No Equipment what is a good starting set up!

My brother has no equipment to start casting! What would you buy if you were just starting to cast for Rifle, pistol, and shotgun? He has used a wood fire and cast iron pot to melt lead for round ball casting but he wants to go high tech-electric or gas. Don't want to break the bank but don't want cheap were have to re-buy after a year or two. He will be casting for 4 people so anywhere from 100-600 rounds a month. If warm there are shoots if cold we don't shoot much. All in 60's and 70's age bracket.

Getting started is a interesting thing. Cost is a factor as is the production expected to be needed. Also is the required set up for a session. Plug in and go is nice. Another is how is he getting his lead. Ingots or scrap.

An electric pot in the 20 lb range works well and can be purchased, Lyman, RCBS, for bottom pours Wage for dippers. Even the Lee 20 lber is good. These can be left on a dedicated bench ready to plug in and go. A used one in good shape saves some money and normally run a long time.

A gas fired pot can be made up from a propane tank pot or other tank. They can be made from tube and flat stock if you have a welder. A simple stand and burner from an turkey fryer. These normally take up more room need more space around them so leaving set up isnt as easy. But a bigger pot here can double for smelting and casting.One other plus here is with the right stand and pot 2 or 3 can cast around it.

As to equipment ladles would be Lyman, RCBS, Rowel #1. the scrapers and spoons for fluxing removing dross can be long handled barbecue utensils from dollar general.

Moulds are going to depend on the bullets he wants to shoot. If Lee has the designs they aregood accurate Noe Lyman RCBS and others. Here I recommend 2 cavities, start with one in each design / caliber. Add to them as needed.

Dont forget the PPE gloves apron hat safety glasses heavy shoes and clothing.

Casting use 2 moulds together this allows long sessions with out overheating them. Also keeps a continuous production going. As production shows purchase duplicate moulds where needed as needed.

My casting pot is gas fired and made from a 25# propane tank. 3 people can cast around it together. If he is casting for 4 people then he might consider this as they may be willing to help out with it. I run 2 cavity moulds 2 at a time and normally do a 4 hour session. At the end I have 500 or so bullets. With a "helper" running this could go to 1000 easy. I normally cast bigger rifle bullets at a slower pace so numbers could be more even. Another is some calibers will be more used others less. In pistol 38 caliber is going to be more consumption than others. Most pistol calibers will be more than the rifle or shotgun. I could see 4 2 cavities in a 38 158 semi wadcutter for 2 people to run with. 1 in each rifle caliber and shotgun.

Get him started an "adjust" as you go.

I'd get one of the 20 pound electric ones.
And either 4 or 6 hole molds.

I'd shop around and try to find a used one made before they got all digital and electronic.
A older RCBS pro-melt would do a good job for ya, but there are others too.

I use a turkey fryer and a cast iron pot, with a dipper. You can have multiple pots to accommodate different lead alloys. Pure / soft for ML's, harder for rifles, ........ etc.

I use a Coleman stove and various stainless steel pots I have purchased at thrift stores. I good ladle and a good thermometer round it all out.
Easy to keep different alloys separated and have several ready at all times. I probably have 6 or 7 pots with known ally in them ready to cast from a known alloy in the time it takes to warm up a pot, which isn't very long. I even went to a 70 or 75 pound tank which lasts a long time.
Good Luck,
Rick

100-6000 rounds a month....are you serious?

If he is extremely budget conscious, Lee pots will serve you well. I used a 10 lb bottom pore for well over 45 years. If doing the quantities you mention, I would definitely go with at least a twenty pounder. A couple years ago I bought the New RCBS with the built in PID and it is nice, but a Lee 20 pounder would have sufficed.

If doing the amount you are talking about, you may want to do some research on this site on how people have piggy backed two pots together to pre-melt lead so they can maintain there rhythm.

Myself I like a 20# Lee melter. Not bottom pour. A Lyman Little Dipper ladle, and a decent thermometer.

You will also want a hot plate to pre-heat molds, the solid top ones work best, if you get the coil type hotplate then set an old circular saw blade on it so the mold doesn't get hot spots and warp where it touches the coil.

That is it. Melt lead, dip lead with ladle, pour lead into pre-warmed mold so first bullets come out good. Without hot plate you can dip corner of mold into molten lead to pre-warm.

There can be an advantage to purchasing known good casting lead when starting out. Avoids one potential problem of having alloy not cast well or needing specific process to cast well.

Smelting and making ingots to mix own alloys or reclaim scrap is a fish/turkey fryer and pot arrangement. Can get a Dutch Oven at Harbor freight, make one from 20# propane tank with top cut off. Can set some angle iron across the fryer and use smaller pots from Salvation Army.

Do not use Aluminum pots to melt lead for casting. Aluminum melts at a higher temperature but at lead melting temps the aluminum is softer by a significant amount. Soft and under a lot of pressure from the molten lead can lead to an aluminum pot blowing out.

Picture of smaller pot with angle iron grate on a fish fryer. I can cast from the burner. I generally do not but have and if one wants to make several hundred plinking rounds in a cold garage the burner and a ladle approach has some aspect to recommend it. It is warmer.

Note the handle on a stainless steel pot is all metal and held on with 3 large heavy steel fastners. Cooking pots are not made to handle the weight of being full of molten lead so pay attention to how the handle is attached. A black Bakelite handle with one center screw can let you down hard. Pot of molten lead falling off the handle does not a good day casting make.

Second picture is same burner with Dutch Oven set up to melt down 100# of scrap lead and make into ingots that will fit in a Lee Melter for casting bullets.

Keep the dirty scrap in own pot and not the pot you use to cast bullets from. So called smelting into ingots involves removing crud from the molten lead you don't want that crud in your bullets then don't put it in the melter you cast bullets from.

Molds for ingots can be a lot of things. I have angle iron (triangle bar shaped), bread loaf pans (make nice big slabs) Muffin tins and purchased the Redneck Gold or Cast Boolit molds from the vendor here on the site. The baking pans can be found dirt cheap at garage sales, thrift stores, estate sales. Test first. Rusty steel ones are generally good at releasing the ingot. Some aluminum ones have had the ingots bond to the pan. Best to test one or two than to fill all 12 muffing holes with lead pucks that won't come out.

I now do lead almost exclusively in cast boolit / redneck gold ingot molds. They stack well and ship well. Starting out I was fine with the baking pans and homemade angle iron molds. The picture with the bar ingots has one of those molds on the wood riser.

The Lee 20# is a good pot, price is right and it will last as long as you will. By all means get a hotplate to preheat your molds, solid top type.

Big question is what molds you will use, anything from the inexpensive Lee 2 cavity through the Lee, NOE etc multi cavities. Good advice above to start with the Lee double cavity to see what bullet types you like. All my handgun molds are Lee 6 cavity and my rifle molds are NOE 5 cavity. If you go NOE buy the top punch, for Lee there are references for which Lyman/RCBS top punch to use.

How will you size and lube, tumble lube or regular. Also will you powder coat, it makes a difference in what equipment you need. If conventional sizing and lubing that means a sizer/lubricator (Lyman, RCBS, Saeco, Star). Some like to tumble lube which is less expensive but you may be limited in bullet designs. Powder coating is popular but also has associated costs.

Smelting you own alloy is another area where it helps to have the right equipment so you don't have to try smelting in your casting pot. There are numerous threads here on what people are using to guide you.

Safety is paramount so follow the advice here on PPE and precautions to take if you are smelting.

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Originally Posted by dverna

100-6000 rounds a month....are you serious?

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I was wondering too, if that last '0' was a typo

Up to 6,000 rounds a month!! 6 cavity molds for sure. I don't ladle pour, but I have to imagine a bottom pour pot (or 2) will make casting those numbers easier. I trust each shooter will size, lube/PC and load their own or I hope your brother is retired and no other hobbies/responsibilities. All must have a good stock-pile primers, even powder will add up on that many rounds. You fellas are shooters for sure!!

6k rounds a month he better get a master caster. Those other people need to kick in and help too.

But a lee bottom pour 20 pound pot is where I’d be looking.

The Lee elec. full of alloy will get you ~500 200gr bullets. Easily 1000 per day, unless you ladle pour. I can't cast more than 500 at a sitting so refill the pot and wait an hour to begin again - actually I refill when 1/4 full, speeds it up. 6x mould gets heavy! Pushing 80 so I take it easy. PID is really helpful and not much $. Hot plate is necessity. The setup is easy but getting that quantity of lead is more $. IIRC my Lee is 12 yrs old, works fine. I started with the 2x Lee 401 and a 6x RD 30/30 mould. Now all mine are Accurate 2x for rifle and 4x for pistol. Quality over quantity. Don't know about shotgun, bird shot takes a different setup.

Are you SCARED YET!! :shock: [smilie=1:

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Originally Posted by warren5421

My brother has no equipment to start casting! What would you buy if you were just starting to cast for Rifle, pistol, and shotgun? He has used a wood fire and cast iron pot to melt lead for round ball casting but he wants to go high tech-electric or gas. Don't want to break the bank but don't want cheap were have to re-buy after a year or two. He will be casting for 4 people so anywhere from 100-600 rounds a month. If warm there are shoots if cold we don't shoot much. All in 60's and 70's age bracket.

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A 10# or 20# bottom pour lee pot would be my choice. If doing 600 rnds a month.. get a 6 hole mold.. also lee... plus the handles.. probably the cheapest way to start.. and for sure lasts more than a year or two. My 10# pot is old and dinged up with some rust.. but still melts lead and makes nice bullets.

No one has mentioned this, but where do you guys plan to do this. Does one of you have a farm with outbuildings and space or is this being set up in someone's garage. It does make a difference. The more room you have the more options you have. The tighter the space the more you need to think about how it will be used.

If you want to buy once, this is my suggestion: https://www.magmaengineering.com/masterpot/
I’ve never regretted mine.

I use a hot plate I got from Walmart.

I started with MP molds. I like NOE as well. I’ve yet to hold a H&G that doesn’t cast well. Lee molds work fine for certain things, but you’ll never mistake them for a high end mold.

I use a Satan’s Little Smelter for processing lead into ingots.

I use home-made ingot molds I made from angle iron. Each mold produces about a 10-lb ingot. I can partially fill them if I want a smaller ingot, but they fit into the Master Pot well.

I have a PID that was made by former member Frozeone, or something like that. I like Hatch’s design, too.

It can certainly be done more cheaply, but I haven’t had to replace anything and can work fairly efficiently with the higher volumes. I’m grateful for those who pointed me in this direction when I asked similar questions.