Setting up to cast - what items do I need?

I have spent the past two months reading and researching and preparing to cast. As of yet, I have not purchased any gear, but I have 100 lbs of wheel weights waiting to be smelted, a cast iron pot and ingot moulds.

I plan on purchasing a Lee setup with a 20 lb pot or the Vaporware Lyman setup. I am still a few months out from my first pour.

I will be casting for .38's, 30-30, and 45-70. I have not selected a mould for the .38 yet, but I like the Lee mould for the 30-30 with a gas check, and an NEI / Ranch Dog mould for the 45-70 also with a gas check.

I do not understand top punches or how they are used. Also I know I need a set of mould handles, sprue plate and a "beater" I own a rubber mallet. Do I need separate mould handles or will one work with all?

I am attempting to make my checklist prior to casting at this time. Speaking of check lists, that would be an awesome sticky for a newbie like me to have prior to my first casting session in a few months.

Any additional input would be appreciated. I have recently received the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook.

D

Instead of whacking the sprue cutter, use your gloved hand (thumb). You mould will thank you. (Forget macho, be smart, wear gloves. Experience says that molten lead alloy burns go deep, hurt, and take some time to heal.)

Lee handles are very adaptable -- there's a sticky.

Read that handbook's many articles at least twice, as there is much information to be gleaned and no sticky will give you as much information. You didn't mention which edition, but you will be well served by having both the third and fourth editions.

You need:
Something that melts lead
something to scoop up lead and pour into mould (unless using a bottom pour)
Moulds: Lee 2 cavity moulds come with handles. Lee 6 cavity moulds do not come with handles. Lyman, RCBS, Saeco, NOE, etc do not come with handles.
Handles
Lead
Gas checks (for your gas check moulds)
A way to size. Lee push through dies are cheap and you can use LLA
Lyman, RCBS, SAECO, use different dies and require a lube sizing machine.
Top punches are used in lube sizers, have the shape of your bullet nose, and push the bullet into the sizing die. Top punches are not needed for Lee dies.

Most books I have read concerning casting also have a basic list in them.

You are starting with the very best calibers you could have possibly picked!
Lovelife has given you good advice. A big part of the fun of casting is getting there your own way.
When I started, I was taught by my father to cast on a Coleman stove with a stainless steel pot of some kind (he insisted on SS as he said it would never crack. Dad is a real live rocket scientist as it happens, so I figured: "OK". LOL!)
I would smelt and cast out of the same pot, never used anything but wheal weights straight up, and "fluxed" with paraffin (read burned wax over the melt to satisfy my superstition. It did nothing but smoke and make pretty fire.) Beeswax is a different matter entirely, I don't know why, but it or wood chips or both, really make clean lead! But I digress.
I stirred, poked, and poured my alloy with an RCBS ladle. Simple enough.

You do not need a whacking stick. Nor do you need to put anything on the inside of you cavities, no smoking them, no Kroil, no spray on aerosol "mold release". They are precision tools. Keep them clean and use them carefully. The only place you ever whack a mold is on the hinge of the handles. Which I do with a rubber hammer. Not that I need to give it a real whack, but the rubber vibrates the mold just right to make just about anything drop with just a couple taps.

There is so much more, but I'm sure these fellers will get you lined out, and you will learn fast. Just keep asking questions, and you'll be an expert in training in no time!

A well ventilated area is good. I'm in South Florida also and I try to wait for those few chilly winter days to do as much casting as possible. Be careful how you set up and where your sweat drops. You wouldn't think about that normally but down here it just pours off of you.

Since you plan on purchasing a Lee 20lb pot, I figured I would share a few pictures of my process today. I cast on Sundays, It's a nice relaxing thing to do.
First, I preheat the mold on the hot plate, using a heat tunnel I made out of a strip of aluminum flashing.
Attachment 116319
Ladle under the spout (this will be important later)
Attachment 116320
5 gallon bucket of water
Attachment 116321
Now, once the mold is hot, you prime the spout by pouring into the ladle for a second. This heats the spout and insures that the alloy flowing into the mold is a consistent temperature.
Attachment 116322
Then you fill your cavities, one at a time, and pile up the lead. Cut it as soon as it freezes with a gloved hand.
Attachment 116323
Attachment 116324
Now, tap the handle hinge lightly as you open the mold, and if your heat is right, the boolits will fall right out into the bucket:
Attachment 116325

Rinse, Lather, Repeat.

Some good tunes on a radio or CD makes the process more pleasurable and helps you keep up the rhythm.
At least for me.
Leadmelter
MI

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Leadmelter

Some good tunes on a radio or CD makes the process more pleasurable and helps you keep up the rhythm.
At least for me.
Leadmelter
MI

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This is truly great advice. My reloading and casting times are much more enjoyable with some tunes.

Pre-heat your molds on a hot plate, preferable one that has a solid plate. This is a real time saver. You start with good boolits with the very first pour

Really what you need is a heat source, a steel pot of some kind, a ladle, and a mold. I was able to cast a few bullets with this stuff, but I was casting pre-web and didn't know what I "needed" to get started. One item that will be extremely helpful is a copy of Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook 3rd Edition (I prefer the 3rd Edition for new casters and reference for me, as I go back and check stuff now and then). The 4th Edition is OK, and has a few more load data. Other "How To" books are available and on line a good read is http://www.lasc.us/IndexBrennan.htm

I say think big.
I started with a small bucket of lead and now have several hundred pounds of alloy and pure.
I bought a 10 pound cast iron pot and now have a half a 20# propane tank smelter.
I bought a 10# lee bottom pour and now am looking for the next size up.
If you have the room think big as it is addicting.

My sprue "wacker" is a old plastic handled craftsman screw driver, tap open sprue with the plastic handle end if done just right will open and dump boolits in 1 shot.

You may want to check the hardness of the boolits before you drop them in the water (that is drop them on a damp towel then let them cool, and check). Sometimes depending on the mix of the lead you can make them to hard. Just FYI