to rub the "sticky spots" you might find.

[mdi]

Not absolutely necessary, but I suggest a copy of Lymans' Cast Bullet Handbook. LOTS of good info to refer to especially for troubleshooting.

[Echo]

Lots of good advice here. FWIW, muffin tins are the cat's meow. Check out Salvation Army &cetera for these.
And I categorize my alloy by the ingot molds I use. For WW's, they get ingotized in my muffin mold. For my WW+2%Sn, I use molds made from angle iron. For pure Pb, I use soft drink cans with the top removed. When I need Pb, it is a cinch to peel a can. For more exotic stuff, like 50/50 WW/Lino or other mixtures, it's regular Lyman/Saeco/RCBS 4-bangers flooded to the top for 5-lb slabs, and ID'd w/Sharpie as to mix and date. They stack nicely, and separate easily.
And I usually water-cool my molds by setting them in a shallow cookie sheet and filling the cookie sheet w/Di-Hydro Monoxide, AKA water. Makes them set MUCH faster, but the H2O must be replenished from time to time, as it boils off.

Right. It is an addiction!

[prs]

Another vote for muffin tins. I have a nice dipper somewhere, but with the bottom pour pot I get really good results without it. Flux is everwhere and the MarvelCrud is the worse. I use little dibs of beeswax if I don't have any cull boolits on hand that have been lubed with wax lube -- that is a really slick way to flux. Don't but too much variety all at once. That Lee .452 mold often drops ww alloy at closer to .454. Don't smelt scrap in your boolit casting pot, just use a steel or iron pot and propane for that.

prs

[grubbylabs]

I just bought a bunch of tins so I think I am good to go there. I lucked out with my neighbor being a pip fitter he said he would get me a piece of pip that is 16" diameter and 6-8" deep. I might have to come up with a bottom for it but it should be great for smelting lead. I will have to post picks when I get it and finish it up.

[fredj338]

Hey guys I have been reloading for a bout a year or so now. All my reloading stuff is LEE for the most part 4 turret press dies etc etc.

I load:

.223
30-06
.40 s/w
.44 mag
.45 acp

guns

AR-15
1942 RIA 1903 Sporterized to the max
Remington pump master 760
Rugar p94
S&W 626 Classic 6.5"
Springfield 1911 GI

I found this site researching Swaging on google and have found a lot of good info.

Here is what I am looking at getting.

Lee Lead Dipper Not really needed for bottom pour pot
Lee 4-Cavity Ingot Mold with Handle I prefer the iron RCBS, Lyman etc, 4 1#+ ingots
Lee Alox Bullet Lube 4 oz Liquid
Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold TL452-230-2R 45 ACP, 45 Auto Rim, 45 Colt (Long Colt) (452 Diameter) 230 Grain Tumble Lube 2 Ogive Radius not a big TL fan, the std design can be tumble lubed
Frankford Arsenal CleanCast Lead Fluxing Compound 1 lb Not needed, sawdust or old canldes works better & it's free
Lee Pro 4 20 Lb Furnace 110 Volt
Frankford Arsenal Drop Out Bullet Mold Release Agent and Lube 6 oz Aerosol also not needed, bullets will drop free form any iron or alum mold
I have had really good luck with all of my LEE reloading equipment and the price is right.

I am just looking for suggestions on the equipment I am looking at buying maybe different suggestions?

I eventually want to cast all of the calibers I shoot. I am ready to load another 1000 rnds of .45. For the price of 1k jacketed bullets I can pretty much get started in casting. I bought a bag of 250 cast bullets from the local gun store and I liked the way they shot out of my 1911.

Thanks in advance for any help!
Now the big question, do you have a free or cheap source of alloy?;) Also consider something to smelt alloy in. The Lee pot is not at it's best as a smelter. It runs best w/ clean alloy only.

[Dean D.]

Welcome to the addiction Matt!